What’s old is new again.

Way, way, way back when, you know, before ‘life’, I used to paint ‘professionally’ for one of the main miniatures stores in Sydney. And when I say professionally, don’t get all excited, I passed muster and was on the books, so I was one of a crew of painters the shop would call on to paint for their customers who did not paint themselves. I had a bit of a niche, I painted Battletech, Micro Armour (1/285th scale modern armour) as well as being the only one on the books who built models; I built and painted a lot of 1/35th WWII armour for people that wargamed at that scale. As far as a way for a student to make money, it was a pretty good gig.

Now keep in mind this was a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, so painting was quite different to what it is today. To put that into perspective, miniatures were metal, Warhammer was in its infancy, and I was one of the only painters that used the dry brush technique, that I discovered quite by accident, and probably the only one that would do panel lines. Probably why I was popular for Battletech minis. Like I said, a long time ago.

Regardless, I always saw painting as a artistic or creative outlet, like drawing. Sure you could be very mechanical about it, as most painting was back then, or you could find ways to make the mini lively or dynamic, so I always found painting an enjoyable challenge. That life thing though eventually got in the way and as I moved forward, painting minis took a backseat and eventually gave way altogether to my design work and all the associated creative activities that came with it. I literally have not painted a mini since.

Today, painting minis is a whole new ball game and the skill and artistry out there is truly outstanding, at another level to what we are doing back in the day. And let’s not even talk about the range of supplies that are available…

This post marks my entry back into that world. I’ve been wanting to hop back in for some time but it has not been until now that the planets aligned to make it a reality. I am not sure where it’s going to go but I have some ideas of what I’d like to achieve. And this corner of my site is all about this journey back into the world of small things.

Oh, and that pic up there? That’s an original Ral Partha Battletech ‘Atlas’, circa 1987 or so. German Field Grey, with a white dry brush over the top. By today’s standards, it’s pretty crude but I kept it this way since the day I painted it. It’s now getting a make over!