Over the last few weeks while I've been trying to build up Ogou Miniatures I've been contacting various suppliers of our pretty awesome hobby. Some of them I've dealt with directly (Privateer Press and Games Workshop being examples) but for the most part I've been going through wholesalers and distributors and while I've been doing that I've been thinking of things to stock. Obviously my first thought was GW but they only supply to brick and mortar stores and right now that isn't something I can do (it's on the cards though still) so unless I can find a way to get around that rule then GW won't be on my website for now. Privateer Press are the same as well so I've been wondering what else would be good to stock and this is where the basis for this post comes in because there's so much out there! I knew there were a lot of miniature making companies out there but what I've found is absolutely mind boggling!! There are more ranges than a person can conceivably think of and what is even better is that they are all absolutely amazing minis.
My amazement carries on into the paint ranges as there are a huge amount of those too and within each range is a huge variety of colours and types of paints from the GW colours (which I personally love) and Vallejo (a popular choice for more advanced painters I'm noticing) to Humbrol's huge range of enamel based paints and Reaper's huge selection of paints.
I've recently managed to get ahold of MiniWarGaming's instructional DVDs and they mix and match across a lot of paint ranges (though they use Reaper and Citadel more often than not) and from these DVDs I've taken it upon myself to order some Flow Improver from Reaper as well as some fine basing sand and 3 Great Worm models that I plan to use as Beasts of Nurgle (I've never been a huge fan of the GW models for this unit and three of these plus the other items cost less than one GW model so it was a no brainer really).
One thing I've never understood is why there are some gamers out there who stick to one range and refuse to accept that there are others. I'm not saying that we all have to start playing every single war game out there because that would be expensive and almost impossible but if there's a unit you like with a model you don't then don't just settle; shop around! I plan to for the Fiends of Slaanesh too because quite honestly those things freak me out and while I think they're well sculpted they just don't do it for me. Sorry Slaanesh but it's true.
The same is true of paints too. Tamiya Color (American company = American spelling) have a fantastic range of colours that I've recently started delving into and their Clear Red X-27 is an absolute God send when it comes to painting gore. I also used two of their blue-grey colours on my Screamers of Tzeentch in conjunction with my ever growing Citadel range. I know that The Army Painter do a range of coloured primers that I've been investigating and am quite interested in and Vallejo have an absolutely huge range of paints that include just about every colour you can think of. On the same note I know that Reaper also do a number of large ranges of paints and that their Flow Improver is growing quickly in popularity. I'm also starting to look into various paint brushes because there's a huge amount of variety there too.
I guess that the point of this expression of amazement is that, as hobbyists, we shouldn't be afraid of experimenting and stepping out of our comfort zone once in a while. As the old saying goes "variety is the spice of life" so next time you're shopping for an Ultrasmurph Chaplain or an Ork Warboss look around and see if you see something a bit more your style. Find a bits site (there's plenty out there) and customise what you've got. Our hobby literally prizes individuality and creativity (Golden Daemon and Armies on Parade anyone?) so I say really go for it. Jump right in and make your army unique, separate from the herd and let your imagination run wild!
I plan to follow my own advice and really push the limits of what I can do so that one day I can go to Games Day with some fantastic creation and wow the crowd with what is essentially a part of myself in a physical form. Or at least a physical form that isn't my body because that isn't wowing anyone!!
So that's my latest look into the inner workings of our hobby, now what about yours? Let me know how you've been pushing the boundaries lately. I genuinely want to know.
Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks in advance for sharing. Alla Prossima!
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