How much is too much?

[Techno]

 

I reckon she was almost a 'one-off'.
"Do you mind if I smoke ?"

Cheers - Phil

[cameronian]

Spend half the time on the figures and twice the time on the board, the ensemble effect will be more than gratifying.

[fsn]

[Leman]

Well that's just made my afternoon.   

[d_Guy]

A hottie in her prime! I thought you meant to type "comb-over" (which was puzzling) but, no, you meant "come over". Not aware of an American equivalent - Jim Backus maybe.

[Orcs]

I think I paint to a reasonable standard. (I get occasional positive comments.)  BUT I paint to get them looking good on the table as I am foremost a gamer

10mm

Figures get block painting and a wash. very occasionally a highlight
Vehicles get a block paint, wash and two highlights

15mm

Figures get more careful  block painting and a wash. and a highlight
Vehicles get a block paint, wash and two highlights

20mm

Figures get  careful  block painting and a wash. and a highlight
Vehicles get a block paint, wash and two highlights plus weathering

28mm

Figures get Careful block painting, basic shading and highlighting plus a wash

Faces in all scales get a wash of the appropriate colour to show the shape of eyes etc

I only paint eyes on big monsters

The  main thing to remember is a a good base hides a multitude of sins. 

I know this as I have some Orcs that are the same models as most of my army but painted by a really, really good painter. With multiple levels of shading and highlighting and super detailing   I have based them the same as the rest of my orcs and Sunjesters. at 2 feet you cannot tell whose are whose.

[RAwarrior]

For me to much is when I get bored and don't finish units or it becomes a chore. Being new to the hobby this year I've noticed not only better results, as I become more experienced but it happens in half the time (mostly).

[Leman]

To much or not to much, that is the question. It's starting to get too much for me. FK, help!

[FierceKitty]

Spend some quality time away from your computer.

[Ckudola]

I think it's possible to go overboard. I have a friend who treats every model in his army like its a Golden Demon entry. Consequently he's been working on the same army for years and might get it done this year.

I put a high level of effort into my figs but I use every cheat and fast technique I can find. For example I tried doing a NMM thing for my dark elder jet bikes. I spent way to long layering up from dark gray to white. It looks good (but not amazing). I then saw that some guy recommended that you paint your blade with leadbelcher, wash in nuln oil and then dry brush silver for the NMM look. It took much, much less time and frankly it looks better.

I say cheat where you can, a fully painted army will always be more impressive then one really nicely painted fig.

[Obsidian23]

Hi all,

Sorry I have not been on much, lots of travel abroad these past months.  I have my Malburians and should get a chance to paint away.  As I have mentioned when I first joined.  I am more a painter than a gamer, so for me it's all about the painting.  If you remember I'd done almost 300 28mm Napoleonics in a month, which includes, 3 levels of highlighting, washes, etc etc.  So here you 5c worth.


1.  Simple techniques, find and try simple techniques, simple because it will be quick and easy and a technique which will be easy to remember and duplicate.
2. The factory process.  Do a unit at a twine, no matter the number, 12, 24, 30 or 100.  Ok maybe not 100 unless it's 6mm😛.
3. Keep track of your paint compilations, eg for red I always use the same set of 3, so I am not wasting time selecting or remembering and it helps with the technique keeping it simple.
4. Lastly and probably most importantly, be neat.  Stay within the detail.  A simple paint job without highlight, shade if it is clean, crisp neat work, looks better than a highlighted shaded figure that is done going outside the detail.

Anyway just some thoughts.

Cheers

These simple rules men's I can put out a 30 figure 10 mm unit in one night, 28mm in a week.  Without neglecting my family, the dog or the lawn mowing.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

I often end up with 70-100 at a time, especially FPW!

[paulr]

Well said Obsidian 

[Last Hussar]

It's like anything - the law of diminishing returns.  The better you get, the less improvement you get for 'x' hours.  It's like Zeno's paradox of Achilles and the tortoise- always getting closer, but always a bit left to do.

[DanJ]

somewhere in the dim and distant past (possibly in the Battle magazine) I read an article about painting 25mm figures (that's all we had back then) in which the author said you shouldn't spend more than 1 minute per colour pass per figure.  That is if you have 10 figures you should be able to do all the brown, blue, red bits on all the figures in 10 minutes per colour.

It struck me as a good idea and although it's difficult to equate to 10mm figures I'm currently painting some Pendraken 10mm arabs in 40 man units and recon anything more than 30 minutes for a complete pass of a colour is taking too long. The 40 units are taking about 4 hours each on average which I'm happy with.  However the basing is taking longer than it should,

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Gawd! Mine take days! Then there is the basing...

[Leman]

Basing is taking longer than it should? How long is a piece of string. If at the end of basing it looks the way you want it to then that's how long it should have taken. I've seen the way some folk do quick basing and it looks appalling - basing didn't take long enough, at least to satisfy my eye.

[d_Guy]

I am a member of the short string school 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

'Frayed knot!