Happy Approximate Anniversary

As the new paints turn one so too does my reintroduction to the hobby. I know this because the paints hadn't long been introduced when I got my first paint set which wasn't actually Daemons, it was the High Elf starter set and the paint job I was able to do was so basic it was almost laughable. I really didn't enjoy that but when I got some Daemonettes (courtesy of a friend) and the paints I needed for them I experimented with the last of my Lothern Sea Guard with the Slaaneshi colour scheme I was using at the time (for more information see my post on my Daemonettes and my first Herald of Slaanesh) and it actually looks pretty cool, if still a little basic.

Not mine but still pretty cool looking

Looking back over the last 12 months my skills have drastically improved and quite quickly too. Sure I've made some mistakes as I've gone along but I've learned from each and every one and now I'm at the point where I won't lift a paintbrush until I know exactly what I'm going to do. The overall plan may change slightly as I go along but the overall image I have in my mind is the same when I start as when I finish and this is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing because I'm very careful with my models and I can create some pretty cool effects now but it's a bad thing because it means that progress is very slow and I don't experiment as much as I used to; all the experimentation is done in my head and with excellent results if I say so myself. A prime example of this lack of speed can be seen with my Chaos Space Marines which I must say that I think I've bitten off more than I can chew with them. If you've found my CSM to do list somewhere way back in my other posts then I can confirm that the list hasn't changed much at all. In fact I think the only thing I need to take off of that list is the Helbrute because I still have a LOT to do there. Cultists, Thousand Sons, Berserker's, Sorcerer, Rhino, basic Marine squads, Possessed Marines, Abaddon and a Dark Apostle. There may be more but I can't remember but it all sits there unpainted because I can't find inspiration.

A "little" slice of Hell

The problem now is that there's just too much and I don't know where to begin. I had an idea where I was going to paint them all in a pre-heresy scheme but after finally finding a picture of the Word Bearers I don't really like that idea. The problem now is that I don't know how to paint Word Bearer colours and I don't want them to look like World Eaters so I'll have to look into some colour schemes before I do that. I'm still thinking of having my World Eaters (aka Berserker's) in their pre-heresy colours purely because it will make the blood spatter and dirt look a lot more striking than the reds. 

Although I'm struggling a lot with my CSMs my Daemons are going from strength to strength. Sure the progress has been slow over the last two weeks but that's not because of a lack of inspiration, that's because of back pain and a lack of colours that I need. I tried an experiment with a pustule on a Plague Drone but I don't like it (this is one of the few experiments I didn't run in my head) so I'll have to go to the tried and tested colour scheme which actually will look better against the dark skin than what I tried to do. Far too yellow, I need light and pale. I also managed to build the riders for my Skull Cannon and I've been tossing some ideas on colour schemes in the air and seeing if any of them stick and I'm thinking black armour with bronze trim. Blood and bone will feature pretty heavily as will flesh but I want some more colours first so that I'm not just recycling schemes. I want some variety which is, after all, what Daemons are known for and although I like to have the occasional small thing that runs through the whole army to tie them together or to incorporate themes from one unit into another (my Tzeentch units are the best example of this with each unit having something that is taken from another, see if you can spot them).

As a painter it has been a very busy year but as a gamer I've barely even scratched the surface and while I can go through tactical scenarios in my head and by rolling the dice I've yet to test my skills on the board and so now that I'm getting more in depth with my analysis of the various units (which I plan to do more of soon) I'm thinking it may be time to get more into the game side of the hobby and see if I can put my own tactics to use and then I can report back on how they worked in practice. Of course I'll need more units and to maintain my personal standard I'll have to get more paints too but I want them so it's not too much of a hardship. Hopefully I'll earn enough with my new job to be able to build them up pretty quickly as well as building up my units. I plan to celebrate my first pay day with either a Soul Grinder or a Keeper of Secrets. Hell if I do well enough then I might even get both, but that's getting way ahead of myself.

I feel like I've even developed a lot as a blogger though it hasn't been a year since I started this but I felt it was worth mentioning. Now I don't plan to stop painting any time soon and therefore I don't plan to stop blogging any time soon but there is likely to be a slowing of my pace while I get used to my new schedule but I'm hoping that I'll adjust quickly and be able to get back in the saddle. So lets raise a glass to a year of the hobby and drink to many more years to come. Cheers.