We Discovered the SECRET to FINISHING our Warhammer Armies

[@xRaptorScreamx]

That Title is Fake News, nobody finishes painting an army

[@MCXL1140]

Sad but true

[@gstellar96]

That's not true I'll finish mine .... Eventually

[@leighz1962]

I just play with unopened boxes and packs. The artwork on a lot of boxes is better than I can do. Sometimes I will put printed stickers over clear packaging if it needs to be painted for events.

[@SuperDuperHappyTime]

Stillmania disagrees

[@justmakesstuff]

That's not quite true. All of my armies have been briefly "done" many times. They just suddenly end up not being done again....

[@Miscast]

THESE ARMIES ARE RAD

[@fallstar7013]

Yes

[@antonioaguilera616]

Says the guy with the completely custom nurgle circus army

[@d-emprahexpects]

So are your converting skills and artistic vision 👍

[@danielmalson9652]

So youre coming out to this nexk of the woods to hangout and kitbash with us?

[@jensburkhardt4006]

I especially rate the style on the draconith? (dragon style mount) So cool contrasted yet somehow tuned down style

[@Misguided_mad_scientist]

Scott casually becoming our therapist at the beginning. Thank you Scott for validating my thoughts when I couldn’t put it into words! I look forward to painting every single day but often it doesn’t happen due to my job and life and while all those things are highly positive and even necessary it’s not painting. So I feel bad for complaining and I know that the day I get together with my friends and play a game gets one day further and that makes me sad. I don’t know how to really navigate this but I feel that it’s good to I’m not alone in my struggle.

[@Narcian150]

Big guy with the Stormcast is too hard on himself for sure. I hate looking at stormcast usually, but the thematic kitbashes he did actually makes them look cool. It is great that they are "too dark," it fits the lone mage wielding an army of animated dulluhan-like armors.

[@MCXL1140]

Thanks!

[@Bloodrunner13]

Between seeing the new big Dragon and this dulluahn stormcast I finally had to break down and get some stormcast myself. I love that idea so much.

[@MCXL1140]

@@Bloodrunner13 I eagerly await the new dragon arriving on my doorstep soon

[@Hobbydude785]

@@MCXL1140I just got the dominion box set

[@markchristiansen4827]

The secret to painting a 2000 point army is to try and paint a 2500 one and fail!

[@Miniac]

aim high!

[@skylersparks4794]

It took me 15 years (started at 15) to get a fully painted Imperial Guard army for Warhammer 40k. Finished it this year.

[@no_cool_names]

I still believe it's a myth that people have fully painted armies.

[@lancedolan]

It took me 6 years to finish my WHFB army, and as I was finishing the last unit, the game was canceled and AoS was announced. Frustration.

[@FullMetalHamster666]

That's the 1st Regiment. What about the 2nd and 3rd Regiments?

[@johnhildenbrand2642]

​@@FullMetalHamster666😂😅😢

[@AlexUCP]

A deep dive into each unique army, their theme, story, conversion and stuff would be cool ! They all look really great !

[@bearlyk]

Couldn't agree more - some of the conversion work on the Sigmar stuff was really really cool so I'd love to see how that was pulled off! Would also love to see these as a battle report if you do them again!

[@Danny76375]

100% do this. I know there’s algorithms or whatever for length but videos like this and one per army I could watch for a good 30 minutes or more each.

[@MCXL1140]

​@@bearlykquite a few of the games from the league are up on the live stream vod channel, it's called Maniac's Backlog.

[@kevinturner1792]

This makes me feel so much better. I have only been painting a few years & not near as often as Id like. Late last year I started collecting & building a Slaves To Darkness army as the new box sets released. I had hoped to have them done in 5 months ( Was planning on playing my very first game for my bachelor party) ... My opponent bailed 2 months in. Told me he hadnt bought ( or printed) a single model. I lost all drive to paint after that and it all took the back burner as life just kinda smacked me around for a while. I was married in May, and still havent completed a single full UNIT in my army. Seeing that lots of other people have trouble with life taking over made me feel like less of a failure. Im hoping to get moving again on it very soon, and ill keep watching Miniac and TUP until my creative juices start flowing again. Thank you sincerely for all that you do, Miniac!

[@ReYzEr29]

Honestly? One of the most helpfull videos I watched the past couple years. I really struggle with painting at the moment due to mental health issues and loss of motivation in general. Hearing your guys storys and struggles along this journey, really helped me to realize that Im not alone with this and its totaly fine not to finish something and come back to it later. Will keep thinking about this for a while and hopefully it will change my mind, in relation towards only seeing failure when i dont finish stuff

[@bob12884]

JOHN! I have also been in the hobby since I was young, 12/13 starting, 26 now, and John was a big catalyst for my growth within this space. My LGS was the North American HQ for GW where I sat next to John and hobbied every Saturday. He showed me so many techniques including a great free hand on an Orc banner for my 8th edition Orcs and Goblins. Those were some of the best times I've had and I'm glad to see that spirit has moved on into AoS (myself included)! Great video!

[@flanjuan]

Awesome! Good times. Glad to hear you're still painting stuff!

[@TabletopTitan]

There is a club. They all have their signature look of superiority about them. And by they, I mean We. Welcome aboard!

[@MestreGuilderiusLCB]

3:58 to 4:05 that's the effin best thing I ever heard ! Hobby is a hobby, do not let it, yourself or anyone else put pressure on you ! Minipainting should always be a pleasure, not a burden !

[@LAZERBEEEMZZZ]

3:47 I needed to hear this

[@clintonwagoner3523]

This is great to see! Was a little nervous for y'all watching those early streams, and got the feeling the rules weren't groking for the group. Really happy to see everyone stick with it and some truly beautiful models came out of this.

[@utahgeoff]

Great perspective on the "your hobbies should bring you joy" comment. I've given up playing certain video games that I once enjoyed for this very reason.

[@strochnis33]

Didn't expect to hear about Warzone and Mutant Chronicles here. Oh, the memories... And now, I'm pumped to go and finish painting hordes of zombies.

[@nathanlovin]

This was such a great journey of a video! "Failure is OK" is such a great thing to remember when painting an army/force (or even just a mini) and something I forget over and over.

[@leighz1962]

The easiest way to assemble and paint your army is never take them out of the packages. Just move the packages around.

[@ilkar89]

I love videos like this. They are so genuine and highlight both having a community of like-minded people and how different folks' motivations and passions can be different within that.

[@lonestarminis]

"My cat bit me so I couldn't paint my miniatures" has got to be the most Warhammery nerdy thing I've heard in a while and I am a nerd. Bravo, my boy.

[@Honz1q]

I was like did it bite the finger off? 😅

[@gaywolfsif4760]

Bro got a lion as a pet

[@FatmanGary]

For 2 months!! 😂😂😂 I'm so embarrassed for him

[@burtskurt]

Great looking armies. Having a small group of friends that are in the grind with you and upcoming games on the calendar is such a great way to keep the fires burning and get that project done.

[@lonestarminis]

The Sandy Cities of Sigmar army is AWESOME! I love the quantity of conversions and old metal minis snuck in there. (I see you, Lorenzo Lupo)

[@danielmalson9652]

Lorenzo was my whole inspiration for the army tbh! And a bunch of the consept is basically old world stuff reborn , soecifically DOW stuff (desert dogs for pistoliers riding wolves etc)

[@mefastest]

This is a timely video. Struggling to make time to paint, but need to work on it. These tips are helping it not feel like such a chore. Thank you!

[@shaunkrogulski9619]

I loved the way this video was out together! I like the different takes and approaches not only to painting but to gaming in general.

[@ajisinthewoods3692]

You’re back!!! What I mean this feels like a return to form in a way. I always enjoy the videos that feel like you’re sharing your personal hobby journey in a super relatable way. This is you and your buds and a small part of, another part of the journey. The edit makes it feel like skate boarding video, like I could watch this to get pumped up to start an army or a campaign. You come off as relatable and a bit of a pro. The Joe Robinet of mini painting. Bloody loves it.

[@adiebland9220]

Amazing, nothing better than a fully painted army, a really rare thing, but a beautiful thing to behold…………..another great vid

[@RandomHeroScog]

Love to see the channel branching out and trying new things. Keeps me inspired to Paint. More. Minis!

[@Shalickx]

that stormcast army looks sick I like how dark it is with the bright swords

[@johannisson77]

It is not often I comments on videos but I need to say that this was a great video format. Love to meet your friends like this and have an interview style that is just the answers!

[@Fritz_Foyer]

I participated in an escalation league once. After an accident i suffered from second and third degree burns on my hands and had to drop out midway through. It was heartbreaking especially since this hobby helped me through some rough patches. I finished the army some time later and hated it. Gameplay wise but models and color scheme aswell. Haven't figured out if it was because of the memories it was connected to or if i just grew out of T'au. However the experience i gained from finishing my largest army yet is something im still grateful for. I learned so much about layering. Painting white was a pain in the ass but now i'm solid at it. Same goes for painting lenses and jewelry. All in all i'm glad i had tried to step up to the challenge. Failing is completely fine. There's always something to take away from a project. Even if it's only about what you didn't like.

[@danielmalson9652]

Amazing to hear your experiences and how youve processed them!

[@Fritz_Foyer]

@@danielmalson9652 Thank you very much. This whole situation was pretty exhausting most of the time ngl. But i'm much more satisfied with my work today and i have never been more productive in this hobby. My current goal is to paint every every single type of goblin mini this world has to offer.

[@danielmalson9652]

@@Fritz_Foyer i love that goblin goal

[@Ben_Fett]

So cool to see Alex Davy on here! So many great creations that brought me into wargaming went directly through his hands. So much respect!

[@chaoticflanagan]

Hey, i remember the old Reddit "Trial of the Warlords" - I loved those! I did complete it with Tyranids :)

[@abhi23iiser]

Nice to see Alex enjoying himself.

[@abhi23iiser]

Hey Miniac, continuing on Alex train it would be great if we could get a longer video with him discussing Aos system. Given his background with both x-wing and onslaught.Thanks.

[@Izzboticus]

I want to see more stuff with Alex!

[@erikbraun473]

The armies look amazing. I have finished a few armies over the years but theres only 2 i am truly proud of. Having a finished army youre proud of is a uniquely amazing experience and it feels really good when it all comes together.

[@saltfreegamer]

Great job painting up those armies, they look great! A thought about army painting: I wonder if you could develop an iterative/agile paint method. Like first pass, get to 3 colour minimum, next pass add some shading and highlight, next pass do details, etc, until you reach the quality level you want, but with a decent playable army the whole time. Obviously, you could just do what I outlined above, but as you show in your painting videos, the specifics of what techniques you apply in what order makes a big difference in quality and efficiency. It would be interesting if you could find a method where each pass truly builds on the last one, without too much duplicated effort. Sounds like a Miniac R&D project to me!

[@callumparadox4908]

That surprisingly uplofting sentiment was very nice

[@CoffinSplutter]

The production quality of this video is next level.

[@dogedad5172]

i dig the new form of interview/documenting progress content

[@nickjowett5735]

Loved the coverage Miniac! Many of the usual problems still occuring, campaing burn out, army imbalance etc, but glad you and friends made it and enjoyed it!

[@rileyraccoon9673]

Congrats to all of you guys, it takes a lot of time and work. One of my greatest hobby achievement is finishing my 2k points of Sisters of Battle. Such a beautiful army and finishing them was really something special ❤

[@ThorMan91587]

I'm a big fan of John Shaffer's work from a few epochs ago in White Dwarf. I briefly saw him at the old Baltimore Battle Bunker but was too nervous and shy to say hey. I'm glad to see he's still cracking out awesome armies

[@MCXL1140]

John's one of the most gracious guys I've met If you see him at a adepticon or at a game store you should definitely say hi.

[@flanjuan]

Hey! Those days in Baltimore were great. I hope you're still having fun with toy soldiers!

[@Wijkert]

Love seeing shots of the armies. Especially liked the Nurgle one. The smoke machine effects where a little overdone sometimes, obscuring the shots of great looking armies.

[@johnshaffer4342]

Thanks! It was one of my favorite army projects ever.

[@CesarIsaacPerez]

I got into tabetop gaming with Age of Sigmar, around 7 years ago, with the original 2 player starter set. I painted the box, but I haven't finished painting the full armies and I have all the Stormcast and Khorne minis released since... AoS is still my favorite game. I've also gotten into 40k and Warcry from Games Workshop and other games like Warmachine, Deadzone and Frostgarve, among many others.

[@matthewmalovich64]

Been a huge Alex Davy fan since I played X-Wing!!!! Star Wars Legion is my favorite game and it’s because of him!

[@rbfishcs123]

I really enjoyed this video for some reason, felt super wholesome

[@domgrigore7549]

Loved to see Evan's take on Stormcast! The Ghamak print also looked great and fit in well with the official models.

[@mrpizzacat8273]

Gotta say the headless stormcasts is genius, especially as a fan of Living Armour stuff it improves them a lot for me. If I where to do it I’d probably add a bunch of weapons and items following them and some spirits. But that’s me. Great work all around.

[@ahtuno]

I was wondering if the heads were off because he wasnt done painting honestly lol, headless is cool though he could add some smoke or glow effect to the sockets where they'd be to show it off even more

[@mikeverse634]

Oh hell yeah. Nothing beats waking up at 11am to get some Miniac in. Thank you Scott hope you get all the success in life that you deserve and more. A leader in the miniature space

[@TheTelexer]

It's inspiring to see everyone's finished work and loved hearing about the escalation experience! I just joined a Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game group and am painting and learning to play a Minas Tirith army, and having a great time - I think that process is one of the most fun things in the hobby.

[@danielmalson9652]

I went right from my cities army into a gondor/faramir Legendary legion! Would love to see your army!

[@AshK3tchup]

WORD to the flanel guy on the highlights - that is the thing I always underestimate painting models. You always look at them close up. Thinking about painting models for looking at them 6 feet away totally changes your perspective

[@Samsminis]

Very much enjoyed watching this video, well done Scott. Would love to see more still photos of the armies.

[@SpooKimi]

since the beginning of the year ive been painting again, mainly focusing on my aos orks and 40k nids and some smaller projects i started before. im not the fastest painter and i switch between a lot of projects from my pile of opportunity, i have about 1500 points of kruleboyz painted now ^^ i still have a lot of points of orks to assemble and paint but it's been fun so far, ive also been playing weekly playing different amount of points in aos. i would love they would have different balance for points as i have been enjoying playing smaller scale as well. and while the game is def not perfect i'm having a great time with it. every army has such fun mechanics, rules, models and playstyles. i still gotta put more effort into getting peeps to play some warcry as i really love warcry

[@ichbins5138]

What helps me to get an army project done, is a tournament. I alwa s set the goal to bring a fully and good painted army to an event. And thats helps a lot

[@IamZeus1100]

Amazing paint jobs and advice all around from everyone !

[@jameszeropr]

Incredible video! I just finished a league and went from a Warband (10 minis) of Kruleboyz to a ~complete 2k point army (all basecoated and based). I'm working through the details now on the last 3 units. Seeing this experience from each of your perspectives was fantastic!

[@Danny76375]

More content like this. Was a really good watch. The talk and the visuals.

[@gomezzara_creative]

This is freaking neat! We are doing something similar with some friends with Battletech! Looking to do the same with AOS / W40K As always, Amazing vid papa! The quality of the shoots and editing 10/10

[@Artmesa]

I really liked this video. It was probably hard to make this video but having the different perspectives and their armies was really a treat. More of this format would be great sometime.

[@yashabreslove8276]

Beautiful armies - those Vampire Counts (Soulblight) you painted are gorgeous, particularly the Crypt Guard guys - they look like Blood Dragons on foot with that scheme!

[@AshK3tchup]

MATE those dragons with LED lights look SICK. He should be so proud of that

[@minihali]

I actually did an escalation league with my brother in Bolt Action. We started off with one half of the starter box each, and then added 250 points of models next time we'd play. I am currently finishing up my 1000 points which is the standard for bolt action. I think I painted my models way a too cleanly, like they just got off boot camp without a speck of dirt on their uniform. But it might make for fun visual storytelling to dirty them up a bit between games. So in the end, it might have been a store of un-luck!

[@cesargimenez1288]

I would love to see you all doing like Mordheim in the same way, but as it requires less minis, to every single of you, go as hard as they can for your team and still have 6 months

[@danielmalson9652]

Half my weird characters for my army were originally mordheim ideas 😂

[@mugglehammer]

Damn Scott, this video was super good. Loved the slightly slower pace and down to earthness of everyone ❤

[@morgancooledge3557]

Holy Crap! Alex Davy! Thank you for your creation of Star Wars: Legion! We will be forever greatful!

[@Izzboticus]

Easily the best miniatures game system out there!

[@alexdavy9993]

⁠Aw, you're both too kind! Glad you're enjoying the game. :D

[@ColumbmacDiarmata]

Yeah, I have to admit that the main reason I watched this video was to hear Alex talk :) Talk about an awesome group of people to have a league with!

[@_Fabien_B]

My secret is to register for a GT with painting requirements, so I don't have the choice even if that usually involves finishing the day before. Nothing better than a bit of healthy last minutes stress/motivation :)

[@joshuabrowncrow]

Nice collection of minis and ideas. It’s good to see you get your army together.

[@ryanruttan7480]

Fantastic paint jobs! Fantastic advice! Fantastic video all around.

[@sharifr9752]

Holy shit John Shaffer?! I grew up at the local GW shop he worked at. Great guy❤

[@brianbowers2318]

Beautiful armies, great insights into your league. A+ video.

[@DaRedWunzGoFasta]

This is my new favorite Miniac video, and that's a high bar!

[@julianspeed7322]

Really enjoyed this video, thank you! Great looking armies

[@poulsentyler]

This was sick, I don't get to watch these games live but I have been watching somewhat sporadically the backlog vods because they are just fun to listen to and paint. Thanks for doing cool shit!

[@greaterpainter7996]

One trick that always do (not for the faint hearted) is give myself a deadline and a consequence if i dont make it (usually i have to give away everything if its not finished in time) a key part of the challenge is making it public, so i cant just back out of it if i dont win. I've never missed a dealine while using this method, lol. I find that whenever im sitting in bed or lounging around my mind immediately goes to "i should be painting right now" and i go and paint

[@alancook1053]

Great job and presentation Scott!!!

[@WastelandGod]

This is a great vid. Love this kind of content, and have been enjoying the Trapped Under Plastic pod as well.

[@milgram12]

Really good video! I liked the perspectives of the other players/artists.

[@lordbaconbane6145]

My tips on how I finish my army (I have around 4k painted for Seraphon). 1. I agree that models look better in a group. Tip: You can put in extra effort with unit captains. 2. When starting a new unit, paint one model to completion first THEN paint the rest. It helps you define the process of how to paint the rest. And now you got a reference! 3. It's OK if you change up something part way through. Maybe the cloaks are going from green to red? Who cares! Don't worry about stripping models, just move forward and keep painting 4. Discipline vs motivation. Motivation is an emotion that is nice, but discipline is doing something consistently. Paint consistently. 5. Dont' take on too many projects at once! This is a part of discipline.

[@Bluecho4]

If one unit has different color capes than another, that's fine. That can just be a thing in the army: different units might have a thing that makes them distinct from one another. It makes the army seem more dynamic, and makes it easier to tell them apart at a distance.

[@williamdegrey]

Wait, what? Alex Davy! The hero that made the best miniature game ever! Star Wars Legion! And a fellow lover of Lotr Tcg by Decipher. 😊

[@maulcrusader7106]

So cool to see all these painted armies! Especially the vampires and dragons. Very encouraging to complete my Stormcast army.

[@joshuanolet8679]

Absolutely awesome video! Gets me inspired to continue with my 40k army.

[@MaintDocs]

With army painting: 1. You have enough units, so don't decision lock. Having troops means you have models you don't have to care about. Try something. At worst, it remains a distinguishable unit vs other, but you can always repaint it. (recommend trying others 1st) 2. 3 color rule: models usually look worse until you get a 3rd color. For playing, the 1st goal is to get to 3 colors as fast as possible, so your units stand out at yours from a table glance level. To speed that up, think of this as base coating and you only need colors distributed on the models, not painting every tiny section that will eventually be that color. 3. mount up batches to speed that process. 4. *optional* an airbrush will significantly speed up my most hated part: base coating. 5. bounce between the parts you most enjoy and parts that more just need done. I'm not going to sit down and spent 2hr base coating. That's a recipe to avoid painting. But I will spend 15min base coating, then they need time to dry anyway. Or 15min quickly slapping some metal down on a regiment, so they aren't just black. Or 15min adding an accent color so they actually seem cohesive. Personally, I love the super time consuming customizing for special units, but found I actually dread this for regular units. For that super cool sergeant, I'll saw off an arm and attach something else, make custom doodads for his base, etc. But doing that for 30 identical units becomes a slog. Instead I'll just choose several quick variants for those to distinguish particular units: 1 have 2 primary accent colors, so flip which is primary, or swap what area on the models is primary vs secondary color. That simple change just make 4 variations that still unify with the rest of the army, but also quickly differentiate my own troops from each other. Another tip is consider making the just above regular, but not that special units just have way more of your accent color. For dark elves, I put colored inks on top of bright true-metal to make a cool anodized look. Each troop leader is likely to get a double dose of that anodize to show that they have earned some distinction/right to wear more.

[@cwoyce]

Alex Davy playing Sigmar is so cool

[@kevincowdery8917]

All hail Chronopia! Was so much fun back in the day.

[@ricoratso]

ALEX DAVY?? Dude no fucking way what a cool dude. Scott, keep up the great work man, your vids just get better and better

[@NonSleeper_Occasional_Thinker]

THanks for the video, lots of good ideas

[@The_WarL0rd_Way]

The old, "My cat bit me and I can't paint my army" excuse! Hahaha. Great video!

[@MCXL1140]

Well my dog doesn't eat minis so I had to come up with something. I actually almost lost my thumb according to the physician. They were very worried about an infection inside my knuckle.

[@The_WarL0rd_Way]

@@MCXL1140 Oh wow, that is scary. I'm glad you didn't loose your thumb.

[@MCXL1140]

​@@The_WarL0rd_Wayso am I!

[@kinkaid8553]

Cheers Scott, this was superhelpful

[@lord17c]

a fully painted army is a thing of joy. I'm rather glad to say i've been getting the pile of shame worked down over time.

[@samwhitaker8809]

Good to see Xwing rules writer Alex Davey again!

[@paytonwhipple6141]

How many painted minis does a true hobbyist need. Just one more.

[@JimCrimmins]

Superb content.. Enjoyed watching the escalation games, and this video is a wonderful summation of the time spent. Your production skillz keep growing. Impressive stuff man. Kudos.

[@alastairtivy-harris8129]

I absolutely love that the one guy referenced Calvinball!

[@murch35]

Those vampires look great, I keep looking at undead factions and wanting to paint an army.

[@jacobkuglar8857]

I really appreciated the honest take of AOS.

[@smoothbrush4722]

Nice video a lot to learn from. I also started dozens of armys never finished one.

[@DaronSchmit]

Really good vid, its cool to see how everyone's enjoyment of rhe campaign was a bit different. Its interesting how AoS has such incredible flavor for its army rules which is neat, but the flipside of that is that it makes each new faction so nebulous when you face them the first time. Id be interested to see something like this with other game systems like OPR, MESBG, and SW: Legion.

[@srqminipainter]

Congrats Malev!

[@TabletopCollective]

The chair is in a video, woop woop!

[@matttd9490]

Great format for a mini video!

[@GeneralRasp]

Loved the video and listening to everyone that played in the league. Excellent job to everyone in the video.