20mm and smaller scale miniatures (not vehicles)

[Arbedark]

Here is an interesting question that wad asked by my Son over the weekend and which I have been pondering over since. Your views would be welcome and I am not wanting to start a flame war or mass argument with it.
Please answer with your reasons for how ou reply.

Are 20mm miniature figures becoming far more detailed than they need to be?

With the advent of 3d printers and their ability to print ever thinner layers packed with detail we see more and more ranges of figures being produced than we have in the past 20+ years. This can only be a good thing for us gamers who are always looking for new armies to try out in our favourite scales (yes, people do prefere these scales to 25+ mm scale for many reasons), however are you being put off by them because all the extra detail is becoming past your ability to paint them and the detail just makes them look awful compared to your old Essex, or Donnington or other armies ( ranges picked at random and not targeted by me for any reason in particular)?
I for one have noticed that the speed of my painting has decreased significantly since the advent of 3d prints, I'm a bit of a perfectionist  when it comes to my hobby and I am now concentrating on painting details that will not be noticed on the table but I can see when painting them at my desk. I'm no commission standard painter but can produce a good table top standard however now having the straps of sandles visible at 15mm is forcing me to paint each little strap with clearly defined flesh between when this never bothered me before.

What are your views, please let me know.

Those of you who may paint for others are you now being asked to paint more on a figure for the same money?

Those that are at the other end of the scale do you resent having to pay more for detail you would sooner not be there or hate the extra work it now takes to paint your figures?

Jim

[SirRoystonPapworth]

I’d say that goes for most figures these days 

In the old days you could paint huge armies easily, because detail was limited.

Nowadays they are so detailed that a unit takes as long as an army of old…

[sundayhero]

personaly it's why I'm not interested into most modern minis. I prefer good old ones or modern with a classic look. I'm not against modernity, I recently started painting 3D printed miniatures, but I choosed figures with a classic style and easy to paint details.



Here's some big 20mm figures (more like small 25mm).

[DaveCrow]

The question of detail level on figures goes back to the 70s at least. I remember even then some sculptors and figure ranges had lots of fine detail, others had a smoother style.

For myself I prefer the smoother style. I don't need every frayed cuff and loose thread to be sculpted. I prefer painting in a block style and the smoother old school style sculpts suit that better. If button crests and belt buckles are sculpted on a figure but not painted it looks off.

I have painted eyes, mustaches, rank badges, etc on 6mm figures, so I can do it. I just prefer not to.

[Orctrader]

personaly it's why I'm not interested into most modern minis. I prefer good old ones or modern with a classic look...



Here's some big 20mm figures (more like small 25mm).

They look rather good.  And well painted.  Who makes them?

[sundayhero]

they are made by 3Dbreed miniatures. The range is "march to Hell". The chunky.chubby style, with simple but sharp details is nice and paint very well. It's great for printing in small scale (15mm to 20mm). Not sure how it would go in larger scales. Probably not compatible with other ranges.

[jon_1066]

I think it depends.  If details is easy to pick out with speedpaint or dry brushing then it is a nice shortcut.  If its puff and slash though, never again!  Trying to paint a different undercolour was murder on 28s let alone anything smaller 

[italwars]

just look at a person from a distance of, let s say, 50 metres...do you see his shirt buttons or even the color of his glasses? 
the only realistic approach in painting a wargame mini is an "impressionist one"...
as for me..i always considered detailed model soldier types ..those awards winning, perfectly painted,  54 mm soldiers maybe from Tamiya or Historex..simply horrible, something comparable, as concern inelegance,  to those famous  Italian made Capodimonte ceramic porcelain small statues/figurines that world  plebes like so much to show in their dining room cabinets

[HerbertTarkel]

I’m a commission painter, and my rates only go up. Want bonkers detail on a 15mm? I can do that. For a price.

I personally like the trend toward higher detail in smaller scale. Flames of War has been, and will apparently always be, horrific in detail. Just dip and drop on the table.

AB miniatures? Just getting better. Always.

Peter Pig? A style all their own, and “classic” in my mind.

3D printing … it’s getting better. I had a bad experience with some that a client provided, not cured. Three acetone baths later they were ok. And they painted up alright.

[FifteensAway]

Probably more of a challenge in larger scales, but level of detail painted - regardless of sculpt - is up to the painter.  The visual is more about 'what we leave out' than what we actually paint in.  I go, for the most part, with paint just enough for a figure to be identifiable on the table - from a distance - and that is 'good enough'.  Layer, or block, painting should work for any sculpted figure.  From the flesh out getting progressively neater as you go.  Huge difference, in my mind, between a 'gaming' paint job and 'competitive' paint job and all those points in between.  The former is much more forgiving than the latter which requires intense attention to detail and mastery of technique. 

I'd say if once you paint a figure and game with it and have fun with it, you've gone 'far enough'.  That is a different point for different people.  But the enjoyment level can be exactly the same.  All a matter of taste.

A newbie with little to no painting experience/knowledge should still be able to enjoy the hobby without being intimidated with some artificial need to match to the exquisite paint jobs some of our fellow hobbyists achieve.  Those figures are beautiful to behold, of course.  But not required to enjoy a game.  Some may eventually reach that lofty quality, most will not - though generally improve.  But what of those who feel so put off by not having that level of skill or the funds to have others paint to that standard that they abandon the hobby?  Lesser paint jobs are better if they keep people in the hobby.

And I don't think that is dependent on the level of detail on the figure - in some cases, the extra detail makes figures easier to paint, and sometimes not so much.  Still, paint what you must - and no more, unless you are after that exquisite level of quality.

[bluewillow]

Yes, painting Alder and AB at the moment, detail is insane. Even the lace on the Cuirassier plate edging is there.

Cheers
Matt

[Tom Dulski]

 Im of the opinion that more detail is better regardless of the scale. I feel the details make them easier to paint. It allows you to see (for example) exactly where the chin strap on a helmet comes across the cheek/skin on the mini.