05/03/2026
Happy Sunday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts!
This week felt especially productive on the hobby front. I managed to move a couple of miniatures off the painting table and into the “finished” column, which is always a satisfying milestone. Even better, the process didn’t just stay at the desk—we were able to capture it and turn it into a couple of YouTube videos as well. It’s always rewarding when the creative work doubles as something we can share with others, and this week really hit that sweet spot.
First up is the wizard, a HeroQuest Deluxe model printed in resin. For basing, I kept things simple and practical—I mounted it on a black counting chip, which works perfectly as a cheap, ready-made 1″ base. After assembly, I primed the miniature black and used the airbrush to lay in some quick highlights, giving myself a solid foundation to build on.
From there, I opted for a fast SlapChop approach, mainly to see just how quickly I could push a model to a table-ready standard without sacrificing too much visual appeal. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how he turned out—the contrast reads well, and he has a strong presence on the table. That said, the eyes are still a weak point for me. They didn’t come out quite as clean as I’d like, so that’s definitely an area I plan to focus on improving over the course of this year.
You can watch me paint this miniature here:
I also worked on this guard during the same painting session. This miniature is from Fat Dragon Games and conveniently comes with its own integrated base. One of the things I really appreciate about their designs is the slightly beefier proportions—they’re clearly made with supportless FDM printing in mind, and that added chunkiness translates well on the table.
As with the wizard, I stuck to the SlapChop method since my goal was a quick, table-ready result rather than a display piece. It’s a great approach when you want solid results without investing a ton of time, and it worked nicely here. I was especially pleased with how the leather jacket turned out—the Ancient Honey Speedpaint gave it a warm, worn look that really stands out.
That said, the eyes are once again an area that could use improvement. It’s becoming a consistent theme, and definitely something I’ll need to spend more time practicing going forward.
This miniature comes from The Printing Goes Ever On, and I believe it represents a Nordic blacksmith gearing up for war. It’s a characterful sculpt with a lot of personality, and I really enjoyed bringing it to life on the painting table. That said, the axes are quite thin and a bit brittle, so I found myself being extra careful throughout the process—I was genuinely concerned about snapping one while handling the model.
Despite that, I’m happy with how the piece turned out overall. The details came through nicely, and it has a solid presence as a finished miniature. In this case, I chose to skip painting the eyes altogether, which actually worked in my favor. It keeps the focus on the broader features of the model and avoids drawing attention to an area I’m still working to improve.
Here’s a skeleton from Fat Dragon Games that I wrapped up this week. This one actually became the focus of my second video, where I challenged myself to speed paint the model from start to finish. Starting from a primed and pre-highlighted base, I was able to push it all the way to a solid table-ready standard in about 15 minutes.
Honestly, that’s not bad at all—especially if you’re looking to build out a small group of enemies in a hurry. The sculpt works really well with this kind of fast approach, and it’s a great reminder that you don’t always need to spend hours on a miniature for it to look good on the table.
Below is a link to the YouTube video if you’d like to see the full process in action.
I wrapped up the week’s painting with a zombie from the HeroQuest Deluxe bundle. For the skin, I went with Malignant Green, followed by a light dry brush of a pale gray to give it a more sickly, undead appearance. It’s a simple combination, but it really helps sell that classic rotting look.
From there, I kept things moving with a quick speed paint approach on the rest of the model. The end result isn’t anything fancy, but it doesn’t need to be—this is exactly the kind of nameless zombie you want shambling across the battlefield in numbers. For a fast paint job, it turned out nicely and does its job well on the table.
I also avoided painting the eyes on this one, sticking with my recent trend. In hindsight, though, a couple of simple white dots probably would have worked really well here and added a bit of extra character without much effort.
The Print, Play, and Play series is starting to come together nicely, and I’m excited to see how it develops. Voting for the miniature to paint for May 2026 will remain open until May 10th, giving everyone a bit more time to weigh in and help decide what hits the painting table next. Once the votes are in, I’ll get started on the winning model and aim to have the finished video ready by May 20th.
If you’d like to be part of shaping the series, be sure to drop your suggestions in the comments of that video. Whether it’s a classic monster or something a little more obscure, this is your chance to see a creature you’re excited about get printed, painted, and brought to life.
Keep on gaming!
2026 Goals Progress
- Minis Painted: 202/150 – COMPLETED
- Large Models / Terrain: 11/ 6 – COMPLETE
- YouTube Videos: 9/ 24
- Game Reviews: 4 / 4 – COMPLETED
- Games Played (TTRPG + Board Games): 0 / 4
- Thursday Drop-Ins Created: 4 / 12
- New TTRPG Systems Tried: 0 / 3
- Shadowdark Mini-Campaign Sessions: 0 / 3
- Shadowdark Release on DriveThruRPG: 1/ 1 – COMPLETE