But if I can't get my minis onto the table to start pushing them around, I begin to hear the call of the boardgame.  OCS has gotten too little attention from me of late, to say nothing of Paths of Glory, Devil's Cauldron, or PQ-17.
Still, I find that one of the really cool things about painting is dry brushing.  The issue is a technical one of learning how much paint and what consistency works best on the paint brush.
It's amazing what slapping a dry brush on a miniature will do to bring out details and make it look cool, especially at arm's length.  And then there's the arguably greater impact of drybrushing a textured base (even one underneath a so-so miniature).
Of course I have to be a bit more gentle with plastics
I want to play more with "slap on" dry brushing followed by "slap on" washes.
THe other day I noticed I was almost surprised to realize I could actually hold a mini up to the light and (intentionally) paint details. Hardest thing about that was figuring out where I'd buried my detailing brush.
Quote: (Apocolocyntosis @ Oct. 20 2009, 15:20 )
Quote: (Carrington @ Oct. 20 2009, 15:08 )
"If you don't think your miniature looks good, hold it at arm's length.  If you still don't like it, squint."
This ÂÂ
Although cheap digi cams with good macro make this less and less useful
Well, there's always squinting at the computer screen.  Or forgetting/losing your tripod.
Although I must say that all of these painting threads do inspire me to paint in general. Using the "arm's length" rule does help, though.
