One of my favorite parts of Warhammer is painting the minis. I’ve seen some really well painted armies as well as some really creative armies. I’ve also seen some badly painted armies and armies that just plain haven’t been painted. I’m back on my psychology kick this week – let’s see if you guys agree with me.
A frequent visitor of Gigabites, Kane, has by far the most creative army I’ve seen so far. He added pieces to the vehicles as well as bent the pieces that already existed to make the vehicles appear possessed by demons. It is WAY cool. He also switched out other pieces throughout his army to create a completely unique and innovative look. To me, this shows a person who regularly thinks outside the box and is very passionate about his hobbies and life in general. He had the courage to make the army his own and put it on the battle table for everyone to see. I think this speaks volumes about his character.
Another creative army I really like is Cami’s Eldar army. With turquoise as the base theme color, Cami even went so far as to create little flags for her jet bikes with words written in Eldar… very creative and quite clever if I do say so myself. She even has the flags set so they look like they’re waving in the wind as the jet bikes fly towards the enemy. Aside from that, the turquoise tickles my girlish fancy. Cami has managed to give her Eldar a united, tough girl look. Anyone who knows Cami knows that she always has a together, tough girl look no matter how she is feeling that day – and her army certainly represents that.
Rickey’s Grey Knight army has come together quite well. His attention to detail on all of his pieces definitely shows, and I can tell you that he is definitely that way in all aspects of his life. (For once, I have a boyfriend that notices when I get a haircut, even if it’s just a trim.) He painted all of his vehicles and armor with a shiny silver paint because he gave them all ‘true silver armor.’ People tell him all the time he should make the armor looks grungier, but that detail did not slip past his attention. There is a reason the armor is so shiny, just as there is a reason he put ‘mud’ on the tracks of his vehicles. My favorite feature of his Grey Knights is the cloth that hangs on the front of the grey knight armor. He put a red wash over the white paint, making it look as though the cloths were stained with blood during battle – very creative and definitely shows his inherent attention to detail.
I have also seen several armies that are very sloppily painted. I’m not going to say anyone cheats at Warhammer… but would it be such a shock if I did? There are plenty of people who put together armies specifically to blow their opponent out of the water. Not that we don’t all want to win when we play, but as long as my army puts up a good fight I have fun whether I win or lose. No one likes to be blown so far out of the water that they barely even get to play.
One commonality I’ve found in all of the people who ‘misinterpret’ rules from their codex and have no problem telling people that they’re playing the game wrong is that their army is usually not painted that well, if at all. It’s one thing to have a piece that you literally just finished putting together and haven’t painted yet, it’s quite another to have an army that looks like it’s actually had paint slapped on it. This, to me, is not just a sign of laziness, but an insult to the game and to those who are patient and passionate enough to give some TLC to the minis that do their bidding. You want to tell me how to play the game? Yeah. Why don’t you come back when you have a fully painted army? Thanks.
I suppose when I finally have some money to start buying Tau pieces and paint them, my paint job will reflect the amount of patience I have as well as my attention to detail and creativity. I know that when my pink Tau hit the table there will be plenty of people willing to offer up their opinion. At the end of the day, I don’t think I really care what other people think about my army. My army will represent me and therefore I intend to create an army I can be proud of, regardless of whether they win or lose.
The worst I ever have seen was a grey knight army, and I actually felt sorry for the miniatures..me….feeling sorry for grey knights. It is a travesty.
Essentially his models look like they were painted very sloppily with laquer, so much so that even the words and details on the grey knight paladin shoulders were literally almost fully filled in with paint. The reds he used on the weapons looks like he took a brush full of paint and slapped it on there without a second thought. I swear his paint could not have been any thicker and the unit still be recognizable as what they were.
I mean ugh…guess what, it was a Draigowing, surprise surprise.
I think it has a lot to do with the pride someone takes in their army. I mean, look at my sisters, for example. They’re not the most well painted army in the world, not by a long shot! In fact some of the painting work is among the worst I’ve seen. But you know what? When I finished that army and laid it out on the table I was damn proud of it and happy to show it off to anyone that would listen. They were poorly painted not because I didn’t care or was sloppy out of apathy, but because I didn’t have the skill or dexterity to paint as well as I do now. There’s also no accounting for taste. I had a whole army painted with glossy white that I thought looked badass at the time. Now? Well, I realize how dumb that is…
Travis is one of my best friends, and although his Dark Angels army is fully painted, he hasn’t always taken a lot of pride in it. When I first met him, he was a lot more of a jerk and a rules lawyer than he is now. As he’s become more relaxed about exploiting the rules, he’s started putting more time and effort into making his armies beautiful, not just “done”.