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Afternoon All,

As a part of my midlife crisis I've decided to get back into GW games, starting with 40K. Pic below are the first two GW figures I've painted since 1994. I hope this will be slightly cheaper and a bit more dignified than buying a Porsche.

If you'll forgive a pretty basic question, would 50 Power Points be about right for a reasonably sized game completable in 2-3 hours?

Hi there.

Cheaper? To begin with, maybe.
More dignified? Only in geeky company

Those models are looking very table-top ready. Throw them into the Gallery to get people's voting opinion.

Once you get the hang of the rules, yeah, 50PL is 2-3 hours of play. If you can get the table set up ahead of time, that allows for more dice-time.

If you're looking for painting advice, I'd say start with picking up or making a wet palette and then thinning your paints.
Out of the pot the paint is usually too thick to properly apply to the model, so thinning it 1:1 with water will get you a far smoother application and give you more control.

The 1:1 is a rough guide but with experience you'll learn when to thin more or less.

Thinning your paint is usually the first bit of advice you'll get and it's always with good reason. You'll get a smoother finish, neater lines and have much more control. You will have to put on multiple coats to get an even finish, typically 2-3 depending on the pigment.

Using the GW paint system you usually prime the model, base coat it with your mid tone, which would be the green you used, wash using a shade which will give depth to the model, and then an edge highlight with a lighter green to give definition.

With practice and experience you'll add stages into this, like additional highlights or more depth to shadows.

Hey Midpoint, I hope you have some fun with the game! Lots of middle aged gamers here on Dakka. You are in good company.

Welcome back to the hobby! GW has a ton of YouTube videos up for basic painting advice, and I highly recommend them. Yes, they're mostly advertising for GW paints but there is some good stuff there and they offer a lot more technique advice than way back in 1994. You've still got the basics of brush control down pat, so you're doing all right and should improve quickly with a bit of research.

Cheaper? Sure.

But admit it, you still want the Porsche.

And now the whole Tactical Squad painted. Next up, remembering how to paint yellow for some Eldar!

Good luck with the yellow -that can be a tough color to paint.

As an aside, I learned on painting my son’s orks that a fairly easy way to do yellow is to paint the area an off-white (a tan works really well) and then brush Casandra Yellow shade over the area - gives a good yellow coloring and shades to boot.

Grey Seer base/spray->yellow Contrast.

I cannot stress enough how effective it is for large quantities quickly and easily.

Good Work.

Im similar to you, cant remember the exact year but it was maybe 1997 since my last 40k stuff.....I have painted some other stuff since.

Got Dark Imperium Box nearly finished now, just the flag guy and the 3 flying blokes to do.

Looking at getting some Tyranids to fight my Ultramarines if they do an Xmas box for them as suggested.

 Midpoint wrote:
And now the whole Tactical Squad painted. Next up, remembering how to paint yellow for some Eldar!

These are looking great! Welcome back to the hobby. I myself only came back in after a decade hiatus about three years ago, and I've been obsessed ever since.

Looking forward to seeing how things progress for you!

So, two things:

1) We have a Painting And Modeling section of this forum, and a P&M Showcase section, for all your painting needs!

2) Those look great!

Greetings!
I just hit 50yrs a few days ago so the midlife feelings are strong, I understand.
The painting is good.
I can guarantee as you get more done, you will get upset how much better your new stuff looks compared to your first few models.

Some more general things I would point out as insanely helpful things to look into:

1) "Zenithal" highlighting that can be done at the priming stage with plain old rattle-cans.
2) "Shade" Look at these paints, great ways to get a nice gradual shadow in recesses with a nice gradient.
3) "Airbrush" Few things make "block painting" faster and saves on paint and brushes alone for gravelled bases. Nothing beats it for a gradient of shade. I cursed mightily when I got into it for not doing that sooner.
4) "High Contrast Paints" This is a much thicker version of the shade paints, I would strongly suggest it's use for rough or uneven surfaces (fur, clothing, scales, some cloaks), it is not as nice on smooth flat or curved surfaces without a lot of fuss.
5) Look into paintbrush care, the higher end brushes make a HUGE noticeable difference but you want some practice in painting and care techniques.
6) Look for "Liquitex Matt Medium" as a means to refresh the old paints if they are not all "pucks" by now.
7) Adhesives! Gorilla Glue for the "crazy glue", LePages 100% repair glue (for insanely strong mixed materials use), Timiya White and Green cap polystyrene "welding" glue.

Anything else I can suggest is the warranty is expired on your eyes if past 40 years so some magnification and good swivel full spectrum lighting will make painting detail humane.

Best I can suggest without going into any more of a wall of text as it is.

Have FUN!

Forget the Porsche, get a Tesla!

Edit oops wrong thread

Stellar effort!

Feels good now that they are all finished up no ?

Welcome to the grind.

P.S. Not sure why you'd buy a Porsche if a Mustang is on the menu at similar price range