A LESS THAN REPUTABLE SOURCE: Weekly War Diary- Easy Victory A-Go-Go

Returning to the good, old-fashioned motivator of falling down in public rather than waiting for perfection in private I've decided to write an actual hobby diary. First attempt, so sorry if it's dull. Anyway, starting the week out on the painting table are:

2 Lizardmen Salamanders

Lizardmen Bastiladon with a Solar Engine

Lizardmen Saurus Oldblood with halberd and shield

2 Space Orks Gretchin

5 Tomb Kings Skeleton Warriors with spears and command options

Blood Angels Librarian (conversion)

Sunday 16^th August 2015

Turned out the Skeleton Warriors didn't need much work, just a little highlighting on their shields so that I did and popped them on the basing shelf. Basing takes too bloody long so things don't stay on the painting table for basing, they go on the shelf and others things take their place.

In this case, five Assault On Black Reach Ork Boyz with sluuggas and choppas take their place. Briefly. I have a horrible tendency to start things and then get distracted so after a little layering on the browns and some touching up of the metallics they, too, went to the basing shelf.

Less than an hour into this diary and I have ten models damn near finished. This is good.

Replacing them are six Skink Skirmishers with blowpipes and hand weapons, significantly further from finished than the Boyz or the Skeletons. I'd only just started the skin tones when I put them back in the case for a game. I also slipped the Skink Priest with the Cloak Of Feathers onto the table since he's at a similar stage of progress.

I also quickly finished the metallics on the two Gretchin (or, more honestly, gave up on them because Gretchin don't deserve the effort of picking out each element of their guns in different tones) and they went to the basing shelf to be replaced by another two Gretchin. Some day I will finish this unit!

Finally, I got the last inking done on the Salamanders and they also slipped up to the basing shelf. Now, everything so far has been in the nature of easy victories, jobs nearly done finally getting finished. This is, in all honestly, because I am avoiding the Bastiladon. I tried drybrushing the black carapace with Dark Reaper and it just doesn't work. Mostly, the How To Paint Lizardmen guide has served me well but it just doesn't look right to me so back to the drawing board on that one...

Monday 17^th August 2015

A quick afternoon session while listening to Doctor Who: Return To Telos. I got the skin tones on the Skink Skirmishers and Priest layered up to completion and slapped some colours on the Gretchin's trousers.

The small, mismatched army on the basing shelf got Steel Legion Drab painted around the rims of their bases.

The Bastiladon still torments me.

Wednesday 19^th August 2015

I like Doctor Who audios for shorter painting sessions but this afternoon I discovered that Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is pretty decent, undemanding viewing/listening for longer sit downs. The following was all completed to the background sound of Operation: Double 007 (which was terrible but not up to Manos: The Hands Of Fate's standard).

I'm pretty sure I'm done with texture paints. I'm using Armageddon Dust on the bases of the Skeleton Warriors and it just isn't working out for me. I got one of those new textures spreaders from GW the other day and it doesn't make it that much easier. True, I don't have to sacrifice good brushes to get the stuff out of the pot anymore but they spread all clumpy and the spreader is far from a precision instrument. Back to the drawing board on that one, time to work out how to paint sand to look like sand, as insane as that sounds.

I finished the layering on the Gretchin and popped them up onto the self, replaced them with two other Gretchin as the eternal cycle continues.

Whilst I was painting the metallics on the Oldblood I discovered that Brass Scorpion is a very unforgiving colour. It took me three layers of Abaddon Black to cover a small slip of the brush.

Still can't decide what to do with the Bastiladon's carapace.

Thursday 20^th August 2015

The group is getting together on Sunday to play a series of 500 point games. It'll be me (Lizardmen), Matt (Orcs & Goblins), Tom (Empire or Bretonnia) and Iain (Chaos Warriors). The full quorum. 500 points doesn't get you many Lizardmen and at the moment I'm leaning towards this:

Skink Priest, Level 1 Wizard with a Channelling Staff. 80 points

20 Saurus Warriors armed with spears and shields, full command. 250 points

12 Skink Skirmishers armed with hand weapons and blowpipes, Patrol Leader. 94 points

Salamander Hunting Pack of 1 Salaamander and 3 Skink Handlers. 80 points

504 points total.

Some magic (I'll decide what lore on the day), some combat power, some speed and some shooting. Only real flaws of the list is that everything will be moving at markedly different rates so dispersal is going to be a nightmare and I've never liked taking a wizard as a general. Still, it isn't as if anyone else is going to be playing with ideal lists.

Friday 21^st August 2015

Too tired to get anything substantive done after work so I just finishing the basing on the models that have been accumulating on the shelf this week. Given that I haven't painted anything in months and now I have sixteen models sitting on the shelf just waiting to be varnished I'd say this diary idea is paying off!

In other news, the ink and drybrush layers make the Armageddon Dust on the Tomb King Skeletons look amazing so I'm definitely going to have to keep using it. Hopefully, practice will make using the texture spreader easier.

Completed Models This Week