We didn't plan on learning patience.
When my son and I first sat down at the hobby desk, the goal was simple — paint some cool-looking miniatures. We didn't realise we were signing up for a masterclass in patience.
We started exactly where you'd expect: messy palettes, paint way too thick, and a lot of mistakes. Whole models went in the stripping jar. There was one evening we spent an hour on a cloak and then agreed, without saying much, that it had to come off.
That's where the best parts of the story happened. The ruined cloak became the reason we learned dry brushing. The gluey base coats became the reason we finally learned to thin paint properly. Every technique we know now came out of something we got wrong first.
Somewhere in there it stopped being about the models. We started celebrating small wins — the high five when he nails the glow on a tiny weapon, or when I finish a base we're both proud of. He got braver with a brush than I am. I got slower and more careful than I've ever been about anything.
In a world that moves this fast, spending two hours debating which shade of blue to use is a rare kind of peace. We aren't professionals. We're a team learning to thin our paints the hard way — and loving every minute of it.
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."
How it went
Two starter sets and a lot of thick paint
Everything was too thick and everything was glossy. We loved it anyway.
Someone told us to thin our paints
One sentence, and the next model looked twice as good. It's why the tutorials exist.
A phone on an arm over the desk
We started filming so he could see his own progress. Other people started watching.
Painting for HPC 2025, together
Our first competition entry, one model, both of us on it.
Come paint with us
Every technique we've worked out is on the channel, and the live sessions are open — bring whatever you're working on.