It’s surprising how much one forgets about something if it’s not done regularly. Whether that be making models painting them.
I think I’m finally starting to catch up with myself finally. Early paints are rather meh, but slowly it’s coming together.
I still have some way to go before I get to the point I was at 37 or so years ago. Mind, to be fair, things were a little different back then. Fewer suppliers of paints (even then I refused to buy anything from Games Workshop, so used other suppliers. Mostly I used enamels with only a small selection of acrylics. Now, of course, there’s a massive selection of paints. I have large collections from Vallejo and Army Painter as well as some basic art supply acrylics. A decent selection of Tamiya paints and a much, much smaller selection of Humbrol enamels.
The thing that I’m remembering again, is how relaxing this is. Sitting in my corner, just paint, brush, miniature and me. Slopping paint around and trying to get it where I want on the model rather than just all over it. Relaxing and calming. To hell with all that mindfulness meditation and breathing guff, this is far more effective for me. Unfortunately I have discovered that I have a slight tremor in my hands. Not significant, but enough that it can be a little frustrating when painting small parts. As with anything though, it’s a learning process. I’m finding ways to reduce the tremor and compensate when painting. Sure don’t remember that when I was painting years ago.
Ah well, onwards and upwards I suppose. I’m having fun and that has to be a good thing. Okay, this is all intended to be used in a table top game, but it’s still fun and I find I’m much calmer now.
I doubt I will be as good at this as I was years ago, my hands aren’t steady enough and my eyes definitely are not as sharp as they used to be. But, I’m not overly disappointed with what I’ve done. The big advantage of stl models is that if you fuck it up, you can always re-print the thing and try again. That alone is huge when compared to the old days.
The other advantage of stl, is that if you want a group of models, you just have to print more, mirror if you want a bit of variation. It’s so easy to form squads and larger groups. Also, far cheaper than buying boxes of figures. In addition, with multiple creators, you get a much greater variety of figures than I’ve seen anywhere else. 3D Printing is definitely a revolution in gaming, as the price comes down I think it’s going to get even bigger.
There is also greater variation and one can find miniatures and scenic items to suit whatever game you want to play.
I’m quite looking forward to this year, if only because there are more models coming. Some every month via Patreon and MyMiniFactory. What more can one ask?
Heck, I might even crack open Modo or Blender and see what I can make for our games.
The future is bright and filled with busy work.
