An then came the plague....

It was a lot worse than this....honest!

Been a while since I posted. Feels like weeks have gone by but the Internet tells me less than two weeks have passed since my last post. I would like to blame it on a number of things including the common cold (plus a virus) but in all honesty it's laziness on my part.

Illness aside it hasn't been an unproductive two weeks. My enthusiasm has been nothing but on the up an up and I managed to start sorting through some of the models that I have knocking about. there has however been a shot across the bow metaphorically speaking with the photos being leaked of new Warriors of Chaos out in just two weeks. New army book and some gorgeous models means lots of temptation for me. 

Cthulhu would be proud

Especially these guys who are a vast improvement on the Gary Morley versions that have been in use for as long as I have been on this planet.

Anyway, last time I posted I promised pictures of other models I have painted so far and I do after live to please.....enjoy.

Some of the Night Lord models. Need to work on my lighting for my photos. Also I just need to finish backpacks and also add some lightning to some of the armour plates. 

One of my 9 Dark Eldar Jetbikes. These things are amazing in game and pretty cheap for what they can do. Also pretty easy to paint.

That concludes finished models. Got about a week left in the first month, quite a high standard set to complete but cracking along. All my Blood Angel models have been basecoated when I got bored so a lot of those to complete. Plan on finishing a lot of the bases for models this coming weekend and setting up a proper schedule.

Toodle pip...

Then came the paintbrush and the paint....

I think he made a deal with the Devil to get this good...

Once again we start with a picture of models not like my own. Some people find that looking at better painted models than your own can be very off putting. There was even an article by Jervis Johnson in the latest White Dwarf (plugging GW there cause they sorely need it) addressing this. Myself I found it had the opposite effect on my painting.

Similar to most people I started collecting the hobby when I was but a child.My classification of whether a model was painted or not consisted usually of one single coat of paint and if I was lucky this wouldn't be the glossy model car paint kind.

One of my earlier masterpieces...

However I went through a change (stop giggling) about 10 or so years ago. I remember constantly pouring through my copies of White Dwarf, looking at the models that the Eavy Metal team had painted. Yes I was amazed, mystified and the mind still boggles at how they can paint so well but it never put me off. I looked at those photos in detail, working out how to layer through this and a little bit of my own experimenting. Then came the highlights and so forth but over the years I have gotten better through tackling the unknown. The articles on painting may have had a part to play in my development as well.

But your not hear to listen to me waffle on about how I became a better painter, you came to see my progress. So without further a do we we shall start with the Blood Angels.

Yes they are missing their guns and the Sergeant seems to be missing his backpack. Plus the more astute of you will point out they are not based so not complete. The lot of you would be correct in pointing this out (you will suffer for your attentiveness) however this was new ground for me. 

I had always steered away from a bright red colour scheme in the past because I never was able to do it without a white undercoat on the model. Now we painters can be very picky and I like my models undercoated black because if you miss that little bit under the armpit that can only be seen at one very obscure angle, if it was black undercoated it wouldn't be noticeable  With white it would stand out more than Brian Blessed in a Library. 

I digress, so I tried out bright red using the scheme suggested with the new paints and I think it came out really, really well. I want to try out some assault marines next mainly because I like the way the Blood Angels change the colour of their helmets based on their function. 

So that is it for tonight, of the completed models possible Chaos, possible Dark Eldar next. I will however show you what I am currently working on, adios.

He swaggers just like Jagger...

In the beginning there was only plastic....

I would like to claim that the models you see above are mine but sadly they are not. They are the work of a chap who builds a new army for every Tournament. He usually walks away with the Best Army Award. Such lofty heights I would love to aspire but in 2013 I have set my goals somewhere a little more grounded.

With a New Year comes a new start, eating less, exercising more and all that other boring stuff. One of my main resolutions ignores the boring stuff and concentrates on the crack that is miniatures. In the past 18 years (give or take a few months) I have bought, been given, picked up models numbering in their hundreds but never have I actually finished a force/army/team to what I would call an acceptable standard.

So with that in mind this blog is supposed to help me rectify this. Now I consider myself a gamer more than a painter mainly because I enjoy the former over the latter. This is partly because of my short attention span and how long it takes for me to paint just one model. I can be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my beloved pieces of plastic.

Now after a quick rummage around my collection I worked out that I have enough models to field an army for no less than 5 races in Warhammer 40K and in some of those I could field more than 3000pts. Now I am not so ambitious as to set myself the goal of painting all these models this year but have set my sights on the task of completing five 1500pt 40K armies. These are Space Marines, Blood Angels, Chaos Space Marines, Dark Eldar and Necrons.

I did cheat by starting a couple of weeks before the New Year but I kind of caught the painting bug and let it take me over. During this time I found the best way to keep the painting mill churning was to move from army to army, completing a squad from one before turning to another and so forth.

Now wish me luck and look in wonder as I paint until I can paint no longer...