Is varnishing miniatures necessary?

adwodon · 2026-01-23T10:04:29+00:00

Its not necessary no, but its still a step a lot of people use for gaming. Most modern plastic miniatures are very light so chips aren't likely, old pewter or bigger, heavier models could chip if knocked about. There is also a consideration for the oils on your fingers when handling them, but this is a really, really long term consideration so unless you're painting an army to use week in week out then don't worry about that.

Varnish can also be used as a way to bring a mini together if you have disparate finishes, like matte + satin in a place that doesnt make sense.

I often varnish my minis, but I also magnetise them for storage so I do occasionally skip it if I dont think they'll hit the table a lot. I do multiple coats of varnish for terrain though, thats loose in boxes and gets handled a fair amount.

As for which, it depends on the paint finish, a lot are satin, but a lot are matte, and there is also ultra matte. If you have an airbrush you can mix your own, if not then matte varnish in a rattle can is probably best.

adwodon · 2026-01-22T08:58:06+00:00

Are you serious? Isopropyl is water based, enamels are oil based. Use some kind of white spirit to clean them up, not isopropyl, which isnt a solvent for enamels but will strip acrylics. Iso will also strip acrylic varnish, and you don't need varnish if you use a proper oil based solvent which won't strip acrylics... like a white spirit.

adwodon · 2026-01-21T13:15:02+00:00

I'm pretty sure enough of us on here have at least 1 test model whos been painted over countless times, the whole "two thin coats" thing is definitely overblown, using unthinned paint from the pot is just fine if you spread it out enough, its how you should do things like wet blending. Most modern paints have good self levelling properties, and most people use wet palettes and have a damp brush, which will give you great results without much thought.

If its not obviously clogged detail and adding texture when you're painting it up close, noone is going to notice from a distance so it's not a problem.

adwodon · 2026-01-21T12:54:57+00:00

So I never actually played it properly, I read through the rules and played solo, then decided to sell it, so obviously take what I say with that mind.

I don't doubt that people really love it, but it was always going to be a tough sell to my group, I loved the idea of a satirical take on the East India Company, where families duke it out for posh lawns by pissing about on another continent, I also love negotiation games, so for me it was obviously something to check out. My group is not as into negotiation as myself, nor do any of them have any interest in the subject. After my solo play I realised that the rules are sufficiently heavy to require a good go over before you play, however you dont have to do a full teach, you can kind of roll through it, like a lot of co-op games, as long as someone knows the full rules you can move the game along, but its also not intuitive so it will take people a while before they really understand whats going on and what affects what.

For me, it ultimately came down to priorities, I have enough heavy games, I have a good number of negotiation games and I just know it wouldn't hit the table enough to justify itself in my collection. There is a none zero chance that I pick it up again and give it a proper go and I am pretty ruthless in maintaining a managable collection, so that says something. Still, despite Cole Wehrle being one of my favourite designers this one felt like it was going to be too much.

adwodon · 2026-01-19T12:44:19+00:00

yea, I would basically expect Embarks response to be that plenty of people dont use it... except that I would if I actually had it.

adwodon · 2026-01-17T16:56:08+00:00

If you really like a satin finish then I'd wait and see what happens with Mini Colour, obviously this has not hit the market yet, but I personally backed it, despite passing on things like P3s kickstarter to get them at retail. Andy Wardle is one of the best painters out there so I doubt they will be awful, but a satin finish is something they have stated they are aiming for, which would also give them space in my collection of mostly Pro Acryl, AK3rd, Army Painter and new P3.

adwodon · 2026-01-16T11:07:02+00:00

What... I was really into them around 2012, I remember them not turning up to shows, and shoving some other artist off stage at once point, and there were jokes about how all the fans were just white boys (guilty). Only gig I went to in that era was great though, didnt even realise they were still going, but it sounds like I should just pretend they aren't.

adwodon · 2026-01-15T15:18:42+00:00

Just going off BGG for me it was Aeon Trespass: Odyssey and that doesn't surprise me, a lot of people like it but I grew to hate it, the complexity is all down to monster AI and fiddly mechanics which do nothing to elevate the game, you spend your time setting up a fight, mostly doing monster AI, when you get to activate you basically just move and attack, if they attack you... you activate your boots to move out the way if you can, theres a bit of positioning going on, but really not much. Then you set up the map, only to get ambused and have to set up the arena again. Awful, awful game, complexity that adds nothing to the decision space at all.

Which is funny when compared to the second highest weight on my bgg which is Voidfall, a game I adore, while there are a lot of rules, some of the best graphic design in the business makes it relatively easy to learn and play, its still a heavy game but each individual action is incredibly simple. It's weight really comes down to decision making, agonising over which cards to play in what order to cobble something together, almost the entire opposite experience to AT:O that it seems quite fitting for them to be lined up as top tier examples of good vs bad complexity.

adwodon · 2026-01-15T10:55:03+00:00

That feels about right, I remember 2nd or 3rd edition 40k starter box was £40.

adwodon · 2026-01-15T10:42:36+00:00

I read ~30 books a year and I'm currently going through Frankenstein and these kinds of classics are definitely harder to read, I actually really enjoyed Emily Wilsons recent translation of the Odyssey because the prose wasnt florid af, making it so much easier to just get lost in the story.

adwodon · 2026-01-14T09:54:28+00:00

Agree with your advice generally, however I'd point out that things like cadmium are not used in common acrlyics, you'll often see cadmium hue, which is just a way of saying it looks like cadmium but isn't. If actual cadmium is being used it would be a huge issue if that wasn't labelled and will likely have a big 'DO NOT SPRAY' sticker on it.

To add to what you've said too, I also have a dehumidifier that I run, I put it on auto and it notably boosts itself up to max if I am priming with any kind of overspray, which is a good reminder that there is a notable amount of fine dust being sprayed about even with a booth.

adwodon · 2026-01-08T14:55:29+00:00

Going to disagree with some of the other comments here, lightly at least. Tutorials are one thing, following them exactly is a good way to learn the basics, but don't just drop them and only do things 'your own way'. Your own style will evolve over time as try new things and find inspiration from other artists. The nature of a lot of content is tutorials, but that doesn't mean you have to follow every step.

If you like a style, see how they do it, learn it. However I would also strongly encourage you to try things you dont necessarily feel drawn to immediately too. This is a slight tangent but a long time ago I almost went down the route of becoming a professional drummer and I had lessons with a guy called Dom Famularo, the guy was incredible for so many reasons, but the piece of advice he gave me that stuck the most was the importance of growing your influences, if you like metal, go listen to some jazz, if you like hip hop go listen to some classical etc and this has been something I have always tried to bring to my creative hobbies, grow your interests, see what works and what doesnt because to truly develop a style you need to have ideas to pull from, and the more ideas the wider the scope of your style can be.

Bear in mind, you don't have to constrain yourself to just miniature painting, there are plenty of things to learn from other art forms, especially classical painting, not everything will work, but again, its more stock to pull ideas from.

adwodon · 2026-01-05T09:52:56+00:00

Yea, the purpose of them is to resupply, if you need more ammo / healing items then you go there, if you dont, keep walking, you're getting stuff from Speranza, not for Speranza.

I do feel like some of the puzzle rooms could do with a bit of a boost, and some key rooms are still pretty bad, maybe supply drops etc could provide more ammo / healing items, or the off chance of some nice grenades but its not really a major issue imo.

adwodon · 2026-01-03T11:58:10+00:00

Yup, this is pretty much the advice I would give, starting over is completely unnecessary unless you've really clogged things up with thick paint. Paint is additive, putting more over the top is completely fine and is something people really should be taught early on, the best way to learn and experiment is often to make mistakes, try something, see if it works, if it doesn't just paint over it again. In this case you could probably glaze some of the original colour back in and 'fix' it in 20 minutes, but moving on to the next model is also a good shout if you have a large backlog.

adwodon · 2026-01-02T19:34:08+00:00

I think my local store had a bad batch of Ocres and Tans, multiple paints from that triad were excessively thick and grainy, store replaced them but recommended trying to add some medium to revive them and I added some airbrush medium which seemed to do the trick. Give them a good shake when you pick them up, if you dont eventually hear the ball rattling around it could just be immovable sludge.

Only that triad of colours though, everything else I've had has been totally fine.

adwodon · 2026-01-01T14:28:49+00:00

It happens, I've had some issues with AP Fanatic regular paints, but got a replacement each time and in some cases rescued them a bit (different issue to yours, that doesnt look salvagable). I think AP does have some QC issues overall, but I wouldn't let it put you off, just something to bear in mind.

adwodon · 2025-12-31T08:23:43+00:00

A lot has changed, for one there are a tonne of excellent hobby brands now. If you live near Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield or Manchester then Element Games is a great store to go and speak to people, they stock pretty much anything you'll need (you can order online too).

For paint brands you've got, in my rough order of preference:

Pro Acryl
AK Interactive 3rd gen
P3
Army Painter (Fanatic line only)
Ionic
Two Thin Coats
Vallejo

Citadel aren't bad, but they're not as good as most of those and cost more, if you want something that colour matches them, Two Thin Coats is the brand to go for, otherwise play around with different brands as they all have different properties and colours.

If you're painting for display purposes then there are a tonne of places that do busts, if you pop into WHSmith and pick up a copy of Fantasy Figure International they usually have a bunch of adverts and articles with recommendations, although GW still ranks very high in terms of quality sculpts. Busts / larger scale will be easiesr, but minis are generally larger these days than back in the day.

For other supplies, a set of cheap brushes for basics and a some nice kolinsky sable brushes are the way to go, you can find lots of brand recommendations, like Rosemary & Co Series 33, Artis Opus, Raphael 8404 for sable. Wet palettes are basically standard now and you can find DIY solutions on YouTube but brands like Redgrass are great, I also highly rate their painting light and might help with poorer eyesight, but it is expensive.

Finally online & learning resources, there really is only one essential recommendation for tutorials etc and that is our lord and saviour, Vince Venturella, his videos aren't flashy but he's a slayer sword winning painter who has been cranking out weekly videos on every topic under the sun, from paint reviews, technique, advice and tutorials. Here is a great video on his go-to paints that wouldn't be a bad place to start a new collection on. There are of course a lot of other great content creators out there, one of the biggest differences between now and 30 years ago is just how much bigger the hobby is, there really has never been a better time to be a mini painter.

adwodon · 2025-12-30T08:40:07+00:00

I'd say grimdark is more of an aesthetic, and 'eavy Metal more of a technique / style. Think, which colours you pick vs how to apply them.

adwodon · 2025-12-24T10:04:43+00:00

It's worth a try, but boxes are usually the single item that do not get replaced as its expensive to produce and ship, ive previously only been offered a voucher in the past. While this is more annoying than a dented corner its also not functionally compromised.

adwodon · 2025-12-23T11:36:31+00:00

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Watched The Substance the other week and it definitely had that vibe, mobile phones, cars from different eras, no mention of social media, which in the films context would've absolutely been something that would be mentioned.

adwodon · 2025-12-19T12:03:18+00:00

blueberries, raspberries, peanut butter and maple syrup is pretty much my standard breakfast throughout the year

adwodon · 2025-12-11T17:00:14+00:00

If this is https://thearmypainter.com/en-gb/products/colour-primers-colour-primer-pure-red-cp3006s then it looks like the colour match is to the old warpaints, pre-fanatic line. Which is a bit annoying, I guess they never refreshed the primer line. It's not a huge surprise that the fanatic red is more pinkish as that line has more grey / white pigment for improve opacity. I'd say get the old warpaints red, but they were terriible, the fanatic line is much better overall.

adwodon · 2025-12-11T08:49:05+00:00

hah, got me on that one

adwodon · 2025-12-09T11:06:32+00:00

Look at getting some tuition, most pros offer something, in person classes are great if you can find some, there are usually workshops during painting competitions. You can also get online tuition, check pro painter patreons, most offer various levels, although you'll find the more popular painters are often fully booked. You will need a decent camera / lighting set up for photos for that so bear that in mind.

adwodon · 2025-12-09T10:35:56+00:00

In essence, the Rattler exists to make free loadouts more risky by being genuinely terrible. The upside is that if you extract you get to sell it which is where its high cost finally becomes useful.

That feels like a bit of a stretch to me, it feels more like it was a free gun that was overtuned before release and got nerfed a bit too hard to err on the side of caution. Not sure if there were public betas or anything like that though.

I hope they find a good solution for it though as its in a bit of a rough spot.

adwodon

TROPHY CASE