A long-overdue update

So, the painting is continuing, which is good, because AdeptiCon is 69 days away.  I think I need to finish about 3 models per day, on average, in order to make it.  And no, I will not finish 3 models today.  That's not going to happen.  So, where do I stand?

The Warmahordes model is running a bit behind.  I have the main colors done, and now am doing detail work.  He will be done and mailed on Tuesday, but I will not make tomorrow's post.

The Orc army for Kings of War - all of the axe and great axe minis are assembled.  The boars are put together, but need some hot water and green stuff to get them to work.  Haven't even started on the riders yet.  All foot troops are primed, and I should have skin tones on about 40 of them done today, and move on to armor and fabrics.  Another 20 or so are currently primed black, and I will start on their skin tonight or tomorrow.  Or possibly Sunday - I really could use a couple days where figures really start to look like I am making progress.

SAGA army #1 - Anglo Danes.  I have started on a couple of guys, but it was mainly an excuse to fire up the airbrush and get it working again.  I plan on spending some quality time with these guys in the next week or so, and moving them away from primer white.

SAGA army #2 - Milites Christi.  I haven't done anything with these guys, and that needs to change.  So, again, sometime this weekend, I plan on spending an hour or two putting some paint on them.

Arena Rex - still primed, and they won't be changing for a while.  It is not an AdeptiCon event, so they are kind of low on my priority list.

Guild Ball - I have three teams (though two of them are just starter boxes with an extra model or two), but I am hoping to start block out some paint on the Brewers next weekend or so.

Dystopian Wars - I chose a fleet, and I think I have a paint scheme.  Now, I need to build some armies and start painting.  Fortunately, 1/1200 naval (or whatever the scale is) paint fairly quickly, at least to the 3-color, tabletop standard required by AdeptiCon.

So, my painted models for the year right now is 0 models, and 0 pts for the WM 365 challenge.  With the year already 3% done, and nothing to show for it, I would be worried, except that I think some models will start wrapping up in the next 4-5 days, and then things can really get moving.  And, I haven't actually purchased any models this year, aside from some pre-painted Star Wars X-Wing models.  And those don't count.

Another new year, another chance to miss some goals

Declaring my painting goals for the month, so that I may be held accountable.

<K-2SO>They're high. They're very high.</K-2SO>

I'm trying to commit to painting 365 models this year, and also painting 365 pts worth of Warmachine/Hordes models. (Yes, I am going to double dip). So, this month, I need to do the following:



Assemble and prime an orc army for Kings of War that I am doing for a friend.
Paint a WM model for a holiday exchange (deadline is in 2 weeks)
Start painting my fleet for a Dystopian Wars event in April
Start painting 2 armies for a SAGA tourney in April
Start painting a Guild Ball team for some pick up games
Start painting some Arena Rex models for the same purpose


Or, put another way - paint like a madman for the next month, and see where that gets me.

Even if I miss these goals (and I will - I won't get everything done by the end of January, or even February.  I expect to be working on almost all of the above projects on the ides of March), I'll be more along than if I sat on the couch and did nothing, right?

My painting table was invaded!

I'm not kidding, either.  Well, not much, anyway.

Since early January, when I redid my painting area, pretty much the only things that have actually been on my painting table have been either Warmachine, Hordes, or Iron Kingdom RPG figs.  I think I have had a couple of other things on it, but really, I would have to stop and think about what they are.  I certainly have not touched my Orks, Ogres or Space Marines, and my DBA armies have sat collecting dust.

Not tonight, however.  Right now, in my painting area, there sit some non-PP figs.  Sure, tonight I worked on a Road Hog, a War Hog, a gatorman or two, and a heirophant.  But, I also did some base colors on some Federated States frigates (for Dystopian Wars), began a color test on a USCR figs for MERCS, and started base coats on some Silurids and Witchling Stalkers for Malifux.

I should get some decent painting time in tomorrow.  The frigates should be quick and easy - I might actually have all nine of them done by the weekend.  And the Witchling Stalkers, while characterful miniatures, should still paint quickly enough.  The MERCS figs will take longer, and I don't plan on skimping on the WM/H figs.

I am not sure if army ADD kicked in (aka new shiney syndrome), or if I just needed a break, since I have been painting in the Iron Kingdoms for more than half a year, albeit intermittently.

Adding some games.

So, I'm going to ignore the tourney that I "ran" yesterday.  The less said about that, the better.

When I got home, there was a happy little package waiting for me. It held the following new toys:

MERCS:
Rulebook
All CCC (primed grey) + Cards
All KemVar (primed grey) + Cards
Five FCC models (2 Housemembers, Boomer, Liason, Housemaster) + Cards
All Sefadu + Cards
All USCR + Cards

Malifaux:
Samael Hopkins
3 Witchling Stalkers
Sonia Criid
3 Silurid Slaves
Zoraida
Bad Juju
Voodoo Doll
Bishop
Viktoria Sword Mistress
Viktoria Bounty Hunter
Lady Hammerstrike
Johan
3 Ronin

Dystopian Wars:
Empire of the Blazing Sun Starter Set
Federated States of America Starter Set

Looks like I have some light reading to do today (MERCS rules), and I'm heading down to prime some miniatures here in just a few minutes.  I have some of the MERCS and Malifaux figs to prime, plus a bunch of Warmachine figs that I got put together yesterday.

On a (semi-related) note - reading through the new Colossals book, coupled with recent trades, has made me change my mind (a little).  Originally, I was going to take only my minions with me to GenCon, and nothing else.  Now, I will take a small Malifaux force, a MERC force or two, my minions, and my Retribution.  I hope the Hyperion is available, and if it is, I want to use it.

Hooray for tangents!

So, over the past couple months, I've been hemming and hawing about divesting at least some of my GW stuff.  I want to keep at least an army or two around (for both 40k and WFB), mainly because, if my wife winds up with a new job, I am almost guaranteed to find a GW group anywhere we go.  Finding a Warmahordes group can be a bit more work.

So, my Tau were on the chopping block.  (I'm keeping my 40k Orks, because they are almost always fun, and Marines, because they're pretty vanilla, so easy to learn if or when I get into a new edition of rules).  My Tau army was big.  Apocalypse game big.  Half a dozen devilfish, a few hammerheads, some XV88 broadsides, close to a dozen crisis suits, and a whole bunch of infantry.  I broke it up into two lots - for a while, I was thinking about keeping part of it, just in case.

Lot #1 netted me some Retribution.  A fair amount of Retribution.  Another Phoenix, a gorgon, a griffin, some mage hunters, some riflemen, some invictors, plus plenty of other random bits & bobs. 

Lot #2 (which I put up once I talked myself into it) will be gaining me (once it arrives) a load of MERCS, a couple of Dystopian Wars starters, and a bunch of Malifaux figs.  MERCS and Malifaux are new to me, but, as I keep looking at my unpainted pile of lead, skirmish games keep looking better all the time.

A non-Warmachine post

Just a quick note - I might be picking up a small Prussian force for Dystopian Wars in the next week or so, as part of a trade. This naturally got me hunting for my rulebook, to see how many factions there were. . . .

The good news is that it is not going to be a game I play much outside of cons, so I really won't need that much for it. Really. Honest.