Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Johnno on August 08, 2016, 07:40:49 PM
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I'm painting a large number of figures for this session Army Painter 2016.
I'm trying my hand at batch painting as dedicating approx. 45 mintes from start to finish per figure doesn't seem feasible given my schedule etc.
My current group is 19 figures but I am starting to get tired as it is taking a long time to see results. I don't have long stretches of time available to paint so I typically only get one colour done before having to clean up.
I was wondering if maybe the number of figures is too large? Does anyone have a sweet spot number that works for them? I'm painting 28mm Copplestone as scale is another factor to determine.
Does anyone have any other pointers?
After the first 30 basic infantry are done, I was going to paint the command section and assault troops to break up the monotony.
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One approach I use is to batch paint in large numbers to a point then when main colours are on break down into 8 or 4 figure batches that way you will get some finished and it will spur you on
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It all depends on how detailed you are trying to paint each model. Table top quality I tend to paint in groups of ten or less. If I am trying to paint to the best of my ability I will paint five or less. If I try to paint in larger groups I usually loose interest due to slow progression. Hope that helps.
Snitchy sends.
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Vary it. I go for between 5 and 10.
I do find the batches of 10, especially when using lots of familiar parts which I've painted dozens of times before (multi part plastic kits), can get tedious. So once I've got through one a batch of 10, I will usually 'treat myself' to a batch of 5, perhaps metal figures I have only one each of so haven't painted yet and will enjoy more.
I paint 15th century, Wars of the Roses etc, and there are definitely some sort of models that can be done much quicker than others. Men at arms in full plate armour are the quickest, as it's pretty much doing the majority of the model in one colour, silver, followed by the other stuff, which is generally just leather straps/belts/shoes, wooden weapon shafts, a little bit of cloth (usually the only unarmoured bit is the back of the leg) and sometimes a bit of flesh depending on if they have their visor up or not!
In comparison, the most tedious models to paint for me are those with padded cloth armour, which I'm always trying new techniques on every time and usually getting frustrated with.
Also, if doing a large batch, I limit my colour palette. So I'll do one batch of 10 with just red details, then later another with just green details, etc.
So a batch of 10 lightly armoured models can take up to 2 weeks, and gets very frustrating halfway through, though is ulimately VERY satisfying when they are done and based. In comparison a batch of 5 fully armoured men at arms can be done happily in one weekend. And then there are compromises between the two - most of the time I'm doing batches of 7 or 8.
So mix it up!
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I've tried it. The most I've managed was about 10 at once, and I hated it. I can do 3-5 figures in a 2-3 hour sitting when I have the opportunity. I don't have any tips for ya. Like you, I have to feel some progress, so I need to finish models within a day or two of working on them.
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First post!
I batch paint in groups of 5-6 for 28mm figs. I also tend to plan out what paints I'm going to use and then lay them out in a row. I don't waist time looking for a particular color and I like the feeling of the row of paints growing shorter as the figures get closer to completion.
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I've been batch painting for many years. I have usually painted by the "unit" so this varies from period to period etc. That way I get a playable force out of each batch. For WW2 a batch might be a section of infantry, for The Hobbit it may be 12 goblins and a leader, Rohan Riders 6 troopers and 6 horses and so on. For my 20mm figures I have frequently done 2 "companies" each of 23 soldiers at a time.
When we did the Uruk Hai pikemen we did them all at once as the palette was very limited.
We listen to music when painting - Lord of the Rings soundtrack CDs are popular. And we take regular snack breaks.
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Much the same as everyone else, ideally in batch painting I look for no less than about 4 and no more than about 8. Doing more than this I get bogged down and bored (meaning I find excuses to avoid the desk) and less than this I don't see a time benefit.
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I generally paint small groups, usually 4-6 at a time, but rarely do more than large skirmish gaming. I have done larger groups, but this can be hard work. Like you I start to think I will never see the end of it with finished miniatures. I've never been a quick painter which doesn't help. I usually paint just 1 or 2 different parts of a mini with base/mid/highlight at a time before moving to the next colour.
Currently painting for AP2016 too, I'm on a second group of 13 minis. This is about the limit for me. Although being in the same uniform helps, it does seem to drag on a bit. This second group are all in very similar poses which doesn't help. With these I have been block painting base colour on the main areas first, before moving on to the mid/highlight stage later. This has helped as it gives a rough impression of how the finished mini may look at a fairly early stage.
Painting the occasional single miniature (sometimes from a completely different project) helps break up the monotony. I have no idea how people can paint large groups/armies, it just doesn't work for me.
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Much the same as everyone else, ideally in batch painting I look for no less than about 4 and no more than about 8. Doing more than this I get bogged down and bored (meaning I find excuses to avoid the desk) and less than this I don't see a time benefit.
Yep. I'm in this camp too. Any more than that and I get overwhelmed and just end up on the neighbour's lawn naked after drinking too much, again. He's said it's ok, but I think that's just more sad.
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Thanks for all the tips!
I have all the colours picked out and on the workspace and have a "done" pile of paints that are there for touch ups. Still working through the block colour stages before washes and highlights.
Looking at what I've done vs. what's left I'm pretty optimistic I'll be washing them in the next few days. I think I have 5 colours (5-6 hours) to go before the wash and some are very minimal (ie. White socks).
I probably will reduce my figures to groupings of 5 (minimum for AP 2016 :D) and instead of 1 colour on 19 figures in1 hour I could get 3-5 colours on 5 figures in that same time which would lend itself to figures appearing to get finished "faster".
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You can break a unit into smaller groups. I find 5-6 about right. As I am painting for DR lately, I just break a 12-man unit into 2 6-man groups. When I got behind schedule for the LPL, I painted all 12 at once, but that was draining. But it was nice to know I can bust out a dozen figs in a week if needed!
You can also do all the messy parts on a big unit before breaking them into smaller groups. Dry brush everything on all 12 or 18 or whatever. You can also go back and forth between the smaller groups. Just laid a wsh down on 6 figs and need it to dry before going further? Just set them aside and do some work on the other 6. Keeps you at the paint station and working!
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5-6 at a time, always, for 28mm foot.
3-4 for cavalry.
I've got a dozen DAK on the paint table at the moment, and God, is it tedious...
I'll probably switch to doing them in two sets of 6 for the finer details...
How the hell people paint huge batches of 20, 30 or 40 uniformed figures at a time, I will never know... :o
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Small mini-units of 5 or less, ideally with vehicle or large model or anything fun in between groups of five.
But I usually barely finish one model before moving to a different project, so now I'm trying to work on a small number of projects and rotating models. Slower, but keepsme going.
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A "regiment" at a time for me. It started out about 10 models, but then grew as I played WHFB for many years and collected undead, so 36 at a time was sometimes achieved. Progress is slow but you will get there in the end. As somebody else has said, do the basics on the whole lot, then split into 2 or 3 groups to finish off if you like. Recently I painted 7 dwarfs which seemed to take forever, but then breezed through 16 Danes in a jiffy. The level of detail and your painting standard matters. If you are aiming for tabletop - colour, wash/glaze, the odd highlight, you should be able to crank them out 30 minutes apiece if you stick to bigger numbers. The fewer models on your table, the more time (proportionally) you spend opening and closing pots, cleaning brushes, etc. I find the sweet spot for me is to make each session about an hour. If I can achieve that 3 times a week then after a fortnight I can have a dozen or so figures finished.
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I find that I do best with 4-5 at a time. You still get them all done, but you can actually see them being done as you go.
It's more motivating for me, at least.
Also, I do it that way because when I am inevitably pulled away by the "oh, shiny", then I still have at least some done.
Otherwise, I end up with piles of mostly finished stuff, but nothing usable at all.
That's probably just me, though.
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Usually batches of 12-32 for infantry, 6-12 for cavalry.
You *seem* to be making less progress with batch painting, but then the whole unit is suddenly done.
When painting my ACW stuff (which is nice and simple, uniform-wise), I managed a 32 figure unit in two evenings (perhaps 1-2 hours each), including undercoating and basing. About 5 minutes per figure total. More complex uniforms might take 10 minutes per figure (I usually reckon on 1 minute per colour per figure).
This is using block painting plus ink washes. I don't know how folks manage to take 45 minutes per figure, but I guess painting everyhting 3 times (as you have to do with layering) is a big part of the reason
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My maximum is ~20 pieces, although it does depend on the complexity of the models and their colour scheme.
I say 20 pieces, as a lot of models I paint are multi-part affairs and I paint them in sub-assemblies for ease and speed.
I also paint the models off their bases and then attach them at the end; whilst this doesn't speed up the model's paintjob, it does make the bases a *lot* quicker to do!
When mentioning colours, I do find that painting yellow, white, and red is particularly trying - I did 12 Antares figures in white and barely got the whites done before I had to take an extended break from them!
As for fiddly paint jobs, these can also be taxing on my patience - I finished painting a full 20-model regiment of Dark Elf Corsairs last year, and found the simple army colour scheme I'd chosen was very difficult to apply to them! The cloaks and armour took a very long time to get looking right, and whilst I am happy with them, I don't feel the time I spent on them is reflected in the final result.
However, there are times when doing a whole squad/unit/regiment in one go (or at least getting all the main colours done in one go, and then breaking them down into smaller batches for finishing) regardless of size is a real benefit - I returned to add some Space Marines to a small squad I'd done three years ago, and it's taken extra time to get the style/colours to match up properly and make them look like a unit.
Finally, I should admit that I don't really like batch painting. At all. However, I grudgingly accept that not only do I get more stuff done, it also allows me to do short evening sessions; 20-40 minutes to lay down a wash and then it dry overnight, or whatever. It does also make painting them seem like less of a chore (at least until I have to do all the details...) if I can complete a step on all of them at once each sitting.
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I paint 6 figures at a time which seems a reasonable number of figures to do in bulk and doesn't let the amount of paint on my pallette dry up. With some shades that is just 5-6 minutes of painting and others will be about 20-25 minutes with a paint refresh.
My current output is my Roman Republican figures for AP16 Link: http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=92479.0 which average out about 12-15 colours including washes and thus 6 figures takes about 3-4 hours of painting spread over a few sessions. As my unit size is 12 figures (6 for cavalry) it means that I can produce a unit a week, sometimes 2 but that includes basing as well.
I have tried painting larger numbers but I almost always get bored or tired or both long before the finish and then don't paint for days on end, sometimes weeks. A little and often seems to suit my current mood. I might paint just one shade if is a large portion of the figure (flesh on Romans for example) and then take a break, whilst others might require just a few lines of a colour and I might do 2-3 shades at a time. I find that painting for about 20-30 mins and then taking a short break helps my mood (and my eyes) and I get a lot more done.
Good luck with your Army Painter.
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If I'm painting a platoon or company then I paint in batches of 15 to 20. If I've got 40 to 100 figures with the same paint scheme then the idea of painting 5 or 6 at a time fills me with horror. :o
I only paint the eyes of officers/leaders/characters though.
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I never paint much more than 10 at a time. I think a lot of a persons situation will depend on their work space. I do all my painting and modelling on the dining room table, which means setting up before I start and packing up after I finish. To mitigate this I have a tray which contains the paints, brushes, tools, and models that I am currently working on. Which naturally means I am limited to just how much I can work on at a single time!
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I never paint much more than 10 at a time. I think a lot of a persons situation will depend on their work space. I do all my painting and modelling on the dining room table, which means setting up before I start and packing up after I finish. To mitigate this I have a tray which contains the paints, brushes, tools, and models that I am currently working on. Which naturally means I am limited to just how much I can work on at a single time!
I also paint at the dining table but I use two trays, one for the working space and the other for a big batch of whatever minis are presently on the go. :)
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There is a Danish movie where two men are talking about digging pits in the ground to cool beers. One asks the other how deep the hole should be. And the other one answers that it varies from person to person. You have to experiment to find your own debth. It can take years of experimentation to find your own debth. But when you find it you just know.
It is the same for batch painting I think. You have to find your own debth.
I like to paint between 8 and 12 at a time.
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Finally, I should admit that I don't really like batch painting.
Ditto. Except cut out the word 'batch' sometimes.
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Twos, threes or ones for me, most of the time. Never more than six. I often isolate one or two from a "large" group (of say five) to finish them off.
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I usually start with 10 but concentrate on 5 at a time. If they are uniformed figures I sometimes break the monotony by doing, for example, all belts on all 10 and then it's back to continuing with the 5.
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3 – 6 when doing Perry 28mm. Usually 8 – 12 on AB Napoleonics.
Recently however, I've gone back to doing 25mm ECW and painted a batch of 34. I was surprised at just how much faster overall I was than painting in smaller batches. I guess the middle part of the process is the hardest when you're putting in the time but nothing seems to change that much. If you can just keep going and push through that stage when you finish so many at one go it feels brilliant.
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I paint usually 50 or more at one time, you can develop a technique at it after awhile.
I have a hard time painting small numbers of figures, it seems i waist to much paint and the turn over is just not quick enough for me, in the smaller numbers. Just finished a box of Perry zuaves and Old Glory's 20th Maine at the same time.
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I find that it is the amount of paint that decides the batch. When I have managed to mix a good colour I paint until it is finished. I have always a number of minis on standby to take the excess paint, even though I usually plan for batches of around 10. How do you manage once you have squeesed the Vallejo flask a bit too hard?
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I find that it is the amount of paint that decides the batch. When I have managed to mix a good colour I paint until it is finished. I have always a number of minis on standby to take the excess paint, even though I usually plan for batches of around 10. How do you manage once you have squeesed the Vallejo flask a bit too hard?
More annoying is when the top pops off a Vallejo bottle and you get some silly quantity of paint in the palette.
I find the best solution is to use another make of paints :-)
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Buy an airbrush. OMFG it speeds things up like a sloth that has been pumped full of meth and given a good dance beat.
I have just started learning airbrushery and I am gobsmacked at my stupidity at not getting one of these 20 years ago.
Do all your block colours with it, highlights and shadows are easy with one and blends are a sinch.
Fast and beautiful, what more do you want in life eh.
Do you know of any particularly helpful tutorials? I use an airbrush on 15mm armor, but have a hard time conceptualizing using one for 28mm figures.
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The size of a batch I paint depends on the scale & what I am painting. For 28mm I paint a lot of Sword & the Flame so for antives I usually paint in batches of 20. Some times I paint 60 in a batch. For "European" troops I paint 10 to 20. When painting 15mm a batch might be 12 to 20. I am painting an undead army right now and just did a batch of 41 skeletons, and have another batch of 50 on the table. After that I have about 30 lion centaurs. Then wood elves that I will do in batches of 12 to 20.
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I've got 41 Huron, 5 Dayaks, various half painted ebay lots and Jim Bowie on the work bench, every morning I have to decide whether to carry on painting or cut my own throat ;)
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I've got 41 Huron, 5 Dayaks, various half painted ebay lots and Jim Bowie on the work bench, every morning I have to decide whether to carry on painting or cut my own throat ;)
Can you at least wait until after the Huron are completed ;)
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I admit I am making slow progress and finding any excuse NOT to paint some Celtos Orcs for Paleskin at the moment. :?
Its not that they're bad figures its just that they are the third batch of identical minis and I am losing the will to live with them. Work and family eat up a lot of time, but in the hour or so I get of an evening to actually relax and paint something I actually found myself organising my lead mountain instead!
Luckily Paleskin is a very understanding person and doesn't mind me cocking about quite a lot. There's only about a dozen of them left but I just can't get the mojo working.
My wife says it's just my age, nothing to be embarrassed about and I should try again in half an hour... :-[
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Once I got my hands on acrylics for the first time, I used to abhor batch painting, and I finished each mini individually. Needless to say Necromunda (which I bought about 1/2 a year after it was released) had disappeared from the shops, well before I finally had my first Esher gang completely painted. lol
So eventually, I had to accept the fact that I would have to both lower my standards and accept batch painting as the only viable way of painting an entire army (or even gang/warband for that matter). The first army I did like this was my old style metal Necrons, and I was elated to find that I could finish an entire squad of 10 in one week.
Of course, the miniatures being painted need to lend themselves for batch painting; the aforementioned Necrons were a great examle, comparable to Men-at-Arms in full plate; an easy single base colour (metal), with some details.
For gangs and heroes, painting one at a time is still my preferred option. in fact, for larger units, I often also break them down in smaller groups. especially when they're wearing some kind of uniform; when I have to mix colours, I like the fact that there are minute differences in colour tone, which makes them look that little bit more real when grouped all together (IMHO. Uniforms being from different dye baths/batches, old and heavily washed versus straight from the quartermaster etc).
Right now, I'm finishing up a block of 25 skeletons, and I paint them as a single batch of 25. I must admit; this is the largest group I've ever painted in one go, but I do like the anticipation as I slowly but surely approach the point when they're finished. I can already say that I'll be really chuffed once I finally finish them.
But at the end of the day, I do think that I like painting single miniatures start to finish best, and my usual way of painting for units is 3 to 5 at a time...
Work and family eat up a lot of time, but in the hour or so I get of an evening to actually relax and paint something I actually found myself organising my lead mountain instead!
That sounds so familiar it's not even funny... ::)
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I am doing up a bunch (40+) of Copplestone Warlord Chinese, and I am definitely doing them assembly line. About half of them were from an EBay purchase and had to be stripped of their bad paintjobs; the other half were new and had been sitting in a box waiting for the project to roll up onto my calendar.
Sunday night I did prep and a nice white initial base. Monday I did basecoat for trousers in a dark shade, and blouses in one of three less dark shades. Tuesday night I drybrushed over these with a light blue-grey.
Starting tonight, I will work on them in batches of 5 or so to do belts, wraps, shoes, faces and weapons. Troops get brown leather belts and whatnot - officers get nice black patent leather belts to show how important they are! I am hoping to be done with them before the Labor Day weekend here in the US (first weekend of September)
Didn't even see the Army Painter thing so now I suspect I am too late since I am about 1/3 into the army and I didn't take pics of the 'before'...
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My wife says it's just my age, nothing to be embarrassed about and I should try again in half an hour... :-[
lol Brilliant!