Painting Evolution Across Army

[Turragor]

So I've been back in the hobby going on 1 year.

The first model I painted (Knight Venator) still looks okay. However, a bunch of units I painted after (2 x liberator units, 1 x prosecutor unit) look really rough compared to what I'm painting like now.

Now I'm happy to use these units on the tabletop but I'm also doing new stuff to a better level and I intend to keep getting better so I reckon soon the older units will start standing out.

I'm thinking my best bet is just letting them naturally look worse and worse next to what I'm painting currently and when I paint for this army long enough and want to keep expanding, just replace them. Then only bring out the poor looking units in bigger games.

I could do touch ups but I see that as a never-ending time pit, like I'd never be truly satisfied with older models and I'd just go back after learning each new trick and apply it to a growing legion.

I'm wondering how you all handle this kind of situation? It's kind of common, natural even.

 

[Mirbeau]

It's normal for rank and file to not look as good as characters so I wouldn't worry about that. If it does bother you you could try stripping the paint off, with simple green/detol or whatever. I struggle to do it with plastics a little but there are google-able guides on how to out there.

[polarbear]

It is natural and something that is bothering me with my own Stormcast, who have kind of been my ongoing side project while I did 3 or so other armies since AoS launched. I'm much happier with armies I banged out in one (several months long, of course) go because they look more unified, as I had the same general skill level throughout. But now that I have improved a bit, I don't like the way I did my Stormcast, and it would require repainting instead of touching up. Not only that, but I was doing them in a way that is very slow and tedious, and I have used faster techniques to better effect on other armies since starting them, so they've become the side chore.

I think good advice is probably to keep moving onwards and upwards with new projects, unless you are particularly attached to one army and want to put in the work to modernize it to your skill set. You'll always be getting better and making your old armies look outdated, of course. I plan to finish the Stormcast I have eventually and put them to bed. If I want to paint Stormcast again in a new style, I'll just start a new chamber for them.

[elfhead]

I got back into painting when I decided watchers tv every night was a waste of time. I like to do something creative so I decided to re-paint all my high elves. They had been sitting in a box for almost a decade. My painting is a lot better now. I'm nowhere near done because I started new projects in the meantime, like my cult of pleasure elves.

anyway, just keep painting and maybe someday you want to go back to your earlier work. But keep a good balance between new projects and re-paints