I'm usually a computer nerd and prefer to spend my money on PC games and PC upgrades. My games of choice include racing games from the arcadey NFS series to the realistic rFactor and GTR. Up to a month ago, I was burying myself up to the neck with Falcon 4 Allied Force, a flight simulator centered around the F-16 Falcon. I got a Cougar HOTAS, rudder pedals, steering wheel...
Then I decided I wanted something new. Something that involved people (and not just multiplayer over-the-internet type) and new experiences and fun. And I got about £150 to blow.
I had always visited the local GW store as well as a local comic book shop, just browsing and nosing around. I used to play D&D and dabbled with BattleTech so I was curious about minis and RPGs. I've never tackled minis though because I knew that while I possessed the tactical mind to play the game, I doubted my skills at painting. I've had a few lessons from the kind folks at GW but it was nowhere near what I wanted... and I'm pretty OCD and as a guy who's hobbies include precision (racing sims, flight sims), I was scared that I'd only disappoint myself.
My first forays into this hobby was a bit disappointing. My minis were dark and nowhere near what I wanted it to be. And it was messy. Then someone told me how to make it "neat." Aha! Now I can make cleaner minis by scraping the mold lines! Okay, so it tacks on about 10-15 minutes more per mini, but I was getting my OCD compulsion satisfied. So now I had clean minis, but I could not make it look how I wanted it to look. After a lot of reading and several hours of chatting with local players, I finished a mini... and it still isn't where I want it to be... but it was good. For a very critical guy, I'd have to admit to myself that my first attempt at a decent painted mini is actually good, at least better than I thought I could do. So there is hope after all.
After some discussion with the kind folks at this forum, I've learned some new skills, which mainly involved un-learning what the GW folks taught me ("TTQ army painted on a weekend!"), watering down my paints, and doing a couple of coats over-and-over-and-over, another surprise hit me. I found it actually relaxing to be painting! So far, I've done one SM mini and about 6 guns, each taking about 5-6 coats of washed-down paint and taking about 4 hours total, but I come out of it relaxed and happy and excited. I've just learned that this is just the first step in making a nice-looking mini and I'm learning new things everyday and so far, I'm loving every minute of it.
I've always suspected that this hobby is exceptionally expensive. I've just realized now that with what I've spent, I'm not even halfway to a 1,500 point army and while I can paint good reds with my paint selection, proper yellows or blues mean about another £20-30 more of paints. But I'm surprised at how the painting and the results are turning out.
If you've made it this far, I just want to thank you guys for reading and thanks for sharing your experiences and advice. I know I may not reach 'Eavy Metal standards, but you can be sure I aim to be as close as possible! But none of that would be easy without the help of the fine folks here. Cheers!
Then I decided I wanted something new. Something that involved people (and not just multiplayer over-the-internet type) and new experiences and fun. And I got about £150 to blow.
I had always visited the local GW store as well as a local comic book shop, just browsing and nosing around. I used to play D&D and dabbled with BattleTech so I was curious about minis and RPGs. I've never tackled minis though because I knew that while I possessed the tactical mind to play the game, I doubted my skills at painting. I've had a few lessons from the kind folks at GW but it was nowhere near what I wanted... and I'm pretty OCD and as a guy who's hobbies include precision (racing sims, flight sims), I was scared that I'd only disappoint myself.
My first forays into this hobby was a bit disappointing. My minis were dark and nowhere near what I wanted it to be. And it was messy. Then someone told me how to make it "neat." Aha! Now I can make cleaner minis by scraping the mold lines! Okay, so it tacks on about 10-15 minutes more per mini, but I was getting my OCD compulsion satisfied. So now I had clean minis, but I could not make it look how I wanted it to look. After a lot of reading and several hours of chatting with local players, I finished a mini... and it still isn't where I want it to be... but it was good. For a very critical guy, I'd have to admit to myself that my first attempt at a decent painted mini is actually good, at least better than I thought I could do. So there is hope after all.
After some discussion with the kind folks at this forum, I've learned some new skills, which mainly involved un-learning what the GW folks taught me ("TTQ army painted on a weekend!"), watering down my paints, and doing a couple of coats over-and-over-and-over, another surprise hit me. I found it actually relaxing to be painting! So far, I've done one SM mini and about 6 guns, each taking about 5-6 coats of washed-down paint and taking about 4 hours total, but I come out of it relaxed and happy and excited. I've just learned that this is just the first step in making a nice-looking mini and I'm learning new things everyday and so far, I'm loving every minute of it.
I've always suspected that this hobby is exceptionally expensive. I've just realized now that with what I've spent, I'm not even halfway to a 1,500 point army and while I can paint good reds with my paint selection, proper yellows or blues mean about another £20-30 more of paints. But I'm surprised at how the painting and the results are turning out.
If you've made it this far, I just want to thank you guys for reading and thanks for sharing your experiences and advice. I know I may not reach 'Eavy Metal standards, but you can be sure I aim to be as close as possible! But none of that would be easy without the help of the fine folks here. Cheers!
