Member Spotlight: Colin's Painting Adventure

There's a moment in Colin's story that sums up what this club is meant to be. On the day his dad passed away, he came to West Allotment Wildlings anyway, because he knew it was a safe space. That single fact tells you almost everything about why this spotlight exists, and why we're proud to call Colin one of our own.

If you've seen Colin's Instagram, colin_painting_adventure, you'll know him as a machine when it comes to painting. He's been a driving force behind the club's Million Miniatures Challenge pledge, a steady presence at Dungeon Crawler Fridays, and someone whose brushwork has quietly gone from nervous beginner to genuinely accomplished in the space of a few years. But as you'll see from his answers below, Colin would be the first to tell you that none of it came naturally.

Where It All Began

Colin's hobby origin story starts in the early nineties, in his first year at university. "A friend returned from the Christmas holidays with a game called Space Crusade," he told us. He was twenty years old. From there came White Dwarf issue 169, then a monthly habit from issue 171 onwards, and eventually a choice that shaped his whole hobby path: buying 4th edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles the following summer instead of 2nd edition 40k, because he happened to be reading The Lord of the Rings at the time. A High Elf army followed, built up to roughly 3,000 points.

What He's Playing Now

These days Colin's table time is spread across Warhammer: The Old World, Warhammer 40k, Warcry, HeroQuest, Trench Crusade, Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings, and Dead Man's Hand. Ask him to pick a favourite and he'll tell you straight, he hasn't played any of them enough to choose. It's a hobbyist's answer through and through, always more curious about the next game than settled on one.

The Painter, Not the Gamer

"I've always painted more than played," Colin said, and it's a distinction he's thought about a lot. Finding people to play with is hard. Painting just needs some paint, models, brushes, and a space to sit. But Colin is candid that the painting side has never come easily to him. "I am not a naturally artistic person, I've always been more analytical. It took me years to realise there was a real difference between being creative and being artistic."

That changed when Warhammer 40k's 10th Edition landed. Colin decided he wanted to lean back into the artistic side of the hobby, and picked his brushes back up after more than twenty years away. It's exactly that willingness to be bad at something before getting good at it that makes his current output, and that Instagram following, so impressive.

Podcasts, Not Silence

A typical hobby session for Colin is never a quiet one. "I love listening to podcasts and streams on YouTube or Twitter," he said, reeling off a list that includes Mediocre Hobbies, The Worhammer Podcast, The Liam Dempsey Show, Rogue Hobbies, Peachy Tips, and Juggz. It's a familiar setup for a lot of us on paint night, brush in one hand, a favourite voice talking through techniques or hobby news in the background.

The Kitbash He's Proudest Of

The model Colin is most proud of is a two headed Chaos Dragon for the Old World, kitbashed using pieces from a Tyranid Hive Tyrant sprue. It doesn't exist as an official Warhammer kit, and Colin admits kitbashing was something he'd always feared. "I don't like making mistakes or messing things up, so I never used to change models. Being more analytical and less artistic was a big factor in avoiding kitbashing."

He built it using only Warhammer pieces, so it would stay compliant if he ever took it to an official event. That dragon went on to win Biggest Freak and came second in Most Original Model at a painting and conversion competition. "The thought of me winning any sort of competition based on creative and artiness still blows my mind," he said. It shouldn't. It's exactly the kind of leap the hobby rewards.

2,000 Followers and Counting

The achievement Colin is proudest of is hitting 2,000 followers on his hobby Instagram, colin_painting_adventure. The name is deliberate. "I knew I was starting again after 20 odd years, and my painting and hobby skills were not great to start with, and it would be an adventure that I could include the ups and downs of my hobby journey, not just curate the best bits." It's a refreshing approach in a hobby that can sometimes feel like a highlight reel, and it's clearly resonated with a lot of people.

Finding the Wildlings

Colin found the club almost by accident, through a podcast by two Geordie lads, Jack and Dan, that kept popping up on his YouTube feed. Over a few episodes they talked about a club they went to, and it sounded interesting. That club was hosting a Mental Health coffee morning one Saturday, and Colin decided to go.

He was nervous. Having lived in Sunderland for over thirty years and rarely crossed the Tyne into Newcastle, turning up felt like heading into deep, unfamiliar territory. He needn't have worried. "Everyone was friendly and welcoming. Played some games I had never played before with people I hadn't met before. I felt like I had found my people and decided to start going on a weekly basis." Joining the regular Dungeon Crawler group sealed it, a small group, learning rules together, no pressure, plenty of laughs.

Colin summed it up by quoting the theme from Cheers, that old idea of wanting to go somewhere everybody knows your name and is always glad you came. "That sums up the West Allotment Wildlings to me. A place to go where I can be me and just play with toy soldiers, or just sit and build or paint models."

A Memory That Sticks

Colin's standout memories are all about the same thing, being included without having to ask. Turning up with nothing planned and being invited into games of HeroQuest, Blackstone Fortress, and Battletech. "Just the fact you could turn up and be included in something, the complete lack of cliques."

And then there's the day his dad passed away, when Colin came to the club anyway, because he knew he was heading to a safe space. It's a quietly powerful reminder of what this community is actually for.

His Advice to Newcomers

"Just go for it," Colin says to anyone curious about the hobby but yet to take the plunge. "I believe this hobby is like a dice, there are many sides of it. Some parts you will love, some you will not, some you will be good at and some you will not. However, if you take the time to learn these new skills while developing your existing skills, you find new friends and plenty of laughs along the way."

What the Hobby Has Taught Him

Asked what the hobby has taught him beyond the table, Colin didn't hesitate. "Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes will happen and you can go back over and correct them, learn from them, and help it make you better." Coming from someone who spent years avoiding kitbashing out of fear of getting it wrong, it carries real weight.

The One Model He'd Keep

If he could only keep one model from his entire collection, Colin doesn't hesitate either. It's the same two headed Chaos Dragon, the one that took him from analytical to genuinely creative, and proved to himself he had it in him all along.

You can find Colin on Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, Bluesky, and Threads, all under the handle colin_painting_adventure. Go and give his painting adventure a follow, ups, downs, and all.