A Tale Of This Gamer?

I'm currently painting a whole bunch of bases. We're nearly at the end of the month and my determination to finish things has reaped... some rewards. I've made more progress the last couple of weeks than I have any month this year. It feels good to be getting things done again.

So next month I want to be a bit more directed in my approach. I want to try something I've wanted to for years: a Tale Of One Gamer series. I'll be using the modern version of the article (since miniature prices are rather too hefty to get much out of the old set budget model) which goes a little something like this:

Month 1: Paint a Start Collecting set

Month 2: Paint a unit of infantry or cavalry

Month 3: Paint a monster

Month 4: Paint a mighty hero

Month 5: Free month

Month 6: Bring the army to battle

So, who's the lucky army? I'm still mulling.

I could do the mounted Chaos horde I was talking about a few days ago but for one there's no appropriate Start Collecting set and for another it is an army heavy on conversions which takes time away from painting. I have a High Elves army I have barely touched with a paintbrush (all... that... white...) for which I could easily source an old Battalion's worth of miniatures or “count as” the Island Of Blood models I own. Then there's Bretonnia. Fair Bretonnia, which I do have an unopened Battalion for as well as a fair number of other models I panic bought (and rightly so, as it turns out) during their all too brief End Times reissue.

Bretonnia scares me. They were my first army before I could really paint or even notice that I couldn't paint. These days I am such a perfectionist that I hesitate every time I even look at the sprues. Still, of the projects here they probably offer the most bang for my blog: interesting miniatures in and of themselves, an army I absolutely adore, plenty of chances to experiment with colour combinations (individual heraldry, I will do it, I will) and some interesting potential conversions courtesy of the Warhammer Armies Project's 8^th edition Bretonnia book.

I have, as you can see, all but convinced myself to finally commit to the Bretonnia project I've been psyching myself up to since I started painting again. Indeed, my recent push to better my painting skills has all been in aid of someday, hopefully getting around to this very project.

In all honesty, it just comes down to which is the greater fear: painting white or not being able to come up with enough unique and easy to paint heraldry schemes.

Also, I'd have to work out what could possibly count as a “monster” for Bretonnia. A Grail Reliquae is probably the nearest thing in the official army list though the Armies Project book offers the possibility of Hippogryph Knights. Whereas of course with High Elves you simply have the High Elf Dragon aka the greatest miniature Games Workshop has ever produced.

This is probably going to be a coin flip scenario.