I think I’m beginning to get back into the swing of getting in some regular hobby time each week, even though life itself is still a little bit mixed up. Taking time out each lunch time is really working well for me, it gives me a clear break from work whilst ensuring that I get some positive hobby time in. By positive I mean that I know I only have a limited amount of time so I set myself small, achievable targets for my sessions. The result of that is that most of the time, not all, but most of the time I’m able to actually finish what I intended. Add up all those little bits and I’ve managed to get quite a lot done this week. That is obviously a relative thing as I’m not the fastest painter so what I consider a lot will be pitiful for some of you out there but I’m enjoying myself and for me that’s all that matters. So what have I been up to this week.
First of all, I’ve got the second trukk finished off. Granted I didn’t actually have a lot to do but what I did have left I’ve managed to do. That basically just involved painting up some of the details and then doing a bit of weathering, before hitting it all with coat of mat varnish. I did then go back over the heads on the engine with a gloss varnish just to try and make them stand out a bit. After all it’s not every day you get a W-12 engine, with a turbo and nitrous powering your trukk.
The cab on this second trukk is quite a bit larger than on the first one so I though the overall length of the trukk would be really noticeable. It certainly felt a lot bigger when I was working on it. But it turned out that was more down to perception than reality. Granted the second trukk is bigger but only be centimetre which really surprised me. However, the overall look of both trukks is just what I was looking for. They look close enough that they could have been built to the same design, but just that not all of the parts were the same so they look just that little bit different. But what you think?
On the 40K front I have picked up a Mek Gun but haven’t started on it yet. I’m not planning on doing anything to crazy but I do want to tweak it so that I can use all of the weapon options and not have it stuck in a single configuration. The other change will be to find a way to have it towed behind a trukk, like a WW2 field gun. This serves no gaming function; I just think it will look good if I can do it. The plan is to start on that along with the final trukk in the next week or so.
With all of the 40K stuff I have been doing over the last few months I decided I needed a bit of a break, mainly to stop myself getting bogged down, so I’ve this week I’ve also turned to a bit of WarCry. I think it’s a really good game, even though I’ve only played a couple of times, with some really nice models. I find the small unit sizes nice to paint and as they all have a different function your painting can be different as well. I’ve been working on some Splintered Fang but know from the start that I wanted to do something a little bit different with them. Purple was a colour that I knew I wanted to use and looking at a colour wheel that gave me a contrast of yellow. A quick look online and I couldn’t find anyone else who had gone down this route so that was me sorted. I’ve also used a turquoise contrast paint for the cloth areas, partly because I really like the colour and partly because I think it fits the snake feel of the war band. I also think that being gladiators they want to put on a show and show off so the bright colours fit my narrative for them.
Being gladiators I see them as a very mixed bunch so I’ve decided to go with a number of different skin tones for them. This was the perfect excuse to have a play around with some of the Foundry Paint System paints I picked up at a convention ages ago. The idea behind them is that you get a base colour along with a shade and highlight. You can then either just use these three colours, as I’ve done here, or you can use these a base and add more highlights or shades as the mood or your skill level dictates. For me they were just a way of trying to do something different without over facing myself.
I’ve made some good progress on them with the Pureblood being finished and giving you a good idea about what the rest of the band will look like.
The rest of the band are in various stages of completion but with the exception of the snakes I need do for the Serpent Caller there isn’t that much left to do for them. The Snakes were a good idea when I started but are very fiddly and as such are taking a long time do, but I think they will be worth it in the end.
Overall I’m really happy with what I’ve got done this week and it’s been a nice distraction from the real world. Plan for next week is just to keep plodding along with more of the same. Hopefully getting the Splintered Fangs completed and ready for a game, although when that game may be is anybody’s guess. Then it will be to have a dabble with the Mek Gun. That’s it for me this week, I hope you all keep safe and look forward to catching up with you again next week.
