Before that though I should probably show the 2 models I did paint up close. Up first is Shield Captain Valerian Ulyssus, commander of the Auric Talons. I thought it was about time I got the commander of my forces painted and ready for the table but I'd been a bit hesitant to do so. He's based off of the lovely Ixion Hale event only model from Forgeworld, which whilst gorgeous and full of detail is extremely expensive for one mini (about £40 last I checked). This combined with some resin horror stories I'd been told (looking at you Medge!) had always put me off painting him for fear of the damage I could do. Eventually however I just wanted to paint him up so I got out the old toothbrush and fairy liquid, gave him a nice scrub and began.
As you can see he came out quite nicely I think. There's a few bits I want to go back and add details to, most notably the cloak where I want to try some freehand design to add a bit of flair to his look. I tried to tie the basing into the rest of my army, using a similar colour palette on the stone and keeping the dirt basing similar to the rest of my models.
With my commander down I decided I needed a way to deal with any opponents generals who dared to stand against me and what better unit to do that with than the Lions of Terra themselves, the Allarus Custodians. I started out with the best of intentions for these guys, but quickly found my time being eaten up by work and other commitments, which left me with a supreme lack of energy and motivation to paint. I've still managed to paint one of the Lions and get all of the bases painted and ready, I just need to finish off the other 2 Custodians to stand on top of them.
So that's what I managed to paint this month. As I said not a great month for me but on the bright side it is another 2 Custodians done and added to my ever so slowly growing contingent. However it's really made me take a look at how I'm approaching my painting and what I can do to actually get more models ready for the tabletop.
The first issue I've always had is spending far too much time on each model, treating every individual one as though it were a centrepiece character. I doubt this is something I'll ever be able to really stop but I'm looking into ways to speed up my painting whilst maintaining a good quality (drybrushing on background areas, recess shading rather than the whole area e.t.c)
The second one is the big one and that's me always looking for that perfect time to sit down and paint. I've rapidly realised with painting that a little done frequently is much better than a lot done rarely ever. So to that end I'll be setting myself a goal of spending at least 1 hour a day painting something from my collection, even if it's only in small 10 minute blocks. Hopefully this way I'll be able to slowly add bit by bit to my models and get them turned around more reliably.
And with that I now need to pledge for May, or at least what I've already started painting. With the end of the tale drawing near I need to get my last few units done for the doubles tourney we're planning on attending to cap the whole 40k Tale off with and to that end I've started on a unit no Custodes player can leave home without, the Vertus Praetors. Most people loathe them but as a Custodes player these guys are your win button. They do it all and to boot the models are utterly gorgeous. I've already gotten to work on the first jetbike and I'm making steady progress on it, so hopefully he'll be done by the end of the week. If I can really get a move on and paint all 3 in time I'll also aim to add an Eversor Assassin to my Execution Team to complete the set.
So that's all for now. I'm feeling good about this month. I've got my motivation to paint back and I'm ready to get the last few models ticked off the list ready for some games.
Until next time,
James
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