I paint full time, perhaps one of the few out there. At any given moment I have anywhere from 20-30 orders in the works, with the average size being 300-400 figures. I can indeed handle it all; after all, I have been doing it now full time for seven years. I know that many others have been at this for a great many years more than I have, but I feel comfortable in putting into writing what they all think. Actually, what prompted me to write this was a comment I received from someone who passed by my booth at Historicon. "Oh, he is so slow is what I heard said. Instead of jumping up to defend myself, I gave those words some thought. Why would anyone think I was a slow painter? I dig into piles of figures at a time, getting more done in a day than most miniatures people get painted in a month. It must be the delivery times, then... Well, actually, most people who buy from painting services have unrealistic expectations... Now, I do not, by any stretch of imagination, want anyone to think that I am berating them... However, I feel a need to defend myself and many others who paint figures. Most painters have a similar problem: they can not meet a swift turn around. Why is that? Well, I can not speak specifically about anyone but myself, however, I am sure that others face the same situation. I run my own business. I am a one-man-band, so to speak. I have to keep my own books, invoice, pursue late paying customers, cast figures, sculpt, update the business plan (a daily chore ... ), discuss various aspects of the hobby and business/orders on the telephone (usually this takes 4-5 hours a day!), take my children to school, pick up the children, drop off packages and pick up packages, manage the inventory of unpainted miniatures (what do I have in stock to meet a customer's need?). continue to remodel the business building (yes, I have an actually business building!), prepare and send out emails for the day, update rules books and other stocks, package movement bases, work on the house (I've got to mow the grass now and again), make lunch/supper (when I remember to eat, that is), handle the latest child crisis (they seem to always fall down and hurt themselves or what not),.... Oh, I nearly forgot: I have got to paint that order of miniatures....! I end up with the attitude: My work gets interrupted by annoying things like sleep. What I am getting at is that often, and I am guilty of this as well, we forget that the other guy has to deal with life and other issues. These things take time. I take great pride in my work and my work ethic. Yes, it takes time to get all those orders out. Some people are quite patient (especially Hal!), and in due course, everyone's stuff gets done. True, I can set unrealistic goals sometimes. For this I apologize to anyone out there that had to wait an incredible amount of time. But I ask everyone who has figures with a painter out there, just be patient. Sometimes a painter will falter, and then not deliver at all. Too bad that these cases cast a dark shadow over the rest of us painting away. I hope that these bad apples continue to be the exception. As for the rest of those painters out there: keep at it! So, the next time anyone who is waiting on an painting order wants to grumble at his painter, well step back and consider these factors I mention. Let's all make our hobby that much more enjoyable for that many more people! Back to MWAN #102 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com