Відео

Im still experimenting .... quite like contrast style paints to speed the process but add traditonal highlights

To a degree, I've found there is a trade off between technique and time (and increasingly eyesight). I want to get my troops on the table for a game as soon as possible, and my acquisitions are often led by specific projects. Washes were the turning point for me with Agrax Earthshade, the lifesaver, on top of basic block painting and a final highlight. I can churn out whole armies quite quickly and I am happy enough with the fact few people will see them closer than from three foot away!

Been painting with enamels since the 1970s, never really like acrylics, although I use acrylic washes for some things. I have definitely improved over time. Shading and three tone systems seem to me to be a hang over from the time when all figures were flats, but then I paint mainly 15mm figures. You can see them here ; ua-cam.com/channels/EuRv4YveqWXemQ3R2uP7Iw.html

Pretty much the same, started with airfix and humbrol enamels, found vallejo panzer aces range when i was more into military modelling. Had a go at figure painting with oils, went back to gaming played all sorts of periods, fantasy gaming introduced me to the citadel range. I developed a style that got figures on the table to a standard that i was happy with certainly not up with the competition painters, but it did lead to several requests from other club members to take on painting for them. ive gone through white undercoating and then mainly black now i tend to undercoat to suit the figure/period. i would say Vallejo is still my go to paint but I have many brands of acrylics on the shelves. Lock down gave me the excuse and time to have a look at airbrushing (plus the realization that they are not as expensive as i had imagined) got on pretty well and now see it as another tool in the arsenal, great for undercoating, terrain, horses etc (down side I picked up several 1/35th vehicle kits that now need a home). I'm still trying other products and have been trying out a few of the contrast/speed paint ranges, not fully sold on them but they do have there uses.

I think most are wargamers first who paint for gaming purposes. The caliber of painting also depends on the scale you use - the bigger the scale , the more detail required, & vice versa. As I have always gamed in 'battles' scale; I have had to paint whole armies, so I aim for an overall look, rather than worrying about the detail on an individual figure. Not to say that each figure isn't given a decent 'game grade' paintjob using the 3' rule (which I have used since the 70s). Like all, I shudder to remember the terrible first painting (& basing) attempts, but they have gotten hugely better over the years from learning different techniques, & I will happily field troops painted in the style I have used for the last 15 odd years, which hold their own against any 'modern' paint jobs.

Great video! I’ve been paining IG and hobbying for years but never joined a group. Should nite the bullet one of these days. Thanks pal

In the beginnig I invested weeks in one miniature alone. That was ok with RPG figures and one or two blisters WFB figures. Since this ol' days I'm trying to achieve more speed and output. Unfortunately, I still tend to loose myself in too many details that no one can see on the table. So I'm learning to be a better wargame painter. 🫠 Good luck in cleaning up!

You might benefit from an air vent either through the wall or out the ceiling and out through the roof/facia.

I've painted for both the table and competition in the past winning a few, but mostly 3rd with a few second places with the majority being unplaced. These days I mainly paint just for the gaming table. I remember using enamel paints when I switched from model kits to war gaming. Being introduced to acrylic paints was a massive revelation lol....

Would love a 4 year update to the operations room!

Still painting roughly the same way I started painting --- years ago. Just now I use Acrylic paints rather than enamel one's.

"What if's" require such a high understanding of tactics and potential political implications. Respect to you for realistically exploring these scenarios.

I generally don't make any major changes to my painting style, I'll try the odd thing but nothing to radical. It's important to note that everytime you change your technique you get slower as you lose the familiarity you had with the previous technique. There really isn't a magic formula, you just have to get a find what works and stick to it. Speed paints aren't any quicker they are just a different technique ! As I always say "Stop f#*k^"g about and Paint It" 😁

I have seen it and it’s worse than being in the same room as other wargamers.

Joining a local club can put you off the hobby for life.

For me, the best compliment I get is when an experienced wargamer walks by my table and compliments the whole look. I've changed a lot, from terrible as a kid (no guides at all, made me quit), to the triad system, to washes and drybrushing, back to triads, and now a bit of both with SP and Contrast paints doing a lot of the lifting. But I also paint differently for 28mm vs. 15mm vs. 6mm, so what I do more of depends on the scale. My forever goal though is to paint faster, that's my weakness, I'm too damn slow.

I've never been a quality painter. In the early days, as most would do in the '80s, it was block colours. No highlighting, shading , black lines for definition or any of that nonsense! My best work has been using washes instead of paint though I rarely do that these days. I also used GW paints but stopped when they went to contrast paints which, to my eye, don't work. I use Vallejo now, mostly. I have come a long way and my figures are acceptable to me. My sons think they are great! But I'm more realistic.

I also started with enamels on RPG figures, ca late 1970s. The initial focus on individual characters made it difficult to transition to painting armies en masse. It took a long time to figure out how to force myself to dial back the level of detail and make real progress on large units.

Enhancing the gaming table rather than perfection - nicely stated. It certainly sums up my approach. I remember feeling liberated when I moved from solely painting 28mm to mixing it up with 15mm. Learning to paint 15mm relaxed my painting style (at 15mm no one is going to be looking to see if that mustache is nicely drybrushed...or to hell with them if they are!). When I would go back to paint 28mm, I felt much more relaxed. I know felt like I was just "doing extra" for the 28mm instead of feeling obligated to achieve higher levels of painting skill. Not sure if all the above makes sense!

Hi Lee, I paint purely to get minis on the table, if I’m honest I dislike painting so tend to go down the skirmish level wargame as it usually means less minis. I have even had models commission painted to avoid what I consider a chore. Great channel

TBH, Lee, if one is as old as we both are, one probably started off wiht Enamels and no shading. It's what we all did. And painting techniques have moved on SO much in the last decades. (Back in the 1990's, if you entered Golden Demon, you could get into Games Day a bit earlier, so one year-1999-I entered my Vampire Counts General, just to get in sooner. Surprised when she made it to the final. NO chance of that today). My point is, we've all got better over the years, beginners are turning out stuff that would've won painting comps 30 years ago. This is great for the hobby. These days I mostly game 6mm, si I'd have to put myself into the "paint to game" camp.

I'm not a top drawer painter, but I give it my best shot because I don't have any choice, given painting has become the core of my hobby.

Yes! A constant experimenter and dabbler here, everything from Humbrols to Citadel, to Army Painter, to (yes) oils, and alkyd oils. Like you, I work hard to paint to the best of my abilities, but the 'three foot rule' works well and allows for most (admittedly large) WAS and SYW-era units to get finished in a few weeks. Happy Sunday!

My big ‘leaps forward’ were: moving from enamels to acrylics, discovering inks and dry brushing, discovering highlighting and colour theory. My painting hasn’t changed much in the last 20 odd years since making these changes however, as - like you - I’m a gamer rather than a painter!

I am a wargamer who paints rather than a painter who games. It's all about getting figures on the table. My painting technique has changed over time through necessity, as I get older.

I am a wargamer who paints his miniatures for the game. Started in the late 1980s painting Airfix with umbrol enamels. I used an airbrush for some time, but I didn't like it. When I came back to the hobby, I made the transition to acrylics, mostly Army Painter and Green Stuff World. Recently, speed paints and contrast paints have really made a difference for me, not only in speed and quality, but in ease of use. I find that I am using acrylics less and less. Great video.

One thing I can give credit to the "Evil Empire" working for them for 8 years is that they broke me off the habit of painting one figure at a time. Also the ability to batch paint models with speed. I took force myself to try new paints and techniques. I'm really sold on Express Colour and Speed Paint.

I too paint for the table and not the showcase. I know that doesn't mean that I paint poorly it just means I don't spend hours upon hours on a single figure. Love these weekly Miniature adventures updates and topics. Thanks so much for what you do.

Great video Lee😊

I think the best way to go about it is not to treat what you like as universal, but instead network in the hobby space to learn about different groups and see what do they enjoy. This way if you find somebody who is courious about the hobby but maybe does not like mass battles like you, you can direct that person to a group dealing in skirmish games. Maybe somedoby has limited space so you can give advice on systems that work with smaller tables and unit counts. And then maybe somebody will do the same for you.

I really disliked the "Only painted armies" rule :/ I totally agree it looks better to have fully painted armies, but honestly I think this could prevent people using their minis for a while...

Some good tips. With points 9 and 10 we are already deep into the hobby. Both of them are important to all of us! Well done, Sir. 🫡

If your roads are a bit slippery still you could maybe paint on a bit of rubber cement?

Key issues: enjoyment of the game - losing a hard fought battle is much more fun & rewarding than winning a 'walkover'. Finding a period that fires your imagination. The social aspect of getting a group of like minded people around the table for the banter. Most of the other things will grow with experience - scale/figs/painting/ rules. On rules though; there are a huge number out there, some good, some OK, some just rubbish - some of the old rule sets are far superior to many of the more recently written ones (lets face it, B/Action is cr@p at armoured combat when compared to even the old AIRFIX armoured rules). Don't dismiss old rules, just because they are 'old'. Try various sets & find one that suits you.

I’d let new players plan with unpainted miniatures having fallen into the trap of only playing with painted minis many times I’ve not finished painting two armies before the rules have either fallen out of favour or been replaced by a new edition (yes GW we are talking about you ).

I only have one rule. Play the game and have fun, winning and losing is irrelevant to playing and having fun with friends.

Donald Featherstone , Charles Grant and Peter Young got me interested in wargames. My main bug bear is complicated rules, my Bolt Action experience was that it got more and more complicated, which caused my previous group to make our own, keeping games simple , great video Lee

Every time a gamer says "no thank you" to a game, they have done some gatekeeping, or try to correct or influence someone. The issue with Gatekeepers is that they have two jobs. One is to mind the health of the game community, but another is to open the gates for newcomers and give instructions and guide the new ones. Not just set boundaries, but also inform of norms and what to expect and what is polite.

Id tell them not to get into miniature wargaming. Id tell them go to hex and counter wargames and just paint miniatures they like the look of for the hobby.

Good video. I would reinforce the starting small and then PLAYING! It's what I DON'T do... 🙂

There were no skirmish games such as is today when I started wargaming. It was paint a unit and join in then build an army. It worked. What works for a skirmish game doesn't work for an army based game. Obviously, my thoughts are based on St Charles (Grant), patron Saint of wargamers. Painting the figures, whatever the colours used, is important for the look of the thing. You can grow into knowledge as you play and read the books. I've seen people still using red and blue for their armies. It's their game so I'm not complaining. Another point would be to buy terrain pieces as you build your army (armies) to fit your period. Trees and hills are most important followed by rivers, and fields of various kinds.

You forgot to tell them to keep buying minis no matter how many they have that aren't painted! It's crucial!

Great episode, Lee, and some top advice. I'd have to say that completing one project before moving on to the next would be one of my suggestions, and certainly something that I wish I was better at!! 😊

Control, reasonable, not getting carried away? What hobby are you talking about haha, just kidding. My recommendation is: even though you your inspiration is recreating a large really interesting battle (e.g. D-Day), start with something smaller but similar. Your first models are always going to be your worst. Practice with different miniatures that you can get some games with and wont care if they look rough around the edges.

Watching films and documentaries about your chosen period of history can help as well.

As part of your painting point, invest in enough and bright lighting for the painting table. Painting is great fun by itself, but trying to do so in poor lighting is frustrating and will not produce the best results. More generally, thank you for another interesting video. These have become part of my early Sunday morning routine here in Michigan, USA as I come into consciousness with that first mug of coffee. D&D. I've wanted to get back into that for several years. The classic game at the table with other gamers.

I have noticed a lot of Napoleonic’s about recently.