With the Christmas break behind me and my first full week back at work I’ve made a conscious effort this week to make sure I had something for an update this week. I always find it a bit funny at the start of a new year and this case the start of new decade but that I didn’t want to do was start out in a way that would burn me out. So instead I decided that I would carry on with the WarCry theme I ended the year on and start work on a Corvus Cabal crew. I had picked these up at the same time as the Cypher Lords but my plan for these is that will only take a couple of weeks to have them game ready. I’m really going to work on that side of things for this first project of the year and not get hung up on trying to make them perfect. Not that I can actually achieve perfection but I’m really getting into the mind set of them being good enough.
I’m also taking the opportunity to use some contrast paints to see how they work and to see if they are something that I can fit into my painting tool box. They seem to be a very polarising thing with some people loving them and some hating them. I’ve always looked at them as being just another tool in the tool box and you can use them however you want. For me my intention was to us them to lay down a quick and solid foundation that I could then simply add a few highlights to and have something that is table top ready in short order. And I’ve not been disappointed with how things have turned out. I’ve just used a basic primer, in this case Vallejo applied with an airbrush and straight on with the contrasts. This has allowed me to do all of the flesh tones, the turquoise of the clothing and the first pass on the feathers all in a couple of sessions.
One thing I really wanted to do with these guys was to steer away from the box art and go with something a bit more vibrant. Partly just to have something different and partly to give a chance to test some of the contrast paints. My plan is to use some weathering powders at the end of the painting process to add a bit of grime before finishing off with a mat varnish to flatten everything down. I think that will still fit the WarCry feel whilst being just that bit different. Basing was something else I was pondering but in the end I just when with some technical paint rather than green stuffing something up as I wanted to keep a bit of moment to the project.
A week in and I’m happy with how things are coming along, the contrast paints have worked a treat and just a little bit highlighting adds that extra something. Very simple to do and really speeds things along. If I can keep this sort of pace up next week they should be nearly ready for a game.
I’ve also finalised the last bits from my trip to Adepticon with my visa waver and insurance sorted so all I have to do now is pack, oh and scratch build some models, but I’m not thinking about that at the moment as I’m in a positive mood and don’t want to ruin it. Renewing the visa waver every couple of years always fills me with dread and this year there is a section for social media. Now it’s optional but I took the view that I’m applying to enter a different country and whilst I don’t feel I’m any sort of threat you never know just how these things are checked. So I put the details down for this site and my twitter account and sent it off along with all of the other information required. I was then on tenter hooks for a few days but I’ve now got my approval so that means they must like my content, or they just haven’t looked is but I like to think it’s the former. The real shocker form all of this though has been the realisation that it is now only eleven weeks until I’ll be jetting over the pond which I’m sure will fly by. I’ve been making a few notes about the whole process of planning and booking for the convention and like in previous years I’m going to do it as a bit of separate series of post so watch out for the first of those appearing on the site in the not too distant future.
I’m going to leave at that for this week. Not a long update but I think it’s been a really productive start to the year and at the moment I’m really enjoying my hobby time. Just need to try and keep that balance so that I don’t bog myself down and hopefully things will continue in the same vain. Hope you all enjoy whatever you have planned over the next week and will be back again next week with what I’m hoping will be a completed set of minis for you.
