<p>As I mentioned before, I've been totally out of the minature hobby for around 8 years. When I last was at least keeping tabs on things, Rackham miniatures (fiannas mostly!) were the rage; they were <em>very</em> difficult to get. I remember placing an order with an online shop for about 5 miniatures-and only getting 2 of them since the others had already sold out! Come back years later to find they're still hard to get because Rackham has decided to do those cheap, ugly prepainted lumps of crap! What were they thinking?!</p><p>Non-metallic metal technique was just really taking hold-only the best of the best painters were executing it well and I remember being absolutely daunted by the thought of trying it. It now seems like the technique is more accessible. Perhaps due to the many "how-to" articles available online, or just because the general standard has risen in the years. In any case, I'm actually looking forward to trying it. (This is my way of thanking all the people who've taken the time to put any sort of painting help article online!)</p><p>There are a <em>lot</em> of new miniature companies! Rackham had been the new kid on the block; as I actually gamed some I had almost all Games Workshop miniatures, with a few Ral Partha and Reaper thrown in. Now the variety is astounding... no longer do I feel it necessary to pay the ridiculous premium for Citadel miniatures. There are multitudes of fabulous, interesting figures now-and inspired by some of the top artists like Parkinson and Brom. And far beyond just the usual orc-elf-spacemarine type knockoffs.</p><p>Most amazing to me is the overall shift in painting style. I always believed that the rather garish, colorful style that GW used had a wide-reaching influence since let's face it, many of us started painting in order to game! I'm overjoyed to see that the "Rackham" style has had that kind of influence. The overly sharp highlights have been largely replaced by a more realistic look. Earthy, neutral colors are now much more popular, and that's a look I really like. And I know it's an overall trend because man, was I shocked to see that even GWs studio stuff is adopting that kind of look.</p><p> </p><p>Just random observations from someone whose been living under a rock for quite a while. 
<br /></p>
<br /></p>