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

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Keeping that painting desk populated for the hours I can steal late at night

One more session should do it

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Never gets old.

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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

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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

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One of three!

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As a bonus, tonight I painted up a Stormcast Eternal (using the TableTopReady tutorial)!

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I can see why these are the face of Age of Sigmar. That was fun to paint, and it looks amazing 😄

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Something a little more ambitious this time round…
This is a lot
Not far from done here! Lovely warm colors on this scheme

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!

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It’s all coming together. Honestly this paint job has been kinda fun, despite the complexity

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Bringing it home

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Look at this beautiful boy! And it only took two days

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This one deserves a full spin 👌

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I said 2025 would be the year to progress my painting skills, and I meant it 😎

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Also me, two days ago…

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Prepping a future project!

#starwarslegion

Honestly a pretty easy one to paint, all things considered

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Baby’s first OSL!

(It me. I am baby)

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First finished mini of (Imperial?) March!

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I have painting failures too; this guy (3D printed from Artisan Guild) wasn’t turning out how I wanted so I stopped half way.

I’ll see if I can rescue it when I’m in the mood

Finally started painting the display board that’s been hanging on my wall for a few years. Terrain is hard!

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Looking better already! Still have the raised area to do, but I’ll get there

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On the painting table tonight

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Not too bad, for a test model. It’s a lot smaller than it looks, but I’ll have an easier time with it when my new brushes get here. Not a particularly difficult scheme, thankfully!

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And… done!

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Tiny boy!

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It’s new brush day! Trying out Artis Opus this time. €100 doesn’t get you an awful lot of sable these days… 😅

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Putting the new brushes to work!

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Ready for those finishing touches

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Finally pushed through to the finish on these two. My new Artis Opus brushes are fantastic, now I just need to get better at using them 👌

At least basing is the fun part

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Basing begins.

One thing new I’m doing on this batch is going back in and manually adding shading and black lining after the fact, which makes all the difference

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Project complete!

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Current status: very carefully trying to paint a model past me glued together and didn’t have the foresight to make in subassemblies…

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When I’m just doing one, I’m much faster! Maybe batch painting is what’s been killing me

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Particularly love how this cloak turned out. I still need a lot of practice

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Honestly not a very complicated model or paint job. Another couple of sessions should be all I need

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Successful shoulder pad 👌

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Final touches.

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Nailed it!

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I have the power (sword)!

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Captain complete!

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On the turntable, since this model arguably looks better from the back than from the front 😂

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Attempting a pox walker test model, since I can’t find a decent box art tutorial. I don’t have my recipe 100% right yet, but it’s not too far off

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Not as many materials on this guy as you might think 🤔

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I think I pulled it off? He looks reasonably close to the box art version

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All done! One tiny little Nurgle Poxwalker test model

(Recipe included)

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Poxwalker no. 2. These guys are fun to paint, as a little goes a long way, and every single model is unique

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And this guy is done, too!

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Already making a difference to the shelf. Now I just need to rescue the rest out from under the layer of dust 😝

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Number three.

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Midpoint

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Nearly there! Those pants turned out way better than I expected

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Poxwalker no. 3 complete!

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One thing I'm noticing, doing these poxwalkers, is that it's really satisfying finishing one miniature at a time. It's quicker, I'm having more fun, and the variation makes each one interesting. I'm also more willing to try more advanced things, like mixing, glazing, etc, because I only have to worry about what's in front of me, and as a result I am learning and (I think I’m) getting better at this with each one. Batch painting doesn't give me that same dopamine hit

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Poxwalkers on the turntable 😄

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@stroughtonsmith Oh this is such a good idea; put all the unpainted dollies on a shelf and replace them one by one with the finished ones. A great motivator.
@stroughtonsmith is this your own personal style or the new GW house style? It’s very different to when I painted minifigs some 25 years ago.
@beseku mine vs the studio reference. The 'Eavy Metal team keeps pushing it every year

@stroughtonsmith oh wow they’ve progressed the “look” a lot then. Or I’m really old.

Probably that actually, I’m recalling painting titans for Epic.

Great artist, awesome man
@stroughtonsmith This looks really, really good. I'd have to look really closely to not just assume it's official box art.
@stroughtonsmith love it. That checkerboard must’ve been annoying to do!
@everyplace I enjoy checkerboarding in general (you can use a pencil to mark it out before you put paint to model), but painting white paint over anything is a nightmare
@stroughtonsmith fair re: white, but I imagine with all of the highlight work you’ve been doing that the white work has gotten easier.
@everyplace it's the chemistry! White pigments are the largest, so getting a smooth finish is real hard — it likes to come out gritty and uneven. I find you've gotta mix it with a lot of water, and use a dozen coats, which makes sharp squares a real pain 😄
@stroughtonsmith Your painting skills are incredible, well done!
@stroughtonsmith The Ganon is strong in this one 😅
@stroughtonsmith awesome job at the lightning and the gold of the shoulder pad!
beautiful 🙌🏼💪🏽
@stroughtonsmith looking good 👍 I have this mini premade in a job lot I bought second hand so will be in the same boat. From your pics I reckon you have better brush control :-)
@stroughtonsmith Golden demon here we come!!! 🏆🏆🏆🏆