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I have been in the hobby since 1st edition and I am well familiar with the ebb and flow of motivation. Big events like a bereavement can easily take their toll. Sometimes I find that even the seasons affect my motivation as I struggle paint in the winter when it is dark (a real shame since there is not much else to do). Basically you have the right approach. Hobbies are meant to be fun and there is no shame in parking stuff for a while if you lose your mojo. If you try and force it, chances are you won't enjoy it and won't do as good a job as you would otherwise. Take some time to be kind to yourself and be with the rest of your family. One day you will wake up and feel the urge to pick up the paint brush again.

Thank you so much for spending time to reply to my post. You've helped me out more than you know. I've recently been prescribed medications for my anxiety and panic, but they say it will be weeks before I notice a real difference. I have a terrible time making decisions, so at some point after I've assembled these models and grabbed some Sisters, I'll come ask again for help trying to build a cohesive force.

You shouldn't worry about word counts. Just pick a single story beat you want to hit in your lore and write until you feel the story is told. Everything else is secondary.

I prefer the former, based on the group shot in your library, squads will stand out on the tabletop. Depending on whether they are codex compliant, you could reserve the black pad for Sergeants or other ranks - it does look good with the gold border. Just my tuppence - both look good!

Like @Karhedron, I have felt the effects of ebb and flow of motivation, but I started in the tail end of 2nd. In all these years I can say only my Grey Knights are my "Finished army" as I really worked on them during covid and continued through covid. Real life takes a toll and we have to step away sometimes. One of my other hobbies is playing paintball with my team, but since the passing of best friend/ team mate, I just struggle going out there. And when I do I feel like, I am disrespecting his memory because outside of his daughter and his dog, it was his favorite thing. And I spiral more. Sometimes you do have to step away from the hobby or the army you are working on, as they are not fun or stressing you out and hurting your mental health more than helping. We are here for you, and you are not alone in this struggle, @firestorm40k. Take care of yourself, your family and loved ones.

I Sea what you did there..... Looks like you are off to a good start and it has a very nice harbour feel to it.

Sending you internet support tokens @Lathe Biosas, what a great idea for an army. I can't help on colour choices but @W.A.Rorie seems to have covered it! I hope you can enjoy the project and it isn't overtaken by your anxiety. Would it help to sketch out the colour schemes? I quite often attempt to sketch out a mini and then block in colours to get an impression of what it might look like and how adjoining panels interact. It can be useful if you aren't simply copying a Space Marine from a codex. I'm sure this will be a fantastic looking army, very impressive as a fully painted force - especially with a Knight!

1st- Mental health is no joke. I used to put others first, be everyone's savior/ caretaker or keep quite about issues i was having never realized what it was doing to my body. The impact of that is horrible for your overall health. My wife has been getting me to talk to her about things, which is a struggle in its own, but I am getting a little better. I truly hope it is getting better for you. 2nd- I am not a competitive player. I care more about having fun and hanging out with my friends. I hate playing people get mad cause a dice rolled bad for them but they are still winning by a lot. I rather do anything else then be playing that game. So I say build what you want they are your toy soldiers and have fun with them. As an example: Did I need a Captain Sargotta from the Masters of Maelstrom box? No. Do I play Chaos.? No. Is she going to make an awesome Strike Cruiser Captain for my Howling Griffon's? Yes. On of other Projects is switching out Thunder Hammers for Swords one on my Terminator Assault squad just to make them more unique. Rules wise they are just a Terminator Assault squad with Thunder Hammer and Storm Shields. So follow your dream of building YOUR Army. Ignore the naysayers. 3rd- Assassins, Sisters of Silence, and Ordo Xenos Inquisitor all would be a great fit. My suggestion as this is Webway Strike Force the Inquisitor would have to be Puritan because of the Custodes and Sisters of Silence, so no xenos tech. ( I have not read the Master of Mankind so I do not knwo if any of the Imperials used xenos tech). A But this is also YOUR army so if you want xenos tech go for it. A Knight- I think a Knight would be a great addition as it could bring heavy guns and draw fire as your going to be outnumbered constantly as it is. Sisters of Silence- Bolters or Flamers variants. small squads i would not go more than 3 squads Ordo Xenos Inquisitor another way to get some heavy weapons and bodies with some Imperial Agents Navigator just for the psyker ability. 4th- Colors- If I was doing the force Custodes- Gold Armor, red Cloth/ Plumes Sisters of Silence- Black Armor, Red Cloth/ Plumes Inquisition- Red Cloth, black and gold accents Knight- White, silver, purple

One of the 2 land raider kits I wanted so bad…the other was the Mk IIb which is in my Grey Knights Night world camo, but there has to be more than the doors Quartered….like a big crux terminatus on top…. The Excelsior will be the quartered scheme. Too ornate not too. The price for the kit was crazy. I was expecting it to be more and it was a little more than buying a land raider by itself. Luckily they were able to ship it to me in the states. And I forgot another Land Raider…Since I am playing an Ultramarine Successor….Terminus Ultra. Probably based on a spartan kit since it is now twin linked and Tri-Barrel

Looking forward to seeing them! I share @Mazer Rackham's jealousy about the Land Raider. Always wanted a Land Raider Excelsior, as ornate as it is.

Jealous of your LR Prometheus kit! Will you be doing the quartering, or replicating the Night World Livery?

Writing groups can be very eclectic indeed. I used to be a library Volunteer and facilitate a group myself, and there was a big poetry influence to it, not much prose altogether. It depends on what the group is actually for - since our libraries run social objectives of getting people out and about, and they're listening out for if folks have trouble (when they chat during the break) so they can signpost them to help. It's social first, with the work coming second. This is good if you're finding your feet. Feedback however can be...an bit hit and miss, as no-one wants to critique someone else's work. You'll need an incisive group lead or a handful of folks that want to get better, and not just present. It's a tall ask for people who come for a brew and maybe listen to each other talk. Group discipline is loose, but that's the point, but it's comfortable and non-confrontational. That's a big plus in certain circumstances. That's not to knock what goes on, nor anyone's talent, but that's generally what I have observed, so salt to taste. I have also attended dedicated writing groups. These have a completely different flavour to them. The focus is on disciplined production of work, (although never forced, but there is sometimes a push for contributions) and critique of that work. The table will read sequentially, listening attentively, and all will comment on it, giving good and bad. There's a tendency in the writer's groups to actually find folks who want to move on and develop, and the crowd will push (if they're good, and you're lucky to get editors in the group). Again, take with salt. That's not to say you can't push that further in a library group - but the problem is the library group has different objectives and sometimes hands get tied with what you want to do, but you need to get people in the chain engaged. On presenting in these groups: In the library, as you have encountered, folks aren't so bold and braying as those of us who read well, but don't let that make you a shrinking violet so you don't outshine them. Offer to read their stuff sometimes if they can't or don't fancy it, or better yet, if they ask you to, it's a compliment. Sometimes they want to hear the words they've written read powerfully, and well. Obviously it depends on your 'audience' (and you have the advantage of knowing an audience well) so do your thing, and read the room. Sometimes your library groups are not competent or comfortable readers and their diction is difficult, but that's not their fault, I make no claims it is. People are how they are. You may be able to encourage them with your own presentation. They might be intimidated at first, but you might be surprised what you inspire. A solid reader in a group can make all the difference, and entertaining in a social setting is bread-and-butter work for those library groups. You know what you're doing. Your voice is not on the airwaves - it's just in print, now. Presenting to a writing group is very different. You will have shy folks, yes, but you will also have very competent readers who will complement you in presentation, and won't be afraid to put their oar in afterwards, so you might feel you're up against it! I did, but then again I'm no good at voices. On that subject, doing voices can certainly enhance your storytelling. Audiobooks are all the rage amongst these young whippersnappers, and it can really engross them in the world you're constructing, so I would suggest (again, this is just me, take it or bail it), that the library setting is far better for this. The writing group is not interested in your storytelling - it's interested in your skill and craft. Voices can distract from what they're listening to, and editors, if present, listen differently to other authors. Use inflection, by all means, drive the sharp edge on a curse, but don't alter the voice. If you've written the line correctly, it won't matter if you're a man reading a woman's part. It's not a script - it's a book - and the reader's voice reads in their voice, not any other, and the character will speak. My tuppence - and good luck! You're doing something great!

I cannot not upvote a post with a cat in it. Give Kwazii pets for me - though don't wake him up to do so.

Just to bring a precision: any mention to "serious issue" from my side is of course pure irony. Otherwise, I am thinking about a second instalment for continuation of this post: storylining of my painting program... Because this one is only about managing short term program but it does not give insight on how this program is planted through the year... And how B&C is a source of stimulation and reprogramming. Thank you Call to Arms challenges...

I don't. I'm horrendous at finishing anything, and jump onto new projects all the time. I'm currently working on 3 seperate Kill Teams, I've got to finish my Space Marine army (most painted to at least "battle standard" ie 3 colours min), and I've got Tyranid army that needs started painting. Not to mention the multiple 40k "display" pieces, and non-40k stuff like Marvel: Crisis Protocol etc to finish painting. I struggle to finish things. I tried to organise better and plan things out... it didn't work. I hope you have better luck than me!

My painting plan: What army has my interest? What new units/ rules did my army get? What is the purpose of painting? Paint scheme difficulty? Currently my Adepta Sororitas has my current interest (1), received the Celestian Insidiants (2), want to play them in my groups upcoming league/ Campaign (3), and painting scheme is not hard to due. Compared to my Grey Knights, Newer Codex (2) and True Scaling (3), and scheme is easy (4). My GK have my interest but revisiting my Order Minoris, Order of the Parthenon, has taken priority, as this was my Personal Order, I created. The issues that hinder my progress: One issue is I buy a lot of models and accessories for armies and store them for later. So when I get the itch for an army I raid my stash, which messes with Gamer ADHD. Another issue is time. Still learning to be a (step)dad, taking care of newborn, wife returning to work (even if from home), and well all that this life entails. Going from having a lot of time in a no kid relationship to being married, a (step)dad, and trying to learn how to make time for myself. Along with my own personal Mental Health struggles. Paint scheme difficulty is a major issue as well. My Valorous Heart is Airbrush heavy and when I started them I was using GW paints and I have shifted away from them. I need to eventually. My Exorcists are a metallic scheme, so have some difficulty to them and time consuming unlike the GKs metallic scheme. The break through I needed and what triggered it: I have been dealing with Mental Health issues, lack of time, work, and being a dad/ husband lately. This stopped my hobby time. I knew I needed out of the funk and GW did something that motivated me. GW releasing rules for Red Corsairs and Iron Warriors. Not armies I play but Heretic Astartes and the @The_Oni_of_Hindsight's favorite Legion/ Traitor Marines. A long time rival force, played by one of my best friends/ regular opponents, and he deserves to face my Favorite Army.

Welcome to the Ravenspire, @Lathe Biosas! May the Sons of Corax find you many victories

I've a fledgling Agents army but focused on my GSC/Brood Brothers at this time. The Agents are a great range and almost beg to be converted and customised. They've got such a great look to them and, to my mind, they hearken back to the older John Blanche illustrations. I like the idea that each Rogue Trader or Inquisitor has his or her unique retinue built by their beliefs and experience. I've a jokaero (or however you spell it - orang-utan - just don't call him a monkey or he'll go all Discworld on you) I'll paint up once I am ready to wheel them out. Looking forward to seeing more.

Great story!

Very easy to work with, and paint just like anything else once the clay/polymer/etc is set. The above bases were done into milliput, which gives them a somewhat grainy finish I'm not crazy about, but once painted it was barely notable.. Application is as easy as spreading your preferred substance on the base ensuring it is smooth/even across the surface, then applying the textured roller over that. Repeat as necessary and clean the tool afterwards with soap, water, and a stiff bristle brush. Once milliput or greenstuff gets dried in in the nooks and crannies of the pin its VERY challenging to get them out. I tried rolling out a layer onto sculpy (an oven dry clay) before doing the milliput versions, and while the detail was better and the clay was overall easier to work with, the fact I couldn't apply it directly onto the bases beforehand meant that my sheet was WAY too think for the bases and it was too brittle to be able to effectively trim down. I've done greenstuff as well in the past and I think I probably like that the most, but I was running low on it before starting these bases and didn't' want to go buy more....so milliput won the day.

Jr and I have watched the Warhammer+ episodes of Cursed City and Blackstone Fortress. Cursed City looked great fun and Jr really enjoyed it. I then bought Blackstone Fortress and we watched the WH+ episode but neither of us enjoyed it - I just think it didn't translate to TV. We have yet to attempt a go at the game (I've assembled the minis but not painted them). I do love a boxed game.

I canoot recommend the Warhammer Quest games enough as entry level introductions. They include dice rolling, and special rules for different units, require planning and strategy. My son has no interest in the hobby side of things, but will play as the enemies on both Blackstone Fortress and Cursed City. Another viable option are the even smaller boxed games like Space Marine Adventures Rise of the Orks, or Doomsday Countdown for 40k and WH: Lost Relics and WAoS: Crypt Hunters. These smaller games are 30-45min runtime, which helps with attention span with the younger ones.

Okay, I finally got the minis put together. I'll cover each as a separate category in this blog, however, so you'll be able to watch the progression from poorly assembled mini to poorly painted mini on each one individually. The reason it took so long, other than there being a ton of squirrels in my vicinity, is that I made some changes after some agonized consideration. First, I decided to not worry about the second squad. I'm only worried about a single squad now. Realistically, I'm not likely to ever reach the point where I'll collect a full 20-man squad, especially given the new Deathwatch release for the current edition of the Kill Team game. This speeds things up in the long run as now I only have to come up with 4 additional models (and their Chapters). Why is this important? Because I have plans for overachieving (first, though, I have to reach mediocre achieving ). I like to have the full roster of my kill team available for my opponent, with a checkbox for each member. It's laminated so I can identify each model that will appear on the table. This roster can be done after I get the miniatures painted, of course, but it serves as a plan for expansion. Second, I changed some of the weapons. The fundamental reason for this is that this squad represents the Legio, which means it should be closer to a "normal" Adeptus Astartes unit. Yes, I'm using the Deathwatch rules, but it just didn't feel right to take too much advantage of the Deathwatchness. So I've swapped both of the shotguns for Stalker pattern boltguns and the Infernus heavy bolter is now a plain heavy bolter. This makes the squad even less curb-stompy. The four additional models will give me a bit of variety - probably two boltgun/power weapon guys, one storm bolter guy (so I can have two of them in the kill team if I want), and one gunner (I haven't decided between the flamer, meltagun, and plasmagun yet). Along with those came a bit of rearranging of the Chapters. I re-thought my methodology a bit. If we assume that there were about 1,000 Chapters prior to the Ultima Founding (my kill team is pre-Great Rift), there are about 300 known official Chapters. Yes, some of those no longer exist [as of 999.M41] such as the Wolf Brothers and the Fire Hawks. That means that about 1/3 of Chapters (slightly less than that, actually) have been officially named. So I figured I could have 2 or 3 members of the squad come from official Chapters to remain within the bounds of statistical likelihood. So far, about 50 Chapters have been identified as belonging to the Second Founding, including the nine "First Founding" Chapters, but not including the Grey Knights or the Angels of Vigilance (the latter of which might not be of the Second Founding). Statistically, then 0-1 members of the squad might come from a First-/Second-Founding Chapter while remaining within the bounds of statistical likelihood. As for the makeup of the Chapters of origin [and their lineage back to the Legions], we had an interesting discussion back in 2022. In that discussion, I presented my personal conclusions based on the data published by Games Workshop. You can see my conclusions here. Statistically, 6 or 7 members of a squad will be from Chapters descended from the Ultramarines Legion, 1 member of the squad will be from a Chapter descended from the Imperial Fists Legion, 1 member of the squad will be from a Chapter descended from the White Scars Legion, and the remaining 1 or 2 members will be from a Chapter descended from one of the other Legions, the order of likelihood there being, from highest to lowest, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Raven Guard, Iron Hands, Unknown, Salamanders, and Space Wolves. Statistical likelihood isn't deterministic, however, so I'm willing to fudge things here and there, with a ±1 factored in (i.e., Ultramarines 5-8, everyone else 0-2). It's always possible that some squads might have vastly different compositions in terms of their lineage, but I'm using these guidelines for this squad. I'm going to stick with: 6 Ultramarines Legion Successors 1 White Scars Legion Successor 1 Imperial Fists Legion Successor 1 Iron Hands Legion Successor 1 Salamanders Legion Successor At this point, the only Chapter known for certain is from an official Chapter, the Sons of Medusa (my sole Iron Hands Legion Successor). The reason I chose them is because the Novamarines Chapter badge is close enough (there are more points around the halo, but I'm not going to sweat that) and the Sons of Medusa aren't a First-/Second-Founding Successor (otherwise I was seriously considering the Novamarines). Beyond that, I haven't determining which Legions each of the other Chapters are descended from. Since I plan to write (mini-)articles for each, however, I'll have to make that decision eventually. There's going to be a minor change to the Legio's color scheme. This doesn't invalidate anything that anyone has submitted previously (a key factor in making the change). Instead, it validates all of the varieties that have appeared in the past. Something else it does is give me red, white, and black as options for the parent Chapter shoulder pad colors. This is important because I want to enable my opponents to identify models by the Chapter badge shoulder pad color, calling a model simply "blue" or "purple" without having to identify a weapon or give a more in-depth description. Here's the breakdown of the Chapters and their colors so far (just the first six models): Watch Sergeant - Khalkotauri Chapter - purple field with a bronze bull head Fighter - Emperor's Hounds Chapter - red field with silver hound (wolf) head Heavy Gunner - Storm Angels Chapter - yellow field with black Maltese cross Boltgun 1 - Sons of Medusa Chapter - green field with black skull on white field surrounded by black halo Boltgun 2 - Griffon Lords Chapter - blue field with white griffon rampant Storm Bolter - Paragon Knights Chapter - orange field with black crossed swords The two official Chapters are the Griffon Lords (unknown lineage) and the Sons of Medusa (Iron Hands Legion Successor). When (if?) I get around to the other four models, their parent Chapter shoulder pad colors will be black, white, gray, and something else (brown? split? quartered? special?). At best, only one of these will be from an officially named Chapter, but I could also make all four unofficial. Here's a picture of the six models that currently exist (pictures help me to find all of the mould lines that I missed ): From left to right: heavy gunner (heavy bolter), warrior A (Stalker pattern boltgun), fighter (grav-pistol and power maul), Watch Sergeant (thunder hammer and bolt pistol), warrior B, warrior C (storm bolter) Using the Deathwatch rules, these guys represent a squad of veterans (Mentors) from the Legio Bolter & Chainsword. The Inquisitorial icon on their left shoulder pads (under the Legio skull icon) indicates that they have served on Inquisitorial teams in the past. While I'll cover each model in separate categories and entries, it's worth noting that the Chapter badge shoulder pad on warrior C (storm bolter) is an old metal shoulder pad with an alternative icon for assault squads. They work perfectly for the Guardians of the Covenant and, in this case, a DIY Chapter with a similar icon. All of the other bits are from a variety of kits, including the Sternguard, Deathwatch, and a variety of basic firstborn kits like the Assault, Tactical, and Devastator squads. There may be a few bits from other kits. I'll begin painting these guys, ideally starting tomorrow, but hopefully no later than Monday.

Love that shield!

Can’t wait to see it done!

I love this series of articles about Terrain, you have been doing @Bouargh!

That head does make a lovely change to the Calgar Model!

I found the inspiration from a Youtube hobby channel. a.k.a. I stole it too.

Skulls For the Throne of Khorne! Melee monster....Shooting is for the weak, Can't wait to see what you have in store!

Thank you. I do have a few Emperor's Children models kicking around, including the mighty DOOMRIDER! I really should strip that down and paint it properly.

Decided that since my Steeljacks tend to kill the most things it would be funny to have their weapons be pink. Nothing funnier than having your unit get beat by a robot wielding a pink power sword.

That is awesome, @GSCUprising! I can not wait to see how it goes for you.

R_E_P_O_R_T_E_D

Love them Both!

Airbrushing takes time and practice to use. I recommend starting using them as primer and advancing from there to zenithal, and colors and highlights. I am still learning as well, and I feel like I spend more time cleaning and fighting with them then actually painting.

Quite a lot of your last two posts resonates with me. I also have multiple projects running at the same time so if something is drying, I can work on something else. But not so many that I might get overwhelmed! I have a main project line of my homebrew Astartes chapter, of which I have enough models to always have something 'on the go'. I have army lists of increasing in 500 point chunks but am currently working on a Combat Patrol for them. I'm also working on their main opposition - Orks - and like to pick up on any B&C challenges that take my fancy. As no plan survives contact with the enemy, I'm learning to be flexible and try not to not put unrealistic expectations on my completion rates.

Decided to stick with Valorous Heart as Tanks will be easier to paint.

If you believe the astropaths, my shipment is on its way through the warp and should land on Monday, so I'll hopefully have something to show off by next weekend.

Very nice

Oh, most crucial part, you always should apply all highlights strokes from darkest part to brightest, or magic won't work. I mean literally move brush tip to center of highlight. Also stroke should be coaxial to brush bristles. This way you get thinnest layer on start of stroke and thickest in the end. Like for shoulderpads you apply brom border to center. For gorget from shoulders to center, etc.

As always it's all imho, and obviously it could be wrong way to do things. Simple? Zenithal(black all over, grey 45 degree, white from the top) and ork flesh contrast for armor. Machanicus standard + administartum gray for rubber joints and gold of your choice for trims. Complex? Black primer, Caliban green all over armor, lahmia medium + warpstone glow 2:1 - 3 layers on areas to highlight(AI already show you areas to highlight) each layer smaller then former by ~0,5-1mm depends how smooth you wanna transition to be. Add moot green into the mix and more medium so it's 3:1:1 and continue to add layers. If result isn't pop enough for you add some corax white in the end and highlights more. Mechanicus standard + administratum for rubber. Gold of your choice.

To be honest, I've no experience with 3D printed stuff, but will keep an eye on this thread to learn more.

Not sure how much use this is going to be, or if I can convey exactly what I'm thinking, but I think I can understand what is meant by a little stiff. There is a good chunk of the writing is short and sharp, giving the writing a quick pace and moving forward rapidly, at the expense of fluff (character reasoning/world building etc). That's not to say this is necessarily a bad thing! I think it works well for the short snippets type of story you have so far. It'd be more of an issue if/when you wanted to write something a bit longer. You'd need to provide a bit more meat on the story bones, give the reader time to digest and take in what's going on and why. Like I say, I quite like the quick pace and minimal background information on these really short stories, because as the reader I'm well equipped to make assumptions based on what I'm reading and implied context, so I don't need a deep understanding of the why's, just that a thing needs to happen, and it's happening now! Hope this helps.... ?

I was so intrigued I had to go looking at boxes on the internet...(Filter by Astartes, Select Price: High to Low...)

I wrote part 3, but didn't really love it... so I'm rewriting it. Should be out soon. Thanks for reading!

I always wash and brush the resin models. But I suspect the formulation of the Loctite glue I am used to buy has changed. I do use the gel range and it now stincks less cyanoacrylates. Liquid range is still good though. But even if the result is better with liquid range, it is less practical to use... Yet solidity of the bonding with the gel also looks like it is weaker now. Than in my memory.

You misspelled Ammo Grot.... GW should give us rules to throw tactical rocks if a model comes with a molded tactical rock. Range "Str of model" x2 Ballistic Skill 2+, Str 17, AP -6, DMG "All your wounds". One use but allowed rerolls for hits, wounds, and ignores all special rules target may have included invul saves.

Great atmosphere with the canticle intermixed with the grey knight’s thoughts.

Now you have no moral right to make us wait. Troopers can't wait eternity in the middle of the storm. You shall post next part as soon as possible.

Thanks both! The technique has worked well with infantry so far. Still need more practice…or to not look at them too close up. The stippling/dry brushing has to be done a little differently on the smaller, curved surfaces.