Hobby Update

After a rough January, it seems my hobby mojo is back. It’s been a couple weeks since the last hobby update, and if I’m not mistaken, every one of my goals has been accomplished. I talked about acquiring A Game of Thrones previously, but that leaves the Daemon Prince, which is a pretty big model, and quartering the remaining Raptors, which meant doing everything twice.

The Raptors did turn out really well though. Because of the highly detailed nature of the upper bodies, the only part that was difficult to get a straight line of color on was the groin. It was encouraging not to have to go back over and over to try and get it right. While I do think the gold is prominent, I don’t think it goes so far over the top on the regular troopers that people will get confused when they look at them next to the rest of the army. The Aspiring Champion is very different, but that was a conscious choice. He bears enough of the common motifs that run through the army.

I really dig how the brown laurels came out on this marine.

It was incredibly simple, just a basecoat, wash, and a couple highlights. However, it emphasizes something I want to start doing to turn my army from tabletop force to special. I feel like adding little details like this one will do a lot. It is one aspect I began implementing with the Raptors, and plan on doing retroactively with the models I have. I want each unit to be unique, but have common features that tie the army together, so I sat down and put together a plan for details, like legion marking on the left, squad marking on the right, and a warhost marking on a knee cap. Beyond that, one squad will get dead laurels, another books, another censers, etc… I think with a fresh set of paint, it’ll look really sharp.

The Daemon Prince is a little different story. I love the model. I’m even planning a post on it once I finish his counterpart. But it was hard to take him too seriously. He’s a model for a secondary army. He’s not a choice that I’d take too often if I had the option. He’s got a lot of skin, which isn’t going to be a natural color. So he probably ended up right around tabletop ready.

It’s sad, but not unexpected when you realize this was my inspiration.

Still, I think he looks pretty solid with the steroid body and beady eyes.

Hobby Accomplishments

- Finished all previous hobby goals!

- Played multiple games!

- Primed the drop pods

- Bought a Land Raider Redeemer, the final piece of the Blood Wing

Hobby Goals

- Get at least one coat of red on each drop pod

- Fully finish the first pod

- Find out where the heck my land raider doors are

New Camera Test

A box arrived the interwebs bearing a new camera. I snapped a few quick pictures without a whole lot of lighting or setting up, and I was still happy with the results:

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

Hobby Update

Well, a few weeks into the year and I finished my first piece. I wish I could have more to show for my time, but I am tremendously satisfied with the results:

I loved the Sanguiary Guard models that dropped with the new Blood Angels codex, though I doubt I’m the only one. I decided to build a Raptor unit with a Slaaneshi/Adonis perfection feel. I decided to quarter the armor. The unit’s Aspirant is seen here in black and gold, while the regular troopers will be done in a similar fashion, replacing the black with the legion’s red.

The most time consuming part of the process was easily the wings. I tried two different ways of painting them, before I found a way that gave me results I liked, and I’m going to do a more opaque gray when I do the regular troopers.

Elsewhere, I accomplished some of my hobby goals from my last post. I have acquired two of the three drop pods for the Blood Wing and have assembled both of them. I found them to be one of the easier vehicle kits to put together. I also ordered my extra bits from Forge World, so they should be on their way. I think I might put in a separate order with a bits dealer as well, for just a little bit more flash. I have yet to prime my chaos warriors. I was going to give it a go, but it was way too cold and I actually showed some restraint.

Outside of hobby, I went by my FLGS on Saturday. The trip reminded me of how much I miss playing games. It was great to see painted and even non-painted armies actually facing each other on the table and fighting it out. It was also great to see the guys in the club and always good for the ego when they let you know they missed you.

So what goals are in place for the next two weeks?

- Prime the warriors I didn’t get to.

- Paint the four Raptors that go along with the Aspirant.

- Get in a game of Warhammer Fantasy with my Chaos Warriors