In this one I’m basically trying to get myself cancelled by the hobby police—because we’re ranking the most “cheaty” miniature painting techniques and products. To be clear: I don’t think anything is actually cheating in mini painting. But there are loads of things where the effort-to-result ratio feels a bit naughty, like you’ve found a loophole in the hobby. So we set up a proper tier list… except ours goes from “Law Abiding Citizen” all the way up to “Community Service” and “Damn right illegal.” We kick off with drybrushing, because it’s not just “chalky terrain highlights” anymore. With the modern approach (a bit of moisture, better surfaces than tissue, smaller brushes, overbrushing), you can get blends that genuinely make people ask if it was airbrushed. Then we get into panel liner—the product specifically—because that moment where it hits a recess and just *runs* is pure sorcery… until you remember the gloss coats, cleanup, and the times it stains or disappears. We also talk Dirty Down Rust as the ultimate “talent in a bottle” weathering hack (when you’ve shaken the devil out of it), and we get into airbrushing as a whole separate hobby-within-the-hobby: insane results, but with enough faff and learning that it doesn’t get a free pass. If you’ve got a favourite “illegal” painting shortcut, I want to hear it.