Birthday Times!

Not my birthday obviously! It's been a year since the first post arrived (via a stork and left to be found under a lettuce) on this journal and I'm pretty stoked on how I've been able to use it as a guide of sorts to plan projects and get enthused about current ones. I've had some really nice feedback on my painting and I'm stoked to have got know of so many other amazing painters out there through lurking from one blog to another - you people rule, thanks for being a constant source of inspiration!

For 2016 I've a few projects that I want to concentrate on. Thankfully, there's no wallet-worriers amongst them as I'd like to work off stuff that's been accumulating in the bits box. There's some real treats in there too! Firstly I'd like to finish off the Orks as I'm pretty close to finishing them off now. Here's where I'm up to so far,..

Weirdboy and Minderz.

Not 100% pleased with this as I'm not sure the purple pyjamas were the best choice. I may try and add some stars and moons and make him look like a cartoon wizard one day. Also, the staff is a stand-in until I get more confident with sculpting - spooky glowing eyes though!

These guys are the best!

Seriously, when did GW decide to ret-con Snotlings? These guys are awesome. I'm so impressed at how Kev Adams managed to sculpt so much detail on 10mm figures. The expressions and musculature is phenomenal! This is the first of four Snotting bases - that should be enough for the size of games I'll get to play hopefully!

In the grim darkness of the far future there is only mullets.

Squig-pup.

Finally managed to paint up this amazing proto-Gretchin and Azzbutt's pet Squig! The original target of twenty Gretchin will probably end up being more like ten as I'd like to maybe get a small squad of Madboyz (that and I'm running out of case-space!) The old Squig models are super fun, really characterful tangents that add a great deal of atmosphere to the Ork background.

Wagon with new axles!

This thing is going to be so awesome to build. I've finally managed to track down and fit some new brass axles that will strengthen the overall wagon structure as the old axles had to be removed and were notoriously spindly anyhow. Going to be making a proper go of this thing soon so expect loads of WIP photos! After that there's only a few personalities and I'll leave the green skins be. Pretty sure they clock in at around 1500 points with wargear which is a respectable amount for what I'd want to do with them.

As well as the Orks, I'm going to finish off some Genestealer Hybrids that I was kindly given a few months back. I've also got some amazing sculpts from the 'Wild in the Streets' game which are begging for some attention. I've recently acquired a RTB09 Terminator set, so would love to finally paint up a RT era Blood Angel Terminator squad for use with Space Hulk. Moreover, I'd really like to make an effort to paint up some Fantasy Chaos stuff as everyone around here seems to be on that right now - plus it's a massive excuse to paint up all the old Beastmen that I've had lying around - made a start on this in late December!

Cannot un-hear Skeleton vs Beastman now,..

Finally, I'd like to try and speed up my painting as I struggle to finish anything off in less than six hours. I think this is down to a combination of motivation, paint-scheme and model choice as the recent figures I've finished have all been done under three hours - the thought of finishing off anything in an evening seems unreal; it'd be so good to achieve that!

Only three hours!

I think the main aim for 2016 is to actually play some games. I only played one game of 2nd Edition 40k last year and two games of Space Hulk which is woefully shameful. I'm lucky enough to know loads of people who play various games and I'm hoping that they'll actually believe me when I say I'm going to at least try to roll some dice with them this year. There's already tentative plans for a meet up around late February with Pob and Melon for game and I'm hoping that I might be able to get a few more 2nd Edition battles in with Dave too. Also, I'm sure Stu wouldn't mind if I bullied him into playing Space Hulk once in awhile!

Ooof, that's enough for me to be getting on with then! Hope everyone else out there has a super fun and productive year!

Alaitoc Parade Part Two

I've not made as much progress during the past few weeks as a new role at work has meant that I've lost a few lunch hours sorting boring guff out. However, pretty much got my head around new things, so I'll hopefully get things back on track! The last couple of additions to the force have been a pleasure to paint and I'm really enjoying learning to play around with glazes. The difference that final thin wash makes on flattening and enriching colours is a technique I wish I'd picked up years ago. I imagine I'll be revisiting a lot of older models in the next few years and giving them some extra love! Anyway, here's what I've managed to push out since mid-August.

Cannot un-hear KLF right now.

So this isn't the first time I've painted this figure. This version of the Eldar Farseer happens to be one of my all-time favourite models. I think that's down to a combination of it's unavailability in the stores when I was a kid and that it's just a beautifully sculpted figure. (Jes, if you ever read this, I owe you a pint or several you wonderful Jesus and Mary Chain-loving goth you). The version on the left was painted in 2007 and I was proud of it at the time. However, it's rad to actually see some progression in painting skill as I've never noticed it much before. I could easily spend few days painting another one of these figures and not get bored. Think I've finally cracked red jewels too!

So proud of the freehand on this fella - massive confidence boost.

Really wanted to practice some freehand on this figure and took inspiration from the 90's output of Mcvey. I distinctly remember his wonderful spiral work that appeared on the famous 'Emperor vs Horus' diorama, as well as on figures such as Confessor Kryinov and Commissar Yarrick. I wussed out a little on going full-bore with it by making the swirls only slightly lighter than the backing colour, but I think the subtlety works well with Eldar textiles. Going to be doing a lot more of this in the future hopefully!

Konica, colours are calling me.

So yeah, feeling a lot more confident with colours these days. The only thing I'm not entirely sure worked on this figure is the yellow jewels on either side of the helmet. They've a nice fade on them, but as much as I thought it'd be nice to paint a jewel that wasn't blue, red or green, it does kind of look like a giant zit. Hmm. Space-puss.

DEATHPOD COMES FROM THE SKIES FLOATS AT THE BACK.

Ah, the wonder of the floating support platform. I've never painted one of the old Eldar missile pods and for the longest time assumed they were flat as they were always pictured side-on in the catalogue sections of White Dwarf. This was a really fun, quick thing to put together and paint. I'm quite fond of how chunky the weapon is too.

SHOOT IT UP! SHOOT IT UP!

So stoked to get Martin Degville in the army! Even in the grim darkness of the far future, war is better with ridiculous hair and Sigue Sigue Sputnik references. Seriously tempted to make an Eldar Corsair force based on the 'Flaunt-It' era band. It'd be amazing.

Oh fuck, I've just realised they look like Minions.

Saving the best for last, these two Ghost Warriors have been a real treat. These were phased out and unavailable by the time I'd got into Warhammer 40,000, but I remember being more into these models than the later Wraithguard that replaced them. Here they are with the still amazing 1989 Eldar Dreadnought. Both stoked and weirded out at how much they look like either Sonic the Hedgehog or Minions. Tempted to paint their feet red to reference the former!

Gotta go kill fast!

The most camouflaged assassin ever.

Out of the two, the bottom figure was the more satisfying to paint as I don't think the chain-fist / head-flamer combo was quite as well designed. However, they were both really good fun to work on and have a wonderful tabletop presence. Would love to make a little squad of these and have them count as Wraithguard or something.

So the last things I have to finish up are a squad of five Eldar Scouts and another War-Walker. I've also just managed to snag three of the original jet bikes without selling a kidney, so if I get a move on there's a chance that I'll have some classic aerial support too! However, I doubt that I've have time to finish them off to a standard I'd be happy with before October 24th, so might save them for the future.