Ok, I've been playing with GW lead since the Late 1980's, but before that, I was and still am a scale modeler. I try to tell folks that there is a
very big world out there that has been around a
loooonnnnnggg time. Scale modelers and model railroaders have been building and painting figs for a longtime. Check out sites like:
Model Railroader Magazine - Model Railroading, Trains, Track Plans FineScale Modeler magazine, model kit reviews, how-to scale modeling, scale modeling products *International Plastic Modeler's Society USA
These sites have articles from some of the most experienced scale modelers in the world. Some of these guys have been building and painting models since models were a chunk of wood and a blueprint in a box. Drybrushing is not a new idea. Some of us have been doing it for as long as we've been in the hobby (30+ years for me). I talked to a guy on another site about a year ago, who told me about a "new" company that sells terrain materials: Woodland Scenics. I've been using WS materials for 25 years. There's not much new out there. Wanna try something new? Put away your NMM stuff and try painting a sword with metallic paints.
If you really want to broaden your modeling horizons, pick up a model car or airplane kit, and give it the same attention that you give to your 40k models. Just remember: these models have prototypes. Make it real.