What is “Tabletop Standard”?
Tabletop Standard: is There a Definition?
Many people ask for their miniatures to be painted to a “tabletop standard”, but what does it really mean?
It’s a trick question really as there is no real definition since miniature painting quality is subjective ; one person’s masterpiece is another’s quick-and-dirty! Loosely, the term “tabletop standard” means “good enough to use on the tabletop” (without being embarrassed).
Tabletop Standard at Angry Space Triangles
Since it’s subjective and everyone’s understanding of the term is different, it’s worth stating what “it “tabletop standard” translates as here at Angry Space Triangles. We don’t tend to do many commissions at this level of quality.
We consider it to mean:
- Typically a few base colours
- Some shading
- Some basic highlights (mainly dry-brushing)
- Some small bit of key detail (like a light sabre, weapon, belts etc)
“Tabletop Plus” Standard
Many of the miniatures we paint to what we’d call “tabletop plus”. The idea is the miniatures look way better than tabletop standard, but don’t cost vastly more. We do quite a few “eBay Rescues” where collections of basically painted minis are improved and raised to a “tabletop plus” standard. It’s fun to to as typically the more tedious base coats have been done, leaving room for the much more enjoyable stages of painting.
Typically, tabletop plus means:
- Use of more colours
- Complex shading
- More highlights
- Different techniques, for example, wet blending, stippling etc
- More details throughout
Painting to a Higher Standard?
If you’re after a higher standard of painting then the sky’s the limit but you do get diminishing returns. You kind-of get a pick-and-mix of additional work that you can ask for, each of which raises the quality level.
Additional works:
- Distressing and battle damage
- Complex shading
- Complex highlights (for example, highlighting and back-shading every panel distinctly)
- Edge highlights
- Object source lighting
- Faces and bases!
- Decals
- Blended effects like fire or other details
Some Examples
Example 1 – Rebel Troopers
Tabletop Plus
These Rebel Troopers and Rebel Trooper “upgrades” are all done to a better-than “tabletop standard” – hence the need for the term “tabletop plus”.
The stand-out features are the alien’s coloured skins which have additional highlighting and shading, as well as the troopers equipment like their backpacks, guns and goggles, all of which are shaded and highlighted.
Also, while the main uniform of the troopers is basically the same colour, the underclothing is distinctly coloured and all the clothing has significant shading which gives the miniatures some depth and contrast.
Example 2 – Rebel AT-RT
Tabletop Plus
The AT-RT itself has lots of shading and highlighting on the grey metal. While most of it is a single grey colour, the font-facing panels have been painted n green and given edge highlights to help make the miniature pop.
Furthermore, the Rebel Trooper himself has been given plenty of shading and highlighting.
Example 3 – Imperial Stormtroopers
Tabletop Standard
These Stormtroopers are probably the most basic level of quality that we’d do here at Angry Space Triangles. They look effective enough for the tabletop but aren’t anything to write home about.
Ideal for your rank and file soldiers.
Example 4 – Emperor Palpatine
Higher Standard
Palps here has been chosen as an example of a better- painted miniature mainly because an advanced technique was used to paint his robes.
The robe highlights were built up by stacking loads of thin horizontal lines, from dark to light. This takes a long time, but adds lots of texture to the robes making them look like cloth. This is the sort of big quality improvement you can get when going above Tabletop / Tabletop plus standard.
