Sternguard Veterans

So I finally got down to brass tacks and painted something. At first I thought I did a half-ass job on them. Then I whipped out the other half of the squad that these guys are part of and realized that they're just as good. So I'm not going to worry about that.

As you can see in the background, I have some guys waiting to be done. Those are nine Vanguard Vets with jump packs and and two of my Space Hulk Termies. Alright, so in the greater scheme of things, I haven't gotten much done in the last few days. But I have gotten something done. Even if I feel a little bottlenecked because I have so much stuff staged and have gotten so little of it done, there is progress.

I may do something I haven't done in quite a while. I may paint a Tac squad! I've got one of my Black Reach ones sprayed. All I have to do is get in there and do it. I may try to practice some speed techniques. I mean, it's not like they're valuable minis so the worst I can do is a crappy job and strip them later or something.

Oh, yeah, it turns out that the tax refund coming my way is going to be quite substantial so, once some bills are out of the way, I see a Fortress of Redemption in my near future. But first, I have to move and figure out where I'm going to put my 40K stuff. Since the new place will be half the size of the old place, I may have to get rid of some of my foamcore terrain if I'm going to have room for stuff. Not a happy thought, but I've got duplicates of some things I can live without. Maybe if I pare it down a bit it'll be alright. We'll have a better idea next week, though.

A Bit of Malaise

So I find myself in a strange place right now. I have a lot of stuff on my plate painting wise but I don't want to paint at the moment. I have all ten Space Hulk Termies to paint but at the beginning of December, I pulled out a whole bunch of Black Reach Termies I hadn't painted and did an assembly line job on them, painting 35 Termies over the course of three days. Right now, I am sick to death of Terminators. I did a little with some Sternguard but I haven't felt the desire to work on them. The five Vanguard Vets I made last week have been sprayed. I even put together a squad of Black Reach snap-fit Tac jobbers. But I just don't want to pick up the brush. I've had a couple opportunities to do so in the last few days but I just haven't. Here's hoping that changes and right soon. I've got so much sitting undone!

I was given a gift certificate for my birthday to a local game store and yesterday I picked up a pack of Vanguard Vets (though I immediately gave away the beakie [why does GW have to put a beakie in every set? And why don't I just get a Dremel so I can grind out the beakie head and put in another?]. I just don't like beakies.) and set to work on them. It's also my first time using JB Weld. I put the four of them together last night and then spent an hour trying to get them to stay together. Of course, now that it's done curing, I'm not even sure I'm physically capable of pulling the joins apart. When I finally put together the Thunderfire, I'm whipping it out again (though I think I'll let it thicken up a bit next time).

Hopefully, by next post I'll have something more than cluttered minis to show you!

Vanguard Veterans

So my first new Vets are coming off the line. As you can see, they're Vanguard Veterans with jump packs. Unfortunately, all the jump packs I had immediately on hand are my metal ones. Need to dig out the rest of my plastic ones before I continue. Well, I could assemble five more without backpacks until I find them, but with my luck I'd get impatient, put back packs on them and make them another Vanguard squad on foot.

It's no big loss, anyway. I certainly have enough stuff to work on in them mean time. I think I'm going to try to paint some of my Space Hulk termies over the next couple days. I can't work on these guys because it's been both cold and rainy and I don't want to spray paint them in these conditions. Better to wait a few days for it to get dry and warm up a little bit. We'll see what I have to show you all in the next few days. I may even put together a Rhino for my other Vanguard squad to roll about in. Truth be told, though, they seem like they would roll in a Land Raider. But do I want to get them their own squad specific Land Raider? Even if I could afford it, I'm not sure... Then again, a few months ago, I didn't want to have an entire Terminator Company. I guess we'll see what happens.

Bits & Pieces, Pieces & Parts...

Well, I've been looking through my "bitz" containers and have decided what I'll be working on for the next few days. If all goes well, by the end of the week, I shall turn this big mess of parts into seven painted Terminators (some are half done already) and at least 5 Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs. I've got 5 old school metal packs at hand right now. I have another 5 or 10 plastic ones stuck back somewhere. Eventually I'll find those but for now I'll concentrate on getting these five done. Besides, once I have five done, I'll want to finish the squad and make it ten. So this is the goal for Sunday. Of course, what I actually get done will be a different matter.

Holy Crap! How Long?

Since September? Geez Louise!

So, yeah, it's been a while. And a lot of things have happened in that time that have kept me away from this but it's not that bad because I'm still managing to paint on occasion so I do have things to show.

For instance, to you left are a new set of Vanguard Veterans I've been working on over the last couple of weeks. These in particular are the White Blades, led by the Chapter Champion in the middle, who are tasked with guarding the Chapter Banner and those who are tasked with carrying it into battle. Once I finish with three more to round out the squad, I'm going to start work on a Vanguard squad with jump packs. I need to acquire a few more Dark Angel robed bodies to do it so it'll probably be a little bit since I don't have money to spend right this moment.

There is another project I'm working on. I've decided to complete a First Company as an all Terminator Company. I managed to get my hands on some more Black Reach Termies and bits to convert them to other types. A buddy of mine who picked up a couple of Space Hulk sets has traded me a set of Termies for appropriately typed normal Termies (regular ones for the regular guys, a lightning claw for the lightning claw, etc.) so I have them to add color to my army. My only problem is that I have too many Black Reach Sergeants and I don't want them all in my army. I may use the gift certificate I got for my birthday (right before my previous entry!) to help cover an Termie Assault squad so I can round out my Thunder Hammers and Lightning Claws at 15 each. I may try to trade the Sergeants for some other Termies but I think I will have what I need soon (within the next couple months) and then I will never buy or even think about buying another Terminator again EVER.

I think I will fill out a Third Company also. I've mentioned it before. I just need a chance to pull out all my stuff again so I can see what I need to fill it out. And hopefully I can get this all done by the beginning of April. It's quite possible. I just have to get off my butt and "git" the proverbial "er" done.