Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

My group had a nice little informal expectation among our membership: show some progress from one session to the next. We play about once a month. Nobody raises an eyebrow at a primed army as long as it shows some paint the next time it appears and makes consistent progress. We do a little show and tell at the beginning of each meetup.

I try to turn over a new unit each time we play. This hobby comes behind work and family for me, but I've still been turning out about 1000 points a year, painted and based well above tournament standard.

In an emergency I would play with a unit or two unpainted or primed, but unpainted models grates on my nerves like jagged glass. I always endeavor to only field fully finished models, as that's the incentive to paint them.

Well, I'm only playing fully painted models.
The exception are assembled models but I'm not touching primed models until they are painted.

 vaklor4 wrote:
I'm curious what your opinions are on this subject. This is for non-tournament games either in your own home or at a store, whatever. What do you think constitutes 'battle ready'?

Where's "mostly painted but missing some highlights and weathering"?

Generally I try to play with painted only but time is issue always so I'm willing to budge a bit provided it's either mostly painted or we are just curious to see the model use on table and it's going to take ages to paint(like the warhound titan).

I try to play with mostly painted models and ever since ive switched to painting as I assemble them its easier (if slower) to field an all painted army. That being said half of my vehicles are primed with their base coat and I honestly find painting most vehicles more tedious than most.

As for my opponent I would prefer a fully painted army but I will play against an army in any state, even if its all grey. I am also fine with proxy's as long as its not terribly confusing to keep track of what is what. I have the luxury of some free time each week and would never deny a game with somebody who has less opportunity to paint or even that they dislike the painting aspect of the hobby and just want to play.

 MacPhail wrote:
My group had a nice little informal expectation among our membership: show some progress from one session to the next. We play about once a month. Nobody raises an eyebrow at a primed army as long as it shows some paint the next time it appears and makes consistent progress. We do a little show and tell at the beginning of each meetup.

I try to turn over a new unit each time we play. This hobby comes behind work and family for me, but I've still been turning out about 1000 points a year, painted and based well above tournament standard.

Honestly I think this is a great way to go about it as it not only gives motivation to get some painting done and build towards everyone have more painted models.

For the most part I only put WYSWYG painted models on the table. I’m a little more lax with my eldar, and put some bare plastic on the table briefly when I was starting them up again, as I lacked the minis to get a fully painted army down. But once I got enough of them painted to field a decent list, it’s all painted for them now. They are not a WYSWYG as I’d like do to the age of some of the models and the lack of easy conversions.

I’ll play against anything. I’d prefer it if the number of proxies/things I need to remember be kept under 3, just so I don’t need to keep asking what’s what. And I’d like to see painting progress, and proxies replaced over time.

I think I'd rather play an entirely unprimed army, than one that was entirely primed in black. It's hard enough to make out what the models actually are from the other side of a board. If they're soul sucking black it's much harder.

Otherwise... a proxy must be a comparable size model, and not just a base.

Fully painted army is a bonus.

If someone was struggling to paint something, i'd rather they take their time and enjoy it rather than rush something and regret it just for a game or tournament.

I'll take assembled (ideally WYSIWYG) from my opponent, but obviously prefer and will encourage painted models.

I try to hold myself to a higher standard and field painted stuff (or most of the army/fleet is painted but new additions will be in various stages). My first group had an only painted models rule and it made for a great experience.

I personally prefer painted, but I'm not so much of a snob that I'll play anyone as long as they are built. My time is limited enough, let alone limit it more to some arbitrary "level of completeness" of painting.

I hate incomplete models and completely avoid them, but I'm too slow in painting that I must field some unpainted models if I want to play

To be honest I don't mind playing and facing unpainted models, I can't stand proxies though, even small ones

And I certainly prefer unpainted models than those ones painted like gak by tournament players that must have their army ready in a few weeks because events don't allow unpainted stuff.

 ClockworkZion wrote:
Non-tournament? If we're talking just a single unit, or a couple of units, then assembled but unprimed is fine for a while, but progress should be made to get them to fully painted. A whole army from scratch is fine unpainted if you're just in a hurry to get them playable (especially if you're still deciding on which scheme you prefer) as long as progress is made to make them something more than naked plastic.

Basically the end goal is fully painted, but if progress is being made and it's not just "attack of the grey tide part 56" every game, then I'm not going to pick on anyone.

Exactly this.

Part of the problem of getting an army from shrink wrap to fully painted is the time it takes to get some models "playable".

For example a Stormraven is a big endeavour, and if you want to paint the inside of the cockpit and glue the canopy in, you can't actually assemble the top turret piece. So if someone wants to use their half built stormraven that they are mid-paint, then that's fine

I don't think i would choose to play against someone who had no interest in even meeting a 3 colours level. I like to take photos of games and playing against black primed models looks gak.

I have never used an unpainted model and I never will. I also don't want to play against unpainted armies. I may make some exceptions about the latter, but let's say my interest to arrange a game with a person drops dramatically if I know that they're using unpainted models.

I hate proxied armies. I have played several games with a buddy that was trying some stuff out. Having to ask 10 fething times a game "What's that again" gets fething old.

I don't mind primed armies. I would prefer painted, obviously. Primed is way better than grey plastic in my book.

what do you mean by " bare base" ? Some people play with just the bases and not the models ?!

Not everyone is in Warhammer for painting, many like the game or the people that are within the game, should should anyone be forced to paint? Building models is NOTHING compare to painting them, if someone needed to spend 40hrs+ to paint their army to a very minimal 3 color requirement and they hate every min of it, dont have time do to job/family, why force them?

Onto Proxy models, this is another thing, within friends there is no reason to not proxy, i've seen full paper armies. But for a local club, there still needs to be some standards mostly out of respect for the players and the Club, clubs dont make money from people playing with paper.

 godardc wrote:
what do you mean by " bare base" ? Some people play with just the bases and not the models ?!

I would not play against that for any reason. No thank you.

 Amishprn86 wrote:
Not everyone is in Warhammer for painting, many like the game or the people that are within the game, should should anyone be forced to paint? Building models is NOTHING compare to painting them, if someone needed to spend 40hrs+ to paint their army to a very minimal 3 color requirement and they hate every min of it, dont have time do to job/family, why force them?

No one is 'forcing' them to paint. I just don't want to play with such people.

 Crimson wrote:

 Amishprn86 wrote:
Not everyone is in Warhammer for painting, many like the game or the people that are within the game, should should anyone be forced to paint? Building models is NOTHING compare to painting them, if someone needed to spend 40hrs+ to paint their army to a very minimal 3 color requirement and they hate every min of it, dont have time do to job/family, why force them?

No one is 'forcing' them to paint. I just don't want to play with such people.

Never asked you to. Just like i dont ask them to paint their toys.

We are adults playing an adult game and if you feel that your adulthood needs to see little toys painted and his isnt, then you can be mature about it and tell him you dont want to play with him.

I answered fully painted only because I feel that's the ultimate goal. If someone has 90% of their army painted and are clearly working on getting the rest painted, I think it's all good. I understand someone wanting to get some new mini they bought into a game as soon as possible.

I put Fully Painted as the goal, but I do recognize that other players may not have the same temporal or financial commitment that I do and will not hold them to the same standard.

 Peregrine wrote:
Fully painted, no less.

Didn't we just have a whole 20 page thread complaining about casual at all costs players who shame people into trying to play the game only their way?

Personally, I will prefer a nicely painted or fully painted army to an unpainted army, but I do understand people who paint slowly or are still learning. If someone sits on a grey tide for months or years, I'll probably not play against them as much because it can get dull to totally take out the visual spectacle of the game.

But if someone's making steady progress on their stuff and half their army is unpainted, no problem. I'll often run a unit or two assembled and primed or partially painted to give myself some motivation to complete them based on them doing something cool on the table.

I'd rather play against a primed only army than an army where the player didn't have his rulebook and/or codex. Also, an already prepared list.

 godardc wrote:
what do you mean by " bare base" ? Some people play with just the bases and not the models ?!

I took that to mean "the model is not based" i.e. the model is fully painted but on a black base.

Some people are really picky about that. Myself I prefer a black base to a "Tournament standard I have to base these so I slopped on some elmers glue and shook them in loose gravel". They're generally obnoxious and distracting.

(at the mention of basing my eye begins to twinge and twitch) Let's not go down that terrible rabbit hole...

 Peregrine wrote:
Fully painted, no less.

I concur, with a tiny margin of WiP for very new toys, this only applys to my side, not going to judge other players paint or lack of

I don't care what you do with your dudes, but my dudes? Well, at home I can't resist pewpewing with new toys, but when I go to the game store my dudes are going to look the best. Unfinished minis stay home on the paint shelf and feel ashamed. If I go to the store and your dudes look better than mine, we're going to have a little chat...

I'd prefer painted, but I've played games all the way down to armless gray plastic, and even paper standees. I think I'd balk at just bases though.

On the topic of basing. If someone put down a fully painted model, with a pristine black base, then I'd consider it based. I ran into that at a local tournament, where one of the judges wanted to dock me because I chose to base mine in straight black. I painted my force up completely, but because I knew in advance that the boards were going to be desert, urban, and snow (and I only had grass flock, and no disposable cash left), they'd look out of place on all of the boards. So I spent an hour with a pot of chaos black carefully painting over the paint marks on the bases, so they were nice and uniform.

Personally I'd feel ashamed to put an unfinished model on the table.

I have no problem with fielding 200 orks in grey.
I do paint models from time to time, but I don't enjoy it a whole lot, so why shouldn't I spent more time on thing I enjoy?

If you have a problem with that, feel free to paint them, I'll provide food an beverages if you do.

As for empty bases, the only reason for some one to field a model like that is if you were going to field a model you forgot to pack it, some order got lost in the mail or tau stealth suits.