Some pictures of the first three issues of Painting War | Madaxeman.com
Painting War is a magazine dedicated to the painting of miniature figures for a given army or historical period. For a magazine of 70-90 pages, you certainly get your money’s worth. The brainchild of Joquain Ruiz and Ruben Torregrosa of HeresyBrush.com, the magazines come lavishly illustrated and detailed with instructions on how to paint a given figure. I own Issues #1 and #3, so they were the basis for my review.
The magazines are simply chock full of information, covering everything from the German Army of World War II to the Spanish Civil War, just to name a few periods you can find in the pages of this “periodical” (the things are the size of a small book!). The production value is some of the best I’ve seen in the industry, and being a pretty jaded wargamer, these gave me a pleasant surprise. The paper is also high quality, and everything about the books just screams “value for your money.”
The painting instructions themselves are clear and easy to follow. There are some basic techniques in the front, and I really loved how it builds from the early tutorials to the main section, where each type of uniform from a given theatre is given its own page. Considering this is one painted figure per page, you wind up with between 20-30 painted figures with all the colors used broken down with useful tips at the bottom of the page.
I also like how they use Vallejo Model Colors for most, if not all, of the instructions. It makes it an easy task to follow along. Issue #1 for the Germans even has instructions for both 15mm and 28mm figures. This, sadly, isn’t present in my copy of Issue #3, which chronicled the Americans and Japanese in World War II (in the same issue, now that’s value for one’s money!). That said, the painting instructions are easy to follow and clear, certainly on the scale of Painting Wargames Figures, which I reviewed as well.
Another Image taken from Issue #1 on the German Army | Madaxeman.com
What I am really taken with is the detail and the economy of the use of pages. There are a few ads, but the rest of the pages are plastered with practical painting advice presented in a clear and smart format. I find the tutorials quite valuable as I’ve never met a painter, at least a good painter, who thought they had nothing to learn. Me? I am not a good painter. I am a so-so painter, so I learn wherever I can. I will say Messers Ruiz and Torregrossa make this process an easy one.
And that’s the process of learning to be a better painter - Seeing what others are doing and making it yours. At first, it may seem like you’re copying the techniques of others pretty close to rote, but if you give it time, you’ll come up with adaptations that you happen to like. I know I have some things I would do differently from previous efforts, and figures I have painted before are certainly not as good as figures I have painted now.
That’s what makes these great “magazines.” Actually, I would dispute that these are, in fact, magazines, but instead, small and very useful reference books. Everything in these books is well laid out and clear to the reader. As I said, I wish the books didn’t only do 28mm, but adaptation is part of learning how to paint well, and adapting a technique to fit you is all about learning.
These books do that very well and are part of a miniature painting movement coming out of Spain that we’ve seen in recent years, with the publication of books like Painting Wargaming Figures, and the development of the Ammo/MiG Productions, AK, and Vallejo paint lines. And that’s not even to mention such painters as “MiG” Jimenez, Javier Gomez, and Ruben Torregrosa. I highly recommend these books. The price tag is a bit steep for their size, at 15-20 Euros (~$25), not including shipping, but you can get these magazines in the US at such distributors as Michigan Toy Soldier Company, Brigade Games, and Noble Knight Games.
My only complaints about the books are minor. I would say that I wish the 15mm had continued with the Americans and Japanese. I know that’s a little bit of a nitpick, and there were probably sound editorial decisions to go the way they went, but considering I paint a scale between 15mm and 28mm, it might have allowed me to better “dial in” my own techniques a bit. That said, I am overall extremely pleased with the books and recommend them highly to all painters out there. They’re excellent resources and great painting guides for any wargamer. I am happy to give this product 5 out of 5 stars.
At Epoch XP, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch XP’s service on our parent site, SJR Research.
–
(This article is credited to Jason Weiser. Jason is a long-time wargamer with published works in the Journal of the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers; Miniature Wargames Magazine; and Wargames, Strategy, and Soldier.)