Miniature Painting Show-Off Thread

[malichai11]

Can anyone recommend a good stand to place miniatures on? Something like one of those stands you put in your pantry to stick soup cans on is what I'm hoping to find.

[helot2000]

I know its bad form to be the only one who keeps posting in this thread but I just can't help myself. The BFSP dwarfs turned out so nicely that we picked up a Dwarf battalion box that we've barely cracked. An Orc battalion box from last year is nearly complete-I need to redo the basing and they'll be good to go. And for Christmas, my son really wanted the Tomb King battalion box. That plus some squig hoppers, a giant, and some slayers I got for cheap on bartertown will keep us painting into 2009.

Clearly, my mini picture shooting skills have not improved.

[Kadoth Nodens]

That's some nice, detailed work. I especially like the miners!

[mangedor]

Using a ring light or flash defuser might be something worth looking into. Plenty of info on the web on how to hack one cheaply.

http://www.adidap.com/2006/10/06/diy-ring-flash/
http://www.adidap.com/2007/12/20/diy-po ... ing-flash/

The more light you get on the subject the better chance you have of getting accurate color. Diffusing the flash or "spreading it around" like its coming from many directions will help with harsh shadows associated with an on camera flash and may give you some interesting looks, Plus it will make the need for a tripod less important.

[Blackhawk]

I'm starting to get the hang of acrylics. Some I've done recently:



A Hobgoblin warrior.



Zombies, the first pieces in my upcoming Warlord Necropolis army.



An explorer, made as a PC for a friend for Pathfinder.



Another PC for Pathfinder, this time a ranger. I never could get the face right.



Lem, halfling bard, one of the iconics from Pathfinder.

[Blackhawk]

The next couple are a little different. These were miniatures from the Castle Ravenloft and Legend of Drizzt boardgames. They're formed of clear blue plastic (and aren't nearly as detailed as regular commercial miniatures.) I wanted to paint them, but not lose the transparent effects.



Blazing skeletons. I compromised on these by painting the skeleton portion, then lightly shading the flames with a diluted blue ink, then lightly highlighting the edges. The ball of fire itself I shaded with slightly darker ink to make it stand out. The whole thing was then painted with a layer of Future floor polish, which I let dry for 24 hours. More on that in a sec...



These water elementals from Legend of Drizzt were actually fairly nice out of the box, and I didn't want to do much to them. I painted the bottoms of the bases, then did the entire things with Future, just like the skeletons. Future floor polish is actually just a clear acrylic base. Think of it as clear liquid plastic. By painting it over the already translucent elementals, the future filled in all the scratches and imperfections, added shine, and enhanced the transparency of the pieces. It also protected them, and should they get scratched in the future, I can just add another coat.

[helot2000]

I'm starting to get the hang of acrylics.

I think you've well progressed from "starting to get the hang" to "mastery."

These are excellent and I especially like the halfling. Your basing is excellent and the extra effort really makes these shine. Are these all 28mm? I also like what you've done with the game pieces, especially the blazing skeletons. I suspect that wherever you go, your friends insist on playing your games because of upgrades like this!

I knew we had a miniature thread here at one time but I'd completely forgotten how many years had passed. 2007 was such a long time ago.

[Blackhawk]

I think you've well progressed from "starting to get the hang" to "mastery."

I pull a 5-6 out of 10 on my stuff on CMON. I have a long, long way to go. Thanks, though!

Yes, though, they're all 28mm (officially '25mm heroic' which is the same thing.) All the minis that aren't board game stuff are from Reaper. I really enjoy their work. They've just launched a new line of unpainted plastics that I'm looking forward to checking out. Ogres for $2.49? Six kobolds for $3.49? Hell yes.

[helot2000]

I think you've well progressed from "starting to get the hang" to "mastery."

I pull a 5-6 out of 10 on my stuff on CMON. I have a long, long way to go. Thanks, though!

Yes, though, they're all 28mm (officially '25mm heroic' which is the same thing.) All the minis that aren't board game stuff are from Reaper. I really enjoy their work. They've just launched a new line of unpainted plastics that I'm looking forward to checking out. Ogres for $2.49? Six kobolds for $3.49? Hell yes.

Wow, the Reaper line is expansive and beautiful. And much better prices than GW. If I wasn't 100% in historical, I'd be sorely tempted by this lineup.

The fact that you're brave enough to post on CMON says volumes. Keep up the good work and maybe you and I can keep this thread from going years between posts!

[Blackhawk]

Wow, the Reaper line is expansive and beautiful. And much better prices than GW. If I wasn't 100% in historical, I'd be sorely tempted by this lineup.

To be honest, the prices aren't cheaper than GW. It is GW that is more expensive than almost anything else on the market. Some of their stuff is double the normal market price for equivalent materials and quality. I actually gave up GW and Warhammer for Reaper and Warlord (Reaper's miniatures rules.) I got tired of their attitude, their refusal to play nice with retailers who wouldn't be their bitch, and their insistence on re-releasing their games every two years in such a way as to force fans to repeatedly re-buy their whole collections.

[Turtle]

Some of my recent Warmachine stuff.

[hepcat]

The owner of our local gameshop keeps trying to convince me to get involved in this game. He's an avid player and has often offered to teach me the game. But every time I see the starter kit they just released sitting there with a 99.99 price tag on it, I shudder.

Ah well, I'll just keep playing the lotto.

[hentzau]

The owner of our local gameshop keeps trying to convince me to get involved in this game. He's an avid player and has often offered to teach me the game. But every time I see the starter kit they just released sitting there with a 99.99 price tag on it, I shudder.

Ah well, I'll just keep playing the lotto.

I'll get my Tharks and Helimuites painted up this summer and we'll have a GASLIGHT bash sometime.

[Blackhawk]

I've heard lots of good things about it from lots of smart folks, although I've never played myself.

Some great painting there, by the way.

[hepcat]

I know its bad form to be the only one who keeps posting in this thread but I just can't help myself.

Not at all. I believe everyone enjoys the posts.

[Kelric]

Wargaming and miniatures are my guilty pleasure that I don't indulge in. Wish I could.

[helot2000]

Turtle, I've seen your work before and these guys are up to your usual standard of excellence! I'm not familiar with Warmachine but it looks you use a common color/style to tie figures together and it really works. Clearly, you have a good eye for color. I especially like the Jade Green gems on the one figure and the freehanded designs. Do you get to take these guys out on a tabletop and play?

I love painting miniatures but I also really like getting something I've painted out on the tabletop. Even if I get my butt kicked, at least I can count on some stranger commenting on how nice my army looks. I've been a history fan and reader for almost all my life so thats what I game. I've been painting and playing Field of Glory, which is a rule set for re-creating ancient and medieval battles. The first time I met up with the local FoG group at a local gaming store, I tried to prove my bona fides by telling a story about Archimedes and the siege of Syracuse. The guy I told it to proceeded to expound on my story for the next 15 min. and put me to shame. That's when I knew I had found a new home!

Kelric, I know there is a ton of miniature gaming in your fine city. The tough part is deciding if/when to pull the trigger. You don't have to be an ace painter to participate. In fact, most of the figures you'll see at your local gaming club or store will be simply painted, if at all. Many times, I see the Warhammer guys fielding battles with unpainted figures on both sides. A lot of guys don't even paint so that's not a requirement either. If you really have an interest, find a group that is playing something that seems interesting to you. Most groups will front you figures or armies while you learn the rules and figure out if the "system" is for you. if you were in the Twin Cities, I could set you up but Boston is a little bit of a drive from here.

[YellowKing]

This thread has inspired me to start back painting my Mansions of Madness minis. Great work.

[Chaosraven]

I have a 40k Deathwing army sitting in storage next to the unfinished Tau. If only I knew some people around here to play with that aren't total douchebags.

[hepcat]

I have a 40k Deathwing army sitting in storage next to the unfinished Tau. If only I knew some people around here to play with that aren't total douchebags.

I was going to offer to move up near you, but then you had to add that last part.

[Fretmute]

I have a 40k Deathwing army sitting in storage next to the unfinished Tau. If only I knew some people around here to play with that aren't total douchebags.

That's the problem with any race but SM/Chaos. Too many figs. I haven't even played since third edition . . . it's my understanding that they lowered the point cost on everything. My spider sense tells me that it was done to make folks buy more figs in order to field their 1500 point army.

[Boudreaux]

I'm in the middle of painting all my minis for Wrath of Ashardalon. I don't typically go for super-high quality, just good enough to enhance the game without demanding hours and hours of work. I'll have to try my hand at taking some photos to post.

[Turtle]

There's several techniques you can try using an airbrush that will drastically speed up painting large armies of similar looking figures, like space marines.

I don't actually play any games involving those, but I still have a very expensive airbrush to do some work that would be just too time consuming by brush.

As much as I love to paint my miniatures to a very high standard, it's not my primary.

Oh, and take a look at:
http://www.miniaturementor.com/" target="_blank

For anyone who is interested, they have very high quality painting videos that are meant to show you how to go from an intermediate painter to advanced, or just how to get started with some more advanced techniques if you're a beginner.

The best thing is that since the videos are so close in, you can see not only where he's applying paint, but exactly how much paint and what pressure or direction of the stroke with the brush. You'd be surprised at how little paint you apply with some advanced techniques. You're putting on layers that are almost invisible to the naked eye, but as soon as you place a few strokes it starts to blend to the new color you chose.

[Blackhawk]

Miniature Mentor is fantastic, but the videos do get a little pricey. The basic video, at $30, is very much worth it, though, although the focus is more for art painting then for gaming. As an alternative, there are a couple of YouTube channels about painting that have great content.

GirlPainting and The Painting Clinic are both good.

[Turtle]

Yep, any yahoo painting tutorial is also great.

However, one thing I have to stress is that, if you're looking to get really good blends and high quality painting, it can be beneficial to have a full HD video up close, and with good lighting to demonstrate things.

Most people who want to get miniatures on the table and looking good should be fine enough with youtube stuff.

I used to have a horrible, frustrating time figuring out how to get blends until I saw an HD video that showed that, when painting to a very high quality, the amount of paint on the brush is a small really watered down amount that you apply in layers. Not only that, the video showed the right kind of pressure to put on the stroke, and which direction to stroke in order to prevent the thin and hard to work with paint from pooling in the wrong areas.

[helot2000]

My favorite thing right now is 15mm Ancients. 15mm is smallish. For those that don't paint, its a bit taller than a penny. It's a good scale for masses of troops, good value for $ and also its what our club plays. I based this Pontic army for an excellent rules Impetus. In Impetus, a unit is put on a single base and that allows you the opportunity to do some cool things like 3D basing!

I've finished up a Pontic army recently of about 180 figures. Holman probably knows who they were but I admit, I did not know much about them until I read the excellent book: The Poison King.They were a mercenary army and fielded all sorts of troops from across Asia Minor. These guys are Arachosian Horse.

Since this Pontic army was at war with the Romans (3 campaigns!), I had to put a dead Roman on this base for a Scythed Chariot.

Paphlagonian Foot

Bastarnae wielding the dreaded two handed Falx sword, which could cut right through a Legionnaires shield and also cut off an arm in a single blow.

Scythian horse archers. These fellows lived in the saddle:


Because ancient armies require a lot of figures, I paint en mass. I've painted almost 600 figures in 2012 for Mid Republican, Pontic and Gallic armies but with summer, its time to give my paintbrushes a rest.

[hepcat]

I haven't painted them and I just started assembling them, but the 1/72 scale minis from my copy of Samurai Battles are friggin' sweet lookin'. Unfortunately it took me an hour to put together 10 of them...only 122 more to go.

[miltonite]

I am bumping this thread because I painted my first 2 minis last weekend. I am using the "How to Paint" Reaper kit. Comes with 11 paints 2 brushes and 3 minis, as well as a book on the basics. I bought a set of 10 Kolinsky brushes that I have not yet used.

Here are my quick pictures taken with my cell phone while still on my pill bottle. They may not be great but for mini 1 and 2 I am happy.




(I did fix the shield after the picture was taken)

I will happily take critiques and tips. I am reading the other thread as well.

[Zarathud]

Pretty good start. Looks like you will want to try adding a wash to make the details pop more, especially on the skeleton.

[Blackhawk]

On the first few miniatures, the technique you are trying to learn is 'put the right colors in the right places.' You're doing a great job of that. Keep it up, watch some videos (GirlPainting, Dr. Faust's Painting Clinic), read. Add a technique at the time. Washes are great advice. I use Vallejo washes. A sepia wash on that skeleton followed with some light drybrushing of white would make a huge impact.

One tip: Keep using the brushes you're using. You don't want to be learning to paint with Kolinsky. Get better brush control, learn to use brush soap (I recommend The Masters) and preserve the brushes, then switch to the top-quality stuff.

[Isgrimnur]

You could always come to North Dallas for some more lessons.

[hepcat]

My first thought when viewing those pics posted by Miltonite was "Wow, great job on all those!". My second thought was "Man, that's a lot of medication!".

[hentzau]

While cleaning out my gaming room in preparation for painting/new floors/new shelves, this happened last night:

[Blackhawk]

This has happened to me many times.

You have three options:
~Scrape the old glue out, throw new glue at it, and probably touch up some chipped paint (good)
~As above, but add pins (better)
~Start from scratch - strip the miniature, put it together with new glue, pins, and maybe green stuff, and repaint it as new (best, but with obvious drawbacks in effort)

[hentzau]

The paint actually survived pretty well. I looked it over and didn't see any chips on in (a miracle, since it was about a 4 foot fall onto a concrete floor). I may try and pin it this time, this was one of the first minis that I ever painted, so I am loath to strip it. I like it despite it being some very early painting and having little to no shading.

[miltonite]

Washed and dry brushed my skeleton again. I am still not super happy with how he is turning out. Also fixed Orc Shield.

[Zarathud]

Personally I think the skeleton looks much better, but the model doesn't have a lot of detail to pop. Maybe add a few highlights to the head and arm/femur.

[Blackhawk]

I'd say it is an improvement, too. What kind of wash did you use?

[miltonite]

I just have a citadel ink wash. I have not bought much paint or many different washes yet.

[Blackhawk]

Ah. I don't have any experience with theirs. I will say that choosing wash color is an important step. It looks like yours may have been black or dark gray. I did the same piece using a white base coat, a sepia wash (Vallejo's), and white drybrushing.