Losing the Competition

I lost the game.

Did that get your attention?  I apologize – actually, it was just a little bet.

If you’ve been following for the past few weeks, you know Samantha and I had a little competition to see who could do a better job painting their first figure.  The loser had to base coat all the other figures in the set.  After all was said and done, it looks like she won.  Samantha won with twice as many votes in her favor and after seeing hers, I was stuck wondering how I got any votes at all.  Thanks to those who voted – whether by comment or message.  The message was clear – she’s more skilled at painting and I didn’t thin out the paint until it was too late.

So… we had a lazy weekend filled with putting the remaining 47 miniatures together.  In anticipation of one of us having to do the work AND after getting some advice I decided to pick up some Citadel Chaos Black spray paint to base coat everything.  Is it cheating?  Maybe.  Is it quicker and more efficient?  You bet your ass it is.

With that, I got a box and lined the minis up and gave them a pass over on each side.  After the first pass (front and back), I noticed missed spots from the angle so my plans for lining them all up in sets and base coating changed.  Instead, I decided to spray them each by hand and rotate/cant each figure as needed.  Problem solved and still done with far less time than hand-painting each base coat.  Just ensure you’ve got an open area with good ventilation to work in.  I also recommend a face mask and eye protection, just in case.

Aaaand boom… all painted.

I’m loving this Helbrute.  I’m looking forward to wrecking stuff with him.  A glove probably could’ve prevented me from getting the black finger.

A few notes and a heads up to anyone new to the hobby (like us):

If you’re looking to buy the starter set, it’s nice to have another person to help you cut, fit, glue, and put together all the figures.  49 miniatures seems like a lot to do in one sitting and it is.

Put the figures together partially to check their fit and gap spots, then glue and put them together fully.  Also, be sure to check the order pieces are to be assembled in.  It can save you a lot of trouble… trust me.

Lastly, some pieces are duplicates and won’t be on the same sheet of pieces.  For the most part, you don’t have to go looking around for the pieces after you’ve found the correct.

Overall, we both enjoyed putting them together and I (Samantha was working on creating new coloring pages) enjoyed seeing them spread across the table.  Now they’re base coated and we plan on figuring out paint schemes and playing against each other.

For my first figure I went with The Crimson Slaughter, but after reading through the Codex I’m definitely loving the Thousand Sons Legion.  Any suggestions from those of you with Chaos Space Marines?