All about me...

Here we go.

Right, I'm John, recently turned 30, and been in to the hobby for about 20 years, when my imagination, fresh from reading The Hobbit was captivated by the TV advert for Heroquest. Since then I have lived miniatures, and, not a day goes by when I don't do at least one, if not a hundred mini related activities.

It's always been about the miniatures for me, I was never really a gamer, or painter, I just wanted the cool minis, and would build and convert them, maybe prime them, and then they would gather dust for years. When I do game, I'm a sucker for aesthetically pleasing lists as opposed to any common convention of what is 'good'. I always seem to go for evil type armies, especially if they have huge monsters in them, although, I can turn my brush to any 'grimy' looking force. It doesn't help that I also seem to have a bit of an all or nothing approach, so, if I wanted to do an Orc & Goblin army, I'd want it all to be Black Orcs, which isn't really rules friendly. I'm also obsessed with Werewolfs.

My first forays into painting were those original Heroquest minis, primed loving by hand with a bottle of Tippex (colourful disasters with a My First Chemistry set kinda put the parents off allowing me near aerosols) and painted with the paints from a Simpsons paint-by-numbers kit... Yeah, peach isn't a good look for a Chaos Sorcerer.

Over the last twenty years, I have painted a woefully small amount of models, as I always seemed to paint them individually, and got nowhere. I should probably explain that I'm blessed and cursed with both Aspbergers and a short attention span, so, whilst I can commit to a huge amount of projects, they are generally short-lived. The hand can't replicate what the mind's eye envisages, and it gets frustrating. It also means I come across as pretty blunt and/or aloof, although, online interaction can be easier than any face to face stuff. My girlfriend can't quite fathom why I have such a 'social' obsession, because that is the correct term for it, which probably explains why I never gamed much. It was probably around 2001 that I actually managed to paint a full army for Conflict Scotland, and, from then I have dabbled, managing a few Armies in that time, as well as a few thousand beginnings. I suffer from new model syndrome, so I never actually get any real project finished unless I have some sort of deadline in front of me.

At the moment, due to working nightshift, and having a 3 year old, an 18 month baby (game related fact - I persuaded the missus to call her 'Kaya' after the HORDES Warlock), and another on the way, and the short attention span, my painting seems to have plateaued at basecoat, wash, done. I am probably my own worst critic, and I am well aware of the shortcomings of my style, especially under macro settings, but I need something that produces results in the limited time I have.

I'm told my work is towards the high end of tabletop quality, and I've had a few models displayed in my local GW window over the years, as well as having painted a bunch of new release models for them. I've had a few (very basic) painting awards, and did pick up 3rd place at Conflict Scotland for my Isengard Troll, although, I suspect there may only have been 3 entries in that category... I was also recently accepted into Mantic Games Painter's Circle, so, at some level, I must be doing something right.

I'm mainly looking to talk toy soldiers with similarly obsessed people, pick up a few tips to improve my painting, because I have what I would say is a slightly cartoony, and basic style. I don't imagine my stuff will really ever be display quality, which is ironic considering how little time I have for gaming, but yeah... I got dry and overbrushing down, can do dark metals pretty happily, just discovered how to do an acceptable verdigris over bronze, although gold still eludes me. I hate painting reds and yellows (that first Conflict army was World Eaters...) and probably have to try and break away from the whole 'a long as it covers black in one coat, it's good' mentality... I also need to get a grasp on tactics, or actually reading rulebooks, and not just creaming over pictures of minis.

Aye, rambling now, so, basically, teach an old dog some new tricks. And possibly how to take decent photos. In return, I could possibly impart the knowledge of frequent swearing and ellipsis use...

I reckon that is enough about me for now. You probably all know far more than you ever wanted to...

Cheers,

John