Portal was an online e-zine dedicated to the painting of wargames and miniatures. The original site was wamp-forum.com, but that domain is no longer dedicated to wargames or miniatures painting. 36 issues of the e-zine and 2 special publications were released from 2010 through 2014. With the loss of the web domain the issues became very difficult to locate as there was no publicly available backup for the forums.
Miniatures painting and sculpting can sometimes be a right pain. The internet, being a ubiquitous resource, can provided tips, tricks and techniques aplenty. Although, sometimes the choice is so vast finding an actual good resource is tricky. Finding one that is approachable and interesting enough to look at is even more difficult. Portal was a resource for gamers, painters, and sculptors. It was written by and for that same group. That makes the articles and sample processes approachable.
There are full page spreads dedicated to wonderfully painted miniatures from a wide swath of manufacturers. From ornately sculpted miniatures, to detail heavy dioramas, all the way to the most basic space marine, this publication did it and did it well. There were also product reviews, though some come off as more of an advertisement than an actual review. Unfortunately the original forums from which these articles and images were derived are no longer available.
I hope that these publications will provide you with the awe and inspiration that I felt when looking at them. The information is good and approachable with a slick presentation. I find myself thinking that I would like to have purchased these as print publications, but alas that was never an option. The image below is a link to the archive where you can read and download all of the individual issues and the 2 special publications.
Another painting and sculpture e-zine was published after Portal was canceled. Some of the contributors of Portal were also contributors of that publication as well. I will be sharing that publication and the archive for it another day.
– Dru
Dru's Den of Ill Repute 