Hobby Update: In Which Things Come Together

One of the interesting things about HADD (Hobby Attention Deficit Disorder) is that, every once in a while, multiple projects all seem to finish at roughly the same time.  That can be in a number of different areas, whether assembly, painting, or converting.  In this case, it's over all of the above.

The Land Raider is "finished."  I guess I "need" to do a little clean up on the script on one side of a banner and do the second set of weapons so I can make it a Redeemer or a Crusader pattern, but I will proudly put it on the table and let other folks blow it up as fast as humanly possible.  Though it was definitely labor intensive, I ended up really enjoying painting it, and I'm even contemplating doing another one at this point, though I think that is a ways down the road if I ever get to it.

On the other hand, the Vargheists are finished.  Flat out.  I've never run into such a disconnect between models being good looking, yet utterly unenjoyable to work on.  I think they look great and I'm glad to have them in the army, but I'm done trying to improve the models themselves.

What I did really enjoy working on were the bases.  One of the guys at the local shop volunteered his bits box and I decided to go a little nuts.  The bases are built from various building sets, though it may have been mostly the basilica.  The plastic is quite thick, so it was a workout to get them into the shape of the bases.  In the end, definitely worth it as I think the look and the effect are very good.  They complement the models as well.  They'll be dark, but there are a few places I can add some splashes of color to make them more interesting.

I've also managed to assemble the Death Company models that I've acquired.  I'm planning on putting my tournament winnings towards the other half of the squad, and will likely try to score a Chaplain for them too.  The plan is to have nine painted in the traditional black color scheme, while the tenth will be in white.  A little deduction will tell you which one of these is not like the other.  The guy with no helmet will be in the opening stages of "the change."    He's got a little conversion done to him with a pair of ghoul hands.  His skin will be the same color as the Vargheists and his hair will be a light shade of gray.  I think he'll be quite striking.

The Word Bearers are also getting some love in anticipation of a coming codex release.  I busted out the airbrush and put on the initial basecoat of Mechrite Red, then began applying a 2:1 Red Gore/Scab Red mix in the traditional fashion.  Two of the models actually got coats of Chaos Black.  They'll end up being the Aspiring Champions for now, but we'll see what options are available in the new book.

Finally, I really enjoyed assembling a Chaos Manticore.  Of course, I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for.  I initially bought it for my Chaos Warriors army, but I'm debating using it as the first Daemon Prince for a 40K army that continues to occupy my interest.  I'm considering trying to do both, but I'm not sure the two color schemes will work.  Obviously, for the Warriors, red really is the only option.  For the Daemons, the scheme is going to be green.  Yes, they're complementary, but I'm worried about the beast looking like a giant Christmas tree.  Magnetizing the head will be easy enough, but I think I'm going to take some more time and consider the options before finalizing my decision.

Hobby Progress
-See above

Hobby Goals
-Get all the basing done for the Blood Wing
-Get the basecoating done on the Possessed

-Time allowing for it, work on the Chaos Dragon

Raiding your Land with Free Hand

My regular Tuesday game was out sick, so I spent Tuesday hanging out at the shop and hobbying.  I brought the Vargheists, but got motivated to work on the Land Raider instead.  It's my first real attempt at large scale freehanding on a flat surface, and I'm quite happy with the results thus far.

Empire State Troop Banners

When I started on the tank, I got a little over excited with visions of the things I wanted to do dancing through my head.  I think I've said it before, but building models, especially complex ones, and seeing what I can create is my favorite part of the hobby.  I ordered Forge World doors and added bitz from the Empire State Troops box, such as the banners and laurels.  I drew a bunch of stuff up in pencil on the hull and banners and immediately started working on it.  Of course, my impatience meant that there wouldn't be a chance to do any airbrushing without a lot of masking, so it's been a long haul of laying down sheets of Blood Red then trying to keep it even as I worked around the edges or the free hand and the details.  Still, things are starting to come together and really coalesce into what I pictured in my mind.  At this point, I need to do some clean up, wash the tracks, and paint the weapons, and once that's all done, I'll be finishing up a pretty big project.  Now to cut 250 points from my list...

Death Mask Freehand

I'll have the chance to do that in the new league I've joined.  My regular haunt just kicked off a league on Thursday.  It's a pretty unique format, or so it seems to me.  At registration, you're required to pick your army, then either the Imperial or non-Imperial team.  Step two is play games and lots of them.  There's a whole list of unique missions, each with primary, secondary, and tertiary objectives that basically score battle points.  At the end of each week, the two games you played that scored the most battle points get credited to your total and your team's total.  At the end of the league, whichever team has more points will be the winner and the highest scoring member of that team will be the overall champion.

Spend $30 to enter? Can do

There are some things I really like about the format, but I have reservations too.  On the one hand, the best player might not win the league.  The competitive side of me hates that.  If someone plays head and shoulders above everyone, it only makes sense to reward that person.  It also enables the best players to duck each other, which is a little more gamesmanship than I prefer.  At the same time, this store is far from hardcore.  Don't get me wrong, we have some very good players, but I would describe most of the people I run into as casual players that want to take interesting lists from the army they like the most.  I guess what I'm thinking is that the league fits the culture well. 


Additionally, I think the format encourages continued participation.  Even if you're way off the pace, you are still part of a collective and should feel like you can contribute to your side.  You can be involved as much or as little as you like.  Things are really flexible as far as when you get games in.  So my initial reaction is largely positive.  I'm sure I'll have more to say when theory becomes practice.