New Wargamer here!

[Randl]

I've had good luck finding a game in Abington on Saturday, but I know there are people who play other nights.
There is also a bunch of us starting new armies.

[King of the Elves]

I'm at abington on tues, fri, and most weekends. PM me anytime if you want a game and ill see if i can do it.

[Loranus]

Thursday is the Huge day for 40k at Plainville if an event isn't goin on on Saturday you can probably get some games in also.

From what I understand Abington on Saturdays is great for Miniwargames in general.

If your looking for a game on any particular day make a forum post to try and set up a match for some day in the week.

If your looking for a dedicated group of people to help you get into the game and you can make it try coming down to Plainville on a Thursday. Benjamin is the resident teacher and moderator of that night he can get you acquainted with everyone and get you into a friendly match so you can learn how to play.

[protoRocker]

Alright, a lot of this is really great stuff, and I'd like to bring my small batch of Space Marines to in next Thursday, but assembling and painting them all is taking forever. I can understand why people take so much joy in finally being able to fight with their armies.

[Loranus]

were noy complete jerks about having everything painted just assembled so dont over worry yourself abut having them painted by thursday.

[protoRocker]

Alright, well, I'll at least make sure everything's got a black matte coat by Thursday so I'm not just playing with greys.

Also, do most people prefer to collect one army until it's big, or is it common to amass a bunch of smaller armies?

[Benjamin]

I think most people at least try an army out to 1750 points, but it's by no means mandatory. Sometimes what sounds great (like playing Chaos Marines) doesn't work out quite as well as one would hope, so one tries something else (like Chaos Daemons) to much greater success. There are plenty of codices with plenty of variation, so the real trick is figuring out which flavor you like best while also complementing your skills as a player. Easy solution: pick any army and play it. What do you like best about it and what do you hate about it? Is there another army that does it better or fixes the things you dislike?

[Henry R]

 Also, any quick advice for painting an army to just look "battle ready"? In a perfect world each of my models would be a masterpiece, but for now I just want to get them a little dolled up to hit the field.

 Prime your models with spray paint (typically white or black). Next, Base coat them with desired colors. Wash with an appropriate color. Paint small details like belt pouches, scopes and eyes. Finally, paint basic line highlights on any hard edges and you're good to go. After a few models and a  few video and blog tutorials, you'll probably have a pretty nice tabletop army.

[Ed]

Take your time with your hobby it will pay off in the future. If you make any mistakes like buying wrong units and other aspects. It is a lot easier to fix the one problem then a whole. Hey some people don't like painting so they do not do it. I know i didn't at first. Unpainted will not stop you from anything within the community unless you want to do the mega battle but that is a other seen.

Good luck!

P.S. play with Ben

[protoRocker]

You guys aren't sticklers for perfect paint jobs, are you? I'm trying my hardest, but everything's coming out a big sloppy mess.  I don't know how those 'Eavy Metal guys do it.

[Frosthydra]

Most people won't care, to be honest.

Paint them as you'd like, if you've at least tried, people will notice.

[Randl]

You guys aren't sticklers for perfect paint jobs, are you? I'm trying my hardest, but everything's coming out a big sloppy mess.  I don't know how those 'Eavy Metal guys do it.

The more you paint the better your miniatures will look. I can't believe how how much practice has helped me.

[Loranus]

Trust me when it comes down to practice makes perfect. I have a Model just to remind me how far I have come in terms of painting from when I first started years ago.

Some helpful tips I learned over the years:

1. Take Breaks. Being Tired is just going to make you finicky and misjudging. Several times Have i worked on a model for too long to wake up in the morning and be appalled at the results from all my "touch ups" while tired.

2. Work in a brightly lit area similar to where you are gaming. This is more or less so your models look the way you want them to look when you play. Light makes a big difference on the color of your model.

3. Be comfortable while your painting. I have a gallon of water and a comfortable setup for those times when I paint so I don't have to constantly shift around and my neck doesn't kill me while painting.

[Mad Dok Rob]

Don't beat yourself up too much if you don't like the results of your work.  Remember, it only has to look good from an arm's length away.  You will be amazed at how bad you might think something looks up close at how good it looks sitting on the table.

[NateT]

It takes awhile to get a steady hand, but practice really pays off.  As the years passed, I find that people who had just started the hobby a few (5-8?  sometimes less!) years ago are now masterful at painting and conversions.