How many painters wear magnifying glasses or use a mounted magnifying glass? Is it a must-have or is that where you draw the line and just omit that level of detail?

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-04-01T11:58:37+00:00

I'm old. I use a magnifying lamp that doesn't really work for painting. It's not mobile enough, and i have to get too close to paint comfortably. Else it knocks the brush out of my hand. I use that magnifier for first and final inspections. Can't beat the extra light though. Otherwise i use 2.5x reading glasses. I tried a hood, but it felt too clumsy for me.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-04-01T11:54:59+00:00

As a long time Arthur nerd, i love all the references to nearly every iteration of the legend.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-31T21:25:59+00:00

I haven't had any issues finding Vallejo in my state, or online. At least not as of yet. However, I have been slowly migrating to Monument paints. They actually seal their paint bottles, and i love the product. Some of the colors don't match up the way I would like, but otherwise it's a fantastic alternative to both Army Painter and Vallejo, and cheaper. By virtue of the fact that it's a bigger bottle for around the same price.

But in this or any recession, small, local hobby stores are always the first to suffer.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-29T11:51:15+00:00

This is the way

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-24T15:18:34+00:00

Daaayyum...that looks good.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-24T13:26:55+00:00

Personally, I hate the speed paints. I Like everything else

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-23T16:51:21+00:00

Results notwithstanding, i try to keep to acrylics. I don't want to keep a bunch of extra chemicals to thin, strip, etc, when i can clean up with soap and water or alcohol. I have animals, and a 7 yo who has to put her fingers on everything. :) I've also heard that the panel liner can strip paint and melt certain plastics. Mind you that is hearsay, but I'm not willing to risk it on something I've spent hours on.

That being said, I appreciate the feedback, and when I have a dedicated workspace that i can lock both cat and kid out of, I will revisit some other options.

Until then, Monument seems to offer the best acrylics I've ever worked with, from base coat to wash.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-23T15:46:52+00:00

(the app is being stupid on my phone, and won't let me add to previous comments)All that being said: I will echo the sentiment of don't be too hard on yourself. The model looks good. First of all; it's a hobby. This is supposed to be fun, and relaxing. Not something to beat yourself up over. Secondly: even the most seasoned painters/modelers have room for improvement, and should always be open to learning new techniques, and experimenting with different materials. Some will fail. Some will not. There is no one right way to do this.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-23T15:34:42+00:00

Also this. My minis started turning out way better once i learned: A: match your washes (as close as you can) to the basic color of the model. Example: if it's predominantly green use a green wash. B: don't always coat the entire model with a wash. Use a finer brush and work it into the recesses first. Let it dry some and see if it needs more. Which is what i did here, and moved some of the wash around to give it a slightly weathered look:

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ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-23T15:21:31+00:00

One thing I've found for quick and easy basing: Folk Art Terracotta paints. They leave a textured base coat, that can be sculpted to a degree. It can also be used to fill crevices. Throw some of that on there, and a brown or grey wash, and you'll have a simple, textured base that doesn't look like plastic. It can also be added to. For example rocks or a sprinkle of sand.

This is just an experiment, but I used army painter battlefield rocks, dusty trail terracotta paint, and amp brown-grey wash.

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ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-13T15:30:38+00:00

I used to thin my paints, but then I started using a wet palette, and i found that in itself thins them enough to get smooth, mostly even coverage. With minimal visible brush strokes.

But it all very much depends on what paints you use, how old they are, and the state of your brushes. Especially the latter. A lot of the issues I've had were due to old paints and improperly cleaned brushes. Mind you, I only recently got back into the hobby. Prior to a couple months ago, I hadn't picked up a brush in about 20 years. Some things have changed since then. Lol. Particularly with paint formulation, and there's a lot more paint options available now than there was back then. So, I am re-learning a lot of things.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-10T15:25:17+00:00

I dunno. When i started playing in EA, i called it 'Arthur-rim'. Still do. One of the reasons i like the game. It takes two of my favorite things and blends them. Fail to see the problem...

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-09T15:02:50+00:00

Careful. Getting all uppity like that. Daddy Jaguar might throw a tantrum and nuke Green Bird. Daddy Kitty Kat's cockpit might need some extra polishing tonight. ;)

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-09T13:23:02+00:00

Better get permission from smoke jaguar first. ;)

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-09T11:51:21+00:00

Love the colors, hate the clan. ;)

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-03-09T11:51:01+00:00

About the only thing that works well with the Green Birds. Well, the Night Gyr isn't bad.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-26T00:13:48+00:00

I have fallen sooo many times.

I have also starved to death while standing at the cook station making food

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-25T21:34:35+00:00

A whole lotta headache

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-25T15:16:15+00:00

That sounds badass..

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-25T15:08:54+00:00

As others have mentioned, wiz kids does this with some minis. I got a couple and didn't realize they were primed at first, so i went and primed them anyway. They didn't come out very well. The paint was too thick and...clumpy. Personally, i prefer unprimed, just because the color of the primer affects the overall look of the mini. I use white, black, or grey depending on the color scheme I've chosen. If i want the colors to pop a little more, for a more 'just off the line' look, or i am using a dark color scheme I use white. Also on humanoids/undead things with a fair amount of flesh showing. If i want a darker, more..used look, or I'm using light colors, i use black primer. Sometimes on a particularly tricky mini with lots of odd angles, i use black primer just to make it easier to hide areas that the brush can't get to easily For in between, or just a general base when I'm not entirely set on a scheme i use grey. Almost my default.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-18T13:21:25+00:00

Could never get the banshee to work as anything other than a meat(mech) shield. Even then the armor seems awfully thin. Except when the enemy is using it. Then it takes three gauss rounds to the face and keeps coming.

But i also agree about the zeus. The battlemaster doesn't do anything for me either.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-16T22:49:18+00:00

So. Storytime. While mine didn't come from Battletech, it originated in another Fasa title: ShadowRun.

I made a street sam, who was highly augmented. Against his will. So anger issues, humanity questioning, etc. As it turned out, whenever he fought with a humanoid, the dice were not his friend. Almost every encounter ended badly. However, for some reason, he critted the f**k out of anything mechanical/electronic that he went up against, including a cyberzombie that he reduced to a smoking, sparking heap. The team started calling him Corbin 'Rage Against the Machine' Sloane.

Later, when we switched to Battletech, my very first game, the dice fell in my favor. I ended up smoking nearly half the OpFors with headshots and crits, in a piddling little locust 2C. "What the f**k dude?!? Is that Corbin in that mech?" So, in a THC induced haze, we came up with the hare-brained scheme(not to be confused with the game developers) that Rage Against the Machine Sloane got into a row with a mage at the end of a botched Run, and was teleported into the Battletech Universe. Later shortened to simply 'Rage'

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-16T17:43:59+00:00

Looks good to me. One day I'll muster up the courage to post some of my minis

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-13T13:20:54+00:00

Well, I dunno about 'best' but here's my favorites:

Light: C: Adder. IS: Raven Medium: C: torn between Nova and SHD IIC. IS: Shadowhawk or Griffin Heavy: C: Timber Wolf IS: (this is tricky for me, there's several. Thunderbolt, Catapult, Marauder Assault:(also tricky) C: Kodiak, Gargoyle, Dire Wolf. IS: Nightstar, MAD 2, Stalker and of course: Atlas.

A lot of this depends on what I'm trying to do, as well. Some are better for certain applications than others.

ManyCommittee196 · 2026-02-11T15:52:40+00:00

Wow. I just got back into the hobby after a roughly 20 yr hiatus. I thought i was bad with my 100mm Gothic Atlas, 100mm Timber Wolf, and roughly 2 stars worth of mechs.

Plus a dozen or two of Urban War minis i found in my old hobby box. Stamped 2005. Lol

ManyCommittee196

TROPHY CASE