Flashes everywhere

Over at the FTW network we have a new collaborative post on the topic what is the worst miniature we ever did.

Well, basically I don’t think I have anything to show that I need to be ashamed of. Shame is something for those guys who don’t paint their models because they are too lazy. (I have a couple fellow players who admit that they can’t paint and they have repeatedly tried it.)

My worst miniature surely is my first miniature in 2008 after my 12 year hiatus:

My Blood Angels Captain is:

• My first miniature after not painting for 12 years.
• My first miniature that went beyond just coloring, but involved (for me) new techniques like inking and drybrushing.
• My first glued together plastic (and resin) model. (yes, in the old days all GW miniatures were made out of metal.)
• My first freehand (on the Lightning Claw).

While all these factors may sort of excuse the poor quality of the miniature, there is one thing I repeatedly get criticism for: the leftover flashes from the casting process. I am simply too lazy to file them off. In the picture above, you can still see a fine line e.g. on the upper side of the Plasma Pistol, but most remarkably on the Captain’s boot on the right foot where the light changes. According to some critics, leaving the flashes ruins the entire model. I don’t care because those flashes still remind me that these models are toys, after all, and not living organisms.

So, if you give me credit for honing my painting skills, then my Blood Angels Captain is my worst miniature. If you blame me for being lazy, then pretty much each of my miniatures is.