BA Then and Now

[Jolemai]

Nice to see someone else appreciate the older stuff :) I've got a few of those and some newer knifes in my bits box so they may end up on something in the future. I think the only other of that type I've used is on my power fist DC (see blog/gallery).

[Xenith]

One of my first conversions used those knives on the front of a bike to make...a stabby bike. Still have that model somewhere, 1999 was the year.

[NiftyVT]

Long ago vs last year. 

 

20170121_152650 by nifty, on Flickr

[Pendent]

Long ago vs last year. 

 

20170121_152650 by nifty, on Flickr

 

I love your red. What are you using for a recipe?

[Firepower]

Great idea for a thread!  Makes me wish I still had some of my own gloopy red blobs from when I was a kid :lol:

[NiftyVT]

I love your red. What are you using for a recipe?

I will try and get my process up on my hobby thread later today.

[Karhedron]

Here we go, 2 of my efforts comparing 1997 with 2017. I think the old minis are not too bad all things considered. They are neat and not blobby. But I have definitely got the hang of shading a bit better in the intervening years.

I never really got the hang on NMM but at least matallic paints improved enough to make me stop trying.

[Jolemai]

Looks like GW are copying our thread :p

 

https://m.facebook.com/WarhammerTVteam/photos/a.235809753480677.1073741828.230219510706368/612634449131537/?type=3&source=48

[Mostwanted]

This is my then and now. My first ever model was the Marine that came in the paint set during second edition. The Tactical marine it's next to was completed two months ago and was the last model I've finished. I've got loads of projects on the go at the moment.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

You can honestly say your painting and modeling skills improved between then and now.

[Panzer]

Sometimes I wish I had this kind of old models to compare to as well, however I started out with painting dozens of skeletons for WHFB so I already had good grasp of the basics when I got to my first Marines. :D

[Jolemai]

It could be anything though. Perhaps your style has changed in a year or two? They don't have to be decades apart, merely a change to show how you are progressing :)

[Mostwanted]

You can honestly say your painting and modeling skills improved between then and now.

Thanks. It shows how far GW have come making their models. The improvement in them is brilliant.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

 

You can honestly say your painting and modeling skills improved between then and now.

Thanks. It shows how far GW have come making their models. The improvement in them is brilliant.

That doesn't change the fact you painted the newer model, and decorated its base, much better than you did the older one.

[Panzer]

Yeah your improvement has only very little to do with GW making better miniatures now. That's all on you. ;)

[appiah4]

OK then, I'll also have a go.

These are not technically the first models I painted (those were snap-fit 2nd Ed plastics I cut my teeth on in 2000, and are now long gone). These are actually my efforts from around 2002. The general interwebs advice for painting red at the time was "Use inks" so I would just slap on red ink over Blood Red, then try to black-line with black ink. The results speak for themselves. I thought they looked good at the time, but it was a different time when vibrant colors and blinding contrast were a staple of Warhammer in general.

These are from around 2009, so 7 years later. Washes became a thing and I started using them, and that changed my style substantially. I was still doing a lot of blacklining, and using washes mostly as glazes, but compared to the slap-on-ink method I was getting a lot more satisfactory results, though they are still primitive tabletop standard paintjobs by today's standard. At the time, I thought these Terminators looked super awesome.

These models are from around 2013, and I made quite a progress in those 4 years if I may say so. My approach to painting changed quite a bit, I started using shades for actual recesss shading and I started using different methods like layering, glazing and edge highlighting to better demonstrate light and volume. I also seem to have a much better understanding of contrast at this point.

These Terminators are from 2016. Comparing them to the job I did in 2009, I'd say the improvement is pretty huge.

And finally these are from 2020, another 3 years later. This is the pinnacle of the quality I can achieve with the way I paint things. And that's why in 2019 I binned all my craft paints, invested in a whole set of Vallejo Model Color paints and Army Painter Ink Washes and started experimenting.

I haven't been painting much since then, to be honest, and when I do it's not red anymore; but I do have a few things in the works that look markedly better than these. I was shocked to find out how much good equipment can improve a paintjob, I will probably post some photos of newer works soon.

Edited March 3, 2021 by appiah5

[Jolemai]

23 years ago -> six years ago -> one month ago.

[appiah4]

I updated my post above with more pictures and a better commentary of how my style evolved over the years. But more importantly, I thought this 2014 - 2020 comparison was interesting.

2014:

2020:

[Jolemai]

Sanguinary Guard, different is seven years.