But the weird thing?
I found they did nothing for me at all. They're sitting on my cutting board, and I can't get at all excited about them, or I suspect invested in them on a wargame table. Despite the fact that I know for a fact the paint job is better than I can do without a lot more practice. And I think it's precisely because they're not actually mine in any sense.... of course I could repaint them, but then what's the point of buying them painted!
Is this just me?
I'm wondering if I'll feel differently after I've rebased them and fixed their spears. I might repaint the shields, too.
I have bought a few units in the past including a lot for my ECW (they were cheap) but in most cases I have been rather uninspired by them. Just one in fact have I really liked.
ReplyDeleteIn fact recently whilst rebasing figures to FoG:R I sold off some of those old ECW units even though it really means I need to buy replacement figures and paint those up.
Some people though love to buy their figures over painting them.
Ian
Mike, I know exactly what you mean. I've bought the odd unit of painted figures from time to time, mainly to get a leg up in a new period. Almost invariably, I look at them and wonder why I bothered. It's not that the paint scheme is any worse, or that the basing is deficient - not at all, far from it. I think it's the sense that they don't really feel like "mine". I've nothing invested in them which is personal to me. Generally, I've found that the feeling goes after a few games. It's a sort of inverse "new car smell"!
ReplyDeleteAs a last resort, I've found re-basing really helps if you really can't get used to the figures. Re-basing is soul destroying at the best of times, but it does help new arrivals fit in, I found.
Fingers crossed your Normans grow on you - they look to be fine enough chaps from the photo.
Rebasing was going to be my first step - as they're going to be El Cid/Crusader knights, they'll need to match my current El Cid basing style (which is desert sand/some tufts of grass), rather than the rather pristine lawn they're galloping across.
DeleteOn the good side, the foamboard bases they're on aren't very well attached. On the downside, getting the grass off the figure bases themselves is going to be a pain.
I think you need rapid medical attention. You are losing your miniature Fu! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Mike,
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. Years ago I bought some knights for a WHFB project. Well painted, about my standard, well priced... A good deal.
Anyway I never got familiar with them. They were always the last unit I included in my line-up and I did always prefer to play with the miniatures I painted myself.
Those were the last painted figures I bought...
Cheers
Monty
Oh dear - I barely ever paint my own figures any more. But each to his own I suppose.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Several people I really enjoy gaming with have almost entirely third-party painted armies, and I'm sure don't have the problem I do :D
DeleteIt is strange, I openly admit to detest painting but I could never use figures painted by someone else.... It would make me feel like a figure whore!...Lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Stokie... painting the figures yourself kind of seals the "relationship" between you and them... if you just buy them in ready painted where's the relationship?? It's just a financial arrangement....
DeleteThis is exactly how I feel, I'm the slowest painter on the plant, and far from the best, but I am not attracted to buying painted minis. The only minis I have that were painted by others were either painted as a gift to me, or painted by my daughter, so the attachment to them comes from that side, even if I didn't paint them myself.
DeleteI never buy painted figures and although I have gamed with other people's I always insist on having at least some of my units in there.
ReplyDeleteThe painting is most of the appeal for me.
I've had a large batch of painted Minifigs Anglo-Norman 15mm figures in my to-do pile for over 20 years. They were a gift from a gamer getting out of the hobby. I don't mind Minifigs, although I know they're something of a Marmite brand. The guy's painting efforts were poor, to say the least. Thankfully they're not based. Now and then I get them out, look them over and put them away. The thought of having to strip the paint puts me off. I think I will do something with them eventually - just not yet.
ReplyDeleteWhile I prefer to paint my own figures I find I can get some sense of ownership of ones I've bought pre-painted by simply touching them up a bit and re-basing.
ReplyDeleteYou might well find the same.
I clearly have a filthy mind - I read that in a completely different way to what was intended..... :o))))
ReplyDeleteI used to paint all my figures but about 10 years ago realised I prefer to game than paint and have bought mostly pre-painted figures from ebay. I do feel like they are mine and don't suffer from lack of empathy. I have found that, similar to Steve, this gets sealed once they are used in a battle.
ReplyDelete