Well, with the Terminators finished I started trying to decide what to paint next. I looked over all the models that got the Rust-Oleum primer test and they were pretty bad-looking. I tried to slap some basecoat on the Dreadnought, but it just looked bad. I think my next step will be to buy some Reaper brush-on primer. I don't know if it's the climate, bad luck or imperfect technique on my part, but I haven't been able to get good results with a spraycan for a long time. I'm also going to try painting most of the parts on the sprue. I'm thinking I'll build the main bodies of the figures (legs, torsos, possibly heads) and stick them to their bases. The backpacks, arms and other attachments will be painted on the sprue; then I'll attach everything together and touch up the joins. It's not my preferred method, but I think it'll turn out easier in the long run.

I caught another mouse today. I'd been trying to trap this one for a while, but he kept stealing the peanut butter off the traps without setting off the mechanism. We had a close call the other day, as he snapped the trap and lost a bit of hair getting away, but then he stole the peanut butter again. So I devised a trap layout that practically forced him to walk across one trap to get to the other one. That finally worked, and hopefully we won't have any more rodents invading our house. I've got traps set around the house in likely spots just in case, though. Where there's one pest there are likely to be more.

I may try to push through and paint these crusty figures anyway, as it seems a shame to relegate them to the scrap pile. They can always be moved into the reserve companies/mobs once I get some better-looking figures painted up. They aren't as bad as some of the other primer mishaps I've experienced, just a little cracking along seams and a bit of detail obscuration in places. Probably a case of too much primer in certain areas. It'll probably have to be on a model-by-model basis. We'll see.

I've been chasing a few Warhammer Dogs of War units on eBay. They tend to be pricey, so I've not had much luck in that department. I was able to obtain Beorg Bearstruck and the Bearmen of Urslo from a seller in the UK. Beorg is a werebear clan chieftain, and the bearmen are fur-wearing barbarians who follow him. A while back I got Golgfag's Mercenary Ogres at Hobbytown for 75% off. I probably won't be able to pick up any more in the near future. The next set I really want is Long Drong's Pirate Slayers. They're a bunch of Dwarf Slayers who became pirates and carry a whole bunch of pistols. There was a big unit up on eBay last week that I was watching, but they went to about three times what I was willing to pay for them. I'd also like to get Leopold's Leopard Company (a unit of pikemen), perhaps Lumpin Croop's Fighting Cocks (some halfling archers), and maybe even a Halfling Hot Pot (a large slinghot that fires a pot of boiling soup onto the enemy). I'll probably keep picking them up at a glacial pace over the next few years. The units aren't really much good for playing games with, I suppose, but they are certainly a bit more characterful than many of the figures they're putting out now.