Assault Terminators

Last night, while I was considering how my two towers from last night looked with walls, I found myself thinking about what foamcore project to do next, most likely another tower. However, a couple of days ago, I was remarking about the new Space Hulk and the possibility of more Terminators being out there and how Terminators are sorely not needed, especially by me. I mentioned this in a web forum and someone immediately offered to take the Termies I had sitting around off my hands. Of course, I demurred. Just because I haven't done anything with them yet doesn't mean I won't ever. So last night, while I was thinking about what to paint, I decided to revisit the Termies I've had sitting around for so long. I had based most them in black with their customary drybrushings in white and Blazing orange. Last night I took out the Assult Termies I hdn't finished (all lightning claws), pulled out the Ultramarine Blue and painted the details (helmets, hands, joints, etc.).

For some reason, Termies always take so much longer than standard Marines and I haven't figured out why. Maybe it's because I choose to take more time with them but I don't think it's that because Termies get annoying after a while. Maybe it's because there's a bit more detail than on a standard Marine but not much more. More likely, it's because there are more details that I actually pay attention to like feet and joints and other little things that add up to make them take longer. Either way, tonight, I'll do the small details and a little highlighting and I should be done. Five Terminators down, thirty to go...

One last note: between these lightning claws and a discussion with my friend with the IG army, I'm reminded of a tip to pass on to anyone who is trying to bulk out their army. When you buy a squad or a box set, don't just buy with no thought. Buy with an eye towards things you can do with the extra bits. Look at these Termies. Notice that one of them is a Black Reach Termie? Well, I bought an actual Assault Terminator set a while back. I've had nine Thunder Hammers for years and wanted a tenth to finish the squad. I used a few for lightning claws but that left several thunderhammer and lightning claw arms. What did I do with them? Put them on some Black Reach Termies. Here's another... I bought the Captain box and used the main parts to make a Commander. But I had left over bits so I put them on a biker and voila! A Commander on a bike! I still have a few bits left but when I build my next Tactical squad, I'm going to spread those Commander bits among them (along with others) and make it a Veteran squad. Don't just look at what they can do for you now. Look at what they can do in the future.