I finally knocked off a 'Hobby Goal' from 2018, despite thinking i already had done previously!
So some history... (Feel free to skip this and just look at the pictures... I know i would, but there is a point to all of this, honest!)
My Epic Blood Angels Space Marine army came to me as an eBay purchase initially, in the heady days of late 2014.
A battle company, Land Raider company, some bikes, land speeders, termies, predators, and some specialists. (I'll throw a pic in at the end of this)
A pretty solid start, and all painted in a fairly robust paint scheme, with lovely Goblin Green bases, straight out of 1990's white dwarf!
I picked it up as it was a bargain, and my intention was to have it tucked away as solid little army that i could use to teach any friends that showed an interest, how to play the game. Board game pieces that i wouldn't cry over if someone knocked a stand from the table and squashed them underfoot.
I added a couple of units such as some classic Thunderhawks, and made a start on a Death Company (in 2nd Edition Space Marine/NetEpic, you roll per infantry detachment and see how many leave their unit and join the Death Company, a ferocious close combat unit)
As i picked up more Space Marine minis, i spread them amounts my various projects, Ultramarines, Dark Angels, Imperial Fists, World Eaters, and if anything remained... then these Blood Angels got the scraps.
They were my ginger stepchild, my shame. I hadn't painted them, so how could i love them?!
One day however, my opinion changed. I threw an 'agrax earthshade' brown wash over them to pick out the details and tone down the bright red a bit. As soon as it dried i had in my hands an army that i had contributed to, and began to see in a different light.
From then on i knew that this would be my primary Space Marine army.
I'd still dabble with other chapters to try out a different scheme, or just to have a small force to use as allies or in smaller marine on marine skirmishes, but these Blood Angels went to the top of the food chain.
The biggest issue i had was that as bits were added, different reds were used to paint them, and the basing was a mix of solid Goblin Green, or sand with the edges painted either black, tan or brown.
It was a mess, and it has taken me until today to realise something...
tl:dr;
Basing matters!
if you have models that don't match... sticking them on the same base as the guy next to them tricks the viewer into seeing them as the same thing.
Do this across a whole army, and wow... what a sight.
Do this across a whole game system... Yeah, i'm not there yet.
Painting the Frostgrave guys over the last month really brought this home.
Now i have a box full of minis sporting mis-matched scale, differing colour palates, even paint style, yet having them use the same basing scheme somehow makes them look like they belong together.
Suddenly makes the half-naked jungle tribesman throwing spears at the viking barbarian with the fur cloak seem like it was meant to be!
The issues i have now are;
1) I have used all of the basing material i had for this army... so if i add any more models to it, i'll be subtly diverging.
2) Where do i stop? It didn't take too long to do this army, but the through of tackling all those guardsmen or Orks fills me with dread!
Anyhoo!
I wasn't all basing this week.
There were new units.
My (now beloved) Blood Angels got their wings, in the form of a full company of Assault marines.
this spurred me on to bring my tactical detachment up to company strength, and of course this meant more bodies on standby for the Death Company.
I also found i had enough of Vanguards' excellent Novan Elite Heavy troops left, which proxy great as Grey Knights, this gives my armies of the Imperium some much needed demon killing power!
Onwards and upwards - my plans are to now work my way through my remaining unpainted boxes of shame and see what i can add to my existing armies, with the rest being sold off to make some much needed space!
Thanks for reading, especially if you made it through my brain dump on the importance of basing! :)
Photos!
No comments:
Post a Comment