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i have been around warhammer and 40k for a long time, but i have so many problems when it comes to dealing with my armies.

a) i get bored of my army after 1 month

b) im intimidated to paint my own armies ( leaving only 2-3 figure painted ONLY ) oh god....

c) i dont think its laziness, as i have absolutely no problem painting for other people.

d) i ordered some chaos hound for xmas .... and my brain is already trailing off about skavens -_-

e) i dont seem to have a paint plan either.... as my 2-3 figure always end in different colors and i hate all of them.
how do you guys plan your colors? i dont have habit of copying other's color scheme as im adamant about been unique >.>

I usually have about six separate test figures
normally I do these tests on metal miniatures, so that they can get stripped after I create one I'm satisfied with.
(every army has these)
are they're any armies in particular that your having this issue with?

Belphegor wrote:I usually have about six separate test figures
normally I do these tests on metal miniatures, so that they can get stripped after I create one I'm satisfied with.
(every army has these)
are they're any armies in particular that your having this issue with?

i have issues with every single army ( thats mine ) that i touch ;_;

my painted army so far are like....

Tyranids- around 5 models painted because i actually like how they end up . ( stopped because hormagaunt kept breaking from their feet area)
High Elf - gave up after starting on 5 ( 1 rank ) of painted eyes / horse tail keep breaking off.
Necrons - painted 5 ish since seems easy to paint, but stopped since i dont touch the army at all.
Guards - ended up extremely agitated again ( 5 metal ones ) painted and the paint start falling off before i varnish .
Orks - i love gretchin, i love mass of killakans. absolutely despise orks. ( gave up since i cant bother painting orks , yet cant complete army without them)
orcs and goblins same as above.
skaven - im having lots of issue with their tails poking out at each other and i cant line them up on their bases i made just for them. also having lots of trouble
( right now my skaven slaves are tailess rofl ^^: )
painting skaven feet ( is it me or are the feet badly molded with almost no detail on it )

k so over all i noticed i get discouraged from paint chipping, and especially when my minis fall apart. or i just like my army partially and cant bother finish the other units.

*edit :

1) any tips in gluing small areas together that broke? ( for example blade fell off hilt of a sword)
b) when i paint, i tend to hold it where it feels the most comfortable... most of the time the mini itself.
im guessing the sweat from my finger contribute to the chipping. i really dislike holding mini by the base when painting
where else can i hold it D:

LunaHound wrote:
a) i get bored of my army after 1 month

Everyone gets bored sometimes. It's a little annoying painting 40 models that generally look the same, happens with everything.

LunaHound wrote:b) im intimidated to paint my own armies ( leaving only 2-3 figure painted ONLY ) oh god....

I have a friend with this problem. He is worried they won't look good. No one cares if they look 'good' they just want to play an army that is painted.

LunaHound wrote:c) i dont think its laziness, as i have absolutely no problem painting for other people.

Why is this a separate point and not a note at the end? I think it might be because you are relieved of the pressure of the model looking good in your army rather than in some other guy's army.

LunaHound wrote:d) i ordered some chaos hound for xmas .... and my brain is already trailing off about skavens -_-

e) i dont seem to have a paint plan either.... as my 2-3 figure always end in different colors and i hate all of them.
how do you guys plan your colors? i dont have habit of copying other's color scheme as im adamant about been unique >.>

It is very tempting to jump back and forth between things if you own them and have the ability to paint all of them at the time. Just a find a scheme you think fits and stick with it. Don't let doubt creep into your mind about them. Get rid of everything but one fantasy army and one 40k army. That way you'll be able to bounce back and forth for variety but you won't get lost in the variety of painting over 5 different armies at once.

LunaHound wrote:
Tyranids- around 5 models painted because i actually like how they end up . ( stopped because hormagaunt kept breaking from their feet area)
High Elf - gave up after starting on 5 ( 1 rank ) of painted eyes / horse tail keep breaking off.
Necrons - painted 5 ish since seems easy to paint, but stopped since i dont touch the army at all.
Guards - ended up extremely agitated again ( 5 metal ones ) painted and the paint start falling off before i varnish .
Orks - i love gretchin, i love mass of killakans. absolutely despise orks. ( gave up since i cant bother painting orks , yet cant complete army without them)
orcs and goblins same as above.
skaven - im having lots of issue with their tails poking out at each other and i cant line them up on their bases i made just for them. also having lots of trouble
( right now my skaven slaves are tailess rofl ^^: )
painting skaven feet ( is it me or are the feet badly molded with almost no detail on it )

k so over all i noticed i get discouraged from paint chipping, and especially when my minis fall apart. or i just like my army partially and cant bother finish the other units.

I notice you get pretty distressed about things fitting together as well. Don't worry about it. And if you can't stop worrying, invest only in armies that fit very well in ranks together. There are some protectors like Matte varnish you can use. And super glue holds pretty well, if your having problems that it can't fix start pinning everything and using GS.

seems to me, when paint chips and a few models break off, you give up. try sticking with one army even if you have trouble putting the kits together without breaking off something, it'll help you focus and get better at it. cuz seems to me, that changing everytime doesnt give you space to get any better.

enmitee wrote:seems to me, when paint chips and a few models break off, you give up. try sticking with one army even if you have trouble putting the kits together without breaking off something, it'll help you focus and get better at it. cuz seems to me, that changing everytime doesnt give you space to get any better.

im having lots of trouble regluing my hormagaunts the specific spot is where the hoof is attached to the plastic tab that goes into the base's slot.

when i use plastic glue, it spreads to my painted area. the the paint melts i guess? and mixes with the glue.

and it turns into a black goo thats not sticky anymore.

well dont use plastic glue as it melds the two plastic parts together. super glue is the way to go. and plastic glue is too runny for it to stay still

How do I stay loyal to my current army?

I don't. At all.

Even if I am completely obsessed with Chaos (Which helps, because I can basically field all of my CSM armies together at once), I still have about ten projects going on at once. I'm more of a painter than a gamer, so it doesn't really bother me TOO much, but I've got Four different CSM armies, A Tyranid Army, a Witch Hunters Army, An Ogre Kingdoms Army, and completely unfinished Necrons, Chaos Daemons, Vampire Counts and Warriors of Chaos.

So, any advice I can give you about sticking with your current army, you probably shouldn't be listening to.

I've found it helps when I get bored of painting basic troops (Even when what you have isn't done) to go out and find another set of elites/fast attack/heavy support or what have you, give them just an ever so slightly different paint scheme, and go from there. You don't get so bored from there, and eventually you can move back to your basic troops that aren't yet finished.

As for paint chipping, I recommend first of all using as many plastic miniatures as you possibly can. Secondly, try to mount it on something (I use play-doh and a wire under the base), so you don't have to handle unsealed miniatures. The oil in your fingers eats right through acrylics with enough handling.

For pieces breaking off, I recommend green stuff. I wouldn't even bother with superglue.

Chrysaor686 wrote: The oil in your fingers eats right through acrylics with enough handling.

For pieces breaking off, I recommend green stuff. I wouldn't even bother with superglue.

if i play with my minis ( unpainted metal or plastic ) is it always recommended to wash the mini before painting?
how about tanks? what if water gets in ><

I paint a box of basic troops and then reward myself afterwards with something more interesting like a transport. At the moment, I have started making a Trukk before finishing a unit of 10 Ork Boyz. I jump between the two jobs and that keeps me going.

I also help with my friend's Ultramarines every so often and do a bit of highlighting for him. Anything to break up the green blobs on my pallette!

You should always wash your minis before you paint them, even directly out of the box (GW sprays their molds with an agent that helps remove the plastic from the mold, and don't rinse it off before they package the sprues. This really screws up priming).

If you're going to assemble your tanks and not paint them, try washing off the individual pieces, putting it together, and then priming it and going over the primer with a sealant (you can always paint back over dull or glosscoat) so you don't have any chips in your primer. The main problem with having any oils on plastic is that it can totally destroy your priming job. The painjob is a different story (As long as you're not handling the model too much without a dull or glosscoat on it, you should be fine).

Chrysaor686 wrote:You should always wash your minis before you paint them, even directly out of the box (GW sprays their molds with an agent that helps remove the plastic from the mold, and don't rinse it off before they package the sprues. This really screws up priming).

If you're going to assemble your tanks and not paint them, try washing off the individual pieces, putting it together, and then priming it and going over the primer with a sealant (you can always paint back over dull or glosscoat) so you don't have any chips in your primer. The main problem with having any oils on plastic is that it can totally destroy your priming job. The painjob is a different story (As long as you're not handling the model too much without a dull or glosscoat on it, you should be fine).

ahh sorry i didnt specify what i meant by chipping

i meant to say they chip as i paint ^^; but others suggested some solutions already :3

Well, to keep my focus on my army, I put the military chanel on in the background. This helps me as I play Imperial Guard almost exclusively.

and as for perfectionism, a couple of drinks fixes that nicely.

I think a good idea is to work on 1 army and after you start feeling bored pick up something you want to paint e.g. a space marine command squad, paint 5 models from your army and then allow yourself to paint 1 of the spacemarines.

I do different conversions on all of my Cadians. That way I'm always converting something new, and I always look forward to painting them.

How do I stay with one army?

Well, I have three (four) armies and I switch between them.

This is my basic view, though.

1) Don't start an army unless you like it enough to do the work. Half-a55ed-ness is the root of this issue.
2) Don't buy any models for it that you don't like. If you don't like the model, assembling it will be a pain and you won't want to paint it, either.
3) If you get tired of something, change to something else. I'll surf the net, watch dvds, play a game (console/computer).

LunaHound wrote:a) i get bored of my army after 1 month

d) i ordered some chaos hound for xmas .... and my brain is already trailing off about skavens -_-

It's because you haven't found an army you like yet. You've had a lot of flings, but there's nothing you've actually liked yet. You need to stop buying anything at all, take a good hard look through all the things GW does, and find an army that actually resonates with you - fluff, aesthetics, style, everything - and then go from there. Otherwise the bounding from one army to the next will never stop.

BYE

To keep from being bored, I get lots of vastly different models. from tanks to dreads, to troops, to heroes.

My Marines have a theme that's interesting, a story that drags me back into the thick of modeling and painting.

Also, I often try to do conversions that are WAY beyond my ability. This has the bonus of giving oneself a challenge and creating some really cool models.

just my 2c

With me it's not being loyal to the army once I decide on one, it's the actual choosing that's difficult. When I got back into 40K I knew I wanted to go with either the Necron or the Tau, and after a lot of staring at models and reading background I chose the Necron. I've been pretty happy so far (even if I have lost more than I've won), but it did take me a while to make the actual decision. For WHFB...God, there are like 7 different armies that I could play.

The only thing that would make me drop an army is that I just don't like the way they play. If I'm having difficulty modeling or painting (and I do, due to tremors in my hands) I turn to other gamers for help. They're usually morr thna happy to lend a hand as long as 1)they're not doing all the work and 2)you show your appreciation. Beer and pizza has never been turned down.