This is exciting - I am running out of half-painted models!
I have two big concerns with my miniature collection. First, about two thirds of it is unpainted and/or unbuilt. This is a daunting prospect. Second, for a very long time about 30% of my models have been in a semi-painted state.
I get bored easily. I start a lot of projects, assembling, undercoating, and even base coating models before deciding I'd prefer to be working on something else and setting them aside for later.
Later is usually a very long time coming.
So, over the years I've amassed a collection of models at various stages of painting. In my quest to have all the miniatures I own painted, that pile has been a priority.
With this post, my half-painted pile has shrunk to just two units and a character!
I didn't realise how close I was until I had to go hunting for already undercoated models to paint. Rummaging around my boxes of miniatures, I eventually found my old Eldar guardians, sprayed purple as a base coat for my old Eldar colour scheme.
I don't plan to field guardians in my army so, rather than painting them in my new colour scheme (and to give myself a break from painting blue), I decided to make them in Craftworld Ulthwé colours.
Three days later, said unit was fully painted. For me (an infamously slow painter), it was a goddamn record.
They're not as sharp as the newer plastics, but I think overall they're still some pretty fine models that don't look out of place among the more recent sculpts.
Painting black with an airbrush was a breeze.
I started with a mix of black and German Grey (Vallejo), highlighted with German Grey, then with Pale Greyblue (Vallejo). Doing everything with the airbrush made the transition from dark to light very smooth, but they looked a little bright for my taste so I gave them a heavy wash of Nuln Oil (GW) to bring back the black.
For three days' work these guys are a complete triumph. I'm really happy with the result and am more motivated than ever to finish off the part-painted models on my table. The only question is, do I work on the character that I'm not terribly fond of, or the twenty-five skeletons that will take me an absolute age?
While I work on an answer, happy painting!
I do seem to be painting a lot of blue lately.
Dire Avengers are the backbone of an Eldar aspect army and were some of the first Eldar models I ever owned. (I don't think I'm ever going to get used to calling them Aeldari or Asuryani.)
I put my Dire Avengers together a long time ago, undercoated them, and never got round to painting them. (Although I did base coat my exarch.) As I've been having a lot of success airbrushing blues I decided now was the time to change that (the unpaintedness of the Dire Avengers, not my recent success in painting blue - long may it last.)
I'm pretty happy with how they look (especially the simple but effective bases) but will definitely change a few things next time round.
I'm not a fan of the GW's Gemstone Paints for painting actual gemstones. While painting them the old-fashioned way is time consuming, I think the effect is much, much better and worth the extra effort. Gemstone Paints are better reserved for things like vehicle screens or other unusual items.
I'm also disappointed with the Ceramite White (GW) I used to paint the cloth and helmets. I thought it would save a little time (because white can be so annoying to get right) but it took about as many layers to get the coverage I wanted as starting with grey would have. It doesn't flow like the other paints in GW's Base range, either - much less smooth and generally not nice to use. Next time I'll just go with my normal white recipe.
While my Craftworld colours are bone and light blue, I want to keep my a more traditional palette for my aspect warriors. (It's well-established canon that the Eldar's motto is "Fear the Rainbow".) I'm looking forward to getting some other aspects on my table and maybe take a break from blue for a while.
It does get a little repetitive.
Until then, happy painting!
I don't paint a lot of big models. Anything bigger than cavalry and I'm loath to do anything with it, but given that I own a steadily growing number of large models (including a wraithknight, a few flyers, Nagash, several other vehicles, a greater daemon - you get the idea) it's something I feel a need to work on.
So, despite my innate love of the standard sized 28mm model, I decided to break from my preference and paint an Ultramarine Dreadnought. It'd also be a good opportunity to stretch my airbrushing muscles, as I was pretty sure I could do most of it without a brush.
It's just the push-fit Assault on Black Reach model, but painted up I think he's almost as nice as the multi-part ones.
The blue was all airbrushed using three different shades of blue (I think - I honestly don't even remember which ones, just whatever seemed appropriate at the time) except for some minor edge highlighting and shading to make it pop. The metal is pretty standard (Boltgun, followed by Chainmail and Mithril (GW paints), and shaded with black and brown - although not necessarily in that order), and the little red light was one of my first times using GW's gemstone paints, which had been sitting on my painting desk for a while. By far my favourite detail, though, is the writing on the left leg - best I've ever managed.
This model was a joy to paint and I'm looking forward to getting some colour on my grey giants.
Until next time, enjoy the photos and happy painting!
