Interview with Medders Miniatures
Interview With
Medders Miniatures
Rob Medwell is the talented painter behind Medders’ Miniatures Commission Studio. With a background in Education, Rob has channeled his love for teaching into creating video tutorials, painting guides, and offering face-to-face classes. His commission work allows him to bring others’ models to life. Renowned for his army painting and vehicles, Rob has earned multiple awards, including Gold at Armies on Parade and Best Painted Horus Heresy Army at Warhammerfest 2023. A passionate hobbyist since childhood, Rob’s style has been significantly influenced by the lore of the Horus Heresy, shaping his artistic approach since 2006.
1. How did you start with miniature painting?
I’ve been interested in miniature painting since I was around 10 years old and a friend introduced me to the world of Warhammer 40,000. Like lots of children who find their way into the hobby at that age I didn’t really know what I was doing but I was having fun regardless! My first miniature was a second edition Space Marine painted in a blue and grey custom scheme! As time went on I found myself being drawn to the miniatures from the Lord of the Rings range and built up quite a collection! In all that time I never really knew how to play but I enjoyed the hobby regardless! It wasn’t until the last 10 years though that threw myself into the gaming and painting side of the hobby with The Horus Heresy!
2. What was the most difficult painting technique to learn?
Glazing. A lot of my painting over the past 10 years has relied on a lot of scale modelling and weathering techniques which are ultimately very forgiving styles of painting. It wasn’t until 2020 though that I really started to push my technical ability with painting. Glazing and creating smooth blends took a lot of practise and conscious effort to improve.
3. What do you most enjoy about miniature painting?
My main hobby is focused around the Horus Heresy and the Age of Darkness. I have multiple armies for this setting and most of my commission work is also for this game system. I love translating my vision (or my client’s vision) of that lore and background into the miniatures. There’s nothing more satisfying than creating an army with a theme and story!
4. What do you enjoy most about teaching others miniature painting and basing?
Up until last year I was a full time teacher in English primary schools. I have a Masters degree in teaching and spent the previous 12 years teaching children up to the age of 11. Teaching adults and teaching children has exactly the same buzz for me. I most enjoy seeing the progress they make from their starting points and the pride that is created from that progress.
5. What is one skill you would like to improve?
I’ve been dabbling with the idea of doing a few models in a very ‘eavy metal style recently. It’s not a style I’ve really tried before and involves a level of technicality that would really push me out of my comfort zone! In order to avoid plateauing in your own painting I think it’s always important to try and push yourself out of that zone though!
6. How do you begin your work day, or how do you organize your day at work?
That’s a great question. It might be worth looking at a typical week for me. I try to keep normal 9 to 5 working hours to give a sense of structure to my work day. I can start earlier or work later as needed but I’ve found for mental and physical health (being sat at a table all day) it is best to keep structured hours. Monday to Thursday I would tend to focus on commissions only. I might find one or two hours for my own hobby at the end of the day but the bulk of my time is spent on commission projects. At around 5pm I try to put up something I’ve finished or am working on to share on social media. For a one-man studio, social media is really the main way that I am discovered by new clients so it is imperative that I spend time creating posts and reels. Fridays I treat as admin days. On these days I answer emails, deal with commission enquiries, taxes etc. People don’t often see this side of the job from social media but it is integral to keep on top of this element of the business. It ensures that things run smoothly for myself and the client. I will also take one day every 2 weeks to exclusively create content for YouTube. I will spend the morning painting and recording and then editing the footage in the afternoon.
7. Do you set hobby goals for yourself at the start of the year?
Goals are important to me. Firstly you need to set yourself hobby goals that are based around your painting skill. If you don’t set yourself skill based goals then it is easy to plateau as a painter. You don’t need to do this for every project but you can start by saying to yourself something like: ‘I am going to improve my flesh painting skills this year’ . This gives you some direction to your painting that will allow you to reflect on your own painting progress. My personal hobby goals are often based around army painting. My plan for 2024 is to create a World Eaters army that is painted to the best of my ability. It will take a long time but I would like to really invest in a year long project without deadlines to really immerse myself in the joy of working on a special project.
8. Why is colour important to miniature painting?
I love brightly coloured armies. They stand out on the table. They look great when displayed together. They stick in people’s minds. I’m a gamer and army painter at heart so having armies that really ‘POP’ is so important to me!
9. What are your five ‘must have’ paints?
- Army Painter Hardened Leather
- Scale 75 Black Metal
- Ammo Light Metal Drybrush Paint
- AK Interactive Ivory
- Games Workshop Rhinox Hide
10. Where do you begin with a new miniature, is it more a technical or an instinctive choice?
I will always start with a couple of hours of research. This includes what others have done via youtube tutorials as well as exploring Instagram for photos of other people’s work. This will help you to identify composition, paint choices, short cuts, tips and deviation from a ‘standard’ Games Workshop paint job. Once I have done this I then need to consider how it will fit into the rest of an existing force. This includes basing schemes, spot colours etc. Once this is done I will have a clear idea about where to take the model. In this regard it is very technical. I have all the data I need and a vision in my head where I want to take the model. The instinctive and organic parts of the process happen while painting for me. Sometimes I can add in elements that hadn’t occurred to me early on in the process that seem entirely natural while painting. Procedure and flow is important when planning and painting a project. The opportunity for ‘flair’ and organic flourishes is where a model really comes to life!
