I made some minor progress today on my Space Marine squad. I thought I was concentrating on quantity over quality, but it still took two hours to get the tops of a few backpacks and the metal and housings for five weapons done. I don't know how other hobbyists can burn through entire regiments in the time it takes me to paint five or ten miniatures. At least I am getting closer. There really isn't much more to do on these guys. I need to finish painting the metal on backpacks and weapons, do some highlighting, finish some details on the missile launcher Marine and the Sergeant, then a clearcoat and I should be good to go for this squad. It will probably still take most of the week to get it done a little at a time. Then I think I'll edit my five-man squad to match these guys. From there I will get to either work on something exciting or something intimidating. I could do some Scouts with Sniper Rifles and camo cloaks or some Assault Marines. Maybe I could build my Space Marine Captain (who plays the role of Platoon Leader in my mind, as the Company Captain has better things to do than run around on a combat patrol). Those are the exciting options. On the intimidating front, I could use my airbrush for something other than a desk ornament and get my Predator tank painted up. I actually think that tank is a bad choice of words for a Predator. It's more of a CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle). The Space Marines don't really have a tank. The closest thing they have is the Land Raider but that seems to be more of a heavily-armored, heavily-armed Terminator delivery device than a tank. Anyway, all of the above options would constitute progression toward my first goal of getting a 750-point army put together so I can play against my friend once he gets his starter Tau force put together. I've got plenty of time to decide, but for now I think it's about time to go to bed. Click the picture below for an extra-large view.
I think you do a really good job painting these. And it's all done by hand? That's crazy. I wouldn't have the patience to paint such detail. So, after you're done painting them, do you go fight with other peoples armies or how does it work?
ReplyDeleteIt is mostly done by hand, although there are some very skilled airbrush painters out there as well. Thank you for the kind words. I am happy with these figures, but I am in a fairly low tier as far as painting skill. There is a balance between quality and quantity that each hobbyist has to find. There are people who have learned enough tricks about color combinations and painting styles that they could turn out figures better than mine in a very short time. There are also award-winning painters who will devote a couple hundred hours to painting a single figure.
ReplyDeleteYes, once they are painted you play games in which your little armies fight other people's armies. Some people will field unpainted figures or simply empty bases that are supposed to represent a certain unit, but I feel that it takes away from the spectacle and illusion you're trying to create when you play.
In game terms each figure has statistics and abilities that allow it to move around the table, attack, and defend against the attacks of other figures.
Each army has different rules that reflect a certain style of play, such as standing back and shooting or rushing forward and attacking close-up.
Sounds like fun. Glad you have a hobby you can lose yourself in sometimes.
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