The Kabal Grows

No, those aren't the same warriors I posted last week.  I was actually able to paint 10 warriors in 7 days which is really cool.  My original list was actually going to be a haemonculi coven with the genetically altered units, but after some proxy testing I didn't like 3 man wrack units and felt I was lacking some ranged anti-tank.  As a result, I added an archon, two units of trueborn, and several warrior units.

Here's a shot of the growing Kabal.  I'm still searching for a basing inspiration so feel free to suggest anything that would look good with my color scheme.

Kabalite Warriors

Well, my son is two weeks old now and we're well adjusted to the new routine.  After work, I hang out with Lucian and mommy and hear all the ridiculous stories about bodily functions.  Then when mommy and Lucian are asleep, I get to paint.  I'm on call for bottle and diaper duty until 2am these days so I'm actually able to get a respectable amount of painting done.

Angels Sanguine

No, I'm not starting a new army.  My friend Gerry is though, and I'm giving him a hand starting out his blood angel army.  He decided to go with the Angels Sanguine black and red scheme.  I offered to paint a terminator or two for him.

This Week's Successes and Failures

I was able to get in some painting and games in this week, which was real nice.  I'm falling behind in the painting league so I hope I can finish the army by March for the final tournament.  Here's a haemonculi I've been finishing up.

Newborns and Trueborns

Well, I've been a daddy for nearly a week now.  I spent 4 days and 3 nights in the hospital with my wife following her c-section and the birth of my son.  We've been home a few days now and are adjusting to the insanity that is newborn sleep deprivation.  Here's a shot of my little masterpiece, Lucian.

Last Day as a Free Man

Epic title huh?  Tomorrow we have a planned C-section to deliver our first child at 11:30am.  I won't bore you with real life dramas, but along with the associated excitement and uncertainties of having my first child comes the 40k dilemma.

In a perfect world, I would be able to maintain my full time job, take care of my wife and baby, and still have time to paint, game, and blog.  In reality, I will probably have to give up some of my 40k time or squeeze it into baby nap times.

Dark Eldar will be my hobby project until they're complete.  Then I will be stripping and repainting the Tyranids.  If I'm able to handle the new routine and keep up, the Dark Eldar will be done for the painting tournament on March 10th and Tyranids will be done for the 6th edition release.  If I'm not able to handle the new routine, those projects may take a year each.

I already know I'll have to miss half of the local tourneys due to my new work schedule, but one thing I can promise is a battle report for every game I am able to fit in.  I'll also keep posting Dark Eldar progress although they will be less frequent. 

Thanks again for all your traffic and support over the past 18 months.  I'll leave you with the last model I painted before becoming a daddy. 

I finished this Archon last night and I'm pretty pleased with it.  By using the airbrush, washes, and dry brushing I was able to finish it in under 3 hours.  By using warrior bitz and a fantasy cape I was able to keep it extremely cheap.  It may not be the most grandiose Archon ever, but will be the only model in the army with that helmet and back fin.

Dark Eldar Progress

I'll be the first to admit that I've been slacking on my painting schedule for the escalation league, but it's hard to focus the week before your first child is born.  I was able to get out of the rut last weekend and get some work done.  Just to preface the pictures, here's a list of some of my goals with this army:

1.  Increase my paint score potential above my Grey Knight army with many more conversions.  Grotesques, beasts, and haemonculi will all be converted.

2.  Test the theory that more colorful armies draw more attention and possibly higher scores.  My Grey Knights are black and white, so the Dark Eldar will use bright colors.  The scheme was actually used when I played an army dubbed "Twilight's Edge" and is supposed to reflect the colors of a sunset fading into darkness.

3.  Save money on the build cost by converting plastic kits to avoid finecast when possible.  Finecast beasts run about $1 per point, so anything less than that will be good also.  Haemonculi and an Archon will also be converted.

4.  Cut down painting time by using new and more efficient techniques.  My Grey Knights were entirely hand-blended.  The Dark Eldar will be airbrushed, washed, and dry brushed.

With all that in mind, here are some progress pics from this week.