What is Tabletop Standard Quality?
Most people want miniatures painted to a tabletop standard, so this page covers this subject.
Typically a few colours (3)
Majority of the model in a single base colour
Some shading
Some basic highlights (mainly dry-brushing)
The odd bit of detail
Use of many more colours
Multiple base colours
Complex shading
Many layers of highlights unsing many techniques
Lots more detail, for example, on faces
A brief summary of “Tabletop Standard”
The idea is you get the miniatures to look good without necessarily being technically well painted. The miniatures may have mistakes, messy shading, they might be in only a few colours and have sparse highlighting. But they look good enough.
Tabletop quality models are good enough that you’d be happy to play with them in public on the tabletop!
Not many of the photos on this site are of miniatures that are of a tabletop standard – that’s because they are both show pieces and take longer to paint. If they were to be sold then they would be comparatively expensive.
This is where the Tabletop Standard level of quality comes in. I see it as a way of producing value for money for those of my clients who are more budget conscious.
Examples of Tabletop Standard
Rebel Troopers painted to a tabletop standard for a commission
Rebel Troopers to a Tabletop Standard
This lot of Rebels are all painted to a tabletop standard. The paint scheme was as follows:
- Base colour of off-white-beige
- Brown and grey shading in the shadows
- Off-white and near-white dry-brushed highlights
- Backpacks, bets and straps in a brown/grey with shading and dry-brushing
- Boots and gloves in grey
- Basic faces with grey facial hair where necessary
- Dark grey guns with grey dry-brushed highlights
- Plain white base with a white rim
- Colourful alien heads 🙂
A Rebel AT-RT painted to a tabletop standard
Rebel AT-RT painted to a Tabletop Standard
This AT-RT was an “eBay rescue” and was already assmbled when I got it. This make it a bit of a paint to paint since the Trooper obsures some of the AT-RT unit.
I sprayed it all black and then quickly painted the AT-RT in grey, and then dry-brushed it to give it some highlights. This could all be done quickly without fear of hitting the Rebel Trooper on top since he was going to get painetd last.
The trooper was painted using a base of light green, and then several layers of contrast paints, followed by a think dark green wash.
Stormtroopers painted to a tabletop standard
Stormtroopers to a Tabletop Standard
These Stormtroopers were painted quite quickly as part of a project where I wanted to learn how to paint storm troopers quickly and look OK.
I’ve found the best way to paint them is to work you way up from black (believe it or not) however this takes ages,
These guys were painted in white and then had a grey wash or two added over the top to give some depth in the shadows.