Progress report: 3rd Tactical Squad

Wow... First post since july.... And the first post of 2011! Let's see if I can breathe som life back into this blog, eh?

The good news is that I'm feeling a lot of motivation coming back, so I've actually picked up my Dark Angels project again, right where I left it: the three marines from 3rd Tactical Squad, 3rd Company.

And here they are:

As you can see, they're almost done. So, what prompted this activity? Well, recently, there's been a lot of hobby activity in the local 40k community, and it's really inspiring! I decided to organize a painting night and invited some friends, and it was great fun! We were six people, talking, laughing and painting. Hopefully, we're doing this again soon.

These guys just need some minor highlighting done, and of course the chapter symbol on their left shoulder pads. That's next session, and then I get to finally cross out some more men on my goal sheet!

/S

Another monday, another painting session

Honestly, I didn't really feel like painting today, but I did anyway. Again, it was just a little, but I did finish all the skulls and chest eagles on the three marines I'm working on. Sorry, no picture.

I do feel that I'm getting closer, though. Another session, or two, and these marines will be done. Only three models done in several months may seem like nothing, but compared to zero, it's actually quite a lot!

See you next week!

/S

Progress report: 3rd Tactical Squad

Last monday, I decided to start painting at least a little bit each week. So, for today I continued painting the three marines from last week.

Today's grand total: Metal bits

That's it. Not much, but a hell of a lot more than nothing. :)

And here they are:

I'm really glad the project is moving forwards again.

See you next week!

/S

Progress Report: Company Master & Command Squad

I'm feeling pretty good after last night's painting session. I got more work done than I'd planned, which is really nice. I can definitely believe this squad will be finished in another session, or two, max.

Here are some pictures:



The Master and the Sergeant (powerfist) are completely done, except for the bases.



I decided to paint the Company badge on their right shoulder pads, to mark them out as the Command Squad and connect them to the company.



And here's a close-up of the Chapter Badge on the Sergeant:



Already looking forwards to next Friday, when I'll sit down for another painting session!

/Stitch

New pictures! (Command Squad WIP + Rhino)

Yep, I'm finally going to show you what's been going on lately! :)

First up, here are the Company Master and his Command Squad, as of yesterday. Actually, I discovered that I lied in my last post. I listed what was left to do, but I forgot about highlighting the red bits, so add that to the list. Here they are, work in progress, remember: (click for bigger picture)



And here's the finished Rhino of 1st Tactical Squad 3rd Company: (click for bigger pictures)





















There are a couple of details I'm not 100% happy with: the "1" on the front should be centered, and I think the Chapter Badge on the left door is a bit wonky. But I decided right away that I won't re-do them. It would just waste time, as I think they're "good enough". I honestly think I won't even think about it when the tank is on the table with a bunch of other painted minis. On the whole, I'm just so darned pleased that I'm making progress, and I can't wait to field a completely painted army!

I want to thank Drathmere for his comment on my last post, and encourage everyone to visit his blog: http://40khobbyblog.blogspot.com/ (Great stuff!)

See you soon!

/Stitch

Progress Report: DeffCup 2009 1000pt Army

Time for a progress report. The tournament is about six weeks away and I'm a bit nervous! I haven't gotten any painting done in quite a while, but all the models are assembled. Is six weeks going to be enough for me to paint four tanks and 14 infantry? I think so, but I really need to get cracking!

So, here's what my Goal Sheet looks like as of 29 April:

Here are some photos:

Master of the 3rd Company. Ready for primer.

Command Squad of the 3rd Company. Ready for primer.

2nd Tactical Squad of the 3rd Company. Two marines done. One primed, four ready for primer. Three almost done.

Predator, Command Razorback and two Rhinos. These have all been scavenged from one of my unfinished projects, the DIY Space Marine Chapter the Knights Repentant. They will all be re-primed in black. I have added Hunter Killer Missiles to them all. The one on the Predator is held in place with magnets and the others are pinned, but not glued, in place, so they can all be removed for easy storage without breaking them. You probably can't see it in this picture, but three of the HKM's have custom made mounts, and these will be the topic of one of next month's updates!

Six weeks.... I better get painting!

/Stitch

Tip: Goal Sheets

I'm one of those people that start a hundred projects for every one that I finish. To help me focus on actually finishing a project, I've started using what I call "Goal Sheets".

So, what is a goal sheet?

A goal sheet is a piece of paper that helps you visualize the finished project. Here is my goal sheet for my 1000pt army for the DeffCup, a small tournament coming up in june:


Every box represents a model that needs to be assembled and painted. A small box is a single infantry figure, and a big box is a tank. This particular sheet represents my 1000pt army, consisting of a Company Master with a 5-man Command Squad in a Razorback, two 10-man Tactical Squads in Rhinos and a Predator.

When I have assembled (and based) a model, I circle the corresponding box on the goal sheet. When the model is painted, I cross out the box. Here's a close up:


As you can see, when this picture was taken on 23 april, the first Tactical Squad is finished, their Rhino assembled but unpainted. The Command Razorback and one of the Veterans in the Commmand Squad is assembled and based.

Here's a work-in-progress shot of the Company Master and the Command Squad:
Even though the Company Master is fully assembled, he's not based yet, so doesn't get a circle on the goal sheet just yet.

Why bother with a Goal Sheet at all?

I find it motivates me to look at the sheet and see what's left to do. It helps me focus on the right things. It's also very satisfying to cross out boxes on the sheet, indicating finished models. It's not always practical to have an entire army standing on display, so the sheet is a handy way to "see" the whole army and especially seeing the progress made after each session.

You'll see more of this particular goal sheet in other updates, as I will post progress reports on the army up until the DeffCup.

I have a bigger goal sheet, which is simply a copy of the Battle Company data sheet from Apocalypse. In a future update, I'll show you this as well.

Hope you find this useful. I'd love to see other people's goal sheets!

See you later!

/Stitch

Work in progress: Veteran Sergeant

I promised to show you more of this guy in January's update, but I didn't deliver, did I?

Unfortunately, he's still not finished... But, here are some more work in progress pictures of the Veteran Sergeant of 2nd Tactical Squad 3rd Company:




I thought I'd try letting the wings go up over the trim of the shoulder pad, and I'm unsure about the result, but from a distance it looks pretty good. And that's good enough for me. :)




The blade of the power sword didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it, so I may re-paint that, but I'm pretty happy with the gold.

Comments and critiques are welcome, as always!

/Stitch