05/21/2026
After 40+ years of wargaming, I finally understand miniature painting.
Back in college, I remember a conversation with my Co-Founder Aaron. He was sitting there with all of his paints spread out, watching TV and painting at the same time. I remember asking him, “How can you do that? Isn’t it stressful?”
His response honestly astonished me.
“This helps me relax.”
At that point in my life, painting was a necessary evil for me. It was FAR from relaxing. It was stressful because every mistake meant fixing it over and over again. I never understood how someone could actually enjoy the process.
I famously played Black Legion because it was basically a minimalist paint scheme.
Prime them black. Done. LOL
Part of that was probably the era we started in. The products today are absolutely amazing compared to what we had back then. Contrast paints, specialty paints, technical paints, incredible washes, better brushes, tutorials everywhere… stuff we could only dream about in the 90s.
Heck, to give you an idea, Games Workshop basically gave us two primer choices back then: Chaos Black and Skull White. That was it.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve painted enough over the years, but never particularly well. I was also fortunate enough to commission armies over time, so I never really had to put the work in myself.
Now I finally get it.
Being able to sit down every day, make visible progress, and have something tangible to show for your effort almost immediately is incredibly satisfying. There’s something calming and rewarding about it that I never fully appreciated before.
Honestly, it’s helping my mental health too. Making progress on the “Pile of Shame” feels good. One model at a time, the mountain gets smaller.
Decades later, Aaron was right.
Show us your workbench and WIP. What are you bringing to DragonFall this year?
