[unofficial weekender] It’s downhill from here

[sundancer 43706xp 1]

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First time visitor to OTT? Then please introduce yourself in the New Member Thread and look around in the Project System. Then come back and read on…

https://www.beastsofwar.com/forums/topic/introduce-yourselves-new-member-thread/

https://www.beastsofwar.com/project/

Read all of this before you start as it will save you any trouble later.

First thing you must do is make your “pledge”. It can be anything gaming related, big or small, and you don’t even have to finish it. No, in here, happiness is the road. Have fun doing whatever it is, but it is not a race. Accompany your work with pictures or we might think you are do something sinister and just using us for cover.

You are also presented with a few questions. It is to get the conversation started. Try and keep your answers ‘conversational’, no text speak, and certainly no “basically”. This is how we all get to know each other better. While you are here feel free to tell us a story, show a picture, joke, tales of love or woe, or just add your own little bit. This is the whole point…in here it is just us.

If you have never taken part before we may bark and bite, but we also like a cuddle! It is all done in the best possible taste and it is character building. feel free to give as good as you get.

A few other things to note: NO RELIGION & NO POLITICS! Glasgow pub rules are in effect. If you need to make a better point then it is fine, but don’t take the piss. And always keep it civil. This includes no philosophy, no home computer culture wars.

Play plenty of music to go with your work. Loud and through proper speakers. Write us a playlist of things we might not have heard before.

Now, after all of that there is only one ‘real’ rule in here and it cannot be broken: NO DICKS! (Exceptions may be made for little fighting men with little plastic/resin/metal wieners)

And don’t forget the highlights of the weekend: The Weekender on Friday and XLBS on Sunday. And the little show that is The Hobby Hangout over at twitch.tv

If you fancy to see some nice WIP pictures go to the WAYPN thread https://www.beastsofwar.com/forums/topic/what-are-you-painting-now-2025-edition/

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Question of the week:

• Obviously we’ve passed the the first half of 2025. How is your hobby progress? Are you happy with what you’ve achieved so far?

And now back to the show.

[sundancer 43706xp 1]

Pledge: getting my entry for the PaintComp done!

Answer: I think I’m good. Played some games of Battletech and started a Frostgrave campaign. Still dreading the immanent release of new Star Wars Legion stuff. The Wallet already whimpers.

Music? Music!

[grantinvanman 5838xp 2]

Pledge: keep on with my Eldar commission.

Hobby Progress? I’ve painted more minis this year than in the last decade, combined. Sadly, all have been for commissions! But my collection of stuff to paint for myself later keeps growing.

Music:

[blinky465 17178xp 2]

I’ve done pretty much zero “hobby” at all this year. Until this week.
And I printed some minis and I went right back to the start – I went back to layer-shade-highlight with regular acrylics and really liked the finish. But, jeez, it took sooooo long. I tried the same minis with zenith + speed paints and although the finish isn’t quite as nice, the entire process was much more enjoyable.

So I think I’ve found my style – and I’m happy with that.

I’m determined to get two Blood Bowl teams finished over the coming weeks. One humans, one orcs.
But overall, just happy to have got my paints out of the loft and started splodging some colour around. So, yeah, pretty happy!

Music – this is still a great tune even after 40 years

 

[zoidpinhead 12699xp 2]

Pledge: Paint another section of the Draugr and also get my entry for the PaintComp done.

Answer:  I love a midyear review.  I have a notebook where I keep track of projects and painting and write one in there.  I also participate in the Hobby Pledges thread here and put a summary there too.  For those that haven’t read that I had finished 213 miniatures at the midyear point which is about average.  I have a personal target to paint at least 365 miniatures per year and unually manage at least that many.  I also keep track of miniature purchases both unpainted (219) and painted (104), and disposals (611 unpainted and 598 painted).  This lets me keep track of the pile of potential which showed a net drop of 605 miniatures which is pretty good.  I’m having a big clear out before I move.

[danlee 22589xp 2]

This week’s pledge is to dust my model cabinets and to paint up another 70mm figure to practice skin tones.

 

• Obviously we’ve passed the the first half of 2025. How is your hobby progress? Are you happy with what you’ve achieved so far? – My hobby target was more board gaming, and I’ve pretty much played a game a week so that’s going fine.

[sundancer 43706xp 1]

So I think I’ve found my style – and I’m happy with that.

@blinky465 That is great news. Having found your sweet spot between speed, efficiency and looks is very relaxing I find.

@zoidpinhead  213? oO You mad! XD

It’s Saturday. Time to do laundry.

[sundancer 43706xp 0]

Sunday already. The teenager is still asleep and I had a nice breakfast with the wife. XLBS has been watched and commented.

Will I paint some mini today? Maybe.

[blinky465 17178xp 0]

Are the two related?

Had a nice breakfast because the teenager was still asleep? 😁

[sundancer 43706xp 0]

She usually behaves but she still draws all the attention plus certain topics are best not for her ears yet 😉

[pagan8th 13339xp 2]

Pledge… paint more 0200 Hours stuff.

The year has gone ok. Not a huge amount of hobby progress in terms of completing, but I’m really happy with the Microarts Studio Normandy terrain I bought. Prepainted HDF and easy to assemble. Looks good on the table. I wanted some farm terrain for 0200 Hours and after assembling the first two kits I bought four more because I was so impressed.

Saw some acrylic paint pens on amazon last week. £17 with an discount code for 68 pens and decided to gamble. Some colours not ideal for miniatures, but on the quick test I did this morning they worked ok.

I didn’t have my glasses handy, so I probably missed some bits, but seemed work ok on top of the primer. Will need a wash of course. But coloured one Partizan in maybe 10 minutes with 5 colours and I couldn’t do that with a paint brush so quickly.

Might get me through some of those massive piles of primed plastics like my Afrika Korps where I’m looking more for speed than perfection.

Tried to put in the link, but it wouldn’t work. so search for “HYNEXLK Acrylic Paint Pens Paint Marker” and it’s the £19.99 one which has 15% discount voucher on the page.

[blinky465 17178xp 1]

Following on from the year zero idea in this week’s video – if you could only choose one line of paints, which would you choose?
If I were starting again from nothing (but with my accumulated knowledge to date) I’d buy individual paints instead of massive boxed sets, matching the colours I needed for the small skirmish army I was painting at the time (buying only kill team sized squads at most) and I’d tell myself I wouldn’t progress until I’d painted them up (even if to just a basic standard).

I’m loving the Army Painter range.
I hadn’t realised just how many paints I’d accrued until I got them out of the loft and found I’d putting most of them back; I’ve forty or fifty contrast paints but find if I have a speed paint version of the same colour (or very much near to it) I’ll always pick speed paint over contrast.

I just find speed paints more “silky”. It’s a feel thing. Sometimes I feel like I’m fighting contrast paints to get them to where I want them to go; Army Painter Speed Paints just seem to know where to flow! Over a zenith highlight (I tried slapchop but, man, what a ballache all that drybushing is!) speed paints, then some Army Painter Fanatic acrylics for edge highlighting and boom – done to a satisfying quality.

Like the recent cull I had on my unpainted minis, I’m thinking it’s time to cull a lot of my unused paints and focus only on those I actually enjoy painting with. For me, that’s the silky, smooth slop-it-on Speed Paints from Army Painter.  I know the standard response is typically “use whatever works best, don’t just stick to one range”. But if you were starting out, which range would you go to first?

[sundancer 43706xp 0]

I never bought “big boxes” of paints. I did buy two “themed sets” from Valejo back in the day but other than that I would stay mostly with Army Painter Warpaints and Speedpaints. Simply because they go well with my style and way of “getting shit done quick”.

But I’m anything but a good painter and I always try to make work what I have before spending money on anything new.

[grantinvanman 5838xp 1]

I don’t buy big boxes of paints. Waste of money.

I will buy sets of themed paints, sometimes.

Currently, I mostly use AK Gen 3. They’re fantastic. Apparently AK has a contrast type paint now which I would like to try. GW Contrast is hit and miss with being either fantastic or useless.

[zoidpinhead 12699xp 2]

@blinky465  I’m glad you have a style that works for you both in terms of final look and overall output.  I’ve settled on a very similar approach myself and am very happy with the volume of miniatures I can get done and onto the table.

Year Zero – Like blinky I’m a big fan of AP Speedpaints and did buy the big box when the 2.0 version came out and I didn’t regret it.  I’ve not used every single one yet but I’ve had a go with most of them.  If I were starting from nothing they would be top of the list but I’d still get a full range of standard acrylics – probably the Foundry range as it is already in the tri-part colour sets.  I might supplement with the AP Fanatic range as well for some of the brighter fantasy colours.  For metallics it has to be Darkstar Molten Metals – they are superb.  I’ve tried all sorts of metallics and these are the best I’ve found.  Also – Winsor & Newton Series 7 brushes ftw.

Pledge update:  I’m still plugging away at the latest Draugr and the July PaintComp entry but got distracted adding tattoos to these Slaine Gaesetae (NSFW obvs.):

These guys are all Speedpaints, with some LMBS shield transfers.

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