Steve Troughton-SmithThings I got painted in 2024: not nearly enough.
I guess the year isn't over yet…
More skellies! Have to search my bits box for the rest of the shields, mind
And shields for everybody! Now I can actually call these complete. I only wish more of them had survived since I opened the box (…in 1998?), but maybe I can bulk them out with spare parts later on
Next assembly line up and running. Left is washed. Middle is recess-shaded. Right is finished test mini. Painting is exhausting 😴
I’m still highlighting these Death Guard. Finding all those edges is *exhausting*; I can manage maybe a couple a night
It’s slow going, but next up is the metallics and that will make a big difference quickly
NGL, this has been a marathon project. Certainly in no rush to paint any more Death Guard in immediate future 😅 Can’t argue with the results!
This has been two weeks of 2–3 hours a night, or two seasons of Hell’s Kitchen worth according to my watch history. It’s real nice to do something analogue for a while
Not a whole lot left here! Bones, cloth, and final details
And just to highlight what 5 years of progress looks like, here's where I gave up the first time trying to paint these models, back in 2019!
I’m so glad I don’t have a timer counting how long these have taken to paint. The people who can do this all day every day are heroic
Tomorrow, the Death Guard will be done! Feels real good 😄
And we’re done; a full painted squad of Death Guard before Christmas 👨🎨
One for the Reddit crowd:
Spent December painting up some Death Guard a la the TableTopReady tutorial and they turned out neat!
Before I run out of energy, I figured I’d begin a test model for some very classic Dark Eldar I have lying around. Even the studio paint jobs for these were awful, just like the models 😂 So I have very little to go on; uncharted territory
I know sex is good and all, but have you ever successfully painted twenty eyes at 28mm scale with a size 1 brush?
(Keeping this one in the thread)
Closing thoughts on last month’s Death Guard: that was a real slog, but they look better than I could have hoped. The minis are incredible, but because there's so much variation it's impossible to build up a rhythm and each one has to be tackled individually, which is exhausting. I have a dozen more to paint, but I'm going to have to really be in the mood to commit to another three-week paint job. Immediate plan is more Dark Eldar, then some Ultramarines, and a Stormcast test mini
Trying my hand at something different. Old model stripped of paint and prepared for work…
Though my good brushes are on their last legs now after a solid few months of painting, so it's probably time to replace my setup 🥲
Surprise morning project! Painted up the mini that brought me into the hobby all those years ago…
One classic Carnifex 👌
I was too busy being sick 🤧 today to post in-progress pics of this guy, but rest assured it went through an ‘ugly phase’ like all the others. It wasn’t till I was 90% done that I could see it was going to be ok in the end, and I had to abort and re-try a couple portions along the way
I have never had so many upvotes on r/Warhammer40k 👀 I guess people really like a classic Carnifex — it is one of my all-time favorites
First batch paint of 2025 complete! There’s something quite endearing about these awful classic Dark Eldar sculpts when painted in a modern style
Keeping that painting desk populated for the hours I can steal late at night
Had the flu this week, so having to slowly force myself back into painting by doing tiny little bits. Avoiding the internet feels like the right thing to do lately
You spend so much time looking at this stuff up close, flaws and all, that seeing it from the intended distance feels like a whole new experience
As a bonus, tonight I painted up a Stormcast Eternal (using the TableTopReady tutorial)!
I can see why these are the face of Age of Sigmar. That was fun to paint, and it looks amazing 😄
Some of these highlights nearly broke me. Too many of the paints are shiny and the angles are awful which made it impossible to see what I was looking at under my lights 😅 I’m not gonna let this mini defeat me, but boy is it a struggle!
It’s all coming together. Honestly this paint job has been kinda fun, despite the complexity
This one deserves a full spin 👌
I said 2025 would be the year to progress my painting skills, and I meant it 😎
Robert Jan Schutten@stroughtonsmith I need a hobby like this. Much better for my health than reading the news. Great job, I don’t if I could have so much precision, even with practice.
Christian Selig@stroughtonsmith do you use a manual brush or an air brush? I loooove that second one
dmitriidSometimes I wish mastodon had likes just for posts like this
SunDancer@stroughtonsmith And now evolve even more and do non-GW stuff. No, not GW-Bashing but grabbing minis from totally different ranges will challenge your skills even more. Battletech, Bot War, Moonstone, Stargrave.
Matthias BohlenWow, you are an artist! :-)
James Thomson@stroughtonsmith Those are amazing!
Joe Chott@stroughtonsmith HOLY FRIG!!
@stroughtonsmith Absolutely UNREAL - magnificent!!! :)
ya boi tim@stroughtonsmith fucken sweet gradient there!!
Pete Wright@stroughtonsmith it’s incredible. Best one yet.
Adeptus FortikusLooks very good though! But yeah, highlights in wierd angles are so hard lol
Stuart Gibson@stroughtonsmith it’s looking really great so far. The purple scales and claw especially are really nicely shaded.
Adam Bell 
@stroughtonsmith is this what a tyranid looks like when a grenade goes off?
@b3ll it's like when you pin insects for a museum
Rob McMorran@stroughtonsmith looks awesome! I love how Xenus Minis does theirs and this is very similar
@stroughtonsmith I know this has been YEARS of you working on your skills but being here on the outside looking in… it feels like you were doing (in my opinion) good at reworking all your childhood paint jobs.
…and then in the last couple months, you gained some huge extra capability. You seem now to not only be painting at a level -*I*- had previously only associated with “master level artists”, but also, the SPEED at which you are working now is just INSANE compared to years ago!
CONGRATS!!
@Verxion just trying new things and attempting to push myself. I think the only thing that's changed is the confidence to attempt paint jobs that seem lengthy and complex
@stroughtonsmith you are very modest. :)
@Verxion it's hard to describe, but there is a point where everything clicks and you can see the matrix. And then you can look at anything and go ‘oh I can do that’
@stroughtonsmith That’s literally what I was expecting. It feels like your mindset AND your capability just unlocked and anything became possible. I realize that’s probably not how it feels to YOU, but that’s how it looks from the outside.
You are inspiring! :)
@stroughtonsmith well done
Chris Harris@stroughtonsmith Wow. Top notch!
@stroughtonsmith Utterly spectacular!!! :)
MatchaMakes@stroughtonsmith What flaws? Could be a golden demon winner.
Spice MerchantThat Aggressor looks awesome! I hope you're feeling better soon.
@stroughtonsmith the best
tylercheung@stroughtonsmith spirit fingers! Jazz hands!
scotticus
@stroughtonsmith LOL - I love it! :)
@stroughtonsmith They're also easily compatible with more modern plastic Dark Eldar parts with minimal hassle, an easy "glow-up".
A J Gershom@stroughtonsmith This is pretty cool. Are you someone that regularly designs action figures and the like?
@ajgershom I just paint minis!
@stroughtonsmith still cool.