Guys… this miniature only took me one hour to paint.

A HATE miniature.

One. Hour.

If you’ve seen the HATE miniatures, you know they have a lot going on. And if you’ve ever tried painting them yourself, then you probably understand why I’m so impressed.

I painted this guy mostly with paint pens. All of the base coats and most of the details were done with the pens, and that stage alone probably took about 30 minutes.

When it came to washes, staining, and dry brushing, that’s where the old faithful paints came back into the picture. That process still takes me a while because I’m constantly mixing paints and adjusting consistency until the colors look just right.

So, these pens…

No, they’re not going to completely replace a traditional paint setup.

But they absolutely save time during those early stages, and they take up almost no space. I keep mine in an old wafer tin, so when I want to paint, I just pull out the tin, grab a miniature, and get to work. One of my biggest concerns was whether the tips would be precise enough, but honestly, they reached into just about every nook and cranny I needed them to.

Another thing I didn’t expect was how much freedom they gave me to experiment. It’s so easy to dab a color, see how it looks, and change your mind if it doesn’t work. If I don’t like the result, I can usually cover it up just as quickly and move on.

What really surprised me is how much time gets eaten up by the traditional painting process. Shaking paint pots, unclogging dropper bottles, pouring paints onto a palette, cleaning brushes, changing water, packing everything away… it all adds up. A few minutes here and there doesn’t sound like much until you realize how often you’re doing it.

Honestly, I think that’s the biggest advantage these pens have given me: I’m spending more time painting miniatures and less time preparing to paint miniatures.

So, all of this is to say: these are staying in my hobby kit.

Will they completely replace brushes and paints? No…but they do complement them incredibly well and save a surprising amount of time!

With that said, I’m off to get more of my minis table ready! Until next time,

Happy painting!