I hung out with the Master Manipulator (every store needs one) for a bit, kibitzing the game between the Client Pimp in Questions Necrons and Little Barrera's Dark Eldar.
From a distance! It's a pretty entertaining exercise in prediction, since you can tell how the game is going just by listening in on the conversation.
Anyway, I left early to come home and work on the Little Tim That Could's Grey Knight commission, and I'm almost done with the halberd section. But it got me thinking.
Most of us just aren't painting fast enough.
* * *
I'm now at a point that I own pretty much everything I've ever wanted for Warhammer, Warhammer 40k, and Confrontation...
(Can you say, rerelease?)
...but most of it just won't see the table.
The games are getting larger. It takes more and more and more just to field an army. Much less a painted army.
And this isn't an article - should have mentioned that up front - it's more of a notion. An inkling. After some thinking, this is what's stuck.
Here we go! Ready?
"Realistic Expectations."
As in, acquire some.
* * *
I said this wasn't an article.
More like a notion.
An inkling.
I'd expound some - and will, at some point - but there's painting to do. Feel free to do so yourself!
Yup, I can agree with this simply because it's the boat I was in. I wanted my army to be 'Eavy Metal standard, but it dawned on me that having such an army was completely unrealistic. I can in fact paint to that high a standard, but it takes forever. SO... After a great deal of research, trial & error testing, I finally came up with a "realistic expectation" for how to blaze through painting my army while maintaining a reasonably high standard.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with you I don't think it's the whole problem. Some people just want to play the game and couldn't care less about having a painted army.
The best painting technique I ever learned was to lower my expectations enough to get things painted in a reasonable amount of time. Much as I might want to apply multiple layers of shading and highlighting to each chainsword tooth, doing so means I finish roughly one model every other year. After following a similar trial and error path as oni did, I've hit a happy medium where I still paint (what I think are) nice looking minis in a reasonable amount of time. I've just recently started to experience the satisfaction of fielding a fully painted army. It's a joy worth cranking the OCD meter down for.
ReplyDeleteMy stuff gets painted plenty fast I just pay other people to do it ha ha ga
ReplyDeleteI lastly came up with a "realistic expectation" for how to fire through artwork my military while keeping a reasonably great conventional.
ReplyDeleteI find myself questioning whether or not I am spending too much time on my minis. It has taken me 4 months to decide on a paint scheme that I am really happy with, and completely finish a squad of 10 Necron Warriors and a Ghost Ark. I have full time work and full time school, so I probably spent about 40 hours total on this squad (pretty much the whole of my 'free' time). Keep in mind I went through several revisions along the way, scrapping an entire paint scheme or two that I wasn't quite satisfied with. I have primer, base coat, secondary color which has 3 layers and 2 washes, 4 layers of highlights, and bits with green glow. I've found myself thinking from time to time that maybe this was excessive, most people wouldn't go through that much trouble. But is it OCD? Is it an unrealistic expectation to spend about a year painting an army (that's my goal)? The heart of what I am trying to say is I think there are a lot of people out there that want to be like me. They want to have an army that they feel looks great. But they want instant gratification. The two don't go hand in hand unless you pay someone (or a team of people) to paint it for you. Realistic expectations goes both ways, if you want a great looking army and not just an okay looking one, be okay with spending a year or more painting the army. Some people are okay with that, I've decided I'm one of those people.
ReplyDeleteYa well I agree to most of what's said I decided a rule of thumb is the 4 foot rule. Looks good at 4 feet then it's perfect. That said I do however think some extra time on characters is in order. Little xtra love for them 20 buck models. ��
ReplyDeleteChas