When can you justify a model to be 100% complete

[Xaric]

Just a question to the community how do you personally justify a model that is done to a degree of table top standard?
I seem to have this issue when I feel its done but then I feel it could be improved.

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

2. All miniatures in your army must be fullypainted.
We expect that all your models are fully painted
in time for the event. The main reason for this
is that part of your event is the chance to play
against fully painted armies. This is a key part of
our events for many people as they are often up
against the armies of grey plastic miniatures, or
sprayed black legions.
We purposely do not define what “fully painted”
is. We do not wish to either restrict our customers
with an overly elaborate, airtight definition as we
believe this will do more harm than good. You
should be free to paint your models however you
choose. Likewise we also do not want to have in
place something like a “Three Colour Minimum”
which is extremely ambiguous and easily open
to abuse.
Simply put, every hobbyist knows, deep down,
when a model is painted or not. We ask you
to ensure your models are fully painted out of
respect for everyone else at the event who
have made the effort to get their models done, as
well as the plethora of people who stay up late
the night before, furiously painting their models
just to get them finished.


This

[Xaric]

OK now what is the Max amount of paints you should use to avoid over detailing a model I have feared that adding to much detail would ruin a model or make it too hard to replicate for the other models.

[lobster-overlord]

thets all subjective. if you feel it is over detailed, then it is. if you feel you want or could add more then it is not done. I look at a model and if I feel I can improve or highlight another detail, then it is not done. for this one reason I have never finished a single unit in 20 years.

[dirkspair]

hmm, methinks maybe the question is not how much to paint a miniature but how to paint a miniature. adding detail should not ruin the model, it should enhance it.

[Dave Mcturk]

its glued on a base. its wysiwyg. paint to taste. its a free country. if a TO sets a minimum painting standard thats up to them. at my club on thursday only ONE guy had a fully painted 40k/warmachine army. though to be fair club games might be part of a WIP.

the saga vikings were very pretty though and fully painted.

[Paulo187]

I also, have been painting miniatures for over 20 years (40k for only six). I just realized the other day that I have never actually finished painting a miniature. I always feel that there are just a couple of more details that I could add to enhance the model. In the end you just have to learn to let it go. There are too many miniatures in this world to truly ever be done. For tabletop standard just choose a three color paint scheme (any more than that and you haven't actually committed to a paint scheme) . Add one layer of shading and one layer of highlight for all three colors areas. A little weathering. Some basing. When that is done to a non-obsessive standard then apply the decals. THEN STOP MESSING WITH IT! Learn to let go. True perfection is unattainable. Understand that you will never be complete.

[whargoul666]

I think it's done after its had a gloss coat and three coats of matte ;)

[Cactus]

As a bare minimum, I've always judged a model to be painted when the surface has been completely covered by at least three colors of paint without any primer showing through (colored primers can count a color). The bases need to also be painted or flocked.

[sturmtruppe]

It's your model, so it should be completed when you think it is. I have a pretty good idea when each of my models is complete; though then again, many of my armies have been touched up, re-based or even completely repainted years later depending on how interested/motivated I am.

[SquigBrain]

The answer is never. :P There is *always* more that can be done.

[Mr Mystery]

For me?

Undercoat. Base coat (May be multiple colours, depending on model), neutral wash (brown/black for instant shading), dry brush, wash/ink (matching the area being washed, to enhance colour depth), base, aaaaaaaand done!

[Nabterayl]

I second what people have said about needing to decide for yourself. Me, my standard is primer, base coat, wash, dry brush, pick out details, base, and done. I might do more than that for specific models, but that's what I consider done for normal models.

[Bob821]

The biggest problem I have when I feel a model is fully painted is it becomes really slippery! I have lost count of the number of models I have been proud of only to see them bounce accross the floor less than a week after I have decided they are done.

[Xenith]

Ask yourself: "is this model finished". Then you know the answer.

[Conspyre]

I'm done when anything else I could do, at the degree of difficulty the model's role warrants (this is important- I could spend way more time on each Clanrat, but I would go insane), would no longer improve the model, but detract from it. That could be because an addition might be beyond my abilities, or because it would make a model too "busy", or because another blending pass might render the highlighting and shading unrecognizable. There's nothing worse than doing an extra step because you don't feel like you've done enough, and then finding out that you liked it better before that last pass.

[Jams O'Donnell]

When I show it to Mrs Jams and she doesn't immediately point out a bit I missed. I could hand her the most amazingly-shaded model I'm capable of and inevitably she'll just respond with something like "is this belt pouch meant to look so flat?"

[simiusmagnus]

And then there's the feeling you get when you're done with the model, and it's out on the battlefield...and you notice that you missed some small thing like a buckle. A minor thing, really, but suddenly that stupid buckle is ALL you see when you look at the model...

[Wildcard]

Personally i feel that it is completely within the skills of the painter. Like previously stated, 2-4 colors with some highlighting etc tricks.

Most importantly when this kind of questions come up my strongest comment is that i never count base as something needed to be painted / flocked etc. For me, bases are just the means to keep the model up, and determine some gameplay mechanics that rely on the base. I actually prefer my bases black, and someone requiring me to paint/flock them will get me furious.

It also can easily break the aesthetics of the setting in my opinion (snow bases on sand dunes / mid summer forest etc.). Only units that i feel could actually get allrounder bases are chaos daemons.. with them some sort of daemonic volcanic activity could be understandable no matter the setting in question..

And as an after thought, with that logic maybe tyranids with biomass stuff, and some unique characters like the avatar..

[Eldar_Atog]

For me, I don't focus on one model when I am painting and I'll let a few minor errors go. The important thing is that the unit as a whole looks complete. I do put a little more work into the centerpiece models but I try to keep to a simple paint scheme for everything.

[Charon]

Its done when you think its done. Simple as that.
More often than not, less is more. The first models I did I always tried to maks "showcase models". In fact most of the details I painted are not even visible at the gaming table. So I toned down the detail crazyness to a moderate level and my progress speed went up considerably.
Nowadays only single models get this "special treatment". On the table uniform and color composition is more important than painting every single microscopic gem.