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So I started painting a couple months ago, and have become a tremendously better painter in that time. My first models aren't terrible, and I did an okay job of thinnin mah paints. It's just that they look pretty silly compared to my more recent stuff.

Airbrushing primer in a zenithal highlight made a huge difference.
Airbrushing basecoats made a huge difference (what used to seem "thin" now seems "thick and chunky")
Varnishing with dullcote before painting the metallics made a huge difference.
Using Vallejo metal color instead of GW metals made a huge difference.
Painting with airbrush ready paints made thinning well 10x easier.
Understanding "GW shades = matte" and "liquitex glaze = gloss" made a huge difference.
Learning to use a dark, purplish red as a red mid-tone made a huge difference (as you can't go "up" with red, you can only go "yellower" or "pinker").
Making my own texture paint and bases as opposed to slopping Martian Ironearth on a base made a huge difference.

A lot of things.

I'm just not really sure what to do in order to bring the older models up to snuff.

I still have my old Blood Angels. The first squad was badly made, painted and couldn't be taken legally(one had a power sword, one had a power fist and there were two with special weapons, on top of the sergeant, whose neck became one with the glue.) I keep the because they were my first squad, and they had a lot of character, and so I can remind myself how much I've improved.

I'm slowly (very slowly) going through my old models, stripping them and repainting them. It isn't going particularly well because there are a lot of them and I can't really face re-painting them ALL.

Thats why I sold two giant Tyranid armies in the past 4 years.

I strip and restart all the things.

i think this might be my 5th stripping of the imperial fists.

As a modeller and painter first (as opposed to a gamer), I have started going back and stripping and re-painting my first models (of 5 years ago). I have the photos to look back on and remember how far I've come with my painting, I don't need to keep the models looking out of place on my shelf.

That said, I wouldn't rush to strip all your models and repaint them just yet. You don't want to be considering this again in another couple of months.

I'd wait (and I did) until your painting skill has seemed to plateau; when this month's models look only slightly better than last month's models, go back to those from a few years ago (or how ever long it takes, the first models), and then strip and re-paint them.

Otherwise you may end up in a cycle of re-painting old models and not painting any new ones.

Work on learning new techniques and improving your skills for now.

CHEMICAL BATH.

I whenever I have a noticable hike in painting skill I strip all of the older models.

Strip 'em down...and repaint them (unless you think you can shitf them for enough money to replace them).

I always kept a few of my old orcs for the sentiment.

Although now that I'm getting back into painting I find that either my eye sight and hand eye coordination has degraded, or I'm just really rusty. Hopefully its the second.

Where's the "gave up and moved on to a different army" option?

That's what I normally end up doing. Can't be bothered repainting the old ones, can't be bothered painting good looking models that are going to go in to the old army, so start a new army at a higher standard instead.

I would love to go back and rework some of my earlier models, but it's hard enough trying to reduce the pile of shame as it is! So I have to take the philosophical attitude of a painted model is better than an unpainted one and one day there will come a magical time when I have nothing left to do but repaint my old models...

I just sell the lot and start again!

 nerdfest09 wrote:
I just sell the lot and start again!

this is what i did...ive painted 3 1/4 armies in my lifetime... Crappy painted orks, acceptable marines, Really nice slaamanders, and now tyranids all are spray based... but not even 1/4th are painted to tabletop lol... a lot of it is learning what you can and cant do with certian paints. its a lot of learning by doing.

 nerdfest09 wrote:
I just sell the lot and start again!

I did that the first time and never again. 2nd stupidest thing I ever did in wargaming (right after "starting wargaming") Some people might be able to pull it off, but my first army took me ~4 months working on weekends to paint up, I sold it and it took *years* before I finished another army.

While it might work for some people, I think the best bet is to wait until you have assembled an army at a higher standard before selling the lower standard models.