Hello, so i just found out about the lotr/hobbit sbg a while ago and have decided that im going to buy my first pack soon. I have no idea how everything works in the miniature hobby world. So naturally, i have a few questions.

-Can i only cut miniatures from their sprues with only the clippers meant for them? Or can i iust any old knife like a utility knife?
-What is the difference between miniature/citadel paint and say, dollarstore paint. If there is is it a big difference?
-How do i assemble riders onto their mounts? i've tried looking for videos and i can't find any.

These are some of the questions i can thinkn of now though i will probably be adding some mroe questions soon.

Thanks!

Hey mate,

Welcome to the hobby!
-For the cutting of the figures just a knife is fine, helps if the blade is sharp. The clippers are fine too but you need to clean it up either way. The plastics will likely have a few mould lines on them so I usually just use the blade at a flat angle and it takes the lines off without cutting into the plastic.
-I really don't bother with dollarstore paint as I find it has really poor coverage. The GW paints are pretty expensive and tend to dry out quickly. I use Vallejo paints as they come in dropper bottles so they don't dry out and you can control how much paint you get out. They're way more cost effective.
-For the riders you can just glue them down onto the top of the horse/warg with plastics glue or if you really want you can pin them on as well. Just gluing should be fine. For metal figures I'd recommend using glue like Zap a Gap as it holds really well and sets quickly.

Hope that helps!

Personally, I use wire cutters to free my minis from the sprue, and then a knife to clean them up.

My suggested first purchases:

Primer. Brush on is fine until you decide you want to paint a horde. Most people prefer working from black.

A decent paintbrush. GW makes nice enough paintbrushes. If you look after them, they will last you quite a while. When they no longer hold a point, they can be used for glue and drybrushing. I use a basecoating brush for just about everything. To pick your brush, you want one that has a nice point and no stray hairs. Art stores have a water pad you can use to test the point on your brush.

A hobby knife, med or light duty. These are the ones with the metal handle you carefully insert triangle blades into. You're not doing tank surgery, so a light duty knife will work fine. You can use this to scrape mould lines from your plastic models.

Paint. You can use dollar store paint, just don't expect to win any awards with it. Dollar store paint does make great scenery paint, though! You will need to thin it, and this is why experienced painters prefer expensive paints. Dollar store paint doesn't thin neatly with water, it gets really thin and leaves chunks of paint. This is especially true with metallics. I used dollar store paints on my first minis. Not amazing results, but I was happy. I still use them to paint bases on my minis. Reapermini.com has nice thinning instructions.

Super glue/plastic cement: Plastic cement creates a chemical reaction that melts the parts together. It is a tough bond, but it is permanent! Be sure to test fit! Super glue works for metal and plastic models. You may want to purchase an excellerator, which is a spray that chemically hardens the bond. I buy dollar store super glue, but it dries white, so I am careful where I apply it, or I glue then paint.

A lamp: Personal preference here, but even a desk lamp will work. I find there is just never enough light where I paint. If you use a daylight bulb, your colours will be more natural. I find they look brighter under a regular lamp, then am disappointed with how dark they are when I shut off the light.

You can buy the "Painting citadel minis" book if you like. I use it, but it refers to GW paints. A lot of the material can also be found on youtube for free.

Things not to buy:

A water pot. Use an old cup or a disposable one.

A fancy paint palette. Use a ceramic tile, old CD (yes!) or even a plastic plate.

Modelling sand. Just go down the back alley and sift some gravel, or find a sandbox or go to the beach.

ps: riders just sit on their mounts. You can glue them on, or just let them sit loosely. GW plastics like warg riders and rohan riders have a plastic bit that inserts into a hole in the mount's back.

Have fun! Remember there's always room to grow with your skills and don't be too hard on yourself!

_________________
"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers

I use nail clippers to get the model off the sprue. They also work really well to get some of the mold lines off. I got my first paint from Hobby Lobby, and just used their plastic hobby paint. If you spray paint the models black first, the brand of paint won't matter as much.

_________________
"Leave Sauron to me."
If you're in the Raleigh, NC area, let me know.

I agree with everything @GreatKhanArtist said, there's some really helpful hints there. Two of them that jump out the most to me that I'd also really stress are using a plain white ceramic tile for your palette, it works great and is super easy to clean afterwards. And second, can't stress how important a good lamp is, as being able to see and pick out the details on your models is big step, and once you're able to do so, you'll find your painting will improve dramatically.

Good luck and enjoy !

_________________
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair..
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her..

Yep these guys are all making great points. If you don't want to use a tile I just use yoghurt tub lids or something similar (they're white and disposable). I mostly use something called a wet palette now as I find it prolongs the life of my paint outside the bottle but I used the other methods for years without a problem

When they cast the figures little bits of extra plastic/metal etc get left on the figure where its not meant to be (just to do with the way they build the molds). For example on some Men of Minas Tirith I'm doing at the moment on the greaves there is a thin raised line running from top to bottom down the side where its not meant to be. So I just scrape it off and the armour is then flat like it should be. Hope that helps

Ah, okay. Thanks1:)