I have just been tarting up some 12mm ACW, so my question pertains really to 10mm and 12mm.

I thought things looked quite good, but I noticed a little bit of stray 'union blue' on other parts of the figure - I got a small magnifying glass with an LED underlight ....... shock - horror, I saw allsorts, in particular Union caps had the blue spilling into some of the hair and tunic lapels catching flesh tones on the chin, then some blue on a few backpacks and so on and on and on.

Now my point is that as I painted them (in rather a speedy way) things seemed ok.

Two things seem to be in play here, one is that the figures are small, so at a gaming distance of 18" plus, these things are virtually not visible, but secondly, they are not visible to my aging eyes and so maybe younger eyes would see the mistakes and digital photography would certainly not be kind.

So I now find myself, diving back in for a further round of tidying up and using the magnifying glass to catch the problem areas on each stand.

in some ways that feel ridiculous, since I don't really see the errors anyway, but at the same time I can't enjoy the figure the same if it is untidy.

How much care do others here take on these little lads? and at what point does the 'it doesn't matter' sentiment kick in?

I feel your pain Norm.

I find I am painting stuff, being pleased with the result, taking a photo, seeing the painting all blown up,  and then being rather less pleased, for similar reasons to you.

I think we should be happy with our first results. But the problem is as soon as you have seen the faults, you know they are there and feel you have to fix them.

Especially with 10mm (and smaller) its about painting units, and its the look of the finished unit we should be aiming for, rather than perfection on finished figures.

Nik Harwood was a great proponent of basing the figures, then painting them, and if you couldn't get to a bit then it didn't matter. And everyone liked the look of his armies. I can't bring myself to this - as I think there are often inaccessible bits, that are visible, but I do understand the approach.

Depends on the painter/person. I always go back and touch up. Can't stand mistakes (but then I am an engineer).

I like to do as good a job as possible. Yes, I will tidy up 10mm, no I won't tidy 2 and 3mm.

I tidy up mistakes that are big enough to notice at an arms length.

I'm more likely to do it with single figures though...

As Fred said once you have seen a fault you always see it

One tip I picked up here that really cut down my need to touch up was to use a wet brush to immediately clean any paint that had gone where it shouldn't. I paint using a magnifying glass and still do touch ups.

I find the need for neatness depends on the contrast between the colours and position:

• some blue on a few backpacks, I wouldn't worry about if the packs are similar in tone
• union blue spilling onto dark hair, I would touch up if it is prominent
• tunic lapels catching flesh tones on the chin, I would touch up because of the contrast and flesh tones make the figure come alive

A wash hides a multitude of sins

As Fred said once you have seen a fault you always see it

A tip from my calligraphy tutor re mistakes and knowing they are there. while you know they are her and your eyes immediately go to them another person who doesn't know wil not notice them so if not apparent form table distance I wouldn't worry as no one else will probably notice them.

I only touch up noticeable mistakes, such as uniform colour on straps etc. I also paint figures when they are based and it works fine for me.

Quote from: petercooman on 06 January 2017, 05:53:47 PM
I tidy up mistakes that are big enough to notice at an arms length.

I'm more likely to do it with single figures though...

The same here, my Polish Hussars look great massed together with the flags and pennants, but close up not so good.

Cheers
Ian

This helps to explain why I am one of the slowest painters in the world. I paint before I base, I'm always making mistakes so have to correct them. And when I take photographs of the little guys in action, then zoom in (bad idea), I see more mistakes!  

I wouldn't say I'm a perfectionist .... but only because I can't paint to perfection!

I would say for wargaming only, a neat paint job shouldn't matter but for wargaming / collecting, it does.

I have gone back to priming in grey then a black wash. This defines all the areas of the figures and then it's like painting by numbers colouring in each bit between the lines

i used to fret about it a lot - straps couldn't bleed onto the uniform, pants and jackets couldn't overlap, etc.
When I realized you couldn't see it from more than 6" away, I stopped fretting about it as much.

I also realized that after painting 1000+ Union or Confederate figures, I couldn't even tell you which units had the messy figures.

On the painting table, every stray brush stroke is like the Mona Lisa with a neon mustache. On the gaming table, it's just another of Seurat's dots.

Yes, of course!

Quote from: Shecky on 06 January 2017, 11:51:56 PM
i used to fret about it a lot - straps couldn't bleed onto the uniform, pants and jackets couldn't overlap, etc.
When I realized you couldn't see it from more than 6" away, I stopped fretting about it as much.

I also realized that after painting 1000+ Union or Confederate figures, I couldn't even tell you which units had the messy figures.

On the painting table, every stray brush stroke is like the Mona Lisa with a neon mustache. On the gaming table, it's just another of Seurat's dots.

I remember what Adrian Stokes and Kenneth Clark said to me, the last time we played Shin Hanga loyalists against an alliance of Sienese primitives and early mannerists....

Did you HAVE to let Picasso design these dice?

If I notice a mistake, I certainly feel I have to go back and correct it.

For me, its all part of maintaining that initial enthusiasm for a project.   
If I'm really happy with the results, I'll carry on with the army.   If
they look rubbish, it kills enthusiasm.   Thats why, for me, I would
rather take a bit longer and be happier with them.

Each to his own though.   You are quite right that much of this is
just not visible when you see the units on the table.   I don't want
to feel that I could have done better.