Reddit showcase highlights batch-painting success for LotR miniatures

A widely upvoted Reddit post from January 16, 2026, put a community spotlight on a large batch of Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth miniatures. The poster revealed roughly 30 completed figures and said about 90 remained, noting they had followed Sorastro’s YouTube step-by-step guides. The thread rapidly became a practical exchange where painters praised the effort and traded sharpening tips aimed at getting tabletop-standard results faster.

Responses clustered around a few recurring themes: congratulations on the volume and consistency, technique tips for cleaner brush control, and a particular emphasis on painting eyes. Several commenters pointed back to Sorastro’s methodical approach as the foundation for the poster’s progress, and the conversation shifted from sheer admiration to targeted, actionable feedback. That mix of morale boost and specific critique is useful for anyone attempting a large run of figures where speed and credibility on the tabletop both matter.

The post illustrates how tutorial-driven workflows and community critique pair up to accelerate skill gain. Speed painting is different from display-level work; the goal is repeatable, reliable results across many figures so entire bands or boxes look cohesive at game distance. Advice in the thread focused on control and the small details that read well at playing scale: cleaning up edge highlights, simplifying palette choices, and tightening eye work so faces read without stealing hours per model. The recurring reference to step-by-step video guides shows how visual sequences help painters maintain momentum across dozens of minis.

For the broader miniature painting community, this thread is a reminder that sharing progress photos and being open to constructive critique speeds learning. If you plan a batch project, document stages and name the tutorials or workflows you used so peers can reference the same steps. The poster’s remaining 90 models also set up an ongoing case study; as the queue dwindles, expect follow-up posts showing technique refinement and incremental improvements.

This conversation also underscores practical value: community feedback helps convert tutorial techniques into reliable, repeatable practice at tabletop pace. For anyone juggling a large kit, follow the thread to see how eye techniques, brush control, and highlight strategies evolve in real time as the poster pushes through the rest of the army.