Miniature Care Package for 13 year old

[SparrowMarie]

So my niece is turning 13 next month. She already has a huge interest in minis and loves to paint with me. I'm trying to build her a kit or care package for her birthday so we can video chat and paint together. I'm at a loss as to what to put in it though. She has a ton of minis I gave her and a few brushes but I want to get her like a full starters kit of sorts (paint, better brushes, brush soap, etc.). I'm already considering the first LTPK. What would you put in it for someone just starting out?

[Cyradis]

Learn to Paint Kit(s)

Mouselings.

Rosemary & Co Series 33 Size 0, 1, 2 (she's 13 and has interest, she can take care of good brushes by now).

A junk brush for priming/drybrushing.

Tub of Mastersons Brush Soap.

Masterson's wet palette and some parchment paper.

Brown/blue liner for priming Bones, and some brush-on primer of your preferred brand.

A figure that you have and want to paint, so that if you both have it, you can video chat and paint it together.

Triad of her favorite color of paint (in addition to LTPK stuff)

 

[Glitterwolf]

Add a paint cup to that

Maybe a miniholder/cork etc to put the mini on while being painted?

Brush on Sealer

[Gadgetman!]

A Reaper Gift Card...  

Make it large enough to pay for a dozen paints(at least) and shipping. 

 

Cutting mat, a seam scraper and possibly some knives(if you trust her to use them without too much bloodspatter). 

 

A GOOD webcam so that she can show you details for you to critique and suggestions. 

 

[Serenity]

Some ideas:

 

The LTPKs are a great idea for starter paints and instructions she can read.  IIRC, those two kits work together and don't duplicate paints.

 

If she's more video-oriented, there are alternatives out there from Youtube, etc.  Reaper's Miniature Monday video series and the Reaper MM kits for the videos would be another way to go.

 

Kolinsky brushes are a nice upgrade.  One of those could make a big difference.  

 

There are cheap packs of synthetic brushes like the ones at Hobby Lobby that James Wappel recommends (12 pack of size 8 rounds for $4.99).  They're fine for base coats, priming, etc., have good points, and last a decent amount of time for synthetics.  A brush for dry brushing would be nice, like the ones they put in the LTPKs.

 

A porcelain palette or a wet palette.  Depending on your preferences.

 

A desk lamp with a daylight LED bulb or something similar.

 

For cleaning mold lines: hobby knife or scalpel, seam scraper or micro chisel, sanding sticks, files.  I think fine-grit diamond files work pretty well on Bones, but a sharp scalpel helps minimize the threads.  Some green stuff or other putty.  Brush-on sealer or similar medium to cover rough spots.

 

HTH.

[ManvsMini]

If you are thinking of video chatting while painting, maybe send her some stuff that reflects what you think you're good at so you can try to teach her that:

 

1) If flesh tones is your thing, an array of paints so you can show her how to achieve different tones.

2) Is basing your thing? Maybe some beginner basing supplies, some stores have nice beginner sets with a little bit of everything.

3) etc.

 

And, I personally believe, one can never have too many blank bases, maybe a pack of those.

 

Oh, and maybe the greatest gift of all: inspiration. A book or collection (maybe even just something you print yourself) of fantasy pics/art, or whatever she is into (honestly I don't know what a 13 year-old girl would be into... definitely not something with bikini-mail though, that's more 13 year-old boy, possibly).

 

I give you points for being a cool aunt.10 points to Gryffindo-... I mean, 10 points to @SparrowMarie!

[SparrowMarie]

@Cyradis @Glitterwolf @Gadgetman! @Serenity @ManvsMini

 

Thanks, y'all! This is a great place for me to start. I can probably pull out some of my stuff that I have extras of too.

[ced1106]

Mantic Terrain Crate and Undead Army. Dungeon tiles. Terrain and undead are easiest to paint. Girls love skeletons.

A really good sprue cutter, one that can cut metal. Also useful against boys.

Pen engraver to get rid of mold lines and mark territory. Also, jeweler's files, and Vallejo Plastic Putty in a tube.

Walgreen's Kid's Craft Paint Set and tacky stuff as miniature holders. Paint can be used for terrain.

Reaper Brown Liner for Bones.

Colored air-brush primers (apply as brush-on, saves time, cheaper per oz in bulk) : Brown, Metal, White, Black, Flesh, Red. Gold, Yellow, Blue, and Green are less used.

Army Painter Quickshade Ink wash set.

Secret Weapon Stone (and Concrete) washes, for underground dungeon tiles.

Bulk pack of cheap synthetic 0 and 00 brushes.

Airbrush thinner (good overall thinner) and eyedropper bottles.

Dead static grass (monsters) and green static grass (heroes), plus tweezers.

Woodland Scenics Basic Diorama Kit (with coupon at Michael's). Good for general terrain. Glue bottles more useful than those horrid school glue bottles.

Army Painter hand drill and paperclips.

Superglue in a pot, and aluminum foil. Use the paperclips to spread the glue. Use the foil to seal the pot after use.

Garage bits bin storage, with removable drawers.

DIY wet palette, including parchment paper. Parchment paper also useful for cookies.