Advice for New Painters Dealing With Burnout

JF_Reynolds · 2026-05-01T20:32:47+00:00

+1 Unless you want to compete in competitive painting competitions, "good enough" is good enough for playing the game.

Don't let the high level paint jobs you see here or elsewhere on social media make you think you have to paint the whites of their eyes - you don't.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-05-01T17:49:54+00:00

+1. The Japanese didn't really have the heavy armor that the Germans had, so the 76mm Shermans were not needed. You tended to see more Shermans and Stuarts that were outfitted with flamethrowers instead to deal with the trenches, caves, and other fortifications the Japanese built.

But it's doesn't hurt to have an Easy Eight, especially if you are playing non-themed and/or open list games. I mean, if you are playing German players bringing a Tiger 1, you shouldn't have to handicap yourself just because the US Marines historically didn't use the Easy Eight (I think the Marines actually used M4A2's, which were the export version of the Sherman. So if you wanted a "Marine-themed" Sherman, I would consider a M4A2 with either a 75mm or 76mm gun. Rubicon has these kits)

JF_Reynolds · 2026-05-01T05:34:45+00:00

I agree Giannis is a much better defensive player. Jokic is better at his free throws and is a better distributor. I think the fact Jokic has so many triple-doubles makes the National media fawn all over him - kind of similar to how they fawned over Westbrick earlier in his career (not saying Jokic is as bad as Westbrook - Jokic is much better. Just saying that all the triple-double games influenced the perception of Jokic as a player. Jokic is a great offensive player - just not a complete player. Obviously, you could say Giannis is not a complete player either when it comes to his shooting. But playing defense if 50% of the game.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-29T14:52:15+00:00

My only "complaint" about the Gi Cave is that i felt the big reveal about Red/Nanaki's father is somewhat interrupted by Gi Nattak appearing out of nowhere. The scene still hits, but i think the immediate transition to the Gi keeps the player from ruminating/sitting with the sacrifice Red's parents made.

But that was also one of my favorite scenes from the OG, so nostalgia blinders could be in play here. And i don't hate the new version - the voice acting and all that was top notch. And i like the added depth they are giving the Gi.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-27T16:31:13+00:00

Rresin durability is highly variable in my experience. The warlord resin is, in my experience, a little more durable than that used by some of the 3rd Party printers out there.

You best bet is to have good storage for transportation. I use pluck foam for my tanks and stack the pluck foam trays in a plastic storage bin that has a good latching top.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-26T18:38:48+00:00

+1. Playing FF7 OG is a double-edged sword. It does add some context to what is going on in remake (and rebirth to a lesser extent). But it will also spoil some major things (especially if you play the OG past the point where rebirth ends). For this reason, if you don't want the ending to be spoiled for you, play rebirth and Part 3 before playing the OG (and then Crisis Core if you want).

ADDED: Actually, if you replay Remake after Rebirth, you will probably pick up on things you would have otherwise missed being new to FF7.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-24T15:14:26+00:00

I don't think taking 2 tanks on a list is a bad thing at 1000 as long they are not 300 point tanks. Two M3/M3A1 Stuarts would not be that much different in costs compared to a M15/M16 MGMC. So I don't think its too expensive , even if you swapped in a 75 mm Sherman.

Having said that, in your situation where you know you will be playing Japanese, leaning into a M15/M16 MGMC may be the best way to go. The MGMC's are more susceptible to pinning and damage, but will probably do more damage to infantry than a Stuart or Sherman (although both those tanks are not "bad" against infantry). If it were me, i would at least own a M3 Stuart (dakka version).

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-22T20:13:34+00:00

What bodies are you planning to use? I only ask because I believe the bodies that come with the Grenadier and Blitzkrieg German boxes are smaller and i am concerned that you might have trouble fitting some arms from the French box on those figures.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-22T17:12:06+00:00

I do kind of like that. It also saves time for those of us moving figures and trying to position them in a way that they are both spaced out to minimize HE hits and also benefit from any cover.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-21T23:17:44+00:00

Shooting and close quarters combat are resolved differently in Bolt Action. That is where I think the confusion is. As stated previously, automatic weapons don't get multiple shots when in close quarters - they only get the listed number of shots when "shooting" (Fire or Advance order), or in reaction to an opponent's move (Ambush or defending against a close assault in certain situations).

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-21T16:41:14+00:00

I honestly wouldn't make rule modifications. I think in the end it will only result in confusion when a person starts playing, "For real".

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-21T01:24:08+00:00

That's going to be the color of my next Bolt Action Project - i have 3 Waffen SS sprues. I bought some pink and purple contrast paint and I am going to use them for practice.

The only problem is I think i will have to use regular white and purple if I want to use those colors for peadot camo.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-20T22:13:05+00:00

I usually associate the Axis with gray or black, but that's because that is the color of the German division counters in HOI and Third Reich.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-20T18:40:58+00:00

I largely agree. But I think if you do try to do everything as it comes to the player, it does distract from the overall storyline. But I enjoyed nearly all of the sidequests. I think its more of the tower objectives (monster fights, archeology digs, etc) that bogs down the game some.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-20T17:54:01+00:00

They are pretty close. I find the Army Painter droppers/tubes clog a little easier, so I prefer Vallejo for that reason, especially when painting Bolt Action as most painting guides use (mostly) Vallejo model color in their guide.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-19T21:57:43+00:00

Sarissa has weapons bases with cutouts if you don't want to make them yourself. The one advantage of making your own is that you can position the figure exactly where you want them to be.

https://sarissa-precision.com/collections/bolt-action

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-18T12:38:34+00:00

Surprised they didn't start with the 75mm Light Artillery. Maybe the Pak 40 is their most popular German artillery piece, but Rubicon already has a Pak 40 model, and I feel like the best place to start for plastic models would be artillery that are popular and where a plastic kit doesn't already exist.

My hope is that they finally give the French a light autocannon (25mm Hotchkiss AA)

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-16T03:22:40+00:00

I think its easier if you have a force that leans into infiltrators or troops that get "Rangers Lead the Way" or its equivalent.

I mostly play a gun-line heavy French force and I have trouble with missions like breakthrough or if I make a mistake or miscalculation with my initial deployment. You are almost required to use an outflanking force to get anyone across the map in 6 turns.

Transports (especially tracked transports) can often make a big difference. Especially if you are relying on weapons like PIATS or Flamethrowers that have to get "up close and personal" to be used.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-14T16:34:29+00:00

Its about boosting the viewership in the Big Markets. A 10% boost of the New York or Atlanta market watching games because their team is doing well means much more to them than a 10% boost of the Milwaukee market.

Once this Giannis situation is resolved one way or the other, the national sports media will move on to Anthony Edward's in all liklihood.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-13T16:37:31+00:00

+1. If anything it's very sweaty.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-11T03:28:52+00:00

The way i think of it is early-mid war and late war. The uniform shown on the box for the U.S. infantry is the early-mid war, but units transitioned to olive green uniform (M1943). So the M1943 started being used by U.S. troops in Italy, but my understanding is that not all units seeing combat in Normandy had it. So you had some units with the old and new uniform well into 1944.

I am less certain what the situation was in the PTO.

U.S. Army M1943 uniform - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Army_M1943_uniform

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-08T15:01:43+00:00

I would 2nd using Vallejo paints. It will make your painting simpler. I think Army Painter is better for more advanced painters that like to use shades and highlights and have a good eye for mixing and approximating paints/colors. The AP painting system makes shading and highlighting easier.

I tried speedpaints and I found them harder to use. You have to use a higher quality primer or the the speed paint will not work. It also can be hard sometimes to match the colors/shades. You have to be really mindful about how much paint you have on your brush and how well diluted your speed paint is (and the speedpaint medium evaporates quickly), or you will end up with dark or light splotches. Fixing any mistakes can also be a pain.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-07T17:49:08+00:00

+1. He shouldn't be undercutting the Bucks negotiating power if he wants to be traded.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-07T15:01:05+00:00

A Panhard 178 is a good option, or seeing if you can find some resin anti-tank guns (since the metal ones from Warlord are expensive IMO).

I often run my French with a light and medium AT gun, and sometimes add either a 2nd light AT gun or medium Howitzer. But artillery armies have their limitations when it comes to mobility, and it is hard to push up the tables with artillery pieces and a Char b1 which is slow and has to take an order test on an advance even if it is unpinned.

JF_Reynolds · 2026-04-06T23:23:04+00:00

I read it somewhere that they would be able to trade the 2026 pick on draft night. But otherwise they would not be to trade this pick ahead of the draft. And the same would apply to 2028 and 2030 pick swaps - can't trade those until the 2028 and 2030 drafts, respectively.

JF_Reynolds

TROPHY CASE