“Does the idea of needing to plaint less models in order to play a game appeal to you more than the idea of games with a high model count requirement?”
As I get older and “real life” gets in the way of painting my little plastic men, I’ve definitely found that I appreciate small model count games more. I’m especially loving Malifaux, where I can actually live my dream of giving each model in my faction a hero-level paint job; something that just wasn’t feasible when I tried with a Fantasy army.
There was a time when I did it every day, in the morning, when my parents were out, or late at night when I was sure everyone was asleep… of course back then it was fast, sloppy, the miniatures weren’t good looking, and was generally left unsatisfied. There was no skill involved, I wouldn’t properly prepare a miniature, I would just stab at it, fumbling to get the paint off the brush as quickly as possible. I’m sure my mom noticed my sheets stiff with spilt paint… she knew what was going on but had the tact not to say anything. It used to be I would take pics, how the miniature looked before I got my hands on it, what it looked like in the midst of being painted, and what it looked like after I was finished with it, and would show my friends my most recent conquest. They were ugly miniatures and ugly paint jobs but they all wanted to see regardless.
“Did I use a wash? Hell yeah, I rubbed Devlan Mud all over it.” – They were impressed.
Things are different now, painting only happens late at night after the kids are asleep, the chores are done, I have the energy, and my wife is ok with it. I can paint for much longer and much better than I could as a young man, and after an intense round of painting I can wipe the sweat away and look down with a sense of pride. I still might pull out the camera once in a while when I’m doing something crazy or my brush skills look really impressive, but I don’t need to brag anymore, I know what I have going on at home…
I don’t have the time to paint a dozen Demonettes anymore, and back when I did I certainly didn’t have the skill. Life is cruel like that. Still, a bottle of wine, a fine looking miniature under me, and skill and patience to do things right is incredibly rewarding.
I have to agree with others sentiments here – even pre-painted minis like those in X-Wing (which would have been a turn-off for me at one point) now appeal as they’re one less barrier to start gaming and enjoying the experience. I still want to paint minis, but a mountain of orks to spend time on makes me shudder, whereas the idea of painting up half a dozen or so Wild West Exodus minis that I can take care over is exciting!
Jaded Gamercast 
As I get older and “real life” gets in the way of painting my little plastic men, I’ve definitely found that I appreciate small model count games more. I’m especially loving Malifaux, where I can actually live my dream of giving each model in my faction a hero-level paint job; something that just wasn’t feasible when I tried with a Fantasy army.
Ah painting…
There was a time when I did it every day, in the morning, when my parents were out, or late at night when I was sure everyone was asleep… of course back then it was fast, sloppy, the miniatures weren’t good looking, and was generally left unsatisfied. There was no skill involved, I wouldn’t properly prepare a miniature, I would just stab at it, fumbling to get the paint off the brush as quickly as possible. I’m sure my mom noticed my sheets stiff with spilt paint… she knew what was going on but had the tact not to say anything. It used to be I would take pics, how the miniature looked before I got my hands on it, what it looked like in the midst of being painted, and what it looked like after I was finished with it, and would show my friends my most recent conquest. They were ugly miniatures and ugly paint jobs but they all wanted to see regardless.
“Did I use a wash? Hell yeah, I rubbed Devlan Mud all over it.” – They were impressed.
Things are different now, painting only happens late at night after the kids are asleep, the chores are done, I have the energy, and my wife is ok with it. I can paint for much longer and much better than I could as a young man, and after an intense round of painting I can wipe the sweat away and look down with a sense of pride. I still might pull out the camera once in a while when I’m doing something crazy or my brush skills look really impressive, but I don’t need to brag anymore, I know what I have going on at home…
I don’t have the time to paint a dozen Demonettes anymore, and back when I did I certainly didn’t have the skill. Life is cruel like that. Still, a bottle of wine, a fine looking miniature under me, and skill and patience to do things right is incredibly rewarding.
I have to agree with others sentiments here – even pre-painted minis like those in X-Wing (which would have been a turn-off for me at one point) now appeal as they’re one less barrier to start gaming and enjoying the experience. I still want to paint minis, but a mountain of orks to spend time on makes me shudder, whereas the idea of painting up half a dozen or so Wild West Exodus minis that I can take care over is exciting!