The Hobby That Dare's Not Speak Its Name Aka Wargaming

the zenithal then contrast method has been called Slapchop, there's a million videos about it on youtube, I recommend anything by Juan Hidalgo, Ninjon has done some good videos on how to evolve the method too. Things like using a coloured base coat as your mid tone and keeping tones of the same colour in the later shade layers, a mother colour.

This is what I've been working on recently, just need to finish the bases.

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yoooooooooo these rock

@Sumo those are very cool.

@Maj I've started up recently after stopping the hobby as a teenager, never thought I was any good at painting but found a couple of old models that actually look ok. My aim with current projects is to just be better than I was before. There is so much info online nowadays try not to get bogged down thinking you need certain gizmos etc. Every youtuber has an (expensive) airbrush for example. One of the best tips I've picked up was to use a wet pallet - just made from takeaway tub, kitchen roll and greaseproof paper. That and don't be afraid to try new things. If something doesn't look right you can just black over it and start again.

My current project. Picked up the Ballistus Dread from eBay. Pretty happy with how it's coming along. Some bits could be better but all the armour was dry brushed in an attempt to avoid solid blocks of colour and I think it's worked pretty well. Went in stages from a dark blue through the greys with a lighter touch on each pass.

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ahahah i made one in a takeaway tub yesterday! great minds.. the improvement is so noticable, this is great advice thank you!

your dreadnaught looks so ace!

Nice work. Love a bit of dry brushing.

A lot has gone well on this one and I'm pretty pleased with it. Probably the best thing I've painted.
Things that have gone well:

• dry brushing effect - I painted a Rhino before this and now I think I should spray it black and start again. It looks really poor in comparison
  
• most of my decisions with colour and resisting the urge to try to do all the little details different colours makes it look more coherent
  
• brush control has improved
  
  

Thing that didn't go well was the wolf tail thingys that have repeatedly snapped off the rocket launcher "arm". You can see the rings still glued in the corners in the pic. Shame because they looked fairly cool and gave some movement looking like they were blowing in the wind. Maybe I'll add them back as the very last thing I do and then NEVER TOUCH IT AGAIN? This was an attempt to make it look more "Space Wolfy" from limited parts so not too distressed.

Love seeing the models being painted up!

I've recently got back into 40k with my kids. My eldest is working on a Flesh Tearers Astartes army and my youngest is doing Leviathan Tyranids. I'm painting up some Necrons and some Sons of Medusa.

Here's a couple of my Infernus marines from the Leviathan box, painted with speedpaint over zenithal.

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Nice, good work on the helmet lenses in particular. I always struggle with them. Very smooth green too, was it the Army Painter speed paint you used?

Thanks! I used Army Painter Orc Skin speed paint for the green - the rest is a combination of Citadel base/layers and some other Army Painter speed paints. The speed paints do need a bit of care and forethought to not get big dark patches but they go on really nicely with a fat brush.

I did go back round the eyes with white layer paint afterwards, but they were painted with speed paint too so it flows nicely out to the edges.

Am I the only one that finds the painting the worst part of the hobby? My son and I just want to play battles and have to use a mish mash of hardly painted figures because neither of us can be arsed to paint them up...

You're definitely not alone in that, likewise some people only like the building/painting and don't play the game. Contrast paints are brilliant if you haven't looked at them already. Just spray a base coat when slather on some contrast all over the model, it does highlights and lowlights for you so you're left with just picking out the weapons and any details if you want.
Also texture paints for basing, the ones in the photo I just posted have a layer of AK Interactive Dark Earth, you can just leave them at that and it'll be tons better than bare bases.

I definitely used to be in this camp and always fielded half painted armies when I used to play back in the day but these days I find painting quite relaxing and enjoyable.

Tried some contrast paints today for marine 3

I was a bit underwhelmed when I did the highlight, more so when I did the purple, but all the little details bought it up

Need to get a black shade

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I prefer building to painting but having unpainted models annoys me so I feel compelled to do it. I do like the speed paints/contrast paints though, they take a lot of the faff out of it if you're ok with the slightly inferior results.

Playing, I'm not so fussed about.

My favourite bit is reading grimdark pulp fiction though...

Beautiful work people.

A question as to why the space marines now have a variant colour on the helmet?

In my day it used to be the same colour all over...

Boredom? Change? 😁

There's always been fluff about sergeants having a coloured stripe, veterans having a different whole colour, veteran sergeants having both and some stuff about this sub faction using these markings etc but it's usually on a single page deep in the codex. Mainly it's just people realising you can paint them how you like.

Done some aliens for the first time

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Hosted a girls and theys warhammer painting day with snacks

Got a sister of battle painted and my space marine captain, still mucking around with processes but happy how they turned out

Doing the details on the SOB was excellent fun

Was also given a ETB dreadnaught to build and a tau captain , judging how these two took me all Sunday I’m sure I’m set for a while now

Also made this excellent spread of tomato and mint salsa, guac, roasted chickpeas, tahini sauce and crudités for everyone

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Made a nice avocado salsa and some eggs to power me the five hours it took to do my first dreadnought, and the first guy I’ve built via sub assembly

I like how he turned out, a millennia of grime and some eye catching edges, I’ll get a steadier hand in time

God knows how long the bigger ones going to take

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i've been painting!

picked up an old ravenguard xmas box, some incursers to make a "special forces" type detachment of around 1000pts - it has been really fun so far

colour scheme is a bit mil-sim but i've tried to keep it vibrant and a bit silly, after doing my termies in the regular gw style i decided it was

A) not very fun
B) takes forever

i wanted something more dynamic, so i've been doing this sponge method for layering highlight and just doing a final edge highlight, it gives them a bit of impressionism rather than realism, i like it a lot. the bases are just cork tile with sand paint, washes and dry brushes, a lil diorama bush.

this is just under half the force! have some eliminators, phobos librarian, 2 tactical suits, shryk and another incurser squad to come.

the reiver was a test model

really enjoying modelling/ 40k, it's all i think about now, new autistic hyperfocus unlocked lol

anyway here is some pics

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No one told me space dwarfs were back!

Been slowly getting through War Without End, noticed the HH series is finally 2 books from ending

Nice. I've been meaning to try some sponging