Red paint and poses

 

So, I've just dropped the wife off at the station – three days away at a conference – a brief reprieve from the eternal list of jobs that haunts me and some quality painting time with my war film dvds as company. Except I've run out of red paint!!

Can't really paint a Blood Angels army without Blood Red paint. I can't get to the (GW) shop until tomorrow, so am having to do my best. I have turned my attention to the absent four members of the Assault squad that will accompany my Vet Serg.

He was the first step in addressing issues raised in my rant the other week about the poor quality (or rather passive demeanour) of model poses within the 40k range (I'm talking specifically marines). So I thought I'd get some action snap shots going with the rest of my Assault boys – see above photo as the starter.

Since writing that rant I have been keeping my eye out, on my daily trawl of the net, for models with dynamic poses. I came across the following website for Infinity – go have a look in the gallery if you have the time.

www.infinitythegame.com

Whilst not all the poses could be considered dynamic, there is a good range, and they all seem appropriate to the role of the model in question. So my plan is to get my assault troops looking like they're in the middle of an assault, not waiting before the fight starts or catching their breath after the action.

(Must remember to buy TWO pots of red paint tomorrow!)

Painting Points Update: February

Another 3 points this week, with the Assault Veteran Sergeant finally getting his jump pack, and two more Tactical marines shipping out to the completed box.

After two months (or rather 6 weeks as I started mid-January) the army is starting to take shape. Seeing the completed models together is great for the enthusiasm levels – I just need to finish off units before getting side-tracked onto the more funky stuff.

Talking of which, the Drop Pod has been undercoated and the task of applying red paint begun. I'm trying out the Mechanite Red foundation to see how it compares to my usual technique. I have to admit I'm not very impressed so far with the coverage quality, but I will persevere a little longer.

Also sneaking its way onto the "to be painted" list is a Blood Angel Rhino – with Forgeworld doors! I've built so many of these things in the past I did it in my sleep almost, without thinking. However, I'm so used to adorning my vehicles with spikes, skulls and chains that I'm not sure how I'll cope with something less ornate!

Whilst on the subject of ornate, I have made a conscious decision not to apply any battle damage or excessive markings to this new Blood Angel army. The reason is that they haven't been into battle yet!! My chaos armies have always looked battle hardened and....well, battered, so the idea is that these new marines are shiny, factory fresh. As I rack up games, and heroes start to emerge, I will add markings, battle damage and honours to armour, where appropriate. This will add more depth to the army so that each marking has a legitimate history, as it would in real life. It also means I can't cut corners when I paint the figures to begin with.

As we approach March (I will get no more painting time this month) my paint tray looks like this.

The last three Tactical marines sit patiently, as do the last three Terminators. I got myself into a rhythm this week so I'm hoping the Tacticals at least don't take very long. There is a potential easy 9 points there, and given my projected monthly average in 10 points per month, March could be another mid-teen finisher – especially as there will no doubt be new purchases at the beginning of April!!

The classic Captain I featured in a recent post has been undercoated, ready to go. I will wait a while to paint him as I want to retrieve a very old copy of White Dwarf from my Mom's house over the Easter weekend (yes, I'm nearly 40 and still have boxes of 'crap' stored at my Mom's house!). It has a photo of a BA Captain that I would like to study before I get cracking.

So there we go. I'm pretty pleased with how this last month went, and if the momentum continues I'll have a force to game with very soon. Thanks for the support and comments from the 40k blogging community – you guys continue to be a source of inspiration and positivity.

Seek and you will find!

 

I know I still have loads to paint, and a waiting/wish list as long as my arm, but I couldn't resist having a look through the attic for some more potential Blood Angel army additions.

First up was these long-OOP scouts, who were painted up (kind of) as part of my first Dark Templar army. The faces were done by a pro-painter friend of mine the night before a tournament, but they have been stuck in a box for almost 8 years. I can't think of any models more deserving to be in a Blood Angels army than these!

I also found the remnants of a Landspeeder, used and abused when I built my custom Dark Templar speeders (to be seen at a later date). Not all the bits are there, but it does create a nice modelling challenge, and it's a shame to let it go to waste or buy a brand new one.

Finally, whilst talking of brand new, I thought I'd add a pic of my new drop pod. I realise that building the whole thing in one go will no doubt cause a headache further down the painting line, but I just wanted to get a handle on the model given it's my first pod. I can learn from any painting issues when I build my next one.

Got some painting time ahead of me, then I'll do an end of month review on Sunday if I can find time.