Okay fine, that title is totally false, but lets be honest – it’s always what seems to happen anyways right? Come see some tips on how to fix it.!
Being an avid tournament-goer and a frequent army-changer, I am often left in the unfortunate position of painting ’til 2 AM the morning before the tournament to get my army painted up. It’s not something I would encourage you to do, in fact there are many ways to avoid this, but sometimes, it just can’t be helped. So I thought I’d share with you some of my last minute tips to get ready in time to kickass and chew bubblegum.
Plan Ahead
This is not really one of the tip ( just the tip?) as most of what you will be doing and how you end up getting the most done in a short time revolves around your planning. So break out that yellow pad and make a list or checkboxes you can follow.
Bullet points go from 1 to 4, and should read as follow:
- 1- Army color
- 2- Additional color
- 3- Mandatory 3rd Color
- 4- Bases
This is the minimum you want to have on your army is you attend a tournament. The good thing is that with most armies, these colors are the same for every models. And unless you really have a lot of time, you make it so – Yes, I understand Fire Dragons are usually orange, but in your army, they’re going to be Green like the rest of them pointy-eared cheesebag eldars, suck it fluffpiece!
Tricks to Consider:
1- Can’t do later-step
This step is identifying the painting steps in your army that you can’t add later, because you’ll need to get this done regardless of the time you have. If you’re entire army is airbrushed in a smooth 3 color gradiant, or a split scheme space marines chapter, these are the things you simply can’t do once you’re 3 colors deep.
These steps (usually no more than 2), you have to do in full despite your time restriction, so you have to plan accordingly.
Most of the other things, like pouches, or washing the metallics, you can do without having to start over or airbrush over your finished base.
2- Drying times
This is a big one and definitly something you have to consider carefully. Bases done with PVA/Wood glue need time to dry before painting. Quickshade takes a full day to dry. If you plan on doing a lot of washes on your models, factor that in too.
This is an area where planning makes everything flow smoothly : Once you’ve coated your models with wash, glue the sand on all your bases. Once you’re done with the sand, the wash will be dry, and you can finish your models while the bases dry. This is a simple example, but all of this makes a lot more sense when working on short notice.
3- Oprah!
You get a gun, you get a gun, EVERYBODY GETS A GUN! In your 3-color-hobby-party-extravaganza, pick something that’s on every model in your army to keep your 3 colors the same on everything. Guns are a good example, because we play toy soldiers and most of them have weapons of some sort.
So base color something, paint the guns in something else, and move on to point 4.
4- Eye-poping color
This is more like a bonus step, but it’s a nice enough hack, specially if you are adding models to an already painted army.
If you’re adding a couple of 3-colored models to your painted army, the key is to make them fit in and blend as seemlessly as possible into your other models. Of the 3 most important things, 2 were covered earlier, the main color is the same with a roughly similar effect, be it airbrushed the same tones or weathered the same, and the bases are the same through the army.
The other main thing to consider is an eye-poping color. Most armies have those, it’s something that makes your model pop. Blood and gore effects, bright gems and canopies, or some glow/OSL color that on everything. This is what people will notice, and if 15 models out of 45 in your army don’t have it, it will stick out like a sore thumb.
The other great thing about having something eye-catching is that it distracts from the fact that you’re not entirely finished. If it looks good enough from a distance and from across the board, you sir have just pulled it off.
Plan your work, work your plan. Go get them, tiger!
No excuses, hobby like a champion!
About the Author: Hellfire Hobbies
