Fighting the Gray Tide (Miniature Painting)

[Clint_L]

I've been mostly working on terrain of late, but I think I'm going to get back to miniatures for awhile - my "pile of opportunity" has grown since a few Kickstarters have delivered, though mostly I try to keep it from getting too big. Anyway, I just got around to this Balor from the recent Dungeons and Lasers KS; it's not quite done but I like where it's going - the flame effects look good, I think. Damn thing's wingspan is almost a foot, so storing it is going to suck!

 

[Clint_L]

As to what I do with the stuff: I build really elaborate sets for my home games, and then put everything back into storage, which takes up a large number of carefully labeled bins across several long shelves in the garage. I like to be prepared for almost any set I'd like to build, so I have a fairly ridiculous amount of terrain, in particular, and around several thousand painted miniatures.

 

[MGibster]

The long and the short of it is I've got to pare down my collection and perhaps change the focus of my projects. I first started painting miniatures many years ago to support my gaming endeavors. But the truth is that I spend far more time painting than I do gaming. In many cases, I'm painting miniatures for games I've never played or will likely never play again. I haven't played a game of Warhammer since 2023, and despite having at least three completely painted armies, GW makes it such a hassle to keep up with rules and point costs that I'm not inclined to pick it up any time soon. I'm going to start by packing up my Necron Army and attempting to sell it. I plan on setting the price rather low in order to move the entire lot in a short period of time. From there I'll figure out what to get rid of next.

I'm not prepared to wholesale abandon miniature painting for the purposes of gaming. I'll stick with Star Wars Legion for a while as well as minis for fantasy RPGs like D&D for a while at least. But I plan on expanding to other projects. I just purchased a 75mm scale skeleton bust from Mindwork Studio this weekend, if I like painting it maybe I'll get more busts. The larger scale is nice considering my aging eyes.

 

[Marc Radle]

I've been mostly working on terrain of late, but I think I'm going to get back to miniatures for awhile - my "pile of opportunity" has grown since a few Kickstarters have delivered, though mostly I try to keep it from getting too big. Anyway, I just got around to this Balor from the recent Dungeons and Lasers KS; it's not quite done but I like where it's going - the flame effects look good, I think. Damn thing's wingspan is almost a foot, so storing it is going to suck!

View attachment 418187

Wow, that looks great!!

 

[MGibster]

Anyway, I just got around to this Balor from the recent Dungeons and Lasers KS; it's not quite done but I like where it's going - the flame effects look good, I think. Damn thing's wingspan is almost a foot, so storing it is going to suck!

That's a good looking demon. I've got a handful of D&L miniatures and I've been happy with all of them.

 

[MGibster]

It’s time for the big project. A few years ago, my FLGS had the Gargantuan Ancient Red Dragon from WizKids on sale for roughly $200. With some trepidation, I made the purchase primarily because I thought I'd kick myself years down the road if I did. I guess it was FOMO. I've placed a Reaper miniature at its base for scale, but at it's peak it's about 18 inches high.

I intend to enter this into a modeling competition in 2026, approximately one year from now, so this is a long term project. And like any project, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, so I'm going to have to think about this one. There are three areas of concern.


Artistic Considerations: Color choice, patterns, base construction.

Logistics: Assembly, filling in gaps, pinning to base, construction site.

Costs: Paints, basing materials, miscellaneous.

Proof of Concept



Artistic Considerations: It's a red dragon, so overall color choice is decided at least. What I'd like is a metallic red color, and the Archon Studio dragon I painted earlier this year, pictured above, was my proof of concept. I like the basic color scheme, though I intend on adding several other shades of red, though I'm unlikely to use orange for the plates on its belly, and while I want the wings to have a fleshy appearance, I'll likely try something a little different. I am considering different reds for bright, shiny scales and another for the fleshy areas of the body.

For the base, my plan is to have the dragon standing on part of its treasure horde. That means piles of gold coins, gems, treasure chests, art objects, magic weapons, a few dead adventures, dragon eggs (hatchlings?), and maybe the dragon's pet cat. My thought is to make it visually interesting so every time you look at it you find something you didn't notice before. But I don't want it to be so interesting that it takes your attention away from the dragon. That will likely be difficult given how big the dragon is though.

Logistics: Did I mention this dragon was large? It's so large (that's what she said) I can't paint this in my spray booth, so I need to set up a special area to get this done. I need a weather forecast before I even think about painting this sucker. I also need to consider how to best assemble the model. The wings don't quite fit as snugly as I'd like. I may be able to heat the connecting parts of the wings in hot water and get a better fit, but if not, I'm in for a bit of sculpting. I'm also going to have to pin this dragon to the base, otherwise I'll be in constant dread it's going to break apart under it's own weight.

Costs: Obviously the bulk of the costs are already paid. I already own the model and I've got the painting tools. I do need more paints, and the 4-5 Turbo Dork reds will cost me approximately $45. For the base, I'm going to see if I can use gold glitter for the coins, rhinestones for gems, and beads as treasure which I expect will only be about $20 in total. I'll probably purchase some more recognizable treasures like chests, art objects, etc., etc., but I don't have an estimate for cost. I've got all the supplies I need to pin the model to the base, so I'm good there.

That's my big plan for now. I'll update periodically of course.

 

[Clint_L]

Painting it in metallics would make me nervous; I find it much harder to keep texture with metallic paints because of how much they reflect light - your proof of concept is well painted but looks kind of glossy to me, for example. Could maybe approach it like a weathered vehicle?

 

[MGibster]

Painting it in metallics would make me nervous; I find it much harder to keep texture with metallic paints because of how much they reflect light - your proof of concept is well painted but looks kind of glossy to me, for example. Could maybe approach it like a weathered vehicle?

I've settled on the Turbo Dorks metallics specifically because I want a bright, shining beacon of destruction glittering in the light. I expect to use an oil wash, which will dull it down a bit, and I may use some non-metallics for some of the fleshier areas of the body, tail, limbs, and of course the wing membranes.

 

[el-remmen]

As I have undoubtedly said before, I am definitely a "table-ready" guy and the goal I am trying to hit when painting minis is, looks decent when in use on the table. I have painted a ton of minis with this ethos, starting in 2020 (but I already had a collection of a couple of hundred mostly unpainted minis that I started in the 90s). I still buy minis fairly regularly, but generally what I have a coming need for. For example, despite having a full case of just goblins, I realized I have basically no warg riders, so I will be hunting for some (there is an old ral partha set I used to have I'd ideally love to have again - but these days I mostly buy on Etsy). So that couple of hundred is now over 1000. Yeah, efficient storage is an issue.

I am the same way about terrain. It only needs to look good on the table. I prefer function over form and try to use as much recycled packaging and the like as possible (though I have bought a substantial amount of XPS foam in the last 4 years). I am currently in the midst of what I have dubbed #scapfest2025, where rather than buying or acquiring more crafting materials, I have to find uses for what I do have in making stuff.

This is because space is getting to be an issue. In addition to several hard cases of minis, I have several display cases for easy access, two big mini storage travel bags, a lamp with shelves, and a few other boxes of minis, and more terrain/scenery stuff than I can easily enumerate, much of it in and atop a three-drawer dresser in the game room, but also in plastic containers under tables, in a back corner of the basement by the sump pump and water heater, propped up atop a metal cabinet full of board games.

I have built several "one-time" use pieces that are too big to keep storing efficiently and too specific to use more than a couple of times with the same folks - that I still find hard to part with.

And I have a ton of junk I've collected that has looked cool and kept around for future possible use. I try to purge that stuff regularly, but it can get overwhelming. I have never had a pile of shame when it comes to minis once I decided to paint, because I tend to paint whatever I get right away. But when it comes to collecting foam packaging, boxes and other cardboard, spools, poopbag cardboard cores, pipecleaners, coffee cans, etc. . . I have more than I will ever reasonably use to build and am working to only keep something when I have a specific and immediate use for it and pushing myself to build modular generic things rather than big specific things.

I am addressing some storage issue by redoing my game room (there is one wall that is more like a plywood divider put up by a previous owner that is warped and useless) to make one wall into shelves/cubes for storing my gaming stuff.

I am not ready to get rid of stuff yet, but my hope is that when that time comes I will find other gamers to pass at least some of it on to - like donating my scatter terrain grassy hills to the local game shop to use on their wargaming tables. But what I'd really love, while I am still actively making this stuff, is to find folks to swap with and give things to now. Unfortunately, while my home group appreciates all this stuff, none of them run games or have the hobby crafting bug.

 

[MGibster]

As I have undoubtedly said before, I am definitely a "table-ready" guy and the goal I am trying to hit when painting minis is, looks decent when in use on the table.

I think we can all agree this is the noblest of miniature painting goals!

For example, despite having a full case of just goblins, I realized I have basically no warg riders, so I will be hunting for some (there is an old ral partha set I used to have I'd ideally love to have again - but these days I mostly buy on Etsy).

Here's my Ral Partha white whale. It's an ogre mage and it came with the option of holding a damsel in distress or a sword. A friend of mine had this one in the 1990s and I'd love to get my hands on it again. This was most definitely not painted by me.

I am the same way about terrain. It only needs to look good on the table. I prefer function over form and try to use as much recycled packaging and the like as possible (though I have bought a substantial amount of XPS foam in the last 4 years).

I think the biggest difference between modelers and miniature painters is miniatures are functional. i.e. They're designed to be used for gaming purposes and need to be able to withstand the vicissitudes of frequently being touched by greasy fingers, being knocked down, rubbed up against other things, etc., etc. which is not something models typically deal with on the regular. And it strikes me this is especially true for terrain.

I have built several "one-time" use pieces that are too big to keep storing efficiently and too specific to use more than a couple of times with the same folks - that I still find hard to part with.

It's not even the money spent, it's the effort you put into creating these things and probably the memories you have attached to them.

And I have a ton of junk I've collected that has looked cool and kept around for future possible use. I try to purge that stuff regularly, but it can get overwhelming. I have never had a pile of shame when it comes to minis once I decided to paint, because I tend to paint whatever I get right away.

Last year I actually did throw a few miniatures away that I knew I'd never paint. Don't worry, they weren't particularly good miniatures, mostly WizKids and Reaper Bones. Early Reaper Bones. It was tough tossing them, but it's gotten progressively easy to get rid of things.

I am not ready to get rid of stuff yet, but my hope is that when that time comes I will find other gamers to pass at least some of it on to - like donating my scatter terrain grassy hills to the local game shop to use on their wargaming tables.

Rather than throw away a lot of the miniature I've worked on, I will probably end up either giving more of them away to my gamer friends or selling them at a deeply discounted price when my FLGS has their mini trading day. The problem with my FLGS is that hardly anyone wants to exchange minis unless it's GW stuff.