Forked Thread: WotC changes how D&D mini's are going to be sold.

[justanobody]

Forked from: WotC changes how D&D mini's are going to be sold.

Do people who paint miniatures put the same effort into painting their PC as one of a hundred orcs? I rather doubt it!

Cheers!

So for those that paint their own minis, lets hear it. Also those who look for a specific quality of a type of mini.

Which type of mini should be given the highest priority for painting and why?

Common
Uncommon
Rare
Fixed
PC
NPC
Monster
None/All
etc

I don't really want a poll, so just gave some ideas of type of minis. So ultimately if you had to choose which and why, and what role do you play in the game? DM/GM/etc or Player/whatever.

I got real curious about this, and didn't want to clog the other thread with a discussion simply on paint quality.

Is Mr. B correct?

 

[jasonbostwick]

I paint minis for shared use in roleplaying (I primarily DM) and wargaming (mostly Warmachine). The motivations behind the time I spend painting a mini tend to be about the same for both uses.

Basically, the work I put into painting a mini correlates definitely with the amount of time I can see it being used on the table.

PC minis definitely get the highest priority - they're on the table every session, like a warcaster mini in Warmachine, so they get the layering, the highlighting, and the fancy basework.
Trooper units (mooks, things that would be akin to .50 cent hobgoblin commons in DDM) get the least priority for me - they'll die in a few hits, so they just get a few colours of basecoat, a hit with some ink wash, and a PVA glue and sand base.

BBEGs and special monsters (a beholder in D&D, or a big warjack in Warmachine) get treatment almost on par with PCs - I might not put as many steps of layering in, but they get a lot of work.


Interestingly, my desires with the prepainted Minis I buy are totally different - because my PCs use painted metal miniatures, I only use DDM for NPCs and monsters. The increased expense for PHB race miniatures in the Hero packs is a bit of a turnoff, because I don't want to pay $3.50 for a mini I'll only use for a one-time NPC.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Interesting question, but hard to answer. PCs are often very complicated minis, with detailed clothing and equipment. Monsters, on the other hand, are often covered in fur, chitin, or bone, and are far less likely to have a bunch of detailed equipment--and are thus just easier to paint.

For me, I think, the division isn't based on the mini's role, but its level of detail. If I have a really nice mini for an NPC, I'll tend to spend a lot of time on the paint even if I don't expect to use the mini a lot.

 

[ExploderWizard]

For me, the mini itself determines how much time I will take to paint it. A really good detailed sculpt will get my best effort while average minis will get average paint jobs. The effort of a great paint job is wasted on a poor sculpt.

As for the actual use of a mini, I only consider that as a secondary concern. I cannot forsee the future uses to which a mini may be put. I might paint up a fighter as an NPC but someone in a later campaign may want to use that mini as a PC.

 

[rkwoodard]

Not me but

Now, I don't paint my own minis (not since the early 80s). But 2 guys in my group are into that sort of thing. And both would put as much effort in regardless of what they are painting.

One guy is a Games Workshop Fan, so his painting comes from that background.

The other guy, just likes painting in his spare time. Now, he mostly does PC type minis or solo monster types, but he does not base the figures off of characters he or the group has. He goes and buys metal minis that he thinks are cool.

RK

 

[El Mahdi]

Nowadays, I only put effort into PC minis. I have a lot of monsters minis that I still need to paint, but just don't have the time (although I still want to). Mostly I just print monsters out on card stock. I'll use artwork I like, or even just pictures of minis from the DDM galleries, and cut/paste them onto a Power Point page with a 1" grid. That way it's easier to size for my purposes. I'll also sometimes do some rudimentary work with Paint to modify the pics, like making a Shade mounted on a Nightmare figure for a cardboard cutout.

I'll modify minis and repaint them to match what my players characters actually are (race, weapons, etc.), but again, only for PC's. Someday, I'll have the time to paint the 300 or so minis I have in storage.

 

[justanobody]

For myself when it comes to prepainted minis, the newest fad on the market....like DDM I pick the minis that interest me the most and paint them. Depending on the manufacturer the mini itself will vary in PC type or monster type minis as to which is more interesting.

Above all else I tend to give more time to monsters due to the way most are not clothed and funny looking fur tends to ruin any other work you do. The tricks to use on furs make it a bit easier, but the caked on paint already tends to slow it down.

So the sculpt for me really determines if I want to paint it, and how much detail it gets.

Some minis may look suitable in their existing form, and just some touch-ups are added, or filling in missed spots with the closest color I can make to match. Time just a bit of shading and highlighting with a quick wash to bring out the depth of the mini is all that is needed to make many look like they are 10 times better.

So, as a player and DM at varying times, painting minis and which gets more detail and attention depends on the mini itself and the detail and sculpt it has. This goes for metals, plastics pre- and un-painted, etc. The sculpt really asks you to paint it a certain way or not at all.