Broodlord bonanza

I was going to start painting my Necrons this week,  I really was.  I even bought some Army Painter plate mail primer so I didn't have to actually paint them with a brush.  Once the silver base coat is on, its mainly down to adding a black wash and they're 80% finished.  I've heard stories of people throwing all the models in a plastic bag, adding the wash and just shaking up the bag.  Thats two out of your three colours right there.

One big happy family

I worked on the converted genestealers instead.  Maybe I have a mental block about it.  I finished my Space Hulk Broodlord as well and was pretty chuffed with the result.  It was undercoated two years ago and has been sitting on a shelf ever since.  This an ongoing problem with my 40k hobby; its very easy to get distracted, lose interest and move onto the next 'shiny' thing.  I reckon that there are three high points in the life cycle of a model.  The first comes when you buy it.  Unboxing your new kit is a guilty pleasure and the quickest fix of all three.  Its like your birthday or Christmas, except nobody else is getting a present and you 'forgot' to tell your wife that you were pissing away the disposable household income on this totally unnecessary and entirely selfish purchase.

Once that high has dissipated, you can get a second hit by assembling the model and/or converting it. This of course requires some effort on your part.  It can be a major stumbling block since its far easier to just go out and buy more models.  Often, it marks the end of the useful life of the kit which gathers dust on a shelf,  essentially forgotten until you accidentally come across it one day and suffer feelings of remorse (or you just promise yourself that it will be your next project.  Or worse, you decide that you need to buy more models to go with it and the whole downward spiral continues).

The third and final hit is when you actually base and paint the model.  This stage is fraught with peril.  You have a fantasy of how the completed figurine will look and its awesome.  You will receive general accolades and the admiration of your fellow gamers.  Your children will be inspired to take up the hobby themselves and even your wife will finally pretend to be interested.

Strike a pose. C'mon vogue..

The actual execution usually falls a long way short of expectation.  You may have rushed stage 2, doing a botch job,  failing to remove the mould lines and flashing properly.  Badly fitted joints which have been over-glued to the point where you can see your own preserved fingerprints on some surfaces can lead to further self-loathing.  Its all thrust into stark contrast when painted.  That perfectly imagined vision in blue and pink actually looks like a garish nightmare in reality.  Half finished, misbegotten creatures lurk in the dark corners of your painting station, daubed in failed colour schemes, trailing broken or melted limbs and staring mournfully  at you.  "Why didn't you finish meeeeee?" they whisper accusingly.

Such was the fate of my Broodlord.  He was such a cool model that I was almost scared of painting him and making a mess of it so he only ever acquired a coat of dust.  However, this time I felt that the planets were aligned correctly.  Its a great feeling when a conversion or paint job turns out well.  An accomplishment which I'm sure anyone who spends hours staring at their (un)painted idols in dingy basements or spot lit bedrooms will understand.  Everyone else just thinks you're weird.

Now I've only got to re-paint the other 33 and we're good to go