Sunday 8 March 2015

Painting the inside of Stormravens

Back in my home town, they used say that people who didn't want to come off the dole would write their job description as "Painter, Cupboards, Inside of".  The idea being that their skill set was such a complete waste of time that no one would ever employ them.


It was obviously meant to be a joke but I've met SM players who paint the inside of their Stormravens. They usually build the kit so that the front ramp opens and closes or the doors come off.  That way you can peek inside and, assuming you can actually see anything, imagine what it would really be like to ride the cargo deck of a Stormraven into battle.  However, even if they were going to glue the doors shut, they insist that they would paint the inside anyway.  It wouldn't be 'right' to leave the interior as bare plastic, they argue.  I used to scoff at this particular brand of obsessive compulsive disorder.  Being a perfectionist isn't all bad but its easier to keep the doors closed and just pretend that you painted them.  If you're really in a hurry to get the model on the tabletop or ready for a tournament then you don't even bother with a pilot and simply spray the canopy blue.  I think this is going a little too far but some gamers don't want to build models, much less paint them  (either that or they don't like the look of the cockpit).  They argue that if its functional and looks decent then its fine for a game of 40k.  This is a perfectly valid argument and makes sense when 'Gaming' is the foundation point of your Hobby/Gaming/Lore triangle.


I, on the other hand have just slipped down another rung on the OCD ladder of pointless activity. My latest bright idea involves chopping up Old One Eye.  I never would have gotten round to painting him anyway (unless! unless GW suddenly gave him killer rules and reduced his points cost!  Then he would be on my painting table faster than you can say, 'oooh, shiny!').  My version of Old One Eye was very uninspiring to be honest.  I tried re-posing him and using different things for the crushing claws but I ended up just using the head that comes with the kit.  So it wasn't particularly heart wrenching to pull (and saw) him apart and start again. If this doesn't work then I can never again complain about GW's prices because I don't appear the value the models anyway.  I could have been a contender! I could have had 4 Carnifexes in my army.  Instead I chose to model one of them curled up, asleep.  Now I've got to make his bed and lie in it.





4 comments:

  1. Really cool, and natural pose mate.

    What would be cool is to do a cast of a tyrannocyte in clear resin, with this model painted on the inside. . . Just an idea ;)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! That is a great idea but doesn't involve enough magnets.

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  2. they have 12 step programs for this type of behavior, mate.

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