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General |
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Fantasy |
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Ancients |
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Medieval |
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Renaissance |
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18th Century |
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Napoleonics |
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American Civil War |
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19th Century |
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World War One |
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World War Two - Land |
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World War Two - Sea |
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World War Two - Air |
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Modern |
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Science Fiction |
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Toy Gaming |
Workbench is where the Editor does his best to assemble, paint, and prepare some of the products sent to us here at The Miniatures Page.
He may be more of a perfectionist than you are - or he may be less of one! He's not trying to prescribe the One Right Way. He's just trying to describe how one guy happens to do it.
If you would like to write a Workbench article, or if you are a manufacturer and would like your products featured in Workbench, please view the FAQ.
combatpainter 
shows how to make roads, using the formula of the late Ian Weekley.
How does Old Guard Painters get those painted figures safely to your door?
650,407 hits since 19 Mar 2000
©1994-2024 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?
Can styrofoam bones find a use on the fantasy tabletop? [15 Sep 2024]
OTHER ARTICLES | |
| Title | Description |
Containers for when you need to sideline that project you've been working on, or maybe just not lose the bits you're not ready for yet. [1 Aug 2024] |
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An easy project to build a linear barrier for fantasy wargaming. [24 Jul 2024] |
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When dust strikes, how to carefully remove it. [3 Jul 2024] |
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What can you do with a cheap bag of plastic flies? [20 Jun 2024] |
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Blocking line-of-sight and channeling movement through elevating a plant. [24 Nov 2023] |
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Can you convert a plastic plant to make it more alien? [18 Nov 2023] |
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Can artificial intelligence create useful maps for wargamers? [18 Apr 2023] |
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What can AI do to your wargaming photos? [17 Apr 2023] |
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Using artificial intelligence to generate concept art for future fantasy and sci-fi miniatures. [27 Mar 2023] |
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We tried getting an AI to 'paint' a mini – but can it convert a person into a mini? [20 Feb 2023] |
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Exploring picture generation using artificial intelligence. [7 Feb 2023] |
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Big vegetation at a small price! [17 Aug 2021] |
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 Editor in Chief Bill  photographs the same figure, with different cameras and equipment. [18 Aug 2020] |
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What's this FlexSteel we're always talking about? [18 Jun 2020] |
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Need a canyon, fast? [1 Oct 2017] |
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| Editor in Chief Bill wonders if he can resize 3Dprinted dungeon tiles to match his other dungeon tiles… [17 Sep 2017] |
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| Editor in Chief Bill experiments with using recessed bases for figures with cast-on bases. [3 Aug 2017] |
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Cathy Hamaker of White Ape Painting shows how to work with a multi-part model. [16 Jul 2015] |
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Trying out the silver Sharpie... [13 Jun 2015] |
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OldGrenadier shows us his skelly skillz. [7 Jun 2015] |
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Warcolours Miniature Painting Studio takes on the Possessed Mummies! [16 Sep 2014] |
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A pictorial guide to assembling and painting Elmore's Giant. [8 Jun 2012] |
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One way to avoid the 'pitcher's mound' effect. [23 Feb 2012] |
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Returning after a long absence, Dread Pirate Garness has a rendezvous with a tall, slender female... [8 Jan 2012] |
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Turning a drawing into a three-dimensional glpyh. [23 Nov 2010] |
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A professional painter provides a tip or two on painting skeletons. [17 Nov 2010] |
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Tackling a big fantasy project without using expensive model paints. [27 Oct 2010] |
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Wyatt the Odd paints some fast cats. [14 Oct 2010] |
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| Editor in Chief Bill tries to rebase some Dwarves without breaking them off at the ankles. [20 Sep 2010] |
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The archetypal demon is brought to life! [28 Apr 2010] |
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dampfpanzerwagon finishes his 40mm Norse Gods project. [11 Mar 2010] |
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MrWhite presents his Intimidation Doubled entry. [18 Oct 2009] |
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dampfpanzerwagon makes an addition to his Flash Gordon collection. [14 Oct 2009] |
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Stronty Girl has chosen to submit her Intimidation Doubled contest entry in the form of a Workbench article. [8 Oct 2009] |
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Our first Flintloque article. [21 Jul 2009] |
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Looking for a portable and easy way to get figures done, when away from your main paint station? [13 Jul 2009] |
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Painting a female were-fox, before and after... [25 Jun 2009] |
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dampfpanzerwagon scratchbuilds another Victorian flying machine. [1 Jun 2009] |
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You don't have to be gifted with a brush, or spend countless hours on the table, to get nice-looking figures. [22 Mar 2009] |
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Look what's caught miscmini 's eye! [18 Mar 2009] |
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Dig those Chainmail minis out from the closet! [2 Feb 2009] |
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Painting some "fantastic" Werewolves from Bronze Age Miniatures. [22 Jan 2009] |
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alizardincrimson2 plunges back into the underdark. [12 Jan 2009] |
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If you were a Drow barwench and had to dress like that, wouldn't you be irritated?! [24 Dec 2008] |
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Going to town with Games Workshop's new Citadel washes. [19 Oct 2008] |
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miscmini returns, and this time takes to the ocean... [28 Sep 2008] |
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Demon-Brushwurkz paints a half dozen of Peter Pig's 15mm scale Eagle Riders. [8 Sep 2008] |
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What flight stand for our Hurricanes? [26 Aug 2008] |
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Continuing our 'animals' theme, Stronty Girl tackles a pair of lionesses. [19 Aug 2008] |
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When captain arjun couldn't find a suitable 15mm war mammoth, he decided it was time for a conversion. [17 Aug 2008] |
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Minidragon finishes his Temple project by painting the kit he previously assembled. [13 Aug 2008] |
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Mini-Dragon tackles hundreds of pre-cast pieces to build the Temple Entrance. [30 Jul 2008] |
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PigmentedMiniatures teaches his painting techniques as he painted Tom Meier's mummy diorama. [20 Jul 2008] |
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My Ogres - or Big Orcs, if you prefer - finally get their movement tray. [15 Jul 2008] |
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alizardincrimson2 tells the story of a dragon. [14 Jul 2008] |
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15mm ghosts - a quick-and-easy project? [13 Jul 2008] |
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Warcolours Painting Studio tackles a Daemonic Centaur from the Chronopia miniatures line. [6 Feb 2008] |
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PhilGreg Painters comes to the rescue, picking up an assignment that another painter dropped... [29 Jan 2008] |
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finbob tackles the greatest of pumpkin monsters! [28 Dec 2007] |
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Magically animated pumpkins - but are they necessarily evil? [26 Dec 2007] |
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alizardincrimson2 finds out what happens when Elves go bad... [25 Dec 2007] |
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RobH demonstrates an easy technique, using washes. [20 Dec 2007] |
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Can a plastic flower become a wargaming shrub? Or maybe a small tree? [10 Dec 2007] |
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It's back to pirates for Adam8472 ! [28 Nov 2007] |
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DJD Miniatures runs amok with a diorama of cavemen and the giant prehistoric armadillo! [27 Nov 2007] |
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Hundvig is not a real big fan of pre-painted minis, and he positively despises randomly-packed "collectable" ones - so why is he writing this article? [7 Nov 2007] |
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alizardincrimson2 sails to the Skeleton Seas, and finds inspiration as she goes. [30 Oct 2007] |
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fieldarchy shows the difference between a "quickie" paint job and more advanced work. [23 Oct 2007] |
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Adam8472 says "goody!" to three ghouls. [22 Oct 2007] |
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fieldarchy goes for the sickly and unhealthy look... [17 Oct 2007] |
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Dr Mathias finds that a giant grave worm is "right up his alley." [15 Oct 2007] |
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Though Crunch-Waffle says they are supposed to be brown, fieldarchy enjoys painting Waggas in a variety of colors... [26 Aug 2007] |
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Can one army be painted by two painting services - one domestic, and one overseas? [22 Aug 2007] |
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Ana from Chest of Colors undertakes a daunting subject: Ghorgor-Bey [8 Aug 2007] |
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alizardincrimson2 steps into the arena with two gladiators from Bronze Age Miniatures... [31 Jul 2007] |
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The Editor experiments with two of the flocking gel products from Renaissance Ink. [29 Jul 2007] |
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Chocolate answers the call and paints TMP's final unit of Simian Legionaires... [23 Jul 2007] |
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Jay at Blue Table Painting comes to the rescue, and paints a dozen javelin-wielding apes from Hundred Kingdoms. [11 Jun 2007] |
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Persevering over Death Itself, Dread Pirate Garness brings us his latest painting odyssey... [10 Jun 2007] |
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alizardincrimson2 paints up our first Hordes starter set. [13 May 2007] |
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fieldarchy of Meg's Miniatures seeks a compromise between natural tones and bright colors, as she paints up Shadowforge's Tribal Command. [2 May 2007] |
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After a five-year hiatus, Germy Bugger shows us he can still run a production line... [26 Apr 2007] |
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Assassin's Sir Plate provides an excellent opportunity to look at the subject of painting with metallics. [26 Mar 2007] |
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Saber6  says, "I can do better than that!" Let's see how he does with these 15mm Blemmyes from East Riding Miniatures. [27 Feb 2007] |
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Our first video workbench! [20 Feb 2007] |
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fieldarchy follows her inspiration... [1 Feb 2007] |
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Patrice Vittesse of Pete Scholey's Painting Service tackles the smallest 15mm figures he's ever painted... [31 Jan 2007] |
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Adam loves Scorched Brown... [29 Jan 2007] |
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R Strickland goes to new lengths to appropriately base the Wood Elf Champion. [29 Dec 2006] |
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Adam of Pro Painted Miniatures takes on a diorama set - duelling wizards! [20 Dec 2006] |
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Entry #4 in Scale Creep's Scavengers Design Contest - as plastic forks become the means of death in fantasy skies... [5 Dec 2006] |
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Entry #3 in Scale Creep's Scavengers Design Contest - as a father-and-son team venture into a land of Dragons and Mutants... [4 Dec 2006] |
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Entry #1 in Scale Creep's Scavengers Design Contest - a complete 18th Century Fantasy game you can play on your refrigerator. [30 Nov 2006] |
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Painting the mounted figure, to match the figure on foot! [22 Nov 2006] |
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In this ambitious article, R Strickland paints the Wood Elf Champion, then the mounted version of the same figure, and lastly, makes a scenic display for them both! [10 Oct 2006] |
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Steve Skutell of Hoard Painting Service paints the orcs from the Nin Gonost dungeon game. [6 Sep 2006] |
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The Editor was browsing on eBay one day... [27 Aug 2006] |
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Minidragon focuses on "horsey-bits," hair, and bow as he shares how he painted the centaur from Elmore Masterworks Set #1. [23 Aug 2006] |
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Raven Painting tackles the "hero" figures from the Nîn-Gonost boardgame. [25 Jul 2006] |
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The Editor builds his own dungeon. [5 Jun 2006] |
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Adam's preconceptions come face-to-face with Vendel's Hill Trolls... [8 May 2006] |
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Sometimes, you've just got to have that special figure... [27 Apr 2006] |
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Learning how to set up a new game system for use with Army Builder, the army design software from Lone Wolf. [20 Feb 2006] |
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Can a wargamer find happiness by taking his treasured (but dusty) unpainted figures and sending them halfway around the world? [12 Jan 2006] |
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John Morris of Mystic Spirals paints these out-of-production fantasy avians for TMP. [14 Jun 2005] |
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Minidragon takes on one of the Elmore Masterworks figures. [13 Jun 2005] |
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Scurvy's mission: Convert and paint 8 Reaper Neanderthals into a Cyberpunk/Sci-Fi gang of future 'hop heads,' using common wargaming supplies. [22 May 2005] |
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It was finally time to finish that Haunted Unit, the one that hung on the edge of the worktable month after month, but never went to battle! [18 Apr 2005] |
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There is a lot of confusion about just what is lead rot, and what can be done about it. Therefore, we're launching a series of occasional articles to display "problem" miniatures, and ask for your diagnosis... [23 Nov 2004] |
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It's the first review contest - ten gamers, five teams, four objectives, and your votes will determine which team wins the reviewing prize! [22 Aug 2004] |
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J. Ira Monroe of Bwana Art Studio paints two units of the Simian Javelin Corps. [25 Oct 2003] |
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Cathy Hamaker of The Painter's Den shows how to paint a Simian Messenger. [21 Oct 2003] |
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Eleven Finalists have embarked on a grueling 9-month, 9-round contest of their painting skills. After each round, the readers of TMP will vote somebody out of the contest - until there is only one painter remaining! [15 Oct 2003] |
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Five contestants tackle the ultimate contest of painting technique - identical units of figures, identical painting schemes! Who will be voted as best of the best?! [5 Oct 2003] |
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The Editor unwinds between "big" projects by painting something fun and easy... [17 Sep 2003] |
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Lee Olson of Pewter Illusions tackles Caesar Octavian, commander of our Simian Army. [7 Sep 2003] |
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Ramiro Peira of PaintingPRO - the only painting service in South America - paints a Simian Senator for TMP. [29 Aug 2003] |
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Golden Demon-winning painter Joseph Wiedeman (of Mini-Dragon) assembles and paints the Great Gor, largest model in the Simian Army (Hundred Kingdoms). [23 Aug 2003] |
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Matt Gubser of Prophet Miniatures paints the Simian Centurion for our Hundred Kingdoms project. [21 Aug 2003] |
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Reader Igwarg won an entire Hobby Products 15mm Demonworld Orc starter army - now he's painting it! [6 Aug 2003] |
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To complete the final unit in our Demonworld Dwarf Army, we're sponsoring a painting contest! [29 Sep 2002] |
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4 Demons Painting takes on a painting project for TMP, painting up a set of 15mm scale Dwarven Miners from Hobby Products. [18 Aug 2002] |
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When we wanted something big and powerful for our Demonworld Dwarven Army, Bwana Art Studio volunteered to paint up a Rock Giant. [25 Jun 2002] |
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Deane P. Goodwin of Goodwin's Painting Services takes on a "wild" set of Dwarves - the Orc Slayers. [18 Jun 2002] |
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Our Demonworld army needs a leader, so professional artist Gary Leitzell comes on board to paint Argam Rustbeard (commander) and Thorbal (fire priest). [13 Jun 2002] |
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The Demonworld Dwarf Army Painting Project continues with unit #2 - Dwarf Crossbow Archers, as painted by Old Guard Painters. [11 Jun 2002] |
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The Editor finds out what it takes to make fantasy campaign maps using Campaign Cartographer 2, a map-making software package. [28 Mar 2002] |
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The editor sends a demon to a painting service. [20 Dec 2001] |
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Now that Evil Gong has given us 15mm scale Fishmen, how do we paint them? The Editor takes a stab at a Fishmen Artillery unit. [4 Mar 2001] |
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The editor amazes himself while painting some 6mm-ish Horde figures for Global Games' Inferno. [10 Mar 2000] |
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These structures, made of a light but durable urethane foam, have been sent to us by Epicast. [10 Mar 2000] |
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Tactical Conflict Systems lets the Editor paint rocks! [10 Mar 2000] |
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The Editor paints up some 25mm Plank Earthworks. [9 Mar 2000] |
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This hut has a removeable roof! From Tactical Conflict Systems. [9 Mar 2000] |
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Another easy project - a bridge from Tactical Conflict Systems. [9 Mar 2000] |
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Speaking of "amazing," painting up these 25mm terrain pieces from TCS is amazingly easy. [9 Mar 2000] |
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A two-step painting process that puts stumps on your tabletop. [7 Mar 2000] |
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