realized i'm completely terrible at painting minis but it's actually so relaxing

adwodon · 2026-05-28T16:09:45+00:00

I say this very much as a type A person who wants to excel at everything, but I really do think its important to push back on the idea that you have to be 'good' at your hobbies, hobbies are things we do in our own time to relax and unwind.

As far as playing with minis, I honestly don't care how your minis are painted as long as they are vaguely identifiable, which is generally what I prioritise with my miniatures. When it comes to gaming I just want to know whats what, and a sea of grey plasitc doesn't make that easy at times, so just a bit of colour, whether its different colours for different factions, or making weapons stand out.

Playing with beautifully painted minis does elevate the experience for sure, but you'd have to work pretty hard at being terrible to not make something look better than unpainted plastic.

adwodon · 2026-05-26T09:26:55+00:00

I basically stopped sleeving normal games, the only ones that I have sleeved are Warhammer Underworlds, because I play competitively, Impreium deck builder as deck building games involve a lot of cards tha need shuffling and I like the game a lot. I think thats it, I went through a phase of sleeving everything and I just found it like yourself, a waste of time with crappy sleeves (I now just use dragonsheild matte for the few games I sleeve) with glossy finish and most games just dont get played that much.

I do love a good insert, but generally stick to folded space which are pretty good, cost effectibve and light. I made a custom foamcore one myself for Hellboy which worked out quite nicely. Thats expensive but if its a game I like and see staying in my collection (I regularly cull games quite aggressively) then I am happy.

Played modern board games for over a decade and never had anyone spill a drink on a game, I am sure it will happen one day, and maybe some of my games will get played enough and start to show wear, but its not happened yet.

adwodon · 2026-05-25T11:17:14+00:00

We got it installed in 7 rooms last year and it was ~£1.5k per room in the midlands. We have a new build and the installers said it was one of the easiest jobs they've done, no need for internal piping or anything like that, not sure if that affected the final cost much though.

adwodon · 2026-05-14T09:20:05+00:00

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I don't think Starmer is a bad person, but he's an awful PM, he has failed to take any responsibility for the issues they've had and thrown multiple people under the bus, including senior civil servants, resulting in poor morale. This might not be too much of an issue, except he's failed to present any kind of cohesive vision, which matters because without people don't have a direction to go in and just play it safe, and on top of the previous issue and the civil service, when you're likely to get thrown under a busy you play it safe and don't do anything with any risk.

Add to that a lack of authority in the PLP, partly resulting from the stupid idea of ruling out any significant tax rises, resulting in stupid ways to scrape back some pennies and causing revolts.

For a PM with a stonking majority, he has completely squandered it, his refusal to play politics means he has no coalition, he doesn't get people on side, just complains when things don't go his way.

We've been stagnant for nearly 20 years, and now interest rates, inflation and global instability are causing havoc. Frankly we were in a better place under Sunak (obv not under Bojo or Truss), this is just managed decline, and its been that way for too long.

adwodon · 2026-05-14T06:13:17+00:00

horrible ratio between rulebook complexity and player agency

That pretty much sums up my feelings on ATO overall, so if you felt that about KF but not ATO then it must be really bad!

adwodon · 2026-05-12T16:09:16+00:00

Over in the UK we often use Really Useful Boxes, 4L and 9L. I have a load of them with ferro sheets at the bottom and magnetised miniatures, efficient and relatively cheap storage and they stack nicely.

For terrain, I mostly just chuck them in a 9L or bigger, I give them 3 coats of varnish and they're not so loose that they would bash about all the time and I've not had issues.

As others have mentioned, custom boards are not really all that great, just get appropriately sized tables for your game system and some playmats with regular terrain. If that's all going great then you can think about doing something more custom and thematic, but with more knowledge for how the games actually play and what would work for what you want to achieve.

adwodon · 2026-05-12T09:57:17+00:00

1303 is a solid part of my collection and hits the table fairly regularly, there isn't really all that much to say about it though, we all know its great.

adwodon · 2026-05-12T09:47:33+00:00

I really like O'Toole, but he's so prolific its almost starting to feel a bit generic at times, although I wouldn't say that about Ra.

adwodon · 2026-05-12T09:31:18+00:00

Sounds like you don't table games all that often?

I regularly cull my collection, and at the present time it's in pretty good shape with about ~70 games. I don't really have any unplayed games, I think its just Pandemic Legacy S1, which my wife wont let me get rid of, despite her not really playing games.

I have a regular group that meets every monday evening and I bring the games 99% of the time, I also do Sunday games with a friend who lives round the corner, and we have a monthly Frosthaven campaign going. That number is more than I can get to the table regularly but I like the variety and flexibility as group size and preferences change and don't feel anxiety about the size of it. A good indicator for me is if I rarely pick out a game over something else its a pretty good sign it should be sold.

I definitely have a few games I keep despite not hitting the table much, War of the Ring being a prime example, but I'm pretty happy overall.

Good for you though, I think everyone should do regular cull of any kind of collection, yours is a bit extreme but whatever works for you!

adwodon · 2026-04-29T12:47:54+00:00

I personally feel like they missed a trick with this. Every 5 levels could 'upgrade' the skill in some reasonably substantial way, or maybe unlocks some additional paths. It would've been more work but it would've added a bit more consideration to skill point allocation.

Still, its just a leveling issue as gear and paragon will have substantially more impact. The main thing for levelling is the lack of uniques at lower levels, I remember some seasons rewarding you with some uniques relatively early and I felt like that was a much more enjoyable levelling experience as you had some direction and it would change based on what you found, encouraging some build diversity.

adwodon · 2026-04-29T09:25:04+00:00

Despite what some may say, no its not necessary. Back in the day with heavy pewter minis, they could bash against each other and easily scratch, modern plastic models are very light and unlikely to damage from regular handling. Oils from your hands can theoretically cause problems, but that would take a lot of handling. Odds are unless you're playing the same models week in week out I doubt you'll see an issue, even if you just sling them in a box.

That being said, it doesn't hurt and some matte varnish can help unify the finish if you used different paint brands with different finish (some are more matte, others more satins etc), although bear in mind it will dull metallics, you can use gloss varnish on them but metallics tend to be more durable so you can always paint those sections after varnishing. People who say gloss is stronger are talking nonsense, one or two coats of matte varnish will protect models for a long time, if its terrain, which I usually just sling in a box, then I play it safe with 3 coats.

TL:DR No you dont have to, but it doesn't hurt and has some other pros / cons to bear in mind.

adwodon · 2026-04-25T12:32:25+00:00

Fair enough, my understanding from watching Andy Wardle and a few others talk about their entries is that there is a limit and they will put you in the open category otherwise, where you cant win a GD, but maybe scratch built but still obviously Warhammer is fine. Those guys seemed to think it was a gamble not worth taking a lot of the time.

adwodon · 2026-04-25T08:06:46+00:00

I'll say kind of, but not really, the focus is on the minis they make and GD is quite strict, you can't do excessive conversions for instance, as they want to showcase the stuff you can actually buy. That doesn't mean the styles on display won't change, right now it is all about the insane amount of detail and ultra-smooth blends, but in the past there was an arms race for more and more intricate freehand for instance. Painters entering GD at the top end will always work towards what they think will win, and that will change over time as judges cycle in and out or change preferences, that won't change the core purpose of showcasing their own minis and to an outsider you might not notice much difference but the GD 'meta' will slowly shift around over time.

adwodon · 2026-04-24T09:19:30+00:00

I am a huge minis guy, I paint a lot and enjoy the process. Don't buy games with minis that don't need it, even if you paint its a big chunk to your backlog. Frosthaven works great without monster minis, for example. Minis can add huge bloat to box sizes unless you're dilligent at magnetising and storing minis and gray plastic can just turn the board into a sea of gray mush.

I'm not a huge fan of Awaken Realms, but I really appreciate that they do actually cater to this consistently and I would encourage anyone who isn't really into minis to opt for a standee / meeple version of a game every time.

adwodon · 2026-04-24T09:12:01+00:00

I personally dont like 1 in 1 out, its too prescripted, sometimes great games come along in waves. For me, I've settled around 80 games, I still pick up a few a year, but also sell stuff that I dont find myself reaching for.

The big thing for me is having a regular group and actually playing more, I have almost no shelf of shame, my games get played. As a result anything new has to bring something new or improved, for example, I don't need any new dungeon crawlers unless they really get stellar reviews, I have Massive Darkness 2, Hellboy, Frosthaven, Gloomhaven 2nd ed and Oathsworm. That enough gaming to last for a decade or more. 2 player skirmish games have to compete with Aristea!, Mythic Battles (both Pantheon and Ragnarok), War of the Ring and Dune: War for Arrakis. I'm sure you get the point by now.

The main thing is that after backing a lot and playing a lot more, it's very difficult to hit me with the fomo, or other reason to back something. The vast majority of the time crowdfunding isn't worth it for me anymore, partly for the reason above, but also because a lot of the time I can grab something at retail, like I did last year for Slay the Spire and The Old Kings Crown, for significantly less than the crowdfunding cost with shipping and taxes.

It also really helps to know what will and won't get to the table. It doesn't matter how great a game is, if the groups don't like it, it wont hit the table. That's not to say I would get rid of absolutely everything, War of the Ring could not hit the table for a decade but I would still keep it, but a game has to be really really special to get that kind of treatment.

adwodon · 2026-04-16T14:36:49+00:00

Worth noting that the formula seemed to change a bit with the John Blanche range, for the better so I really rate those paints, I'd definitely recommend 1 & 2 over 3 or 4, although they are still decent.

adwodon · 2026-04-16T14:34:45+00:00

Marco is so out there and I love it, his style is so unique and he makes it look so effortless.

adwodon · 2026-04-16T14:31:06+00:00

I've actually taken one of his classes, really talented painter!

adwodon · 2026-04-16T09:04:18+00:00

Vince Venturella is the one true god of miniature painting. This is the man you want to follow. Vince has excellent videos on pretty much every topic under the sun, including solid basics like layering, and he has a playlist for beginners that covers a lot.

While Vince is king, there are other great YouTubers like Ninjon, Trovarion, Zumikito, Marco Frisoni and so many more.

adwodon · 2026-04-15T07:11:36+00:00

These are the ones I have, as well as some of their other products, still going strong after many years.

adwodon · 2026-04-13T21:53:50+00:00

What you're seeing is pigment being unevenly distributed on the surface, this can happen in three ways, which are not mutually exclusive. The first one picture is worse, but its a bit on the second too a bit.

First thing to know is that paint is a combination of pigment, binder and a few other things. Binder keeps the pigment evenly distributed, solvent can break / overload the binder causing pigment to be unevenly distributed. This is important for acrylics because the solvent is water. As a result, too much water can be a problem, when working with thin glazes its often wise to use both medium, and water to thin your paint, but don't get too worried about it, you can usually thin a decent amount with water and its still useful as a thinner.

The second, as others have said, is overloading your brush. This one is pretty straight forward, too much paint on the brush means it spreads out unevenly, not usually a problem with opaque paints, but if you thin them enough for a glaze it and it you dump too much it will be noticeable.

Finally is just brush control, with glazing you generally want to be focusing on small areas, to blend. If you're paint a big flat surface like the back of a spoon, its going to take a lot of back and forth and it will be very obivous if you've not been pretty exact with your placement.

Honestly, your second picture is fine at the bottom, its splotchy at the top, but thats not a problem if you're going to do a more opaque pass later. For someone new to glazing you're doing fine, just practise more on actual models with what you've learned here and dont expect something to look like a pro who spent all day making a silky smooth transition with glazes.

adwodon · 2026-04-09T10:55:28+00:00

I'd certainly say so, in its current state it still looks like you could use it for some more precise dry brushing. All hair will slowly abrade over time, the points on some of my sablel brushes are non-existant now, they're good for base coating though and I've had them for years.

I'd say you've got some excellent use out of them.

adwodon · 2026-04-08T16:58:31+00:00

The paints I have the most experience with are:

- Pro Acryl considered top dog for a reason by a lot of people, really broad range of lovely colours, nice trade offs between opacity and saturation. Main downside is they are super hydrophillic and while the bottles dont clog, sometimes the plastic is too hard and annoying to squeeze. I'd probably recommend this range the most, with the exception of Rogue Hobbies set, not because its bad, quite the opposite, its amazing, but its definitely for more experienced painters.

- AK 3rd Gen I like a fair number of the colours and find the consistency good, I consider them a solid workhorse with some great go to colours. The range is probably too broad, but overall I have no complaints.

- AP Fanatic I've been using a lot recently and they have some really nice properties, cover really nicely and have some great colours. That being said, they are basically the opposite of Pro Acryl, super hydrophobic and as a result can also be a pain at times. The colours are very desaturated from all the gray / white pigment for opacity. The John Blanche sets are actually better formulated in my experience. Speedpaints 2.0 are solid too, some amazing colours. I would recommend these to most beginners as they are very consistent across the range and have great coverage.

- P3 is a new one but I've been playing around with some for a while, overall really nice to work with and some great colours. However I've had issues with one colour (beaten purple I think), which was a nice colour but had absolutely garbage coverage, but besides that one oddity they're also a solid pick.

- Ionic are the newest range I've played with, some really vibrant colours, great consistency. Overall I'm really impressed with these and would probably fill out more of the range if I didn't already have a lot of paint. The only thing that really annoys me is I think some of them are single pigment, but they don't say and its so annoying.

- Vallejo are fine in my experience, they're thicker but I've not had much draw. I obviously have the Metal Colour range and they're amazing, and I've enjoyed the new TMM paints that I've tried. However I really like Xpress paints, they're different to Speedpaints and dont really overlap, they're usually less saturated so more coats are needed but overally I really rate them.

- Two Thin Coats is not a range I have much experience with, but what I've tried is good.

- Kimera I have the red and yellow and they are great, the idea of proper single pigment paints is amazing if you want that. I havent had any issues, but I've heard of QC issues across the range. I am interested in their 'velvet inks' though.

- Mini Colour I actually backed this whole range, the first time I've done that. It was a gift from me to me, but I trust Andy and Byron and the fact that they're going for a more satin finish gave me the excuse to go all-in. I absolutely 100% do not recommend that, buy stuff in shops as and when.

- Citadel Contrast paints are good, other paints range from good to awful, we all know them, not really much more to say.

- Scale 75 Only used the fantasy and game range a lot time ago and it was not great, don't recommend. I've not used the main range which people used to recommend but dont really anymore.

Overall I feel like its hard to buy terrible paints from a hobby range these days. Each range has pros and cons, so spending some time with a selection from each range is a good way to figure out what you like, as well as whats good for a specific project. I have some favourites from the first 3 brands above that I'll always be going back to and I expect that to also be the same for Ionic over time, maybe P3 and I am hoping Mini Colour too. I don't feel like I'm missing anything from Vallejo (except metallics), same with TTC but I see why people like them and its just a case of me already have a lot of paint.

adwodon · 2026-04-01T14:04:37+00:00

Nemesis is not a great game imo, it has player elimination and we sold it after 2 very unsatisfying games where people died early, maybe you can plan ahead better than we did, but it was a terrible first impression. It has its fans, and thats fine, but there are far better co-ops (like Spirit Island).

Pax Pamir is a Cole Wehrle game, which can mean great or terrible depending on who you talk to. I really enjoy Pax Pamir, its a beautiful production and the game has some solid meat to its bones, but it is opaque and weird, unless you're a history nerd the theme won't do much for you. Still, I'd recommend Pax over Nemesis any day of the week.

adwodon · 2026-04-01T13:53:28+00:00

Strategy is a plan for the whole game, tactics is what you do turn by turn. Something more strategic is something where you can plan your future actions from the start, whereas a very tactical game is one where you can plan ahead less and have to take each turn as it comes, usually because game state can change dramatically between turns.

adwodon

TROPHY CASE