AT ARMS DISTANCE

So yes I “bit the bullet” and procured some IJA troops for Bolt Action. Or rather I secured some more troops, since I already had a tank in the "lead-pile". BUT,

I hate painting miniatures. 

There I said it.

I’m not very good at it, I never have been and I have never bothered to spend the required time to get good at it. 

And if I am 100% honest I am not sure I will ever spend the time to either.

I love the look of a painted army, and would never field one unpainted, but it is the history, the research, playing the game, the collecting, and the camaraderie that are the highlights of the hobby for me. I do however like making terrain which ironically does include some painting. (go figure)

The fact I have painted armies is more a result of, at one time, having a disposable income high enough to start my various collections, and throughout my wargaming life buying or being dumped with old projects from friends for whom a period or scale no longer held fancy. The number of units that I have actually painted is quite small, and while it is in double figures, it’s not as high as it probably should be for forty plus years in the hobby.

Kleve-Berg, my single painted battalion from my first "lead" purchase.

The figures I have painted are “table top” quality at best only saved by some nice basing and some pretty flags. So “at arms distance” is how I hold my mini’s and how I like to look at them. It’s also probably why I love 15mm, there is enough detail to look good en-masse but not enough to show my lack of paint brush dexterity, thus I get to have the “sense” and “look” of a battle while also recognising my painting limitations. 

Sadly being of a certain vintage, I now need to get myself a magnifying lamp* before I start putting paint onto plastic and I need to embrace more "modern" painting techniques beyond blocking and dry-brushing. Which brings me to Speed or Contrast paints, brand description aside, these do offer a short-cut to someone like myself. Videos online show a 28mm figure table ready in as little as 10 mins (plus drying time).

Whole squads ready to fall-in and offer themselves up to the vagaries of my poor decisions and the fickleness of the die in a gentlemanly repast accompanied by a fine spirit. Sounds too good to be true.

Wargames Delivered, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LURg44kQekY&t=5s

And while this sounds so simple, there are no hobby stores where I live, the mail is unreliable at best, and as I mentioned in a past post things like paints have to be purchased as part of holiday and travel plans, which sometimes limits the options available often due to stock and delivery time limits. And while others question the use of AI in the hobby, its support in identifying matching colours between manufacturers of both model paints and commercially available spray paints has proven a boon for me, and has helped plan my next (painting) steps.

* I can no longer see the little buggers in enough detail to paint them without some technological help. And even with the help of my specs I don’t feel comfortable unless the model is a lot closer, thus a good light source and a magnifier is now needed.