Batch Painting

[DS615]

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.

[SteveBurt]

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

[Major_Gilbear]

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.

[Hu Rhu]

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.

[Onebigriver]

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. 

I only paint the eyes of officers/leaders/characters though.

[Gracchus Armisurplus]

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!

[Silent Invader]

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. 

[Dr. Zombie]

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.

[Vermis]

Finally, I should admit that I don't really like batch painting.

Ditto. Except cut out the word 'batch' sometimes.

[Hobgoblin]

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.

[Sterling Moose]

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.

[Timmo]

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.

[Painter Jim]

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.

[traveller]

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?

[SteveBurt]

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 :-)