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I love putting things (models) together. It's one of my favourite parts of the hobby. Tinkering with vehichles or figures in order to achieve that unique or uniformal look is extremely fun for me so it is very rarely to I leave plastic or metal lying around still waiting to be put together at the end of the day.

Painting is a different matter entirely. I loathe it. It get's so bad that I'll sit at my paint desk or rest on the couch just watching my unpainted models, knowing that I'm not going to be bothered to paint them today or tommorow, no matter how much spare time falls into my lap. It's not that I'm absolutely hopeless at painting, although modest I can produce a decent model or vehichle paint job, the problem is that I simply don't enjoy the chore in the slightest. On the same note, while unwilling to paint, I also detest half finished or ugly armies, whether versing them or playing them. After selling everything (yes, everything) I now plan to start from scratch with Vostroyans. I've already come into ownership of a command squad and a nice platoon all fully painted. I plan to collect much more, but I also now that if I do so I would never get around to painting them. I have come to the conclusion that the only option for me is to pay my good friend to paint for me, and the Vostroyans I bought from him weren't Golden Deamon material, but they were decent enough and presentable.

This notion has been met with some disapproval from some, so I am here to ask if paying someone else to paint is really against the wargamming spirit?

They're your minis, it's your hobby, it's your money. So long as you're not taking credit for another's work, I see no problem.

Dude seriously, I love to paint - but HATE to clean flash / mold lines and glue models together.

If it weren't for flash lines especially, I would be infinitely more productive. I literally dread that part of army building. You should start a business just cleaning and building; I'd be your first customer!

Have some clever Orky name like - Flash Removal Gitsersomething... well something better than that heh.

Hey, I am all for folks who don't want to paint their own stuff. Some people just like the play, other just like to model. For those people, there are a plethora of painting companies out there. Better to have that option than to force people to paint their own stuff and have it look terrible!

I don't plan to enter them into any sort of sompetition, I just want them to look nice and done on the field. If any credits me with the paintjob, I'll point out who actually did the work.

As for your idea of opening up shop Gunzhard, I could never encourage Ork words to be spread. IG are my rock . Metalwork is challenging, and I enjoy plastic work as it's just easier, almost theraputic (sp fail) in fact.

em_en_oh_pee: Thanks for the suggestion, but I'd probably just prefer to keep it inside the FLGS and the ring of familiar faces.

Gunzhard wrote:Dude seriously, I love to paint - but HATE to clean flash / mold lines and glue models together.

If it weren't for flash lines especially, I would be infinitely more productive. I literally dread that part of army building. You should start a business just cleaning and building; I'd be your first customer!

Have some clever Orky name like - Flash Removal Gitsersomething... well something better than that heh.

QFT

Sharting < dealing with mold lines > stabbing myself in the eye

As other people have stated you do as you wish! A lot of people leave their models to other painters pros or not.

//Edge

Yeah, this is a complex hobby with many parts, of which painting is a single part. If you're willing to pay to avoid having to deal with a part that you don't like, all the better for the person you're paying.

I don't like painting either... and I just choose not to do it. I haven't played in a store since the beginning of 3rd edition (before my break), so there's no real need for me to have a good lookin army.

I have armies I painted myself and armies I paid to be painted. Look in my gallery where you will see some of my 6mm Russians which were painted by Reinforcements By Post.

There's nothing wrong with buying painted armies unless you unfairly taken credit for the paint job.

Kilkrazy wrote:I have armies I painted myself and armies I paid to be painted. Look in my gallery where you will see some of my 6mm Russians which were painted by Reinforcements By Post.

There's nothing wrong with buying painted armies unless you unfairly taken credit for the paint job.

I totally agree... I'd MUCH rather play against a painted army (however it got that way) than a bunch of gray plastic.

They're your models, it's your money, just don't source out the painting then claim it as your own.

Your models do what you wish.

I enjoy painting but am terrible at it!

I have to vote 'do as you see fit', even if its just to have someone splash colors here or there so they ain't greay, it improves the aesthetic of the game when everything is painted, flocked, etc. I hate unpainted models and never use them, even if it means my list is sub-par to hardcore competing standards as I have not yet finished up my next killer unit. This can be kind of discouraging though when codex creep or rules revisions suddenly make your hard-worked-on harlequins with the polka-dots and such obsolete, and suddenly make you need a lot more troops. Still I like painting and modelling even if I'm not so great at it. I would never pay someone to do my hobby for me, but I wouldn't object if someone else does... at least its nicer on the table.


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My brother pretty bought me to do the basecoats and brush ups (3 layers of 2 different color combos) for his 2000 points of speedfreaks a couple years back. I think he was just being nice, but I also recognize he didnt have the time to paint them all, and if I can pound out a few squads of boyz, nobz, flamaz, gitz, etc every day with 3-tone arms and 2-tone weapons and armor plating all drybrushed up, he can spend his time on the details and wash and such. I was happy to do it, and he gave me a bunch of IG stuff in return. His army ended up looking awesome and I was proud to be the basecoat stage guy. Does that count as paid painting? I dunno but it worked out for both of us.

i would have to vote that you find a good friend who loves painting but "hates" building the models... that way its a win win for both of you.

I think its perfectly fine to pay for paint for the following reasons:

a) It could be a gamer that wants his army to be fancy looking , or they might be complying with the "painted army only" rule.

b) A gamer / collector might not have time or skill to paint , for all we know they might have 10+ armies

c) Maybe they want a really beautiful army ( like GMM's ) and there is NO WAY most of us can paint like that no matter how hard we try.
hence , its faster to get some commission in.

As you can guess from my sig I think it's a fine thing to do, there really isn't anything wrong with at all.

It is more fun to play with a painted army and it looks better when on display. If painting isn't for you doens't mean you can't enjoy having a painted army.

LunaHound wrote:
c) Maybe they want a really beautiful army ( like GMM's ) and there is NO WAY most of us can paint like that no matter how hard we try.
hence , its faster to get some commission in.

Yea, unrealistic standards for most folks, myself included. If I just enjoyed playing, hated painting, but wanted a snappy army, GMM or equivalent would be my choice, for sure. Again, I think its totally fine to pay for painting.

On the whole local thing, Emperors Faithful, go for it. That was the mainstay of my business - local commissions - before I went online.

I need the money. So I'm glad people pay me to paint stuff/buy my painted minis. >_>;

I'll agree with most people here in that you can do whatever you bloody well like with your own models

I personally love the painting aspect of the hobby more than anything else and most of the banter i have during a game will be about painting/modeling. There's something greatly pleasing about seeing a mini go from bare metal & GS to a painted finish.

There a quite a few people at my local store who dislike painting as they know it'll take them ages to paint their models to a standard they're happy with. My advice is always to try and paint just one mini, even over the course of a couple of weeks, and see how good the finished product is and how rewarding it is at the end.

I have had a few models done by commission, but they were gaunts for my Tyranids, and they were cheap.

I get bored pretty easily painting the same thing over and over, so getting some of my gaunts done that way helped.

In the end, I don't even care if my opponent's army is painted. Paint doesn't make an army, a person using it does.

Your money, your hobby, your choice. Me personally, I'd rather see painted figures on the table than unpainted. I could care less whether you did the painting yourself or not. If you have the economic means, why spend hours doing something you really hate. That's not a hobby, that's a chore.

I have to agree with everyone else so far. Your money, do what you want.

I also, especially, I can't stress this enough, I-mean-it-triple-stamp-it-and-set-it-in-print, agree with Emperor's Faithful. I love to assemble, hate to paint. I found that they only way I can paint is if I force myself to paint all my minis before I buy more. As soon as I agreed to that, miraculously my minis started to get painted. Slowly, painfully, with many forlorn glances at the new shiny models in the games shop.

I also have a buddy with epilepsy who paints minis for a living, so I support it if only so that he can make some money.

However, I have never paid for painting service, and probably will never. Pro painters charge too much money. Even when it's reasonable. (GMM is a good example of someone who gives you the quality you pay for.) Tragically, I just can't afford the kind of money they want.

Jimsolo wrote:I have to agree with everyone else so far. Your money, do what you want.

I also, especially, I can't stress this enough, I-mean-it-triple-stamp-it-and-set-it-in-print, agree with Emperor's Faithful. I love to assemble, hate to paint. I found that they only way I can paint is if I force myself to paint all my minis before I buy more. As soon as I agreed to that, miraculously my minis started to get painted. Slowly, painfully, with many forlorn glances at the new shiny models in the games shop.

I also have a buddy with epilepsy who paints minis for a living, so I support it if only so that he can make some money.

However, I have never paid for painting service, and probably will never. Pro painters charge too much money. Even when it's reasonable. (GMM is a good example of someone who gives you the quality you pay for.) Tragically, I just can't afford the kind of money they want.

I think this is important...

Why do you hate painting mini's? Is it something to do with the time/reward ratio? Or is it something more basic than that? Seriously, i'm interested.

Well, there are several reasons. The first is that I am not that great at it. I work at it, but I never get the kind of look you see in the magazines. I just feel like I can't ever get that kind of quality without devoting more time than I have available to the hobby. I have some kind of blood sugar issue as well, and my hands will start to tremble, which can cause problems. I wind up with blurry vision if I paint for long periods of time, as well as cramps in my back, shoulders, and neck.

On the other hand, when I finish a model, I love it. My paintjobs may not be the best, but dammit they are mine. They also may not be good enough to show in a magazine, but they are more than good enough to show at a games shop without feeling embarassed.

I think that your suggestion though, the whole time/reward thing, is the problem. It takes a lot of time, and unless I finish the model, I feel unsatisfied. (Not to mention achy.)

Okay...
i'm a person who paints models for people.

i do a good job.

i have never had a complaint.

i paint whatever scheme they want.

i work on commision, if they ever didn't like it because it looks badly painted then i wouldn't charge, and half the time the client and i discuss and compremise on price. I get satisfaction and money for painting, they get finshed, good looking models.

I.HAVE.NEVER.HAD.A.COMPLAINT

it is there own damn choice to get me to paint

I really hate painting. A lot. I am currently exploring my options for getting the rest of my models professionally painted.

Hey I have seen an army of BA that someone more or less just dumped a bucket of paint over, just so he could playwith a painted army. I like making my stuff look cool if I can, but I had no expectation from him it was all good... he even went so far as to paint the bases green as an afterthought. better that that the sea of grey.

There's nothing wrong with commission painting. I'm not just saying this as somebody who paints for money, but because a lot of people in this hobby want to have good looking models but for one reason or another can't. I have a buddy who can't even slather on some black on a few Orks, but he still wants a good looking army so he was willing to pay to have it painted. Other people lack the time or hate painting like yourself.

I wouldn't give anyone a hard time for having somebody else paint their army.

Painting can be fun and relaxing and fulfilling SOMETIMES!!... but mostly it is just tedious, boring and frustrating. That is true for just about everybody, and why nicely painted miniatures are such a joy to behold... It's because they take a lot of time, effort, skill, and most of all patience.

I think for most people, the most satisfying part about painting isn't anything to do with the actual painting process, it is the sense of achievement afterwards, and being able to show people what you've accomplished. If you choose not to paint your own minis then you are going to miss out on that.

Now please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. The real question is... Can you personally live with that?

Can you live with always having to explain to people who compliment your miniatures that you didn't actually paint them?

Can you live with never being able to enter them in painting competitions and such?

When you see other people beaming with pride over their army that they've worked so hard to finish. Can you live with knowing that you just let someone else do it for you? Knowing that you won't ever be able to feel that same sense of accomplishment?

Getting someone else to paint your army would certainly be easier, and may be the only way your army ever gets painted, if you really feel you aren't up to it?

But only you can answer that. I think you really need to do some soul searching and decide what is really right for you.