'nids part 355 - #DreadTober High Rule Dude and Screamer Killers 2nd bone highlights

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity it's the 9th of #DreadTober and I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Tyranid High Rule Dude

Second set of bone highlights, much more fun than the first.

Lots of detail added to the ribcage to give it more texture.

It has removed some of the volumetric shading though, so when I have glued it together I will add some sepia washes in places to make it less uniformly lit.

The legs too, although they look better after all the highlights they just need more definition to their shape.

But it'll be easier to do it as one piece.

The guns next. This was a lot less onerous a task, as I suspected. 

However, I am beginning to notice that my brush control/line consistency is not quite the standard I've achieved in the past.

Now I'm not going to blame the tools, I've decent brushes, I just don't think I'm using them properly - overloading them with paint as I don't want to do the same stroke more than once.

It's not just laziness, it's that I can't. I don't quite have hand tremors nowadays but holding things steady for long periods of time just isn't sustainable. 

Not a great attribute when you paint miniatures for a hobby, but this realisation is having an impact on not just the painting but my outlook on how I paint and how it comes out.

The fact my experience is no longer creating improvements and my physical condition is perhaps reversing things means I have to be more accepting of the outcome.

The Screamer Killers were both brought up to scratch.

Reminds me of Krusty the Clown.

Luckily the dark brown, to sepia, to bone makes these a little more interesting.

But I still think some additional shading down the line will help define the model more. 

Once again I split the painting to legs, tail and torso. 

Then did the four arms separately, which I still found little joy in doing.

Saying that, I do have an urge to get another Screamer Killer.

So that I can convert it into an Old One Eye, I have the magnetised claws already...

We'll just have to see if I can be bothered.

Here's a close up of the highlights - so you can see just how rough and imprecise my strokes are.

I mean I love seeing brushstrokes on models. So in that sense I like the blobbiness. But I can also see where the paint has bled where I don't want it to be and those read as mistakes to me.

The rib cage looks pretty great though.

But it's undeniable here that I cannot hold a consistent straight line, and I know that was my intention.

But we make do with what we have and here's a little sneak peek of the next update - chitin striations next.

'nids part 354 - #DreadTober High Rule Dude and Screamer Killers bone highlights

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity it's the 6th of #DreadTober and I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my High Rule Dude with the first set of bone highlights.

The body has been a bit of fun as with the defined rib cage it's easy to then split each element into stripes. Luckily this was the last part of highlighting so although I was losing steam from the limbs the simplicity and enjoyment countered any dwindling momentum.

Lets just say the legs had been no fun whatsoever - large and with less defined bigger areas which I then have to make decisions on how I apply strokes to give the impression it's a fibrous material. Even if it's fibres embedded in a resin, not necessarily flexible.

The arms were a little easier as there was less area to cover and more defined areas. But, more defined areas also means decisions, but I wasn't quite worn down.

But with them ready for the second highlights a chunk of progress has been achieved. Second bone highlights, 2 chitin highlights, red and then any glow FX and they're done.

Familiarity with a recipe and the ability to paint without any need for decision making is the optimum for efficient progress.

But these first highlights [and the first teal chitin striations] - deciding where the brush strokes go are the hard part and the second highlights are a bit easier as you;ve created a guide.

I actually got carried away here and ended up doing the first set of highlights on the monstrous talons.

You can see the differentiation more clearly here. As great as it is I'll be adding a small amount of sepia wash in places down the line - just to create some shading and create a more realistic three dimensional appearance. 

And the Screamer Killers also got done.

Everything with the High Rule Dude was replicated here, including the mental effort and feeling.

However, I started with the legs and then did the body and that was enough for one painting session on each Screamer Killer.

I then did two arms at a time, once again reminding me of my original distaste for Genestealers and Tyranids - just too many limbs!

But these are even more annoying as there's a 'bicep' and a forearm but you need to do both top and underneath. Also, the forearm has an inside leading edge that requires a bit of extra effort.

I just think this is additional sculpting GW has added with the new design Tyranids and it just feels a bit fussy. 

Granted, it's fussy because I paint on extra texture and add in physical texture it becomes both busy and challenging to paint.

Additionally the tail is somewhat odd, but then I've always felt that since I started 'pinstriping' them. 

When I come to do second highlights I'll be cracking on with these first rather than go back to High Rule Dude. 

Not sure why, but even though these are the 'stretch goal' I want them further on and always go with the flow.

'nids part 353 - #DreadTober High Rule Dude and Screamer Killers

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity it's the first of #DreadTober and I've been #PaintingWarhammer

OK, so my High Rule Dude is my primary pledge, it's way bigger than Dread sized but as usual I got a bit of a head start on this one as I'd rather be doing the cool stuff this month - all the highlights than the boring basecoats and washes. The base was done ages ago and I got all of the prepping for the sub-build/repairs.

I then did my usual Red Oxide prime, but followed it with an Army Painter Skeleton Bone zenithal, where everything was going to be bone.

Threw on some res in all the fleshy bits and then Bahama Blue craft acrylic on all the chitin panels.

All the weapons too, then followed a sepia wash followed by an AP Strong Tone wash, mainly on the blue and red areas, but with some in the darkest recesses to cover any imperfections with how the wash pooled.

However, I've also thrown in not one but two stretch goals of two Screamer Killers. One of which would be sufficient to meet my DreadTober quota but I'm reaching for the stars here.

Here's the standard SK at the basecoat stage, before any washes. I did them at the same time as the High Rule Dude, but again I was struck with how tedious and time consuming even this aspect of the challenge was.

I genuinely couldn't risk doing all this in one month as I know persevering through it all might just be too much. So getting the washes done too and having them ready for whatever next stage there is, is my best chance of delivering finished pledges.

Of course it could still go horribly wrong as I discovered with my Psychophage that as simple and 'cool' as all the highlights and striations on my Tyranid scheme is, it is equally tedious, time consuming and potentially mojo killing!

So I could well run out of steam part way through the month, and finish nothing. It's a risk I'm willing to take and I've not even taken into account my TV watching habits

However, having all three options means I can switch between tasks and potentially flip my pledge and go with the Screamer Killers if the High Rule Dude proves too much [all 6 weapons seem like the tipping point].

Who knows? We'll see where I am at the end of the week, hopefully one set of highlights is done at least...

What's on my palette?

Bless me #WarHamFam for I have sinned, it's been 2 months since my last confession! But I'd been so busy in getting things out of the way ready for #DreadTober I just needed to take stock.

Indeed, all my Blood Bowl bits seem ready for #ArmiesOnParade and I should have been taking a swing at my Terminators but all momentum for these has typically evaporated.

I've tried some building, I've done a bit on my first unit of Fodder for #Turnip28 but unfortunately my second order of materials is being delayed because some Valejo Black Wash is out of stock. Ironically it's also delaying the arrival of my Norn Emissary, which was in the same order. Ironic because the GW model is in stock! Unlike my Lion order where it was the part holding everything back. 

So, I've not been as busy as I'd like to be and I've been binge watching Community with my son so haven't felt as motivated to paint and conversely became worried that a month would not be enough to paint my pledge for #DreadTober, even with the head start I gave myself.

So, when the urge did come upon me to paint the only thing that I was compelled to and logically made sense to do was crack on with my High Rule Dude and Screamer Killers. Don't feel angry with me, just look at it like this - for me #DreadTober will last just under 2 months! 😉 It's not like I'm painting every day, if I could it wouldn't be a problem. It's just rather than try to fit everything over October, risk burnout or missing the deadline I can spread it out over a longer period, reduce the pressure, increase the chances of getting it all done and more importantly enjoy the process. So, although not technically within the rules of DreadTober I definitely think it's within the spirit and no one will hold it against me. I just though full disclosure as no one needs to feel bad about my progress as I've just started early.

Dark Angels - The Lion BIG BUILD - TO DONE!

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've finally got my own Lion'el Johnson. I missed out on him with Bladeguard and when I finally did get my order in it's been delayed and delayed and delayed thanks to GW's fulfilment issues

I have 'built' it in sub-assemblies for ease of painting and I've even magnetised the head so I can play around with them - the 3 others are on the metal ruler. Ultimately though I have no idea how I want to paint this. I think the Watchers will be in bone cloaks, which suggests the Lion should also be in bone. But I don't want to do such a big cloak that way. I think a red cloak might be best as I am most confident in that but I think the last time I did that I thought it looked like Father Christmas! So, decision making is the enemy of progress, which is annoying as the weather is closing in and priming may soon become ill-advised... but this does get me my first Bloody Great Big Bloody BIG BUILD Stamp of Bloody BUILD Approval

HOT TAKE - Tenth edition and how to balance competitive and casual play

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity just last Friday I posted my second #New40k battle report. Although not the most amazing game it felt like it was moving in the right direction and I've been enjoying quite a few '40k in 40 minutes' videos on Play on Tabletop which have made the game feel dynamic and exciting.

But this post was written before Friday and on the Thursday GW gifted us with a new 'Balance Data Slate' to help balance all the factions in 40k and bring everyone back into that magic zone of around 45-55% win ratios. This happened throughout 9th edition and spills over into tenth in what would appear to be an admirable approach by GW to make the game fair - but should they? Right now I think they should not.

As of Thursday my Imperial Knights got a second round of 'balancing' to help stem their runaway win:loss ratio. Having already had points increases across almost all the larger knights in the first round of balancing just after 10ths release they now got the change to Towering that should have been made in the first instance. But also, the Bondsman ability only affects Armigers [which seems fair and fits the fluff] but just for fun lets raise the price of the Armigers too!

The problem with this is it has a disproportionate impact on a Knights army list, certainly for lower point games. It tips over and without the upgrade options to help bring units under budget you can end up with a significant underspend or forced to take a type of Knight you don't actually want to run. Of course you could always take an Imperial Agents Exaction squad - 5 space police that can help do missions and are super cheap.

Except, you can't actually appear to get them anywhere as they're sold out and they got 'balanced' too! So now you have to buy a unit of 10 for 100+ points, which is almost worth trying to find the extra 50 for the Armiger. I suppose there's always a unit of Henchmen... but for sure, that means folk don't need to be rushing out for that Kill Team box [that wasn't available anyway]. So, wholly disheartening as a Knights player and I've only played 2 games. But this isn't the only one, what about my beloved Tyranids? A new Codex, surely all their points were safe... Even the Norn Emissary and Assimilator got price increases and they hadn't even been released. But for me, the biggest kick was the Tyrannofex, going from 200pts to 245pts.

For year's I'd seen folk ask Exocrine or Tyrannofex? And more often than not Tyranid players would advise to take the Exocrine as it's firepower was generally more predictable. But I would recommend the Tfex for a few reasons - firstly Exocrines were like hen's teeth. They were mostly unavailable before GW had most things 'unavailable'! You couldn't get them from 3rd party sellers either. Secondly, if you could get them they were about £45 [at the time, £50 now]. Whereas a Tfex was about £30 [and even cheaper on ebay]. Although you can now get Exocrines at FLGs, they're still charging RRP on what is clearly a smaller model. Which brings me to the final point - the Tfex is so much more bang for your buck. It's bigger, better looking and a cooler centre-piece to your army.

Exocrine by Third Eye Nuke, formerly of Tale of Painters

Every time I even considered buying an Exocrine I thought why should I pay 50% more for less? And 9th, Exocrines were only between 5 and 20pts less... but not in 10th. They're only 135pts compared to the 245pts of the Tfex. So when I saw someone recommending taking 2 of them for just a little more points than 1 Tfex I couldn't believe the real world disconnect of £100 versus £33? So what has this got to do with balancing competitive versus casual play?

The regular balancing as mechanism seems like a good idea. It shows GW is listening and reacting, trying to make the game fair - for competitive play. Afterall, no one has to use these updates. But even casual players like myself like to keep abreast of what's going on, as my mates and I liked to go to tournaments. Not so much since COVID but the blog features plenty of road trips that me and my mates took, with no plans of winning. But to compete you have to practice in the way people play and that is not often casual at tournaments. But it's worth reflecting on that period when we did go to tournaments, where there was no balancing going on. You had your army, if it was good, you were lucky. If it sucked you weren't. For year's I would say "if I wanted to win I wouldn't play Tyranids". I accepted their place in the competitive faction hierarchy and got on with it. I had their rules and learned to play them, as best I could. What I can't deal with now is the constant shifting goal posts. Not just with changing points, but rules too and not just faction rules but the core rules. 

How am I supposed to learn the game if it's constantly changing? Of course it always does, but previously it was every 4-5 years, with perhaps a Codex change somewhere inbetween. For the last few editions there have been Index's, Codex's and balance data-slates with FAQ's/erratas built in. It makes a mockery of that 280 page tome that came with Leviathan. Lets face it, this should have just been a rule book without the lore or split like 7th edition. Leviathan didn't even come with dice - because it was not aimed at 'beginners' so it didn't need any of the lore, but I digress.

The bottom line is the constant change to rules and points to help balance the game competitively does no favours for casual players. Does this happen in other competitive play? Does Premiership football change the rules of the game mid-season when it's clear one team is dominating? No, it's up to the other teams to change tactics, buy new players or practice harder with the players they've got. Sometimes you just have to accept that for a time some factions are OP. Funnily enough that happened with Knights when they first came out. I feared them with utter dread and never expected to be anything other than cannon-fodder with my nids. But in 7th Edition I had one of my most memorable games at a tournament against 2 Questoris and 2 Cerastus and secured a draw! I adapted, overcame and that did not need them artificially levelling the playing field to do so.

Perhaps the solution is to stop meddling again. Balance is not what it's cracked up to be. Make your rulebook smaller, stop bundling it with all the lore and stick to it. Then you can focus your resources on delivering the products that are out of stock, rather than creating demand for items that aren't available. It's worth noting that the most fun I've had gaming recently are with rulesets that are simple and stable. I don't need to worry about #MESBG because the rules don't change [much]. I've learnt enough about them to play casually or even at a tournament, if I felt so inclined. I am competent and confident I could play against people I didn't know. Sadly I can't say the same about 40k, despite years of practice in previous editions and many similarities. The subtle edition changes and the constant meddling - means I can hardly trust my core rule book before I've even had a chance to get familiar with it.

It's such a shame as I really hoped 10th would bring me back into the fold. I love the lore [even if I don't need it in my rule book] and the figures too. I've invested so much time and effort into it but so much of it now feels utterly redundant as the game, although less complex now, is something I just don't trust.