Super Saturday

So yesterday i had the rarity of a day where i had absolutely no obligations so could dedicate the entire day to whatever i wished.. No errands, no household DIY, no appointments, and think the missus was being her sweet self and took herself off to spend the day with her family so i could have a "me" day. Well not wishing to waste such a gesture and opportunity, duly tried to get as much done as i could... while doing a little bit of exercise to work off the devastator burger from the previous night out with the boys.... 6 patties pulled pork, cheese, gherkins, bacon....a proper heart attack meal. Having said that we all demolished it in short order and was a bit disappointing. Tasty burger but not as undoable as we thought.



Anyway with painting on the agenda decided to try and finish off a few pieces that have been kicking around for a while now as well as start a couple of new ones.

So with that i managed to finish most of the tank crew for my tank companies and a Seraphim, a Tyrannic war vet and started and almost finished a medic for the catachans though the figure actually comes from Black scorpion miniatures that i picked up at salute. On top of this work continues on the wraith knight as unless i finish him i have imposed a ban on myself getting an Imperial Knight..... So plan is to finish him this month so the Knight household can be the next project....well alongside Bleach Eldar... :D


Anyway the Catachan medic girl was also a test piece for lady flesh. Have been seeking out tutorials of late to try and master this skill as have a few female minis
waiting in the wings from random impulse buys and kickstarter pledges to Raging heroes - The toughest girls in the galaxy and the Kingdom Death - Monster project.

The later is the really daunting one as their figures really are exquisite and intimidating to paint. However, they are controversial due to the depiction of their ladies, i.e.minimal clothing, all bewbs and butts everywhere....though you would expect that if the line are called "pin ups" ...not that the non pin ups are well furnished in the clothing department either. So while they do other nice figures that aren't girls, i can't deny what drew me to the line at first was these pin up sculpts. As a firm appreciator of the female form, i do think they are some of the best small scale female sculpts, albeit, a tad unrealistic as they tend towards an idealised fantasy proportioned woman, super emphasised on the things the majority of appreciators of the ladies enjoy the most. But regardless, i likes what i likes. But yes to do them justice would mean much improvement would be needed in my blending techniques, learn how to use washes properly and generally keeping everything smooth....all in all it will be a learning experience.


But taking encouragement from Dai, who's blog i recently discovered as he had been painting up a white speaker from the range, I bit the bullet and gave painting a Kingdom Death figure a go having put it off for so long. To ease me in i had recently picked up one of their 54mm scale figures off ebay. She came pre-built so that was a bit of a shame but was okay, cast itself was mainly fine. A few mould lines, easily scraped off... But herein lies lesson reminder one for me, and my overall weakness.....Patience....and care... having scraped these bits off i really should give the figure a good clean before priming otherwise you end up with dust flecks and ruins all the smoothness that is intended... alas. lesson reminded... and not wanting to strip and start over pushed on regardless... wasn't too bad... So with base coat of Vallejo grey primer then flesh tone set to work on blocking out all that was not lady flesh...i.e the minimal clothing

It was at this point i persuade the head to become unstuck. I was glad it came away with no damage as allowed me to get to the back of the figure. So finishing off the blocking, set to putting a further base tone for the flesh as the other flesh tone was a bit to yellow. as it is that basecoat works great for wraithbone! This was brushed on and made up off some Elf flesh, Vallejo pale flesh and tallarn flesh....still not sure of this as looks a bit too dark....

But we shall see.... maybe with highlights as work up the transitions it will be fine...But this is to be continued as that is only as far as i got.
On the catachan medic seems to be okay but my transitions are still a bit hamfisted...

Themed armies

Painting wise have not been able to finish much, but have been working on some wraithguard and trying to finish off some death company, still working on the wraithknight as well, putting in some magnets for his arms. But this weekend has been about getting some modelling done and putting into action an idea that as been brewing in me brain for a while....

Storm guardians

I have a history of bringing  televisual influences into my hobby. Previous such influences included Sharpe, Lara croft, band of brothers. But having been introduced to the joy of the anime of Bleach by me missus, its influence has gradually taken hold in that it has moved me to try and bring some of the characters into my armies in some form. Ideas like this usually mean theming an army. But not wanting to start from scratch, ideas have been floating around in me head as to where they could fit. Initial thoughts had been an inquisition band but then when i started revisited the Eldar and creating the Mymearan army it kinda made me want to put them in Eldar form especially since they are quite slight in frame. Then it hit me whilst lining up what i had painted in a role call. I could repurpose my armies to represent a couple of central factions of Bleach. Ulthwe being black could represent the "shinigami" or soul reapers and the Mymearans could represent the Quincy - Soul destroyers or something to that effect. This idea was further crystalised by how the armies were set up. The Mymearans i had were mostly employing light based weapons akin to the Quincy spirit bow. While the Ulthwe had a predominance of shuriken...i.e bladed weapons... therefore it fitted nicely. As such, when i continue to expand the armies, will stick to this tenet so that Ulthwe will mainly make use of only bladed, warp and monofilament based weapons, while the Mymearans would be light and speed based weapons.




But what would unite the two and how would the Ichigo, the main protaganist and his friends fit in as belonged to neither....

after pondering a while the answer, was obvious.....Harlequins!!
The rest of the troupe will represent the vizards and still figuring out how to include the other main characters but am sure that will come. but for now just starting to turn the leaders into captains and such..

and here's he first attempt in creating Ichigo. can't get his mask right but will work on it some more.

Freedom & special delivery

A quicky post to say am free from the rigours of revision woooooooooo

Anyway that means one thing,  trying to fit as much hobby time in as work, life and non tiredness allows me!

Warp Hunter markings

So its given me a new impetus to try and complete as many on going projects as possible... or at least progress them. So quick photo update

Wraithseer face

Vanq Tank Commander

Progress on Mr W-Knight

Vanq attack

Valkyrie nose art for "Special delivery"

Bitz bonaza

Quick one, there is nothing quite like opening up an ebay box of bitz that you speculated on might have some good stuff and find you are vindicated. Then there is the joy of sorting through a big pile of stuff to see what interesting bits there are. Anyway recent couple of ebay wins on job lots have come up trumps,

 Previous one was an eldar lot which turned out very nicely,

Then today a nice solid looking box turned up, ready to be opened and enjoyed after work. Initial sifting turned out some quite coolly converted stuff, notable mentions going to an interesting take on what i believe are tau stealth suits, and converted inquisitor scale brother artemis. Other stuff included a warhammer giant, 3 converted minotaurs, a load of blood letters, , beastmen, a black dragon body, and a load of skaven, necron, grey knight, chaos, tau, ork & imperial bits. Wooot! all this joy this time for the princely sum of 20 squid!

What a nice way to end the working week

Gunbaby...

outlining

Finished piece...

Quick post just showing finishing touches to vulture gunship. Had been putting this off as couldn't decide whats should grace the nose of this beast. But having looked at a few other examples, finally plumped on an image had long admired that is found in starcraft and more specifically on Tychus's armour. After finding some better images for reference, set about adding her to the vulture and then adding a suitable name.Settling on gunbaby in the end for the heavily armed gunship. Still undecided to on whether to add pilot names to the cockpit but obvious choices are findlay and Raynor, but not knowing enough about ranks, not sure what rank a pilot should be? are they flight lieutenants? captains? Also have to give her a gun. But what gun to add. What is a quintessential 40K gun that will not look out of place in her left hand?


 Anyway quite happy with the results and will be adding more nose art to other Imperial aircraft in the future. But to finish off Gun baby with some jetbikes i have also been working on.

Craftsman or collector?

Erm.... this post has been sitting in m drafts for a couple of weeks now....trying to crystalise my thoughts into something coherent, actually thats the case with most of my posts. Have an idea but sitting down and translating it to the written word laced with pictures usually proves to be the stumbling block. However, this post was somewhat helped by this post. which sums up one facet of what i had been contemplating lately i.e one of the issues i have with the hobby is that i flit around too much, tempted by the next thing, idea in my head leading me to never actually finishing anything (hence title of blog, tales of the impatient. 

Latest projects on the go

But then this brought me onto thinking about what am i trying to achieve with my hobby whilst evaluating my collection.  20 odd years ago.. (wow...it has been that long!!) my collection began with what i liked the look of. Of course this was based on the pictures of perfectly painted up minis on the boxes and in White Dwarf, but there was a bit of a gulf from that and what i was able to recreate (well my sister at the time of my first minis!) 20 years on this is still very much true. However now with increased buying power from employment and being a pseudo adult, less time in general for anything and more stuff than ever to paint, i find my skills plateauing... but for what reason? and is that what i want? Of course not, i want to paint like the best of them, but with that takes, time, practice and to a certain extent a more extensive set up, some of which i feel less inclined to invest in as channels funds away from more precious precious minis... But is that wise, and again is that really what i want?

pushing the boundaries,

From behind as well...

 Maybe its the Chinese in me that i have a thing for massed uniformity but looking at golden demon and entries on the various forums esp Platoon Britannica, i find my self wondering if i should slow down, spend more time on single minis and techniques to get beyond the plateau. But then what about the massed ranks of armies that look so cool, especially when there is symmetry involved?!?! what about having all the options for a game i rarely play? what about trying to adhere to fluff from an imaginary world when building a force? Yer see, here in lies my dilemma, i think i am slightly hobby OCD and have far too many conflicting neuroses to focus when it comes to the hobby. So the short of it i want to be both...alas i will probably end up either...actually i will have a large collection it will just look rubbish which will fuel my buying habits to buy more stuff thinking one day i will have time to recreate what has been driving me in this hobby for all these years... GW are cunning aren't they....My only hope is if i can dig some time out somewhere as that will be the only time i will be able to dedicate improving. otherwise i will be stuck adding to the collection. as for painting services. Whilst they can "paint my world" as BTP put it,i think that takes some of the fun out of it... that and they take further funds away from more mini purchases...so another dead end

As it is, at the moment my aim will be to improve the general level & speed of painting so i can create a good looking force of decent standard. learning to master the airbrush is definitely key to this. Will then move on to seeing if i can create a great looking one....But interlaced will be side projects of single minis to try and push the boundaries a little.... wow that almost sounds like a plan...

Wraithcannons

Suncannon & Scattershield

Anyway in other news, with the arrival of the Imperial knight, thought i should really finish off Wraithknight before i even consider a purchase... (since i didn't decide to stop buyin cool stuff :P) Seeing as he has been sitting around for a bit its only fair. It's all the options that have been delaying progress, well that and all the little details i want to add. Still not really sure how i keep them swapable as don't think even magnets will be strong enough and pinning isn't feasible as its ball and socket joints... anyway blutack for now. N.B there is some minor conversion on the arms, have gone for underslung guns rather than on the back of the forearm mounting. Again prefer the look, but pics of all the options and a "studio" pic with the family

Must say sword and shield combo looks pretty dapper...

and think this is one of my best thought out posts...! hmmm, i must be tired... nighty night!

Monthly meanderings

Not been the greatest month since last post, life wise that is. I know blogs are supposed to be an opportunity to put it all out there seems a bit weird. So for now i'll stick to what i've been doing and  hobbywise still going strong. Nothing like impending exams to help the mojo flow. So in the mix are Anima tactics, Infinity, Forgeworld and good ol' regular GW.. Sooo let the photos flow. Still haven't got the hang of this formatting on blogger so it will just have to be a mishmash of photos. But from Infinity you will see "Penthesilea", i.e lady on a bike. Couldn't resist any longer and going on my current strategy of one in one out, i.e once have finished something can start something new, i allowed myself to start her, having just done a load of Ulthwe black guardians and also finished "one shot", shown here on the left. Now although she is a fantastic model, those bits ain't half delicate and when cleaning up (of which is minimal) you have to be careful not to remove any detail by accident. Anyway once built have started painting her using Angel Giraldez's step by step guide on facebook as reference. Boy does he make it look easy but i can testify...it ain't. Still a learning process, may actually have to break pen a new airbrush to try some finer techniques. Anyhoo along with the lovely lady, also recently picked up a long coverted Macharius from FW off the charming chap that runs Badass studios.. Have been wanting one for ages but RRP is a bit off putting. Now while still not that cheap and missing a few bits and bobs, its essentially what i have been looking for with the bonus i didn't have to put it together. I say bonus, as had hear it was fiddly, usually i am against such things as i think thats the whole point of the hobby side, making everything for yourself, but when it comes to such a big project, its nice not to worry you'll mess it up. There was a choice of the vanquisher or the vulcan and while had considered the vulcan (came complete as well) ultimately think the vanquisher looks more boss like so had to go with aesthetics. Am happy i did. She is now all primed up ready to go. just need to sort some hatches and crew for her. And you can see below her sitting happily with my Wraithknight who is getting more love in a bid to finish before the new imperial knights start appearing and before i get tempted to bu one of those...
Finallly to finish off the photo descriptions are PIP of wraithblades to finish off wraith figs and Barraroth who is basically done with his repaint. Will get him in the photo studio at some point but happy how he has turned out.

All in all, not bad for me, not bad at all...onward and upward though like a soaring hawk..... :P