# Bits you hate to paint



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Hey there, 

Not sure if this should go in the modelling section? I know a many people don't dare venture in there and i wanted a wider opinion...

Are there any bits of models you hate to paint?

Personally, I hate painting tanks. I hate sticking them together. I hate how much they cost to buy (we're talking pounds not points...). I try to avoid them but of course, I understand their tactical necessity so I do own a few.

More often though it is the humble Space Marine back-pack that is the focus of my displeasure. It must be the most uninspiring bit of the model to paint (unless it has a totem pole maybe), they are generally fiddly to clean up and you have to paint them all separately to the Space Marine if you dare even dream of doing a half decent job on the shoulder pads...

So there, there are my per hates, but what about yours? Space Marines have always been my first love and I've only dabbled with other armies over the years so I'm interested to see if other armies have similar issues?

Rev


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

The f***ing Chainsword grip... I hate it when I have to paint it...


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## 18827 (Oct 23, 2009)

There's not really any model's I hate to paint,

But. I hate painting human skin-tones they always the flat or pale like the walking dead.

I've even ordered the System Trooper head sprues and Heavy Infantry Visored head sprues from pig iron to save painting the skin-tone on my scouts.


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## Unforgiven302 (Oct 20, 2008)

Eyes. Helmeted or regular eyes are a bit I dread doing. But without doing them the model looks unfinished. 

Personally I really enjoy vehicles and tanks. From assembly to painting to finishing them, tanks are the most rewarding and exciting things to do. Give me an armored column of IG tanks over a squad of basic marines any day of the week!


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

haha, maybe i should start farming my tanks out to you Unforgiven 

yeah, flesh is also a pain to do, and eyes. I can do helmeted eyes, but never have the confidence to attempt real eyes (after several disastrous attempts in my youth...). I mainly use helmeted heads too Jimmy, just to avoid that issue, but Space Wolves hate wearing helmets so i better get some practice in 

Rev


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## Unforgiven302 (Oct 20, 2008)

TheReverend said:


> haha, maybe i should start farming my tanks out to you Unforgiven
> Rev


If you are a bit serious, send me a PM, I would be more than interested!


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Thanks Unforgiven, but getting you to paint my minis is cheating. I'm using my Space Wolves army to try and improve all aspects of my painting so i guess the practice makes perfect 

Rev


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

The bane of my painting existence is vehicles. My very first Rhino, I pimped out with all sorts of fun spikey bits, trophy racks, hooks, etc, so it took me absolutely forever to paint. While I was (and still am) very satisfied with the finished product, I vowed never to spend that much time again on a vehicle. So, I've got one extremely-chaosy rhino and 3 that could pass as loyalist rhinos. Next, my first Defiler so turned me off that it took me about 8 months to paint it, as I kept delaying it week after week since there was just so much crap on it to paint. Now that's it's finished, and I'm retarded enough to have bought a second... yeah, we'll see how long it takes.


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

feet, for some reason i switch off when i get to feet, even when i was doing my art A level i couldnt do feet!!


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## Boc (Mar 19, 2010)

bitsandkits said:


> feet, for some reason i switch off when i get to feet, even when i was doing my art A level i couldnt do feet!!


Ha, I think about half the time I forget to even paint the feet, and just hope that the black base + wash + grass and gravel all around them kind of hides or distracts from the fact.


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

The edging trim on shoulderpads. I don't know why, but I hate painting those with a fiery, burning passion.


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

actually feet are a pain! you end up getting bits of gravel and snow/grass stuck to them right when you thought everything was done!!

i also just remembered the 4 servitors i got with a techmarine about 5 years ago. Took 4 years to motivate myself to finally finish them. for months and months they sat on the painting table and every so often i would paint a bit. they still look cr*p!

Rev


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## Strange Dude (Jul 15, 2008)

Anything when following a WD painting article because the results you get are just no way near as good and I just can't get the level of detail they show.

Other than that eyes, helmet visors and lenses no problem! naked eyes arrgggh they never look good enough.


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## jaws900 (May 26, 2010)

LOTR Orcs.......man i have never had a more boring modal to paint...ever!


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## Master WootWoot (Oct 17, 2010)

LoTR orcs are not bad! Drybrushing is the key, when you do it, it don't look crap! Not on orcs!

I don't have problems with human eyes! I've done them okay several times, and on models like Empire State Troops, eyes are not necessary. They don't open their eyes enough. 

I hate the chains on Flagellants, the details on State Troops... (Tzeentch, how can a little plastic man carry all that unnecessary equipment? Each man carry 1-3 daggers, probably skulls, hourglass, parchments, bands, and "Karl Franz"-writings all over him. Impossible to batch paint!)

I also hate painting metal weapons. All i like is details (Lots is ok if i paint one model at a time), clothes, armour, skin (yeah, i like it!) and bolters. And free-hand painting! I love it!


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## ROT (Jun 25, 2010)

I hate to paint EVERY bit.

Painting blows dude.


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

Guns. I hate painting guns.

They have so many fiddly knobs and odd bits of detail and i never have any idea if i should pick them out in different colours or not.

If you paint all the 'sticky out bits' on a bolter with different colours, it looks like a bloody clown gun, but if you don't get the balance right it looks very plain and not finished.

I usually spend about 15 minutes googling pictures when i have to paint guns, just so i can find a scheme i like.


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## ROT (Jun 25, 2010)

Do what I do, and paint them 'Boltgun Metal' then wash it with Black Ink.

Looks fine, do people care about gun colour?


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

ROT said:


> Do what I do, and paint them 'Boltgun Metal' then wash it with Black Ink.
> 
> Looks fine, do people care about gun colour?


Yes, some of us give a crap about what our models look like :wink:


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## ROT (Jun 25, 2010)

So do I... sort of.

But guns are such a tiny part! It seems like wasted effort.


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## fynn (Sep 19, 2008)

tbh, i hate painting orks, always have, and always will, it dont help my 5 year loves orks, and has a growing ork army for me to paint.
As for tanks, i love painting em, if anything, i tend to do a better job on tanks then on troops, and a guy at my club loves my tanks so much, he wants me to repaint all his space wolf tanks, which should be fun, as tbh, ive never ever painted space wolfs in all my time in the hobby (40k since RT days)


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

I just found out that I also hate to paint the Space Marine Back packs...


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## SGMAlice (Aug 13, 2010)

Flesh Tones and Eyes are my choices, can never seem to get the colour right for the skin.

SGMAlice


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

SGMAlice said:


> Flesh Tones and Eyes are my choices, can never seem to get the colour right for the skin.
> 
> SGMAlice


Thats why I assemble all my Marines with Helmets...


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## ROT (Jun 25, 2010)

Svartmetall said:


> The edging trim on shoulderpads. I don't know why, but I hate painting those with a fiery, burning passion.


Urgh, I know - It's the one part of my Berserker painting routine that actually requires some concentration. >.<



Doelago said:


> I just found out that I also hate to paint the Space Marine Back packs...


 These are just so boring to paint, Although; I hardly do anything on them; Just boltgun metal and black ink wash, same as guns. :laugh:


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## Syko515 (Jan 22, 2008)

yea, i'n not a fan of detailing in general. i do it, but due to my naturally shakey hands it doesn't matter what i do, my models will never look as good as most peoples.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

ROT said:


> These are just so boring to paint, Although; I hardly do anything on them; Just boltgun metal and black ink wash, same as guns. :laugh:


They are funnier than a bare head, thats for sure...  Mine goes something like "Goblin green, then... Erh... 1/20 Chaos Black, 19/20 water..." I call the second one "Chaos Water"...


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## Daniel Harper (May 25, 2008)

Skin and eyes, I can never get them right and don't have the steadiest hand. Then again that speaks more of my painting skills than anything else. I used to have a problem with glass and lenses, but I've settled with washes and a tiny speck of white to add reflection.


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## xenobiotic (Jun 7, 2008)

When I first restarted my 40k efforts I dreaded the moment when I realized I had to paint a vehicle (a rhino). I just sat there and looked at it thinking it couldn't possibly be as fun as painting other miniatures. All those flat surfaces.. Just looked so boring. Then I realized I could freehand them and it all changed.

Since that day I have to keep myself at bay to not paint the rhino chassis instead of the actual squads to go with them. Oh, how I hate to paint squads (ironically anything more than 3 miniatures is a large squad for me, so even space marines get me). 

The thing I hate with the most passion on my marines is probably the backpacks, not the painting per se but rather the mould lines on them - takes forever to get to them all which makes cleaning up a batch for an entire squad is just painful.


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## Fallen (Oct 7, 2008)

i dislike any sort of paper-like products, grenades, pouches, & back packs for my SMs (i paint the little section between the exhaust vents & the main body)


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## humakt (Jan 2, 2008)

Got to agree that backpacks are annoying to paint, although I agree with xenobiotic that they are more a paint to clean up.

I actually hate painting weapons in general for the same reason s some others. How much detail to paint , especially on things like flamers and lascannons.

Vehicals I love to paint, until I get to the guns, then the same problem occurs as with normal foot slogging mini's.


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## Dragearen (Sep 8, 2009)

Yeah, the handle of any weapon is a pain. Eyes are also a pain. And any bit that I can't tell what the heck it is, and thus what color to paint it(I get this a lot with Fantasy Dwarves).


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## angelXD19 (Feb 11, 2010)

painting faces. it's really freaking annoying


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## Brother Azeek (Mar 29, 2009)

I hate anything that requires High-lighting or shading. Not only do I suck at it, but my hands are so naturaly shakey that its impossible to even paint. Also, I can never tell where the damn Highlight or shade begins and ends, or how much I should do, or even where to put the damn things!


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## kiro the avenger! (Nov 8, 2010)

dreadnoughts,the back of their shines are the bane of my life.you have to get past all of their ankle bits which are also a pain.
the eagle and shoulder trim on a basic space marines are always really fiddly to


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## MASTER OF THE GODWING (Mar 10, 2011)

I absolutely hate the highlighting on those God-Awful tau crisis suits also deathwing bolters i can't seem to get right either


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

I don't do eyes. Don't have the ability. Helmet lenses i will do but only one color and then a wash. To be honest though all painting for me is a chore. But more than anything I HATE FUCKING GUARDSMEN. Not that there is anything wrong with them but paint 300 of the fuckers and see how you feel.


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## khrone forever (Dec 13, 2010)

i hate painting dark eldar wyches, they have so many tiny fiddly parts that you dont notice till you've almost finished! ahhhhhhh!

also planetstrike automated weapons, which bits do you bother painting and which do you leave with a simple drybrush.

Xenobiotic and [email protected] you'd hate doing nids then


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## Dawnstar (Jan 21, 2010)

Eyes. All my CSM's eyes end up being black. That's all I have the patience to do.


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

Power Weapons......They are the bane of me....


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## Ashkore08 (Feb 12, 2011)

Eyes and skin. Not helmet eyes, im cool with those.


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## NíckUK (Apr 6, 2011)

Two things' I'm really not a fan of painting. Firstly space marines, any type, i'd love to be able to but just don't have the patience, too many small fiddly bits. 
Secondly, any type of free hand, I just can't manage it at all and all my efforts look like they've been done by a 5 year old .


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## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

Anything that i know would look better if i did NMM on it. All my attempts always fail and i always end up just using metallics anyway and then regretting what could have been.


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## Woodzee316 (Sep 11, 2010)

ORK TEETH and EYES i hate painting them. all my orks have just red eyes occasional one will have a black dot in them but most of the time i stuff that up so just leave them red. and the teeth i've gone away from paint and really fine brushes to using a white gel pen and giving them a brown wash (more like a brown water with the 1/20 paint and 19/20 water) and then i paint the rest of the head.


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## Grogbart (Aug 29, 2010)

Purity seals. One at a time, no problem!
Blood red seal, the rest bleached bone, some scorched brown scribbling, wash it with the rest of the model and it's fine for me. 

But painting an Exorcist tank with its 48 of them, makes each one more annoying than the other!


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## torealis (Dec 27, 2006)

I hate painting basecoats. My models just look atrocious until i smack the wash on...


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## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

I hate the lil small tid bit details like holsters and the lil utility belt things on many of the marine and I get annoyed assemling tanks I can never get them perfect it drives me crazy


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## turel2 (Mar 2, 2009)

High lighting power armour.


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## elmir (Apr 14, 2011)

Belts, pouches, holsters. All those little fidly things that don't catch anybody's attention unless you don't pick them out... -.-


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## spanner94ezekiel (Jan 6, 2011)

Having to hand-paint models' basecoats... with a 1/4" brush... 200 of them...


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

man, i'm still hating eyes, even a year after starting this thread!! I've had a go a few times, but the SW heads with their squinty eyes don't really lend themselves to practising.


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## the_man_with_plan (May 3, 2011)

Syko515 said:


> yea, i'n not a fan of detailing in general. i do it, but due to my naturally shakey hands it doesn't matter what i do, my models will never look as good as most peoples.


same here. shaky hands suck...


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## Hattoria (Dec 14, 2009)

I hate painting the guns/hands. Always seem to get the paint to cross on to the other and looks sloppy when I am done.


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