Well, where to start? 2019 was the year I properly got back into the hobby. My interest was piqued way back in 2011 and I dipped my toe in and out here over the next 8 (?!) years without ever fully committing. That all changed in 2019. One of the biggest reasons I finally managed to become a fully-fledged miniature painter again was clearing out the spare room in our house. We have a box room that was previously just used as a dumping ground. It was the room where we put everything we didn't know where else to put. I changed jobs back in February and had a week off so I cleared the room out, put a shelf up and set it up as my hobby room. Having a dedicated space really made a difference. One of the reason's I never used to have the motivation to do any painting was because I couldn't be to get all of my stuff out of a cupboard and put it all away again once I was finished. The other big thing this year was setting up this blog and my Instagram account. Being able to t...

Drum roll please...I'VE FINISHED A MINIATURE! I can't believe it's taken me so long since getting back into the hobby to actually finish a miniature but I've finally done it. I'm absolutely delighted with how it's come out as well. I really struggle painting flesh which is why I decided to paint the sergeant as a Salamander. The green I went with (Warboss Green) isn't the shade you'd typically associate with Salamanders but I just love the way it's turned out. I'm definitely going to paint some more Salamanders in the not too distant future. I also got to try out a few new techniques on this guy too. Mainly using Vallejo varnishes through an airbrush. After messing up on the Red Scorpion I think I've finally cracked it. I also love the finish the matte varnish has produced. I feel this model looks more "professionally" done than anything else I've ever painted. I really wasn't sure about the white hair at first bu...

The Red Scorpion I was working on really wasn't inspiring me at all. It's a scheme I've been wanting to try for a long time but I got bored of it very quickly. So in an effort to get myself going again I decided to move on to something else. After my oil wash disaster with the Imperial Fist I decided to get that stripped and give it another go. I was always planning on painting the sergeant as a Salamander so I thought I might as well basecoat him while I had the airbrush out. However, the green went on much better than the yellow so I changed by mind (again) and decided to make a start on him instead. I really feel like I turned a corner with the airbrush whilst priming and basecoating these miniatures. I previously wouldn't be patient enough waiting for a layer to dry before going back over it again. However, this time I really took my time and I started using a hair dryer to speed things up a bit and it really made a huge difference. I've also learned that...