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Great and easy may be correct, but claiming that painting is somehow not time consuming is silly.

I make painting my relaxing me time. I que up a audio book or a podcast and paint. I don't watch TV at all, so I seem to always have a surplus of time compared to friends and family.

EDIT: And that PDF link is great. I passed it on to a friend who just got into warmachine and is struggling with painting his infantry units.

 Amaya wrote:
Great and easy may be correct, but claiming that painting is somehow not time consuming is silly.

First off yes Great and Easy are correct. There are many ways to paint a miniature that don't involve masterclass level skills to look good. Secondly, I didn't claim it wasn't time consuming so I don't know where your getting that from, but the fact is it doesn't have to be a time consuming chore to get good looking minis painted up.That's the whole idea around speed painting techniques and Army Painter products/washes/shades etc., all revolve around this premise. Frankly 5 hours for a 10 man table top squad is pretty fast in my opinion, but if someone wanted to they could do the same squad in 1 or 2 hours and it would end up just as playable as the squad I painted up that took 15 hours. Besides you can always go back and add details later.



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 frozenwastes wrote:
I make painting my relaxing me time. I que up a audio book or a podcast and paint. I don't watch TV at all, so I seem to always have a surplus of time compared to friends and family.

EDIT: And that PDF link is great. I passed it on to a friend who just got into warmachine and is struggling with painting his infantry units.

I use that technique now to paint black, layering black wash over a grey primer a few times and it gives a phenomenal transition. I haven't tried that technique with the new shades yet but i'm tempted.

5 hours for a ten man squad when you put 100 models on the table translates to 50 hours of painting. God help if you field even more than that.

 Amaya wrote:
5 hours for a ten man squad when you put 100 models on the table translates to 50 hours of painting. God help if you field even more than that.

2 days worth of painting, thats less then 2 hours a day for a month or less then 1 hour a day over 2 month. Plus with the dips, you can break it up and do a little at a time, duing the day while working around the house or watching the kids.

 GimlisonofGloin wrote:
Sorry if this is the wrong place to post, but as the title suggest, should I really be in this hobby?

This is a question that only you (and, possibly, your wife LOL) can answer.

 GimlisonofGloin wrote:
I don't really enjoy the painting side of the hobby, I believe it to be to much of a chore and I don't think i'm particuarly good at it anyway. I really like the fluff and background of the minis, the games and battles are awesome, but without the fully painted armies they can get a bit bland. Price is also an issue and at the moment my family is a top priority. The main problem is that when I get a feeling saying I need to quit because of finances and family, GW always seem to pull out a trick or two which pulls me back to the game and minis, (dark vengence) for example.

I don't really like painting, either. if you don't like it, then don't paint. If your gaming group is comprised of people who are your actual friends, they'll be happy to play you regardless of paint.
I happen to like the fluff and the models. Sadly, price has become an issue for me, as well. I'm no longer buying GW models. I'll still play the game (because [a] I actually like it and [b] it's the only game my group plays), but I'll proxy non-GW models. I don't play in GW stores or GW tournaments, so I don't really care about using GW models.
If even the non-GW models are too much for you, then you need to play smaller games, borrow models from your friends who have them to spare or find a way to get the necessary models without causing hardship on your family.

 GimlisonofGloin wrote:
This mainly aimed at GW products as others are very hard to get games in. People don't seem to like any other system around my local area, which is a real downer as the other games are really good.

If there are other games that are really good, then maybe you need to coerce someone in your game group into a sample game. Show him the ropes and how fun it is.

 GimlisonofGloin wrote:
So I put it to you dakkas, to help me decide if I should quit this hobby and start something new or should I stick at it and see what happens in the near future.

Again, only you can make the decision, but PLEASE don't feel like you HAVE TO paint to be a part of it. It's not THE GW hobby, it's YOUR GW hobby.

Eric

 GimlisonofGloin wrote:
Sorry if this is the wrong place to post, but as the title suggest, should I really be in this hobby?

I don't really enjoy the painting side of the hobby, I believe it to be to much of a chore and I don't think i'm particuarly good at it anyway. I really like the fluff and background of the minis, the games and battles are awesome, but without the fully painted armies they can get a bit bland. Price is also an issue and at the moment my family is a top priority. The main problem is that when I get a feeling saying I need to quit because of finances and family, GW always seem to pull out a trick or two which pulls me back to the game and minis, (dark vengence) for example.

This mainly aimed at GW products as others are very hard to get games in. People don't seem to like any other system around my local area, which is a real downer as the other games are really good.

So I put it to you dakkas, to help me decide if I should quit this hobby and start something new or should I stick at it and see what happens in the near future.

Why don't you kick a little money to a painting service, if its that much of a deal breaker? Or pay one of your painting pals to do your painting for you?

A thing to put to you, as well is- How much of a commitment is gaming to you? If your worried about finances, then you need to hold what you have, get your base army, and have fun with what you have. GW will not stop the price increases, they are not going to stop putting out new models, and the games are just going to increase in size, based on thier projections.

When you have issues like this, a good thing for you to maybe try is Skirmish level, and smaller point scale games.

I don't see it as that much of a hard decision, though. If you enjoy it, stay with it. If not, hold off for awhile, save some cash and put your change in a jar and use it to fund the occasional purchase once in awhile.

GW isn't the only game in town though, and there are plenty of games out there with smaller model count that you could play. DON'T let the crowd dictate your fun.

Thanks for all your responses, I have read them all carefully and decided that painting is not such a big deal after all.

I think i'm just going to paint everything up slowly no matter how long it takes.

As for the other games systems and minis out there its just hard to get others to play or collect. There seems to be a GW hold on my local gaming group.

The wife hates the hobby and the kids prefer computer games but that's life, we are all different.

Once again, thank you Dakka for helping me resolve this issue.


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 Phototoxin wrote:
Where are you based?

In Kings Lynn, Norfolk. Its a small town with a one man store and not that many people into the hobby that I know of. I relly only go in there once a month to pick up WD.

 DemetriDominov wrote:
You can always buy a commissioned army. It's expensive, but if you're really keen to play 40k, that might be worth the effort.

Not really, because then people will look down their noses at you for not painting it yourself.

Yeah paint paint, and paint some more. I just won my first best painted award, and I've been slapping paint on things for over half a decade.

There are so many great tutorials out there now it's hard not to paint, and nothing is more satisfying than going to a tournament with that freshly painted army.

Helps to have a friend who paints as well. We don't necessarily "compete" but naturally we're both pushing the envelope. One of us will do something really cool, the other will then try to match it. etc.

It's also not hard to do minor household repairs and many other things, but people still hire out for those services.

If someone doesn't like to paint and doesn't want to screaming "ITS FUN AND EASY" over and over again is pointless.

I've honestly always held the opinion that if you don't have any interest in painting, and just like the game aspect of this hobby, that there are cheaper ways to get that fix. RTS Video Games, and strategy board games for instance. As a matter of fact, I've found that those avenues see less rules lawyering, and headaches.

If you don't like painting so much, get yourself some Quick Shade and just basecoat 3 colors and dip. Your models will look acceptable for the table and you can probably knock them out in an afternoon.

The spending thing is a different issue. Don't spend more than you can afford.

At the end it's a personal decision.

Best reply I have read and agree with 100%.
I dont really enjoy the painting side either (its a little time consuming, tough on the back! and I too am very average as a painter).
However like yourself, I love the fluff, background, minis and playing the game and the excitement that goes with it.
Try the very minimum tabletop standard of painting, they will still look pretty cool from a distance, we'll never be entering Golden Daemon! and enjoy the games/play.

As to price dont forget things like discount stores, ebay, 2nd hand models and even proxying if you want to say try out dark eldar but only have Orks and Marines (for example).
In friendly games no one should care and it will mix your games up and provide new challenges.

I think overall to stick with it

Endgame question: Does the enjoyment and fun factor outway the negatives for you?
Your answer will determine a lot

If you like some parts of the hobby, and not others, then by all means, only do the parts you like: if you like painting but hate assembling and converting, play a game that has already built models (GW starter sets help a lot, Dust Warfare, lots of Warmachine stuff-at least what I've gotten so far). If you like to play and hate to paint, just leave them grey. Or, if you hate having an unpainted army but don't like painting, spray your minis the color of your choice, and maybe pay a friend to paint your tank treads and bolters.

If, however, you question if you should be in the hobby altogether, including EVERYTHING...then probably not-if you have to ask that question, then you're already planning on getting out and just want somebody to convince you to. Only you know if the hobby is right for you-if you're asking us, you've already made your decision.

I NEVER thought I was going to paint my models until one day I sat down, read a few painting guides and started painting my brothers guardsmen as practice because I knew I wanted a painted army. By day two, I was in love with my works, which included one nasty looking Possessed CSM.

At the least, a simple undercoat makes models a lot better looking in my opinion. But everybody else seems to have all the simple painting tutorials posted. My advice is just try painting some more, you may just like it, especially if you know what you're doing. If not, there may be a friend willing to do it for ya, or do something simple

I say quit and move on. The main reason for your post is that for a number of reasons your hobby is not delivering 100% satisfaction. A hobby should be something that gives you 100% satisfaction, not something where you need to compromise or justisfy, least of all to yourself.

Perhaps you've simply out grown the hobby, or your circumstances mean you can nolonger gleen the full benefit, either way, the end result is the same.

I "recently" quit myself, not for the same reasons as you, but reason enough to make me realise the "hobby" was becoming more of a weight than a release. I still have an interest (hence why I'm here) and I will always love certain aspects of the hobby, but I nolonger feel I need to "buy into it" and that in itself is a great release. Now I feel free to enjoy just watching the hobby unfold, and that's enough for me.

Sometimes I get tempted to jump back in, especially when you talk to some of the guys that still play, but it really is a passing temptation, especially when I come on here and see the gripes about quality, cost, secrecy, etc etc, now I can simply smile and watch the fireworks

 Grot 6 wrote:
Why don't you kick a little money to a painting service, if its that much of a deal breaker? Or pay one of your painting pals to do your painting for you?

This is also an option. Painting service groups have a pretty good scale of quality. A tabletop standard army doesn't cost much to get somepletely painted. As for friends, that's another good option. If they truly enjoy painting, and you play an army they don't, they might welcome the chance to paint some models they normally wouldn't.

Read the fluff, and enjoy the books. You don't have to be a wargamer, although I think you miss part of the hobby that way, I say that to people who don't paint their miniatures and yet it doesn't seem to bother them. So to each his own.

If you don't enjoy painting, but don't like not playing with painted armies, you're bound to get into a self loathing cycle.

I for one have never enjoyed painting. I do it, because I enjoy the end result and having a color scheme, but only has something productive to do while I catch up on TV/books/movies I need to watch/listen to.


For everything else you've said, perhaps going with a smaller scale Skirmish game would be superior. But if you're really questioning it, I'd get out now before you're left with a pile of grey plastic and no will to do anything with it.

Im the opposite way. Im into the modelling and painting, but one look at the neckbeards at the tables keeps me from playing. It sucks because I do enjoy the game but I cant stand even walking in the shop these days.

 d3m01iti0n wrote:
Im the opposite way. Im into the modelling and painting, but one look at the neckbeards at the tables keeps me from playing. It sucks because I do enjoy the game but I cant stand even walking in the shop these days.

I had to look up neckbeard on Urban Dictionary... LMAO... So true man, so true....

 GimlisonofGloin wrote:
Thanks for all your responses, I have read them all carefully and decided that painting is not such a big deal after all.

I think i'm just going to paint everything up slowly no matter how long it takes.

As for the other games systems and minis out there its just hard to get others to play or collect. There seems to be a GW hold on my local gaming group.

The wife hates the hobby and the kids prefer computer games but that's life, we are all different.

Once again, thank you Dakka for helping me resolve this issue.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Phototoxin wrote:
Where are you based?

In Kings Lynn, Norfolk. Its a small town with a one man store and not that many people into the hobby that I know of. I relly only go in there once a month to pick up WD.

Also, If you keep trying and still don't like it, you should probably try looking for some painting services online. The name says it all, send in your minis, tell the people there how you want them painted, and in a few days/weeks (depending on how far you are from where the service is based) you'll get your minis painted up for a few extra dollars,pounds, whatever (depending on the level you want your minis painted) . I'm sure there hand full of other ones, but here are links to two great ones that I know of:

Blue Table Painting:
http://www.youtube.com/user/bluetablepainting?feature=results_main
http://bluetablepainting.com/index.php

Worthy Painting:
http://www.youtube.com/user/worthypainting?feature=results_main
http://www.worthypainting.com/cms/

Just my two cents.

I would second this ^.

There is no shame in having someone else paint them, especially if you paid for the commission. I know quite a lot of people who for many reasons get others to paint their armies (One of them is disabled, and struggles with dexterity required having only one usable hand, and the other struggles with his sight and another doesn't see the point investing in paints/Brushes etc so just pays a premium).

if you love the look of painted armies fighting, but just cant bring yourself to do it, that's what painting services are for.

Its fun for a lot of people to paint, but there's nothing wrong with farming that task out. If I didnt enjoy painting, or felt like I would ruin my expensive models, I certainly would use such a service.



Rather than sound like Im shilling my own services here, Ill recommend Worthy painting too. I really like those guys' work.

Also check out

http://www.golempaintingstudio.co.uk/
http://blog.winterdyne.co.uk/

two great inspirations of mine.

Regarding painting services, although you might see some lovely websites out there, pay a heed to customer service.

All I can go by is my own experience. I sent a request for quote to both Worthy and Blue Table Painting (BTP). BTP got back to me a couple of days later, were fully engaging and helpful, and very polite. Unfortunately my direction changed, but even so, they even followed up my RFQ asking if I were still interested or not. BTP have a youtube channel, and Shawn Gately is a character, and more importantly is 100% committed to his service and the industry at large.

In contrast, I heard nothing back from Worthy....so, while I can and feel justified in singing BTP's praises, I can not do the same for Worthy. I guess they were busy, but to not even respond to a potential customer just seems very unproffessional, and certainly not a place I would want to send my expensive army.....if they can't be bothered to respond to a potential customer, god only knows how they would deal with a problem, or a request for changes.

The best option is to find someone local at a club. I think most Clubs have 2 or 3 good/ master painters who will help you out and will do stuff in return for small sums or maybe buying a boxed set for them.

One of my friend quotes everything in Landraiders from FW for like 18months, e.g For every painting Commission he will charge a FW model like a Landraider Achilles. It's amusing, as he's now charging Dropzone Commander box sets.

I dont really have the resources to pay for a pro to paint my stuff, so unfortunetly this is not really an option.

I have however managed to do a bit of painting and i am 8 minis away from having a complete 1k list ready for battle.

I have to admit, im real proud they are finished but I cant be arsed to paint anymore.

As for the gaming, work has got in the way as has family life, but thats the way it goes.

I think I might sit on the fence for a bit until I get some free time crop up. Holidays soon and I should get games in then.

If you really want to save money you should look into Infinity. With FREE rules and army builder you hardly ever play with more than 10-15 figs in a game.

 CDK wrote:
If you really want to save money you should look into Infinity. With FREE rules and army builder you hardly ever play with more than 10-15 figs in a game.

I have to second CDK's comments on Infinity, or at least recommend some other Skirmish based system. 10-15 models will get you most of the way, if not all, through a force and especially if you enjoy putting effort into each mini you might find an option there that mass battle systems can't give you.

Off the top of my head, and depending on what floats your boat in terms of style (bearing in mind the 1st one of these is the most incredible gaming system I have played in 20 years + )
- Infinity, Malifaux, MERCS, Saga, Bushido, Freebooter's Fate, Helldorado.

There are also GW's 'embarrassing uncles', in the form of Necromunda and Mordheim.

Stick with it, even use quickshade if you need to and get your minis painted