Where's my head @?

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've not been #paintingwarhammer,  so much, the mind is willing, but the flesh is weak. Further to my last post about hobby excess, I do indeed have an overload of projects. Not so much active ones but those that are swirling around in my head while I try to resolve those that are actually on my painting table. We all know the mental health benefits of the hobby. So many of us feel peace and wellbeing through our efforts. But, there is definitely a flip side to this. I've said it many times - it is an addiction or at the very least a compulsion and when you reach a point where you can't pick up a brush and paint, then those withdrawal symptoms can be debilitating.

I've numerous tricks to help kickstart my motivation but I am in denial about whether I've 'lost my mojo' or not. I always say "if in doubt - base" but aside from my Armiger Helverins that's not really an option at the moment. Alternatively, blocking in base colours on the likes of my Macragge Tactical Squad is a no-brainer task that needs doing and can be slipped in among the compressed hobby time I currently have available. 

I have in fact done a small amount of painting but nothing feels productive, the down side of blocking in colours. I want something big and impressive, to complete something again. That hit of achievement when finishing a project - I'm far away from feeling that on any project. I've gone through this many times before and will go through it many times again. It's a cruel feeling when the hobby turns on you like this, wanting more from you than you're capable of giving. That's why I can't #hobbystreak and now I'm even slightly more annoyed because I just remembered I already have a post on this very subject that has been in draft for a couple of years or more!

Anyway, I'll be back to my old self shortly. And, when my eldest is back at university I'll have more time, so it's best I ensure I get a lot of things prepped and ready for when I can focus all my attention on them. Perhaps building and priming is my best route to satisfaction at the moment? Whatever, just remember the hobby can be fickle, but it does more good than harm and ultimately whatever obstacle is preventing you succeeding will surely pass.

Hobby excess

Afternoon, I've reached a point that I need to acknowledge to myself. After quite a while of being frugal I've made a number of significant purchases that leaves me with a lot of figures to paint, we're all familiar with that situation.

I had some birthday money and I've always wanted some Helverins. I wouldn't have bought them otherwise and I quite fancied some Munitorum Containers. That was a bizarre choice as I already have quite a few of my own future containers that fulfil the same function. But more importantly, aside from not playing games at the moment, I don't often play at my house. All this lovely terrain and no reason to have it! Still I enjoy the painting aspect and will have fun painting them.

I also got Indomitus, managed to offload the Necrons but all the Primaris are still there waiting. I have some easy build Primaris from Conquest and also some Intercessors and Aggressors from the Tooth and Claw box set. So I have surprisingly ended up with a reasonably significant Primaris army. At some point I will want to paint them, I'm considering them as Guardians of the Covenant - I don't have much silver in my armies and I thought it would be fun to try it as a counterpoint to my normal Red Planet BASE! armies.

I also keep dipping into Blood Bowl because the figures are so interesting. I still want a couple of extra things like a Rotspawn and Kurnoth Hunters as Treemen but I do need to temper with the fact we don't play Blood Bowl often so there really is no NEED to get anything at the moment. I've got my Orcs and Troll too!

On top of all that I have loads things to add to my Dark Angels [Ravenwing, Greenwing and Deathwing], the three remaining titans for my Adeptus Titanicus not to mention the scratchbuilds I feel I should be doing because they feel so rewarding when they are completed. I also have a load of Night Haunt and Stormcast Eternals to play with from the Mortal Realms magazine as well as the Death Guard Kill Team I want to explore and Genestealer Cult models too. I have so much to do, so much that is sitting unpainted and I think I need to continue to make a dent in that rather than buy, buy, buy more.

So, I hope to hold off purchasing any new models for the remainder of the year. I may get bitz, and paint or hobby supplies but actual models need to be curtailed. Just watch new Tyranids arrive on the scene and blow this intent out of the water. I may need some Codex at some point but for now I think I've bought enough to keep me busy for years. 

Blood Bowl - Halfling Team Big Build TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer the bases of my Halfling #BloodBowl team. The process is almost identical to my Red Planet BASE, except with my Burnt Umber as a starting point. Then with bonewhite mixed in.

Actually just two successive Burnt Umber highlights gave a pretty good soil colour and I could have left it with that.  I may even look into some meadow flowers! I'm also concerned because having just discovered I'm unlikely to get the Vermillion Craft Acrylic from Home & Bargains the Burnt Umber is also absent and I only have half a tube of that left. It's been so useful in my weathering effects, it beggars belief that such a standard artist colour is no longer available. I'll look into alternatives.

 I'd primed them Red Oxide, and again used a kitchen roll tube to mask the model to get a [mostly] black base. They will be grassed over mostly, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

Here's where I started to block in some skintones. Again, I want diversity in my team but I'm not sure if I've seen halflings that aren't white. 

They're such characterful models I wanted some additional diversity to help identify different players.

But I haven't painted white characters for a long while so I thought I'd use this as an opportunity to explore that facet. Perhaps lift my game with rosy cheeks and florid noses from all their feasting. it should be fun.

For now I get my Great Big Granite Big Build Basing stamp of approval.

Dark Angels - Macragge Tactical Squad - Red Planet BASE TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer this Macragge tactical squad. I started with a black prime all over and zenithal Army Painter Angel Green on the models.

I then used a kitchen roll tube to mask off the model for a Red Oxide Primer on the bases.

It's always useful to have that red starting point and extra protection on the base rim. I know it;' going to be coated with Khorne Red but both primers give it that extra durability.

I then do my Red Planet BASE technique. Let's be honest though, it's orange! I do sometimes wonder what it would have been like if I'd have discovered weathering powders at the beginning.

More realistic and then I can dust to all the greaves, get Warhammer TV Peachy all giddy. Too late now. I mean the greaves look pretty dirty after basing, but I will clean all this up, which is a shame in a way.

Maybe one day I might consider going back and adding weathering powders around their feet, see if it works out. In the mean time I have to plan finding a replacement for my Home & Bargains Vermillion craft acrylic. I have 2.5 tubes left that will last me a year or two but eventually what am I going to do?

For now I get my Great Big Granite Big Build Basing stamp of approval.

Blood Bowl - Nurgle Team - TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my Nurgle #BloodBowl players and they are all TO DONE! This was an exercise in two things - experimenting with various skintones and grunging up the armour and uniform.

Well he second part has been a success. I am well pleased with the way I've done the armour and clothes and been brave enough not to overwork the 'cream' colours on the pants after I've grunged them up.

The skintones have been a mixed bag. Some have been better than expected, some have been less. The 1 dimensional cartoon ones aren't bad, but they're a style of painting I'm familiar with and confident in. I hoped to push some boundaries but sadly didn't quite do that in some cases. 

It might have been that I tried too many. Certainly there are three green ones and with more chance to explore I got variety and success alongside the ore mundane.

The purple ones too are unique in each way and some are more successful than others. It was also challenging because I saw a number of amazing Nurgle teams over the last year or so and they followed the more uniform approach. That coherency and ability to make all their skintones, raw areas and diseased elements match presented a strong display.

Whereas my disparate gang seems less cohesive but bold in its own right and certainly helps define each layer as an individual.

And I think that grungy effect also helps to tie them together, despite their difference. Certainly if I make a display board it should make them even more impressive looking. 

I particularly like the Bloaters. The green one may be my favourite player, then the white one. My only other annoyance was that yet again I didn't really think about converting them. I have a metal tentacle arm somewhere, it would have been nice to tweak them a bit for more variety.

I actually had a game with my son who used them and I can see there are a couple of additional players I could add. I mean they're a surprisingly good team and we only played basic rules, no special skills.

There was another original plan for these - that I would paint them with my son. I may have ditched that idea early n but it was rewarding to finally get a game with him, for him to enjoy it and he also won, which might encourage him to want to play again.

Overall I think the team look great. Despite the parts I didn't quite achieve and my concerns about the mish mash of colours I think it all works together, especially on these black backgrounds.

Another item completed and if it gets me playing games with my son it will be worth the year it's taken to be finished.

This gets me my Great Big Granite Stamp of Approval - TO DONE! 

Blood Bowl - Nurgle Team Last 4 - TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer on my last 4 Nurgle #BloodBowl players. Just the tar bases, gloss and blood FX.

These final little things have a habit of killing momentum stone dead. As it has also deviated from the Genestealer Aberrants it feels like I have no current motivation for them either.

Realistically though I've usually had a post-Christmas malaise long before this. The Tyranid VSG put paid to that though and all this progress had kept me motivated.

Despite completing the Adeptus Titanicus Cerastus Lancer I felt like I needed another win, but I think in pushing these I may have failed to get the best out of the skintones.

This purple fella, is OK, I did want a much brighter purple than my other attempts, but in so doing I've lost some depth and it is much more cartoony and less realistic.

 

The pus filled buboes are pretty good and although it's not a complete disappointment it wasn't quite what I was hoping for.

 

Now, the turquoise boy. I love the colour against the orange, it works so well but again I don't think I've captured 'skin' particularly well, even if that skin is supposed to be diseased and chaotic.

 

I was hoping for more realism in these but I feel I've gone more cartoon, or not particularly well defined in place.s

 

Now this guy was supposed to be like one of those peat bog bodies, but I think the highlight on the skin has brought a little too much warmth to him and he looks almost healthy.

 

I added a blob of tar to his hand as well. I'd seen some similar black gunk based models recently with dripping tar blobs. It as the old UHU, black ink and invisible thread trick. That would have looked amazing but I fear, given how Blood Bowl plays they would be vulnerable to damage.

 

I think the Pestigor is the one I'm most happy with. I still think the green is a little one dimensional in places, but the raw edges bring it back a bit. 

 

The face in particular is a huge improvement on the other Pestigor and despite some elements being less than expected he is one of my favourites in the team.

 

Here's my Great Big Granite Minor Stamp of Approval, full team coming next.