Top Tips for Speed Painters!

 Don't do it!

I see a lot of YouTube videos with various people - some very good painters among them - smashing out units or armies of war games miniatures.

They have plenty of tips and tricks, some of which I have emulated at times. They are often very good and promote a tightly disciplined way of painting so that you can get that new unit on the table asap.

Now, this is great, and I am sure it helps many get just that result - a neatly painted unit ready to game with in a short period of time. So far as that goes, I suppose that's a good thing. I mean painting is not that delightful an occupation for many who just want to game and need to have painted miniatures to do that.

Speaking for myself it's a shockingly joyless activity. Take 'x' minis, prime them, then... paint all the trousers. By the time you are done with the last pair, the paint will be dry on the first and you can start over with the jackets!

Woo-hoo I say with poorly feigned enthusiasm. I recently had the experience of painting a box of Perry Napoleonic French. I assembled (why are there not enough covered shakos for the entire unit?) and primed them. I was about done here, but I kept on and did all their trousers in contrast paints per the speed paint guide I fund online and conked out due to the tedium.

So, I'll offer my 'method'. I paint what I feel like. I often have 2-3 units on the go at the same time. I never paint more than three of four minis at the same time and they are almost always all different in some way. This keeps me mentally active while I am painting.

The other thing that I do is keep the completed part of the unit out next to the painting table. My motivation is watching it expand and, as it grows into it's shape, I can see what I have done and what needs to be done - for me this is important when building large units of Willies to the "Charge!" or "Drums of War" rules which both require a large supporting cast of extras alongside the basic types.

So, just now as you can see in the accompanying pics, I am working on the Arquebusiers de Grassin* and some extras for my French-and-Indian Wars units. 

Avert your eves, please from the disorganised hell-hole that is my painting desk.

The expanding Grassins. The officer in the foreground shewing a leg is an unattached ADC. Each of my units has one for the look of it. It may not be too obvious but they are well into their second company or Grand Division now.

The la Reine and Béarn Regiments. Each is having a Light and a Grenadier company added per the "Drums of War Along the Mohawk" rules.

The la Sarre Regiment and assorted livestock. You will see a harried ADC dashing forward with a despatch from M. le General.

These French regiments are a pleasure to have out on display. I never pass them by without stopping and gazing upon them for a moment or two and maybe daydreaming about what might next be added to the collection. 

And in some ways this is the heart of why I paint as I do. For me one of these regiments is a thing of craft and beauty to be treasured and admired and added to lovingly. The thought of knocking a unit out is the opposite to what I am attempting to achieve.

Now, I'll have a step-ladder to get down off my high horse.

* These are largely the original Suren castings. I bought some of the remodelled ones and they are not a patch on the originals. There are a couple of interesting ideas among them -a Grenadier and a Drummer, but the quality of the casting and the mould making is poor. I have miniatures from across the remade range and would not go there again. Too many mould lines, imprecise detail, pits and pockets in the castings. they have been a bit of  chore to work with.