Welcome back to week 7 of quarter 3 of year 3 of Hammer the Backlog, the weekly mini painting, productivity and accountability blog. And this week has been very much about mini painting, productivity and accountability. After the excitement of getting my dream Brettonian unit painted over the last few weeks, and while I get ready to start painting up the Company of Honour that I converted about 15 years ago, it was a single model week this week. And there was plenty of that model, let me tell you!
SCORECARD
Another week purely in the green. I was looking back over the first seven weeks of this quarter, and there has been a lot of green! I think the amount that I am trying to paint this quarter and the schedule I’ve set to paint it is pretty solid, and the numbers seem to back that up.
The Killteam rock, with the largest and most complex (and only 5 point) model fully painted, is realistically at about 55% done, but Instant Agency Tools, once again, only lets me do 10% increments.
I’ve been loving using my Winsor and Newton series seven brushes for the last two years, but when you are painting a lot, you really do start to see the brushes wear down. I always thought that a well maintained brush would keep its tip and last forever, but these things actually physically wear down and get shorter and stumpier.
I keep meaning to go to the art supply shop to get a sharp new one, as painting is much more enjoyable with a brush that does what you want it to.
THIS WEEK’S MODEL
This week’s solo model is White Scar biker Jetek Suberei, the man with a thousand dangly bits. Unfortunately I didn’t love painting this model, which only came as half a surprise.
I don’t particularly love painting Space Marines at the best of times, preferring normal men and monsters. Further to that, painting small to mid sized vehicles like bikes and cannons doesn’t really appeal to me either.
Their abundance of bits and details on something that isn’t say, a cool jet or an awesome hero make them feel fiddly and unrewarding to me. Further further to that, this is the forth black space marine bike I’ve painted in recent memory. Other than the completely different coloured base he is very, very similar to the ravenwing models I painted for Dark Vengeance a few months ago.
Further, further, further to that, this is a fairly modern model, so that means dangly bits everywhere and more details to paint. The bike itself is more detailed than a normal bike, with it’s deathwatch lettering and white scar panels, and then the rider himself is festooned with dangly bits and pieces.
Then, just when you think you are done, the designers say “stick on a bird!” “Do you mean a bird design?” “No! A whole assed bird. Stick it on there!” “But…. where?” “Tiny stick. Put it on a tiny stick.” “Won’t that break rather easily?” “Johnston, you’re fired. Get me a man in here who will do me a bird on a tiny stick!”
Anyway, that’s enough negativity! He’s done and looks pretty spiffy with his mates.
WHAT’S NEXT?
I have a bit of a decision to make for next week. The company of honour was started years ago when the Heraldry of the Empire book came out. They were started in the fashionable, at the time, black undercoat and foundation paint style. That is not my style any more really, having been much more influenced by the lighter, brighter 90’s style with a white undercoat. And of course, my beloved contrast paints.
So I think that means that the started models are going for a biostrip bath, while I start painting on the bare plastic rear rankers. I’ll be going for the same basing scheme and “time-period” as I did with my High Elves. So kinda 5th edition, kinda 8th edition. Can’t wait to get started!
And I suppose I’ll paint another black space marine too!
Thanks for reading all of this though, best eggs.
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