Talk Fantasy Football

Hey Guys!

Late this year/Early Next I plan to hit the UK tournament scene (i'll be 18 so it will be worth travelling around the country *beer!*)

For this, I am planning an overhaul of my collection - by that I mean selling all my stuff and buying new stuff.

Thing is I am an awful painter - I mean awful! I will obviously invest a bit of time in painting them but I just have no ability at it.

So, I was wondering - what is the standard like out there? I don't want to turn up with an awful looking team if everyone else has teams painted like a pro! As another option is buying an already painted team!

Thanks in advance!

Wishy washy answer is it really does vary! I've played against three colour minimum teams, and against beautiful masterpieces already this year. To be fair, most teams now are fully painted and painted neatly as a minimum. The low model count means it's not hard to get something half decent ready to play with. You'll always get mind blowing teams winning best painted awards, but I've certainly never seen anyone comment negatively on anyone elses team.

Two things I guess, commision painting is now very common so getting a team done nicely is within most peoples budget. And the only way you'll get better at it yourself is practice!

On a sidenote, are you in the North East/Scotland, or in 'North East Scotland'?

Ahh Okay, thanks!



Aberdeen!

Using GW washes makes basic painting (' blocking in' areas with a colour) quite easy...

I think, if you are willing to travel to a tournament you should also be willing to play with a painted team...

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Absolutely, I wouldn't turn up with just an undercoat, was just wondering the standard peoples teams are painted is all

I only have 2 self-painted teams, and they both suck arse, but other than gentle ribbing from friends , I've never had negative comments. I've also played (and used) unpainted teams, and I personally have no issue with that, as long as the positions are clear, but I know others don't like.

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Basic painted is more than enough. I like facing painted teams, in tournaments that is. It shows you took some kind of effort.

No need to have it all painted in golden demon standard or what have you, just... you know, basic.
Recognizing different positions at a glance is, more or less, mandatory. Baserings help, so do minis who look like they should, ...

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Sting like a butterfly,
dance like a bee!

JaM speaks truth, Don_Vito too.

I would like to add: take the time to sit in your local gaming store (either a GW store or any other place where they sell mini's and have a painting area) and ask them to teach you. You can learn more in 4 hours there than you can figure out in 4 weeks yourself.

I did this myself, and painted my first team (Chaos) stripped from the lumps of paint I turned them into when I was 15 and didn't know anything about painting, to a level that I would never have dreamed of achieving before. Which still wasn't anything better than 'acceptable tabletop' level, but it still was a huge leap from what they were before, which was 'ugly as sin' I've since painted 3 whole teams (in order, Skaven, Necro and Human) and I'm currently working on the 5th (Orcs), and I can see myself improving with every team.

I maintain that everyone who isn't actually spastic, retarded or otherwise physically or mentally impaired can learn how to paint at at least a 'good tabletop' level, as long as you have the will and dedication to do so, some tips and coaching, and a lot of practice.

Decent brushes help A LOT, too. They last longer and you get the paint where you want it.

I use Da Vinci IIRC, similar to W&N (Windsor and Newton). a '000' is good for almost everything. Get a decent 'bigger' brush (mine is a '2', flat one, from the local railway shop). This one is for washes and painting/inking the figure after undercoating.

Decent paint helps, too. I use some GW but mostly Vallejo. It's what is available to me, and it works.
Decent light, decent seat... and some paitence. It's only 16 models max. Maybe even 12-13 depending on the team, and the TV you play at.

Another tip: write down what paint you use for what part, and if you thinned it or not, or mixed it... it makes it easier to paint more models later on if you still have the receipe (spelling?)/if you know how you did stuff.

Just a few evenings with a few hours each (listen to music and paint, dont watch that TV! ) will get you a very decent start to a painted team.
The more you paint, the better/faster you become.

Good luck!

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Sting like a butterfly,
dance like a bee!

Thanks for the tips guys!

Not true!

In most tournaments its perfectly acceptable to turn up with unpainted miniatures. I have done so on multiple occasions and, honestly, I cant remember it causing any tension. The UK scene is pretty chilled The important thing is that you have models which can be easily distinguished from each other.

I have various teams, some with paint on them, but I cant say that the paint or lack of paint ever comes into the equation when I'm deciding which team to play. It really is that much of a non-issue. Then again, I mostly beg borrow and steal other peoples teams so my unpainted ones dont see much table time anyway The only time I'd worry about paint quality is if the organiser has specified "painted teams" and even then no one is going to be too concerned about the standard.

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Update: the Hartlepool family Glynn now has a virgin bath.

Barney is a clever dog.

Base colour-wash-drybrush can give remarkable results. Hell, I have some models in my collection, not for BB admittedly, that I consider perfectly playable quality with three colours and a careful coat of Devlan Mud (or whatever it's called these days) and that's it.

Painting to what I would consider an acceptable standard has never been easier thanks to that one miracle fluid (GW in getting something very right shocker!)...and I can't imagine there's anyone who isn't at least capable of that standard above primary school age. If you're the sort who just can't be arsed painting at all, that's another matter. Not tried them yet but GW may have made things yet easier with their textured paints for basing. Anyone can slap a bit of that on a base and glue on some static grass.

Wherever you play, there is likely to always be someone with the insanely high quality paint job that makes you wonder why you bother. Enjoy that person's skill, but don't fret it if you're not that level. Most of us aren't. Just aim for the baseline standard and you're good to go.

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I honestly don't mind whether I play against painted teams or not. Don't get me wrong, a nicely themed/painted team is a joy to play against but identification of positionals is crucial.

One thing I will say though is that some tournies have it built into their points that you should have 3 colours and based models and I think that's a good standard to aim for.

Yeah, much as I enjoy the painting side of things far more than playing the most important thing is that it is easy to differentiate the positions and which players have skills.

In a tournament I’d rather play against chess pieces painted the appropriate colour (red for blitzers, white for throwers etc) for each position with skills rings than a beautifully painted team that are virtually impossible to tell apart. GW’s amazon models really suffer from this, they are ok sculpts for their age but they all look very similar the Khemri and some of the Orc teams made from fantasy or 40K models also have this issue.

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Do your Oppo a favour and make sure the pieces can be told apart. I like to put positional colours on everything to try and make it crystal clear, as well as use appropiate models (some teams very innovative in using alternative models, but sometimes I wouldn't have a clue which is which). But otherwise the teams i have painted have block, mostly neat, colours on them.

Personal preferance is for bright colours as well, these are football teams, not camoflaged wonders!