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Eh, don't care.

I only have 1 fully painted Fantasy army at 2250, and 1 fully painted Warmachine force at 25 points. Honestly, to me it's not too big a deal, it's tedious, especially when buying in bulk. I doubt I have a single finished battalion in my entire collection. (Though 8th ed. might change that for my Warriors of Chaos)

So long as they're at least primed, I have no issue. Better if they're primed white though, makes it easy to tell what's what. I've always been fairly lenient about this with my opponents, but I've always opted to only field completely painted models. However, now that I've begun work on my true scale marines, I've come to accept the fact that if I want to play with them, especially before the end of the summer, I'll have to put them on the table long before they're finished (each Marine takes ~5 hours to convert, although the one I'm working on now has at least that much and is barely halfway done, and that's not even including painting time).

It isn't that I mind an unpainted army, it's just that I don't see the point in playing with unpainted minis. 40K is an expensive hobby with a reasonable ruleset - there are simply deeper strategy games out there with much simpler rules that you can get for a few dollars. I play 40K because I like looking at the battleboard full of two painted up armies and some cooling looking terrain.

And no-one is so bad at painting that it's better to leave it unpainted. You don't need to add multiples level of shading to look better than an unpainted army - two colours plus some detail work will produce a much better looking army. To be perfectly honest the best thing an army can look is finished, so many people have a third or a half of their stuff painted to a wonderful standard, and the rest unpainted.

We have to realize and accept that Warhammer is not just a hobby , its also a war game.
To many people , the miniatures are nothing but gaming pieces. Painting them is like painting chess pieces.

Sure its not hard to slap paint on miniature , but dont forget , it depreciates the value of the "game pieces" if painted.
To a gamer that might swap from army to army , having things painted is both a waste of their time , and waste of their potential resale value.

Its never an argument that seeing a nicely painted army is a pleasure to play against.
But thats all it is , its a blessed privileged to be able to play against a beautiful army , personally i never take it for granted.

I like to play with painted mini's, but as for my opponent, well yes a golden daemon standard army opposite is excellent, but i'll play plastic

I don't like having my minis unpainted because it makes obvious where their greenstuff conversions are, and I like them to blend in and not stick out like a sore thumb. (Though I did get to make a comment to an Orks player using unpainted minis that my Berzerkers were more green than his Orks.)

Playing against unpainted armies, I don't know yet as I haven't had much experience. Most of my fiance's army, and most of his friends' armies are mostly painted (75+% of each army is painted, the rest has a base-coat usually.) Though I do suppose an unpainted army is better than one with unassembled units in it. We let my fiance's Tau player friend get away with playing 5 "invisible guys" (using just the bases) because he already knew what he'd be doing with them, and he had time to figure out the points because I needed time to add some new units to my list. They were one of the first things I wanted to kill though because, by being "invisible", they looked the most dangerous to me.

Do you mind unpainted armies that much? No - I would be hypocritical if I said yes...

Do I prefer painted armies to unpainted? Hell yes!

If I refused to play with unpainted/unbased models, I would not have played any games in the last 9 months, and probably not for the next 3 months. And that is for Orks, 1000pts and not even horde... (which Im starting to think may have been easier!) I've only just finished converting the last model...

Why? Because its my first army. Because each model is lovingly customised and magnetised. Because I refuse to do a "quick" tabletop paint job, because I'm slow. These guys are in it for the long haul, and they will be awesome when finished...

I am *so* looking forward to completing them - not only so I can field them in their fully painted and customised glory - but also so that I can play games and never have to field an unpainted model again. As well as not feeling "rushed" to complete additions (okay, that probably won't be entirely true - my main gaming group prefers 1500pts...)

But until that day (soon!) - you will just have to admire my conversions / what is finished - or not play me I won't be offended - I'd prefer my army was finished too, and am embarrassed to field it - especially against fully painted ones!

At least I can say there has been marked progress between battles!

I prefer playing against painted armies as opposed to unpainted, but I would prefer playing against an painted army verses a really badly painted one. By really badly painted I mean one that either has paint slopped all over it like they let a two year old paint it, or the colors clash so horribly you have to wonder if they were dropping acid at the time.

I dont mind unpainted armys but i do hate it when people use modles to represent other models (or even worse when they use items to represent models like my friend who tryed to use a tisue box as a predetor). there was a guy at my gw yester day who who had a 1000 point choas army which only had one choas thing which was a sorcerer every thing els were like, lysander modle for an obliter ator which then died and was used as a spawn.

Well, I'm the kind of guy that stays up before Ard boys painting my army, so I'm definitly in the "never plays with unpainted stuff" camp. I'll bust out some unpainted models for friendly games, but rarely more than a few times before I at least get it base coated.

I dont' really mind playing unpainted armies. I like to play, and if the game I can get involves unpainted models, I suck it up.

What does get to me is some of the excuses people use. My personal favorite is the "I'm a perfectionist, so it takes me along time to paint and I can't just base coat my models." It's like they're trying to explain that they're too awesome to have a painted army.

There are too many ways to get at least a partially painted army on the table quickly for me to have too much sympathy. Take IG: spray the models tan, paint the armor/helmets green, the gun and boots black, wash the whole thing with brown ink. It won't look great, but it'll look decent.

Painting minis is like cooking or writing essays or anything else: it takes some practice to get good, but as you improve, you an also do lesser work much faster. I've been painting minis for almost a decade, and I could probably get 1850pts to three color standard in 10 hours or so. It would certainly be an interesting experiment.

Polonius wrote:Well, I'm the kind of guy that stays up before Ard boys painting my army, so I'm definitly in the "never plays with unpainted stuff" camp. I'll bust out some unpainted models for friendly games, but rarely more than a few times before I at least get it base coated.

I dont' really mind playing unpainted armies. I like to play, and if the game I can get involves unpainted models, I suck it up.

What does get to me is some of the excuses people use. My personal favorite is the "I'm a perfectionist, so it takes me along time to paint and I can't just base coat my models." It's like they're trying to explain that they're too awesome to have a painted army.

There are too many ways to get at least a partially painted army on the table quickly for me to have too much sympathy. Take IG: spray the models tan, paint the armor/helmets green, the gun and boots black, wash the whole thing with brown ink. It won't look great, but it'll look decent.

Painting minis is like cooking or writing essays or anything else: it takes some practice to get good, but as you improve, you an also do lesser work much faster. I've been painting minis for almost a decade, and I could probably get 1850pts to three color standard in 10 hours or so. It would certainly be an interesting experiment.

Pretty much exactly the same way I feel. The worst is when you see armies that could be done with a three step "prime black, drybrush X color, finish with a wash or ink". This takes minimal time per miniature, requires minimal painting skill, and can look perfectly fine on the table.

I will also say that the paint job on your army definitely helps form my first impression of you as a player. If I see a fully-painted army, I'm immediately inclined to think "hey, whatever else, this guy is probably a serious player". If I see an unpainted army, I take a more cautious approach. (And if they apologize for having an unpainted army, I at least start giving them the benefit of the doubt.)

For once I agree with LunaHound here, to some people this is simply a wargame, and the minis are simply game pieces. Expect to see people with unpainted minis, and try not to let it color your perception of that person.

Personally, I don't like playing with unpainted minis, but if I didn't, I wouldn't have gotten in a single game in the last six months. I still have a Tau army (my primary army) that's largely unpainted, an Ork horde that's largely unpainted, a Necron army that's largely unpainted - the only fieldable army I have that's mostly painted is my Marines, and I don't enjoy playing with them nearly as much as I do the others. Granted, I'm working on it, but I like to paint at my own pace. I don't want to feel rushed, or the painting and modeling won't be fun for me anymore. I typically paint one or two Necrons or Fire Warriors a night. I've been working on a Hammerhead now for the last week or so, doing about one or two sections a night. It's about half finished now. I used to be able to get six or seven Marines in a night, but I started to feel like the paintjobs were forced, and I started to get burnt out on it, so I slowed down. And I always apologize for not having a fully painted army. The point is, I'm in this hobby for the long haul, but I want it to remain fun, so while I get every game I can in, a lot of times I end up doing it with unpainted minis.

What does bother me is the situation in the second sentence of this post. When someone never paints their miniatures, it feels like they don't care. But that's not always the case. Do I let it color my perception of that person? I like to think I don't.

And I have no issue with partially painted armies, because that means they're working on getting it painted. I have a buddy I play with regularly who has about 3000 points of Tyranids. Only about 10% of them are fully painted, the rest are either primed or plastic, but each time I play him a few more minis are painted, so it's obvious that it's a work in progress, and that doesn't bother me at all.

If they are working on the army, piece by piece, no.

If they flat out say "I ain't painting gak." Then I have a problem with it.

I like the hobby of wargaming. Not just the game, but the painting and converting aspect as well. You don't have to paint if you don't want to. I don't have to play you if I don't want to.

As long as progress is being made I don't mind unpainted minis. That said, if a unit isn't painted for several months then I start to get annoyed. One of my regular opponents picked up the BA codex the first week of April, and built his 1500 points list. Unfortunately he now fields more assault marines then he has, so he's been using tactical marines for assault marines. I didn't mind this the first time, or the second, or the third week, but it's been almost 4 months and he's still using stand-ins. If you want to use assault marines, then purchase and paint some assault marines. I'm almost at the point where I'm going to make him play full WYSIWYG just to get my point across.

Nothing of mine touches the table without being painted to at least a tabletop standard.

I'm going to be starting a Home-Brew Chapter, the Vultures Vermilion, and after much deep deliberation, I have decided to have a bash at Painting them. When I say these, I mean 3-Colour Standard with No Highlighting, and Minimal Washing even at that, but they will be cleanly done, with smooth, even coats and consistent colouring throughout. This will look much more respectable than leaving them Grey, as well as much more respectable as me trying to go all-out on the miniatures and making a hash of it.

Popsicle wrote:I'm going to be starting a Home-Brew Chapter, the Vultures Vermilion, and after much deep deliberation, I have decided to have a bash at Painting them. When I say these, I mean 3-Colour Standard with No Highlighting, and Minimal Washing even at that, but they will be cleanly done, with smooth, even coats and consistent colouring throughout. This will look much more respectable than leaving them Grey, as well as much more respectable as me trying to go all-out on the miniatures and making a hash of it.

You know...I don't wash my black legion marines, and I'm starting to feel like a bad person, with all this talk of washes I never found much benefit in washing marines anyway, they're too flat. I wash the recesses, but that's it.

Samus_aran115 wrote:

Popsicle wrote:I'm going to be starting a Home-Brew Chapter, the Vultures Vermilion, and after much deep deliberation, I have decided to have a bash at Painting them. When I say these, I mean 3-Colour Standard with No Highlighting, and Minimal Washing even at that, but they will be cleanly done, with smooth, even coats and consistent colouring throughout. This will look much more respectable than leaving them Grey, as well as much more respectable as me trying to go all-out on the miniatures and making a hash of it.

You know...I don't wash my black legion marines, and I'm starting to feel like a bad person, with all this talk of washes I never found much benefit in washing marines anyway, they're too flat. I wash the recesses, but that's it.

Just a quick, OTTOMH example, wasn't meaning to declare it as a particular standard, or a necessary step. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Dont start an army with the intent of not painting it thats annoying to most people who actually give effort to make their army look nice..

I didn't use to care at all, but now my armies are getting to the point where more is painted than isn't I notice my friends haven't put any effort into painting theirs. I think the more time and effort you put into your army, the more you expect to see atleast some effort from other people.

IHEARTLARGEBLASTTEMPLATES wrote:Dont start an army with the intent of not painting it thats just dumb..

Why? just because some people choose to focus on the gaming aspect?

Which just happens to be different then yours? and its dumb right?

LunaHound wrote:

IHEARTLARGEBLASTTEMPLATES wrote:Dont start an army with the intent of not painting it thats just dumb..

Why? just because some people choose to focus on the gaming aspect?

Which just happens to be different then yours? and its dumb right?

Duh, didn't you know that any opinion that isnt his is dumb? GAWD.

I have had several groups. My first had a rule, of you had to show progress on your models over a month time. This could simply priming the models, or painting one model. Just something needed to be done.

My other to groups have no problem with the seas of grey. Personally I like the first group. At least work on your models.

Now my problem is I have 4 armies, all in different stages. I use to be able to field 3000pts of Blood Angels fully painted. Now with the edition changes, I am having to change that up a bit to fit the new codex better.

I just dont see the point of spending so much on a hobby then only using half of it. And grey armies are soo boring to play against as in they dont look as cool at all, if you spent time to make yours look nice then the other person just doesn't care. Thats annoying.

Let me rephrase my last post my bad their.

I would much rather play against a painted army. I'll go so far as to say I'd rather get sent to school by someone with a gorgeous army than to table a guy with a ghost or metal army. With that said, however, when you play the most popular miniatures war game in the world, you have to accept that some people get enjoyment from different aspects of the hobby, and some people won't like certain parts of the hobby. That is one of the trade offs you accept when you play a game that is popular enough that you're pretty much guaranteed a pick up game in any game store in the Western world, and quite a few places in the rest of the world.

I have no problem playing someone with an unpainted army. I've always made the attempt, but in the past I have played with unpainted figures. I think suggesting a dipping technique is a good idea, because someone who isn't terribly into painting can have a nice looking army with little time and not a tremendous effort.

I'm not a huge fan of non painted armies, i'd def prefer to play against a painted army, but to each there own, if I were you as has been suggested google a quick way to paint your preferred army be it SM or IG, you're sure to find something that looks great and is quick as! I did and now i've got a large Raven Guard force that took me 4 days to finish! but on a personal note, I love playing against painted armies because it's just soooo much more cinematic when they're stalking through imperial ruins searching for the enemy, and if they're gray then they just blend in with the ruins!

LunaHound wrote:

We have to realize and accept that Warhammer is not just a hobby , its also a war game.
To many people , the miniatures are nothing but gaming pieces. Painting them is like painting chess pieces.

Sure its not hard to slap paint on miniature , but dont forget , it depreciates the value of the "game pieces" if painted.
To a gamer that might swap from army to army , having things painted is both a waste of their time , and waste of their potential resale value.

Its never an argument that seeing a nicely painted army is a pleasure to play against.
But thats all it is , its a blessed privileged to be able to play against a beautiful army , personally i never take it for granted.

You took the words right out me mouth. I couldnt care less if they were painted or not, makes no difference to me and I'm 80% hobbist. TBH I'm just glad I get a game every few weeks or months with work meaning I cant really get to my local GW for game and my mate now being married means his wife has grounded him lol. So when gaming its pruely for him kicking my arse, or me clawing a close draw.

Only thing I have a prob with is proxy models all the time every game, lucky I dont have that prob with the main guys I play with. Unless theres a new model out or somthing. More so with warmachine than 40k.

oh yeah I just read the post above mine, dipping is awesome too! highly recomended I did a tyranid force in a week! :-) come to think of it..I spend way too much money on this hobby

Dont mind unpainted models if its just a squad or 2, but if its a whloe army, thats a totally different bananna, Mister.

Oh look. It's this thread again.

Nobody minds unpainted armies to the extent that they'll refuse games. The only time you'll ever see it is when you actively are known as a bandwagon hopper or have a bad reputation.

Then the "I only play painted armies." excuse comes in real handy.

I find bad/poorly built and painted terrain to be just as much of a turn-off and buzz kill personally, yet i run into horrible terrain and tables on a regular basis, even in use by those that demand painted armies.

I have witnessed tons of "paint snobs" playing on tables with terrain which looks like ass, which is rather ironic and seems counter to their argument about the "visual" being so important.

Just an observation that always makes me chuckle...