Miniature painting gets sold as this cute little “grab a brush and you’re sorted” desk hobby… and then you start, and suddenly you’re drowning in choices and spending decisions. In this video I walk you through everything I actually use in my weekly painting rotation after painting consistently for over a decade—so if you’re a newbie staring at brush sizes, paint ranges, primers and glue like they’re written in ancient runes, this is the cheat sheet I wish I had. I start with paints: my desk is mostly Citadel and Pro Acryl these days. Citadel’s a comfort range for me and I genuinely love loads of it (especially Contrast for speed, punch and glazes), but I’m also very honest that some of their whites, blacks and metallics can be a bit “eh” compared to what else is out there—hence my tier lists. Pro Acryl is my top recommendation right now for pigmentation and finish (their Bold Titanium White is ridiculous), and I also shout out things like Vallejo fluorescents/metallics, P3’s silky lighter colours, and even Molotow acrylic pen refills for properly punchy fluorescents. Then we hit brushes, palettes (wet palette: useful, not mandatory), primers (Color Forge is my current go-to), and the unsexy-but-critical build tools: clippers, craft knives, plastic cement, super glue + activator, plus a rapid-fire list of “other bits” that make hobby life easier.