The following are a list of common topics that come up in our show, in emails to us, or on our fantastic Facebook Group. Since they are coming up repeatedly, we though we would centralize a place to get your answers!
Q: Artist Inks - How are they used?
A: This page HERE will help you.
Q: What Black Library Books should I read to learn more about Warhammer 40k?
A: This page HERE will help you with our opinion on the matter.
Q: Warhammer World - I want to go there someday. Is it worth it? It seems expensive!
A: You should go! Not as expensive or unreachable as you would think. Go HERE for details on how to do it.
Q: Airbrushing - Where do I start?! What equipment do I need?
A: I'm harassing Colin Ward to put together a quick set of materials you can get at the basic, mid, and advanced levels. It's not as hard as people make it out to be.
Q: Airbrushing - What pressure should I be painting at?
A: This depends on a multitude of factors, paint you are using, what you are trying to accomplish, what type of brush are you using, what type of needle are you using... In the end it comes down to practice and finding what works right for you.
Q: Airbrushing - Will CK Studios come to my town? I live in the middle of nowhere!
A: You should reach out to CK Studios for the specifics, but if you can gather enough people (around 12-16 or so), I imagine they will come out to where you live. They have been going all over the US, Canada, and UK so far.
Q: What lights do you guys use for your painting table?
A: There are a lot of options out there - but the one we have talked about on the show, and the one several of us personally use is the TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp with USB. Carl uses two of them together which provides a nice strong source of daylight light at a reasonable cost.
Q: Podcasting - I want to start a Podcast. What equipment do you use?
A: I wrote a series of articles about this, titled 'Behind the Mic' that you can find HERE. The equipment is slightly dated for what we use now - but you get the idea. We now use a R0DEcaster Pro with SHURE SM58Beta Mics.
We HIGHLY recommend Sweetwater for any and all audio equipment purchases! This is one of the greatest online ordering experiences hands down.
The only other thing I would add about this is - find your own voice. What are you going to do that is different than the TONS of other Podcasts out there? Find your nitch.
Q: Transport and Storage Solutions - What is the best bag or solution for my army?
A: At The Independent Characters we really love two separate solutions. Note that Tablewar is a Sponsor of the show.
- KR Multicase is our favorite solution for any travel you have to do that involves an airplane. Their Backpack 2 has seen us travel all over the US and Europe. Plus the owner is a great guy. Yes, we know their website is difficult to work with. Just write an email to them if you are confused and they will tell you exactly what to purchase based on your army.
- Our other favorite product is the Tablewar Case. This is awesome for trips to the local game store or tournaments. It makes it VERY quick to deploy your models and put them back. No struggling with foam. Plus Doug and Todd of Tablewar are ALSO great and generous guys who have donated to our charity efforts in a BIG way.
Q: What Mats are the best for playing on?
A: Again our sponsor Tablewar makes, in our opinion, the highest quality mats out there. What does that mean? Well the artwork on their mats are done to an exacting degree. Doug is an artist who has worked on many video games and understands textures and what looks good. They have dialed in the technique with their manufacturer to ensure that the colors they want you to see, are the colors and details you are seeing. Are there other game mat manufacturers our there? Sure. But these guys are the original and hands down the best.
Q: What is the next episode going to be about?
A: You can always see what the next episode is and who the hosts are for that episode at the top of The Independent Characters Facebook page banner graphic.
Q: What is all this nonsense about cross-fit, vegans, and airbrushing?
A: It's an inside joke about the fact that people who do any of those activities will inevitably talk about them. It's been pretty much beaten to death as a joke at this point.
Q: I've spilled my wash/paint - should I post about it?
A: Nope. That one has been beaten to death too. We will pretty much delete those posts now. It was so 2018 🙂
Q: Aren't GW Paint Pots terrible? The should move to dropper bottles.
A: Yeah we get it. Everyone gets it. Probably time to let this one rest as well. GW isn't going to make this change as a result of you post here. They are likely already considering it (it's Jan 2020 at this point). Let's not rehash this old topic either.