In this post, I show you how to paint Bolt Action Pin Markers.
If you have any of the recent Bolt Action Starter Sets, by Warlord Games, then you will be familiar with these awesome little pin markers that come with the sets. In this post, I am going to show you how to paint those Bolt Action pin markers.
Today’s post is brought to you by The Army Painter.
Now, let’s get into it.
The Video Tutorial – How to Paint Bolt Action Pin Markers
If you like videos, here is a quick video tutorial on how to perform the task. For those of you who prefer written instructions, those follow the video below. In case the video does not work, use this link here.
The Written Instructions – How to Paint Bolt Action Pin Markers
If you have any of the three Bolt Action Starter Sets, below is how the pin markers come straight out of the box after you build them.
These pin markers are translucent and hard to read. Aside from that, they are awesome.
To make them easier to read, I painted them with the steps below.
- Prime the bases.
- Dry brush the numbers a different colour.
- Clean up the base by repainting the primer colour over your over brushing.
- Increase the contrast by going over the numbers again with the same colour.
- As an optional step, clearcoat your bases with matte varnish.
- Assemble the markers.
Step 1 – Prime the Bases
The first step is to prime the bases. In this case, I used black.
Now on to the next step.
Step 2- Drybrush a Different Colour onto the Numbers.
After priming the bases, I dry brushed on a second colour for the numbers. I used white
Step 3 – Clean Up the Bases
In step two, I went a little heavy on the dry brushing, so I have to clean up the areas of the bases where I over painted the white.
Step 4 – Go Back Over the Numbers
To increase the contrast on the numbers, I gave them a second coat of white paint. This time, I used a much smaller brush, and the numbers are looking much better than before I started the project.
Step 5 (Optional) – Protect Your Paint Job with Clear Matte Varnish
To protect my work, I painted the bases with clear matte varnish.
Step 6: Assemble the Markers
Once you complete the steps above, it is time to place the blast markers into the bases.
Possible Variations
Like many projects, there are many ways to tackle this task. Some people also paint the blast marker and paint the arrow a different colour to make it easier to see what number they are pointing at.
If you are careful about painting the numbers, you might be able to skip steps 2 and 3. Personally, I find dry brushing first useful, but if your hand is steady, they there is nothing wrong with going straight to painting them with a small brush. I have also heard of some people “painting” those numbers by using markers instead of paint and brushes. That is an approach that I had not tried, but it sounds like it would work.
I also had a comment come in on the video of someone encouraging me to pour some white paint on my pallet and then trying to stamp the numbers into that paint. In theory, if the paint is shallow enough, stamping should paint just the numbers and do so very quickly. This is not something that I have tried. Instead, an interesting idea that came to me through one of my viewers.
If you are curious about the markers or other items in this post, let me tell you more about where you can get them.
Where To Get These Pin Markers and the Items in this Tutorial
The pin markers come in all three of the current Bolt Action Starter Sets by Warlord Games.
You can buy these Starter Sets from Warlord Games, your favourite Friendly Local Gaming Store, or an online store like Gamecraft Miniatures in America, Wayland Games in the UK [Affiliate], or over on Amazon [Affiliate].
The paint that I used is all by The Army Painter. They make great paint at very affordable prices. They also happen to be on Amazon [Affiliate].
Another item in this post that may be of interest to you include the LED Arch lamps by GameCraft Miniatures. One is good enough, but I have two in this post. I love those lamps and they help with my painting, building and photographing work related to miniatures. I have a review on this site and you can check them out directly here. For the video work, all that I used were those two arch lamps. They work really well.
If you do use Army Painter Paints, you have to shake them up. I use this paint shaker here that I bought from Amazon [Affilate]. It is good enough for me and has lasted for over a year. Some people have burnt theirs out. If you need a heavier duty paint shaker, check out this one here [Affiliate].
Wrapping it up…
If you want to seriously level up your Bolt Action games, consider painting your pin markers. It is an easy way to make it so you can read the numbers on the pin dials from a distance away.
Special thanks goes out to The Army Painter for sponsoring this post. Also, there are a number of affiliate links in this post. If you use one of those links and buy something, a small commission goes to Must Contain Minis at no extra cost to you.
Until next time, Happy Gaming Everyone!!!
