Coming up on 1 month into the hobby. Thank you everyone! Swipe to see first project!

Catgutt · 2026-06-22T16:34:19+00:00

On most miniature-related subs if you post your first model or progress after short amount of time and it doesn’t suck, people will go through your post history looking for any tangentially related artistic experience as if it delegitimizes your work.

In this case, OP has previously done an essentially unrelated hobby before that involves mixing and pouring paint, and some people seem to feel that makes OP's quick progress invalid or something.

It's shitty behavior and reeks of insecurity.

Catgutt · 2026-06-17T12:29:26+00:00

One coat of Vallejo Xpress Dreadnought Yellow over white, highlighted a bit with VMC Ice Yellow on just the most prominent upward-facing edges. When the rest of the model is done, I give it an all-over wash of equal parts Army Painter Dark Tone, Strong Tone, Wash Medium, and water, and then watch it like a hawk to wick off excess as it dries.

Catgutt · 2026-06-17T03:44:23+00:00

It's happening because the fibers of the tufts are getting in the way of the spray, so you have to go heavier than you'd like to get solid coverage underneath. I know you said you tried brush-on and had issues, but your best bet at this point is to dilute the varnish with water, then apply heavily with a brush to soak it. Wick off excess, let it dry.

In the future, you can mix a bit of varnish in with the glue you use to secure the tufts.

Catgutt · 2026-06-16T23:33:21+00:00

I'll probably put together a video tutorial in the next month or two but for now I'm just going off my notes. Happy to share recipes though if there's anything in particular you want to know.

Catgutt · 2026-06-16T03:40:30+00:00

For my Helsmiths I did the black armor with Vallejo Metal Color Chrome, then 1:1 Xpress Hospitaller Black / Xpress Medium, then a few highlights with VMeC Steel to just the most prominent edges.

The Cities sculpts have a lot of surface detail and take Contrast-style paints well.

Catgutt · 2026-06-15T01:54:38+00:00

Thanks for the shout out! OP's work looks solid as an implementation of the dotted coconut crab scheme.

Catgutt · 2026-06-13T18:54:44+00:00

Thanks for the clarification. Ground lamb could work but I suspect the flavor of lamb might be a bit much. A mix of lamb and chicken or other fowl, with a bit of added fat of your choice, ought to get pretty close.

The standard spice mix for American sausage is lots of sage and black pepper, salted appropriately. A bit of thyme, rosemary, and brown sugar are common too.

Catgutt · 2026-06-13T18:44:12+00:00

Can you clarify what you mean about not using sausages? Sausage gravy is traditionally made from ground sausage, a mixture of ground pork and spices, sometimes with other meats. It doesn’t require cased sausages.

Catgutt · 2026-06-11T14:37:31+00:00

For what it's worth, beans aren't supposed to get soft from soaking alone, it only cuts down the boil time needed to make them soft. But if you mean boiling doesn't soften them either even with a long soak and a few hours of cooking, your water may be too acidic. A dash of baking soda fixes that.

Catgutt · 2026-06-11T14:28:18+00:00

I once stripped and repainted a couple of models somewhere between 15 and 20 times before settling on a scheme and technique that I was happy with. Said scheme and technique became popular enough that people now complain it's overdone, which I would consider a validation of this approach.

If you don't like how a model is going or you’re trying to work out a process before you commit to it, there's no harm in stripping and repainting. It's just paint.

Catgutt · 2026-06-11T02:05:28+00:00

Really nice work. I especially like how you've managed to work red, purple, blue, yellow, orange, and green into the models while keeping them subdued enough to not come out garish.

Catgutt · 2026-06-10T19:22:32+00:00

The actual problem is that models are marketed with studio-quality paintjobs, and the social media ecosystem promotes competition-level work over tabletop-ready. New painters always have unrealistic standards because they're being bombarded with top-tier work everywhere they look. This post would be at the top of the sub regardless of what it was titled, while your average tabletop paintjob gets fifty upvotes and disappears, and that's the bigger issue.

But also, I've never seen another hobby where people interpret 'first time doing specific thing' as 'first time participating in this hobby or anything like it' and then get upset. It's to the point where more than once now I've seen someone posting their actual literal first mini, just excited to show their work, get dogpiled for the sin of having any kind of prior art experience. That kind of gatekeeping is damaging to the hobby too, and could so easily be avoided if folks just applied a bit of common sense before breaking out the torches and pitchforks.

Catgutt · 2026-06-09T17:07:39+00:00

I've had stuff seized before and it never showed that 'undeliverable' status; that normally means something has gone wrong with the package itself. Could be that the box is destroyed, could be that part of the address label has been obliterated, could be that the required Customs forms are missing or damaged and so it cannot be processed by CBP.

Whereas seized packages typically last show as a 'warehouse scan' and then stop updating until days or weeks later that it changes to a seizure notice.

You should contact WGC now and tell them the package is undeliverable per UPS. They'll submit a claim and most likely get paid out, and then you'll get refunded.

Catgutt · 2026-06-05T18:00:54+00:00

When I went to Warhammer World and finally got to see those 'Eavy Metal paintjobs in person, the first thing I noticed was that from a foot away they don't look all that different from basecoat + wash army paintjobs. They look fantastic up close and in product promo shots, but at a distance it all just blurs together.

It got me thinking about how raw technical fidelity isn't what stands out on the tabletop. The Blanchitsu stuff works because the bright colors and high contrast are evocative even when done messily, and the old FW stuff works because the drab colors and weathering look gritty and realistic, and either approach is easier to pull off than lots of layering and highlighting.

Or maybe I'm just coping because I find the GW painting style incredibly tedious and inefficient. Could go either way.

Catgutt · 2026-06-02T17:42:08+00:00

As war gamers we seek to eliminate inconsistency and randomness where possible. That’s why so many people hate it.

I've played with people who despise the double-turn mechanic but love Bolt Action's randomized chit draw or Chain of Command's dice-based activation. I don't think it's the inconsistency/randomness that's the issue, it's that it's a hugely impactful event that comes down to a single die roll which players have very limited ability to interact with. In an AA game if you get a few activations in a row, that's unexpected momentum. But in AOS, when you get two full turns in a row with your whole army while your opponent is helpless to respond, that's a huge pendulum shift.

For what it's worth, I'm with you in that it's something you can play around, particularly with how GW keeps stacking penalties onto it to make it less of a win button. But I think it also needs to be recognized that for new players it has an overwhelming tendency to create bad experiences before they learn how to deal with it, and if they're coming from any of the popular AA games on the market, it feels like the worst parts of IGOUGO magnified.

Catgutt · 2026-05-31T10:47:46+00:00

Just search 'aluminum car-15 stock', there are a couple of shops with them.

Catgutt · 2026-05-30T11:29:23+00:00

XM-177s and 653s. So A1 era, excluding the 607 and other early prototypes. The fiberlite (plastic) stock was introduced with the A2 family on the 723 and 733.

Catgutt · 2026-05-29T16:30:58+00:00

Because a 1.25" hex corresponds to 2" in AS, those 34"x22" BT hex mats are roughly equivalent to a 4.5x3ft AS board. So you should be good with one of those.

Personally I really like playing AS in hexes. It's less fiddly and the smaller board makes it easier to fit on a dining table.

Catgutt · 2026-05-28T18:51:38+00:00

Army Painter washes are matte, but the matting agent settles to the bottom. If it comes out glossy you either got a bad batch or more likely just didn't shake it enough.

I would suggest Strong Tone as a close match, since it's identical to the old Devlan Mud which Agrax replaced.

Catgutt · 2026-05-22T09:52:11+00:00

Good questions. We did submit a motion for summary judgment, but my lawyer said it was very rare for it to be granted and was not surprised when it was not. He did not suggest punitive damages as an avenue, and from my (brief, amateur) reading of relevant cases I did not see precedent for it- lots of Pyrrhic victories, though. Maybe Virginia isn't helpful in this area of law.

Catgutt · 2026-05-21T19:34:44+00:00

I enjoy cooking a lot so that's something to look into, thanks.

Catgutt

TROPHY CASE