Tome Keepers

 First squad of Tome Keepers done, on to the next. 

Working on Some Stuff

I've not done any hobby projects since working on my Drukhari models. I attempted working on some of the models from Raging Heroes' TGG2 kickstarter and became horribly frustrated and pissed off with how brittle and poorly designed the miniatures were. So much so that it drove me away from working on other projects. But I finally got out of my funk and got some projects started. 

For Necromunda I got these put together and nearly finished for a Chaos Cult. 

Not a bad start. I added the Blackstone Fortress expansions Escalation and Traitor Command to fill the cult out so I can use them for Kill Team as well. 

Then, I assembled one squad of Thousand Sons Rubric Marines for a Kill Team. 

I decided to go away from the studio turquoise and used some shoulder pads and heads from Maxmini. Tzaangors will be added later. 

But wait, there's more!

I cracked open the No Respite expansion for Blackstone Fortress and got the poxwalkers built. The plague marines will be next. I'm wanting to work on a few different forces so that I dont get burned out. May sound weird but I get bored working on the same miniatures after a few days. The plan is to work on both the Death Guard and Thousand Sons kill teams. However, I'm still waiting for my box of Space Marine Heroes series 3 to arrive. 

As I get progress done on those, I want to get the rest of my Blackstone Fortress models assembled and ready for painting. 

Getting Back on the Horse

So... this is a thing. I used to paint a lot, a whole hell of lot. I used to crank out 20-30 infantry models a week easily. I used to submit models to competitions, the big one being the Golden Demon in Chicago. It was all about the love for the hobby and having fun, not winning, which I had no shot at.

Some people get jealous and even mad at people who are exceptional artists. I don't understand that. Meeting the other painters and seeing their work just lit a fire under my ass to get to their level. And in 2008 I was starting to see real progress. Then I just stopped, never touched a brush again until early 2015. I started to get back into it a bit but never found the joy I used to have for it. I really hate the assembly part, it's why the mountain of models I have stay in their boxes collecting dust.

The Golden Demon compettion has not been in Chicago for a good seven years(+/-). Games Workshop has brought it back and I've decidied to enter. I've been in a creative rut for too long. I used to draw, I haven't done that since 1997. Thank you Marvel for the super harsh criticism. I used to write damn near everyday, it has been a good twelve years since I've done that. Podcasting started to feel like a second job. Painting has seemed like a joyless chore instead of a relaxing and fun hobby since started back up. I want to change that.

I'm giving the Golden Demon a go. I know that I have zero chance of winning and that's not the goal. I'm hoping I can break out of this funk and enjoy the stuff that I used to love doing.

I just picked up the new Shadowsun today and hopefully can get her finished in time for Adepticon.

Working on Some Stuff

Lot of overtime at work means no hobby time. Finally got a chance to work on some stuff.

Voidraven Completed, Ravager Begun

I didnt put a whole lot of detail into the bomber, but its tabletop worthy.

Started the Ravager today and already not having fun putting it together. 

So, This is How This Hobby Works.....

I've started painting again. It's been just over six years since I've painted miniatures on a regular basis. I have say I've missed it and it feels like I'm learning it for the first time all over again.

I started with a Dark Eldar Archon, something to see how bad my skills have diminished, test out some colors I wanted to use for my wyches and to see if my hands could handle the pain of holding a brush again.

I had no idea where to start. It honestly felt like I was picking up the hobby for the first time. I couldn't decide on colors. I had to refresh my knowledge on how to mix, shade, highlight and blend properly because I really forgot what I was doing. It didn't feel comfortable and I didn't like it. I was at the farthest opposite of where I was six years ago. I missed it horribly though, it gave me that warm fuzzy

At one point I was trying to work on a burgundy that I wanted use, and for the life of me I could not nail the depth I wanted. No matter how much I darkened or lightened it, I couldn't see any change in the color. It could be that my eyes are just that bad, the lighting was just that bad, I wasn't getting the change in color I was looking for to begin with or all of the above. Just have to keep at it. I had an easier time with the purple I was using on the cloak.

My hands held up pretty good. Dealing with nerve damage, not a fun at all, I don't recommend it. I only had to take a few breaks and kept to a slow place. I did try to rush it on few spots and that's when the pain flared up. At least it gave me an idea of where my limits are.

The Archon isn't finished just yet. I want to attempt some more progress on that burgundy. I need to paint the dagger hilt and scabbard and finished off some highlights and shading. I have decided to go with a completely different look for my Lelith and my wyches though. For the armor I'm going with lighter earth tones, the flesh will be similar to the pale icy blue used on the Blighted Nyss but not an exact shade, more of an "inspired by" kind of thing. Lastly I will be using a wide range of anime inspired hair colors, which I know is overdone a bit and something that is not always done well, it doesn't always look right but I have no choice, it's in my nature. I will try to remember to post some work in progress pics.

The Dark Eldar are going to be a very slow build. I went in before the wyches got spayed in the newest codex. I still want an entirely wych themed army, but I'm not going out of my way to build it up. I'm looking beyond to my Imperial Fists and the Sisters of Eternal Mercy kickstarter.