Miniature Hobbying

Building, painting and finishing small-scale models.

About the hobby

I’ve been painting miniatures since 2020. I’ve always loved how miniatures convey scale and detail. I used to paint model cars when I was younger, and eventually that turned into a full obsession with plastic miniatures, wargaming, and 28mm scale models. This is mostly something I spend my free time on, but every now and then I get a chance to overlap engineering with models (like when painting and finishing my speaker project), and I just think that’s really neat. Most of the stuff I paint is from the Warhammer 40K wargame, which I play at my local game store and have a community of friends who also participate. Sometimes, I just pick up models from different stores, or 3D print them at home. Attached are some more recent creations. Each figure takes around 3-5 hours, and it’s a really relaxing and detail-intensive use of time.

Process

One thing a lot of people don’t know about model kits is that painting them is just one small step in the whole process. The model arrives on a sprue (a frame of plastic) and needs to be clipped, sanded and cut with an X-acto to remove gaps in the manufacturing process. After, it needs to be glued together and primed with spraypaint. I’ve since invested in an airbrush and different techniques to speed this process up, but everything is handpainted and assembled from the box. It just arrives as a flat sheet of gray plastic.

Painting involves using layers, shades, contrasts and highlights to make the models pop. Ever since I started as a middle schooler, I’ve had plenty of time to make my models more and more detailed. Still, there are years to go and I hope to continue this hobby for the rest of my life. I sometimes 3D print my own models, and I love putting together the little terrain (base) the model stands on.

Miniature hobbying is a niche but extremely rewarding hobby I’ve gotten to try out.

Photo gallery