Hobby Update

The last couple of weeks have been interesting to say the least. A freak accident left me with a bad back, so while I was home from work, my models seemed to taunt me and my inability to paint for longer than fifteen minutes at a time. Still, like water over a rock, my squad of Raptors slowly comes together. Since last posting, I finished the first two of the regular troopers for the squad, while the other two are coming together.

This is routine for me if I’m trying anything new. I’ve decided to try and step up my game in terms of painting, so I’m experimenting with my process for crimson. The deep hue is what drew me to the Word Bearers initially, but the technique I used to get stuff on the table left some very drab colors. Now I’m starting with Mechrite Red over a black basecoat before I start in on a Scab Red/Red Gore mix, then Red Gore, a highlight, a wash, and it turns out a lot better.

A trip to the store on Saturday yielded two things. First, a minor curb stomping by one of the nicer guys I play with. I was surprised at how much my game has dropped off after the hiatus. I never really understood how that happens, being for the most part a mental game, but I made enough mistakes to become a believer. It doesn’t hurt that I failed a couple key leadership checks, as well as rolling well to hit, then absolutely abysmally to wound. It was a fun game, and I had some good insights and discussion after.

The second thing was a healthy dose of motivation to think outside the box. The armies at the game store are a mix of painted, primed, and gray plastic. I’m usually a painted guy, though while in the process of expanding my Khorne army, I have some unpainted stuff I game with. Saturday, I met a new player. The guy had some amazing freehand work on his Eldar grav tanks, and now I feel the need to outdo him, or more likely, incrementally step my own game up a little closer to that level. Call it type-A competitiveness, but the beautiful work has me thinking of ways to crank the awesome to ten, and then go up one more. Of course, the issue is finding the time, the money, and the skill to pull it off.

Hobby Progress

Played a game. Need to play more games to regain my form.

Finished the third Drop Pod. This one didn’t come together as easily.

Finished two raptors, multiple coats on two more.

Primed my Chaos Warriors.

Hobby Goals

Finish the Raptors

Paint the Daemon Prince of Khorne

Finish my acquisition of the A Game of Thrones board game