The other day I came across the phrase “play with gray” on Reddit, a reference to playing miniatures games without, or before, painting the minis. It immediately resonated with me. The state of the miniature union I’ve pretty much stopped painting minis. The last minis I recall finishing were a couple of Blood Angels Infiltrators […]
I didn’t paint much in 2023. I took stock in the new year and realized that after three years of painting minis for 40k, Kill Team, and BattleTech, I’d played just ten games using those minis (three 40k, six KT, one BT). Now, a big part of figuring out that I secretly enjoyed painting minis
Sailing out of the painting doldrums with Blood Bowl Read More »
Here’s a little old/new paint job comparison. It’s not night and day, but I can see the benefit of experience! From left to right, the Infiltrators are July 2023, May 2020, July 2023; Chaplains are July 2020, July 2023. The biggest changes are attempting proper edge highlighting, pin washes rather than all-over washes on armor,
Hobby philosophy: old and new paint jobs Read More »
I committed to learning to pin wash when I started painting BattleTech minis again, and since my first outing I’ve added it to my toolkit. That also means it’s time for an updated Blood Angels color guide, since pin washing is a big part of my Space Marine painting process now. The pin wash on
New baseline Blood Angels color guide Read More »
“I’ll get to play with these” has been a powerful motivator since I got rolling in 2020, and I’ve always speculated that “I played and I like/didn’t like X, I need to paint some Y for my next game” would be similarly powerful. Kill Team has produced that cycle for me, except instead of X
The paint-play-paint motivation cycle (and a Chaplain color guide) Read More »
I like maxims and I like self-reflection. This post combines the two: a little look at some of the maxims that have served me well over the past three years of painting, and some reflection on them — especially in light of actually getting to play. Any progress is progress Since I got properly into
Miniature painting maxims that have helped me for the past three years Read More »
I snapped these back in January, of stuff I finished in December of 2022, and then forgot about them until now. Sector Mechanicus dome/stack I had a lot of fun building this piece. All of these sets interconnect so well that it’s satisfying to play around and find ways to work in “off-book” connections. Ferratonic
Catching up on lightbox pics: 40k terrain and a mantis Read More »
Thinking of painting goals for 40k solely in terms of 2,000-point armies can be daunting. I’m not sure why I’ve never committed to this simple early goal instead: finish a Combat Patrol. 500 points is a much less daunting prospect, and it still leaves room to paint a variety of models. I have 2,000 points
New plan: Let the Wookiee (er, Combat Patrol) win Read More »
Hark! A wild round-up appears. I usually find writing housekeeping posts super boring, but things have been quiet here and I wanted to post a little update on the irons I have in the fire. (This post wasn’t boring to write.) Godsbarrow and the Gilded Lands book I haven’t posted any new Godsbarrow material here
Housekeeping updates Read More »
I haven’t played BattleTech in 20 years, and if you’d told me a few years ago — when I started enjoying miniature painting, and painting Warhammer 40k stuff every day — that my first-ever game using miniatures I’d painted would be BattleTech, or would be played with my kiddo, Lark, I wouldn’t have believed you.
Pure joy: playing BattleTech with my kiddo Read More »
