Cork Bases Part 2: Painting

In my previous post I went through the process of making the bases.  Now comes the painting process.  This is a little more straightforward.  As with most things I paint, I will apply at least 3 layers - basecoat, shadow, highlight.  Feel free to add as much detail as you want.

1) Prime black - My preferred primer is Color Decor right now.  It's cheap and gets the job done.  The nozzle is much nicer than the very bottom shelf primers.  Any matte black will be fine though. 

One thing to keep in mind is that we need to remember which model goes with which base.  You can use a marker on the underside of the base and cover with some masking tape so the primer doesn't cover it.  Sometimes, I will drill small holes in a place that will be unseen.

Because we sealed the base with the glue, the cork shouldn't absorb too much of the primer.  It's still best to use short, sweeping bursts to apply the primer through several passes.  Check all around, and the underside to make sure it is covered completely.

2) Drybrush grey - For this, I use a cheaper acrylic from the hobby store rather than one of GWs paints.  It's half the cost for 3-4 times as much paint.  Most of it will end up getting wiped on a paper towel anyways.

I use a lighter grey called rainy day gray by Anita's from Joann Fabric store.    Use a larger wide drybrush, dip in the paint, then wipe most off on a paper towel, and go to town on the bases.  This is another important reason we seal with glue.  No sand or cork should come off.  If it does, consider adding more sealing coats in the future.

We'll be painting over the sand directly on the base later, but it's important to still drybrush it so that it helps create highlights on the dirt.

The grey will darken as it dries, so you'll want to make sure the coverage is good.  Get in-between all the pieces and especially around the edges.

3) Drybrush longbeard grey around edges - I did use the GW dry paint here.  We won't need very much, just touching up the edges.  You can use a pure white or very light grey as well.

I didn't touch the flat surfaces in this step, only the edges and other jagged points that are going to grab this highlight.  Applying the lighter highlight to the flat rocks will wash out the overall base.  You want to maintain some contrast.

4) Paint with thin mournfang brown - It's trick to water it down properly.  It should flow into the sand but still stick to the higher parts.

I paint most, but not necessarily all the sand.  This includes sand spots I added to the cork and all the sand applied directly to the base.  The sand up against rocks and bigger pieces can be left along as it helps blend the details.

You don't have to be super neat here.  It represents dirt that spreads and doesn't stay in neat areas.

5) Wash with agrax earthshade - Any dark brown wash will do here.  You don't want one that's glossy at all.  Since GW washes are expensive, you might consider using Vellejo dark brown wash as well.

Make sure the mournfang is completely dry before starting. Cover all medium browns with the wash, ensuring it gets all the way to the lower levels and doesn't leave any air bubbles.  In the picture above, you can see what it looks like after drying.

6) Drybrush the brown earth with a lighter tone.  It depends on what you're going for, but your choice of lighter brown here will be dependent on your skill and what you have available.  You have to be careful with this drybrushing step because you don't want to have to correct other areas.  I use a small brush with tyrant skull, though I would like to try the new Sylvaneth Bark.

Make sure the wash is completely dry.  It will take at least an hour or two.  I let mine dry overnight.  In the picture above, I started painting a few items in step 7 while I was waiting for the wash to dry.

7) Basecoat bits - At this step, it's more a guideline of what to do rather than how.  Depending on which bits you used, you'll have different painting methods.

For any skulls, I use screaming skull. Bullet casings can be hashut copper or balthasar gold.  Grenades are pretty much any green.

8) Wash bits - Next apply the appropriate washes. Thinned earthshade for skulls, nuln oil for casings, camoshade for grenades, etc.

9) Clean edges - This step is actually out of order.  Cleaning the edges should be the last step, but I grew impatient waiting for the washes in step #8 to dry and went ahead with it.

My biggest problem with Abaddon black is that it is more of a satin finish than a true matte.  The edges should be fully matte  You can mix in a medium or go with another company's black.  My current favorite is FolkArt licorice.  It does need to be thinned down appropriately, but it's a fantastic paint and goes on as matte as can be.

10) Detailing and highlighting the bits is the final step.  Most metals will have a light drybrush of necron compound on them.  For skulls, I use screaming skull mixed with glaze medium.  You can just thin them down, you really don't want a heavy line highlight on the skull.

When you apply the model, you'll want to scrape off some of the paint on the metal or use very rough sand paper, which will also help the pin to grip into the model.

You could apply a matte spray varnish at this step or wait until the model is on the base.  This way you don't have to worry masking off some areas where the model will rest.

A lot of modelers will add flock or moss patches.  I've never personally used flock but it can look great as well.  Some tiny bright green moss patches would look outstanding here adding a little pop of color.  These bases are for Renegades and I want it to reflect a dead, barren land without any life.

It is a lot more work than plain bases but really makes the model stand out and truly 'finishes' the model.  You can make more elaborate scenes for characters or make the bases slightly higher so they stand out.  Overall, I enjoy building my own bases.  I plan on using my own custom bases for all of my 30k models, primarily out of necessity since I want them on 32mm bases.

Cork Base Post Tutorial

The Barghest Fiends are a great replacement for the aged and expensive Flesh Hounds of Khorne kit.  Given the size of the model, two wound status, and board control aspect, it's appropriate to put them on 50mm bases.  Friends have told me that newer versions of the kit have 50mm bases, so that's what I'm going with for my hounds  They look quite oversized on a 40mm base.

The 50mm bases are still pretty scarce. First introduced with Centurions, slowly more kits are using them, especially ones with multiple wounds.  Resin bases are rare and expensive, usually $3-$4 per base, which adds significantly to the cost.  It's been on my list of hobby activities for a while, so this was the perfect chance to create my own bases using cork and other materials.

For this post, I'll be making my own 60mm bases that I'll use with Renegade sentinels.  The same method works for bases of any size, just scale down how much material you use.

Materials

• Round plastic bases
• Cork material
• Polyurethane Glue or hot glue gun (I use Liquid Nails)
• Sand and tiny rocks
• White glue (like elmer's)
• Cheap or old brushes (for spreading glue)

Optional

• Superglue
• Your bit box 
• Metal pins
• Drill 
• Bit to match size pins such as a 1mm (1/64in) bit

Most of the materials you're already going to have as a modeler.  You want to use the bases that come with the model as your foundation.  You can use any old bits you have in your box to add character, but aren't strictly necessary.  Most modelers already have super glue -- note that plastic glue won't work -- I use loctite gel.  The polyurethane glue can be just about any waterproof glue that dries kinda rubbery.  Liquid nails is a little expensive, but very good as it holds the cork in place, but hot glue guns work as well.

The cork material can be found in numerous sizes at nearly any craft store like Michael's.  I bought the roll in the lower left of the picture for around $4 and it should last for hundreds of bases.  I also used some old cork coasters from a pack of 4 for a thicker material.  I know Ikea has a stack of mats for only a few bucks a pack.

Step 1 - Create cork rock faces

Tear off the cork in irregular pieces.  You want no flat edges.  These should cover most of your base, but as you get more comfortable you can start tearing off strips  and layering them.

Make sure you save every little piece that you tear off.  I keep them in a back.  they make great rock and can be mixed in later to add texture.

Stack the pieces on the base and glue down with the polyurethane glue. Cover any surface that will contact the base of other pieces of cork with the glue and press down.  You generally don't want to use so much that the glue squirts out the edges.  If it does, you can use a tooth pick or something small to scrape it away before it dries.  If you miss some, it's not a big deal, we can glue sand over to mask it later.

You don't have to cover every little bit of the base, as that can be covered with sand or other materials.    Here's an example of using pieces of varying thickness.

 The cork in a roll has a tendency to curl.  The best thing to do is place the bases between some medium weight books while they dry.  In the middle of a stack of magazines works well because they are flexible enough to adjust to the size of the base, not not too rigid to make them glue irregularly.

Keep in mind how the model will fit on the base at this stage.

Step 3 - Mark off where the model will stand

Cork is softer than the plastic material of the base so it needs to be able to support the weight.  If you have a heavier (esp metal) or unbalanced model like the sentinels I'm using, you'll have to pin them, which I'll cover later.

At this point it's a good idea to go ahead and place the model you're going to use on the base and make sure that it will fit.

I prefer to use a marker to indicate where the feet will touch the surface.  You want to make sure that you don't end up gluing sand or other bits in the same spot.

Step 4 - Adding character

With the cork in place, we can add a little character to the model.  I've got a huge bit box with loads of parts to glue to the base.  For instance this can also include anything you've had to clip off of models.  In the above picture, I have bits from the dark vengeance box as well as assault on black reach, so ork magazines, old grenades, and spent shells.

I also have a collection of tiny rocks from all over.  These are slightly bigger than sandbut not quite pebbles.  Often you can find these sizes at garden stores or aquarium shops.  You can have jagged rocks or smooth, it's up to you.

Glue a few pieces onto the base using the superglue.  You don't want to go overboard.  Just think of the model as being part of an active battlefield.  A lot of used shells, or broken parts just lie about. Little piles of rock can fill in areas.  Larger rocks can lean up against bigger pieces of cork to cover to hide imperfections.

I prefer not to use dead models of other factions too much.  It's hard to make the model look authentically dead and, especially in a unit, draws too much attention away from the model itself.  Unless you're going for a diorama or specific theme, it's best to stay away.

Step 5 - Adding sand

Take a look at your base and think about where sand/dirt/grit/gravel/etc needs to be.  It may look like tiny sand, but at this scale, can be dirt mounds, rocks, or pretty much anything.   It's good to have a mix of sand sizes.  Really fine sand can be found where they sell aquarium supplies, usually sold as fine grit ballast.  Hobby stores sell varieties of sand near the artificial plants.  I bought a bag of medium sand from the dollar store.  Worst case, just grab a few handfuls from a sandbox, but make sure to let it dry. I use a mix of really fine sand, medium grit sand, and ground up cork (the smallest bits that are leftover).

In order to secure the sand to the base, we use thinned down PVC glue.  It should be about the consistency of GW layer paint.  For my bases, I added glues on all bare spots on the base as well as some spots around edges of stacked pieces maybe even a few random spots.  This is where you can cover up any of the glue that squeezed out the edges.

Then cover the base completely in the sand mixture and shake around so that it gets into all the areas.  You'll want to do this in a container of some sort so you can reuse it again.

You can see the little bits of cork in there as well as the different sizes of sand.  Smaller pieces will fill in the areas between all the larges pieces.  Shake it off right afterward and you should get something like the below. Maybe even give it a little tap to make sure the loose sand comes off.

Step 6 - Sealing the base

After the sand has had a chance to fully dry, make sure to remove any sand that is on the markings you made for the feet, otherwise, the model won't stick.  Give it another tap to make sure all the loose sand comes off, but not too hard.

We need to seal the base at this point otherwise, the paint won't stick and sand will come off all the time.

For this you'll want to use even thinner PVC glue.  This should be closer to a wash.  It should be able to flow freely into all the cracks and crevices of the base.

Paint over the whole base with the thinned down glue, make sure to get the sides of the cork (not of the base itself) and even underneath any parts that hang over.  Don't let it pool too much on the sand.  If it's too watery it will loosen it.

It will take a while to dry.  Once it has dried completely apply another coat. The cork should be firm and the sand shouldn't come off when rubbed or shaken.

Step 7 - Pinning

If your model is small or light you may not need to pin it.  The sentinels will rip the cork right off the base if I try to only glue to the cork and they aren't pinned.  It's much easier to cover up any errors if we do this before painting, so this is the final step before the primer goes on.

Line up the models again, clear any sand from under the glue points, and make sure the model is balanced.  With 60mm bases, that's not too much of a problem, but certainly on 25mm bases or with metal models it could be a problem.

With a thin GW base, there isn't much material for the glue to grip on other than soft cork.  My preferred solution is to use dress pins or nails where the head rests against the bottom of the base.  This provides stability for the pin itself and are dirt cheap.  In this case, I used some small nails that come in a variety pack from the dollar store due to the size of the sentinel put usually I use dressmaker pins that are stupid cheap.  You want the ones with flat heads, not round.

It really helps to have a hobby drill like a dremel.  It has so much uses -- cutting nails, drilling holes, rounding points, or grinding off huge resin chunks.  Drill the holes in the feet to the appropriate size.  It takes some manual checking and adjusting to make sure they are at the right angle.

I ended up clipping, rather than sawing the nails to get them down to size.  I double checked that every hole lines up with it's nail.  This was the most precise and time consuming part of the whole process for me.

If you've lined up the nail correctly they should be able to slide into the drilled holes and you'll want to test them all.

Above, I have all the pins inserted and glued to the base.

I don't glue the sentinels to the base ahead of time.  I almost never glue the models before priming and painting, though most people do.  These models in particular though, I'm going through a much different process painting the sentinels that doesn't make sense for the bases.

Nevertheless, they are ready to be primed and painted.  I'll cover that in a follow up post sometime soon.

Blog Post Backlog, Tournament Result

I have developed quite the writing backlog offer the last two months. Between moving, work, and holidays not to mention the rapid fire codex releases I haven't had a chance to write at all. My most recent post was actually written over a month ago, but it took me forever to get pictures taken.

There are a lot of projects I have completed (or are nearing completion) that I want to write about.

• Changes to terrain in 7th edition have prompted me to start building my own
• My series on
• Status update on Daemons
• Pink horrors
• Nurgle completion
• Daemon tournament lists
• Status update on Grey Knights conversions
• Ork bike list ideas
• Ork lootas, rokkits, tankbustas
• Renegades army list
• Chaos space marine ally lists
• Alternate artillery models and scratch builds

With no shortage of topics, I should have plenty to write about. Taking pictures is a bit harder since my models are packed away for the most part.

Plus trying to find time to actually fit in some games is getting harder.  I was able to get in a tournament several weeks ago.  This was the first with my Daemons and I was worried I'd be outclassed by a lot of nastier lists (i.e. Necrons, Eldar, Imperial Knights, Skitarii, Thunderwolf cavs, etc).  I brought my usual Slaaneshi force (seekers, daemonettes, soul grinders) along with 2 large squads of pink horros and 2 Heralds of Tzeentch.  The summoning was terrific.  Between portalglyphs, double 6s from the warp storm, and maelfic daemonology I think I ended up with more models on the table than I started with in every game.  

I finally built terrain

I placed 2nd, going undefeated.  Unfortunately, an eldar list chaser won with a wraithknight and jetbike spam.  I got lucky and avoided eldar, imperial knights (none present), wraiths, and TWC. 

I did face a nasty Dark Eldar corpse thief list.  I couldn't do anything to it, but it was too slow to get much done.  The necron list was built around a destroyer cult designed to take down knights and MCs.  Whether Str10 AP1 or Str5 ap-, it's the same to a squad of daemonettes.  In both of these matches I benefited from cursed earth in each squad so I was usually rocking a 3++.  I struggled to kill any of the destroyers or ghost arks since my 6s were cold.  The last turn saw an amazing recovery where my seekers, who had multi-charged 2 destroyer squads, then got charged by a destroyer lord, finally, in the 4th round of combat, won and my opponent failed all 3 Ld9 tests then I swept all 3 (I7 vs. necrons will do that).

The final round was an anti-meta CSM zombie list with a few squads of melta-chosen and 2 heldrakes.  My list was a pretty hard counter to that.  I kept summoning more squads to the board to throw into the zombies and grind them down. Daemonettes are really good for that.  Plus Typhus failed a charge and a Soul Grinder promptly snipped him in half.  A couple of different rolls his way would have made a draw, but it ended up being a pretty big win, not to mention revenge for a loss to him last year against his centurion star.

Overall, I was happy with how I played.  Unfortunately, 2 of the matches only got to turn 3.  In the third, it would have just meant a more convincing victory, but in the first it would have been much closer.  The 2nd game went at least 4 turns, but that was pretty well decided.  I should work on moving faster though I can't say my opponents were all that fast either.

I didn't make any major rules mistakes or forget something like I have in the past.  In previous tournaments I've forgotten to deploy a unit to start the game, allowed my bikes to get swept because I forgot mob rule, didn't realize Zhadsnark had skilled rider, forgot warp storm, and forgotten fear tests.  Well, fortunately I didn't have any major haunting mistakes and was upbeat throughout.  I even remembered to throw blind grenades, although they did nothing.  The warpstorm wasn't as awful as it could have been and actually benefited me with an extra unit twice (I still can't recall ever rolling the +1 invuln, though I seem to roll -1 invuln every other match).  However, I still have yet to remember a fear test.  It only would have mattered in the 2nd game, but nevertheless, I would like to remember it.

The most important take away is that I need more variety.  Once I got off incursion (which I did in every match), I couldn't summon anything else because I don't have the models.  I'd like to get at least some screamers to take down armor so I don't have to rely on rolling sixes (touch of rust, rending).  Flamers of Tzeentch would be nice to drop in for firepower.  I'd also like a skull cannon for more Str8 plus it will help the grenade issue seekers have.  Vehicles continue to be my weakness, with explosions being particularly rough on the daemonettes.

Right now, I'm focused on building a Renegades army, completing the painting for my small factions GK, Inquisition, and assassins as well as all my Daemons.  Still no interest in my BA.  Orks are hanging around, but I need more bikes first.

Grey Knight Warlord Traits

Grey Knight Warlord Traits

The Grey Knight Warlord table sucks.  There's no way around it.  Let's take a look before we decide what we really want to roll on:

GK Librarian

1. Daemon-Slayer - Hatred (Daemons) and manifest Banishment on a 2+, Draigo has this standard.  Obviously great if you're playing against Daemons, but useless against everyone else.  You already have Preferred Enemy Daemons so hatred doesn't help you all that much and every unit has Banishment, but it might save you a few WC since you'll only throw 1 die at it.
2. Hammer of Righteousness - Hammer of Wrath for the unit, Crowe's default trait.  *Sigh*... I'm not sure what GW's obsession with HoW is.  It isn't exciting and probably isn't swinging any battles or matches.  Sure, it causes an auto-hit against invisible targets, but really, you're sending your warlord against an invisible unit?
3. Unyielding Anvil - Warlord and all GK units within 12" have stubborn, Stern's trait. This would be ok if it were all units, instead of just GK units.  Stubborn doesn't help out ATSKNF too much.  
4. First to the Fray - Warlord arrives first turn and re-rolls scatter dice. A decent choice, but I can't cont on getting this, so I have to spend the points for a comms and servo skulls, negating what this provides for the most part.
5. Perfect Timing - Warlord has counter strike.  This USR is conferred to the unit, which helps. The best trait on the table but the Command table from the BRB has this too and is a better table overall.
6. Lore Master - Knows an extra power from Sanctic.  For a non-Librarian, this is pretty cool.  A brotherhood champion with Vortex of Doom could be strong.  It will mostly negate Psychic Focus for me, so is in fact, not a bonus.  If you're taking the Domina Liber Daemonica on a ML3 psyker, you get 5 rolls on Sanctic.  Still pretty meh.

Even with a re-roll from the NSF detachment, there isn't much I even want from this table.  So we have two options -- rulebook tables or non-GK warlord.  The rulebook tables are much better than they were in 6th.  The Librarian is going to be on the front lines and, while durable, certainly is open to giving away a warlord point, so exploring our allies for warlord status may be preferred.

Normally, I love Strategic, but since you don't get a re-roll on the table it increases your chances of landing a donkey. Plus, many of the benefits of the table have already been built into my list construction to take advantage of the NSF.  So Strategic is a pass.

Personal is nice, a quick rundown

1. Counter-attack - GK are a low volume, high quality attack army.  You're vulnerable when you get charged, so this can negate that.
2. Furious Charge - Only applies to the warlord.  You have halberds and hammerhand if you really need it to increase strength.
3. Outflank - Hee-haw (that's my donkey sound), pretty useless in my opinion.
4. Extra VP for slaying characters in a challenge -The Librarian is a buff machine and shouldn't be put in harms' way unless you know you can win.  I'm not complaining though as you'll occasionally still pick this up.
5. FNP - Not unit wide, but still nice since it can be taken against wounds from perils.
6. Fearless and IWND - Much better than unyielding anvil above, just remember to roll for IWND at the end of the turn, I never do.

Command is better:

1. Friendlies w/in 12” use Warlord's Ld - The Librarian is Ld10, but most of the time there isn't going to be a lot of other units within 12" of you.
2. Enemy units within 12” use lowest Ld - Terminators can't sweep, so it lets the enemy get away from combat easier, but makes failing morale more costly since we'll be in the back lines.
3. Friendlies w/in 12” have Move through cover - Avoids dangerous terrain when deepstriking.  The army is relatively slow, so every little bit helps.
4. Friendlies w/in 12” add 1” run and charge - Excellent, always welcome for an assaulting unit
5. Friendlies w/in 12” re-roll 1s to hit shooting - Usually we're not shooting much, but every little bit helps, though not as good as...
6. Friendlies w/in 12” re-roll 1s to hit in assault - As stated above, low volume, high quality attacks need all the help they can get.

None of the options are terrible. I think I like them in this order 4, 3, 6, 2, 5, 1.  You don't get to re-roll so suck it up and take it.  It's the safest for ensuring it is at least somewhat worthwhile.

Another option is to make a Dreadknight the Warlord.  Nothing changes with the DK for the Strategic or the GK table, they still kinda suck for my army.  However, both Personal and Command become much better:

1. Counter-attack - That's a pretty ballsy unit to assault a dreadknight, but they're out there and this will give you your attack back.
2. Furious Charge - Does nothing as Dreadknights are already S10.
3. Outflank - Hee-haw, still shitty
4. Extra VP for slaying characters in a challenge - Ok, so very few models are going to accept your challenge, but that just means less models making attacks.
5. FNP - Ooooh, aaaah.  DK with FNP, no one wants you to roll this.  Your opponent will groan.
6. Fearless and IWND - Also great.  Fearless doesn't help too much, but IWND on a 4 wound model rocks.

So we've got 2 donkeys and 4 great options.  It's risky with no re-roll, but the payoff is superb.  The Command is mostly the same.  The DK but with the added mobility of the DK to help the range of the bubble.

Based on this, I think I prefer the DK as my warlord.  In a tournament, I'm rolling on command, but otherwise on Personal for the big payout and epicness.

The final option is to use an ally's traits.  The most common ally I'll be using will be the Inquisition.  Coteaz has PE(Daemons) so I'm almost never going to have him as warlord.  So the only real option is the Xenos Inquisitor.  I have two varieties - grenade toter or conversion beamer.


The Inquisition table has 3 common choice for all ordo:

1. Unquestionable Wisdom: Warlord and unit can choose to pass or fail any Morale checks - Not the worst one on the table, but I'm almost certainly re-rolling this for either type.
2. Reader of the Tarot: while Warlord is alive, roll 2 dice for Reserves, Outflank, myst. terr or myst. obj. - This will give you about a 98.77% chance of making every reserve roll.  I rarely ever play with mysterious objectives, but I would if I got this trait.  More chances to get skyfire or additional cover saves.
3. Burner of Worlds: Orbital Bombardment - Seems like a really good trait, but the downside is my grenade toter has to stand still to use it (but at least can still charge, so maybe I could string out my unit, but risk killing them with the scatter).  My beamer inquisitor could use this instead when the enemy gets close.

The Ordo Hereticus traits aren't great

Plus three unique traits per warlord.  Here are the Xenos traits

4. Xeno Hunter:  Warlord and unit have the Preferred Enemy(DE, Eldar, Necrons, Orks, Tau, & Tyranids)   when targeting any enemy non-vehicle units.  Great if I'm playing any Xenos for either of my inquisitors.  Although the beamer inquisitor usually wants to target vehicles, so it doesn't apply, but makes sure that any wounds sticks.  The grenade toter will pretty much already have these buffs.
5. Xenotech Collector Warlord has 6++ and one of the Warlord’s ranged weapons gains +1S and Rending - The grenade toter only has a bolt pistol -- S5, rending is fine, but won't affect much.  The beamer does benefit.  Most of the time you will be firing at targets 18"-42" so increasing it to S9, plus rending is a pretty big deal.  Increasing even the short range from S6 to S7 means it can threaten so much more.
6. Purity of Mankind: Hatred - My beamer inquisitor can't make use of this unless something went very wrong.  The grenade toter should already have this through zealot from the priests.

The grenade toter will be on the front lines with a henchmen squad or purifiers while the beamer will always be in a building.  Based on the analysis above, I don't think the grenade toter ever really needs the buffs or can make use of them effectively.  Also, he's in a really squishy unit.

The conversion beamer inquisitor will be a fine warlord rolling on the inquisition table (re-rolling 1 and especially 6).  Otherwise, the Dreadknight is my preferred warlord.

Adios Plague Drone

Painting Points Total for 2014-2015

Painting Points Total for 2014-2015

Ork army in Oct 2011

I can't remember which blog I read, but they gave me the idea to start tracking my painting progress and assigning scores.  I have spreadsheets for damn near everything else - movies, books, video games, comics, scrabble scores, won/loss record.  Although I wish I had started tracking earlier, today marks the start of my 2015-2016 year, so it's time to recap.

June 2011 - April 2012

My initial painting efforts were decent at the time.  I believe the first squad I finished was some deffkoptas, followed shortly by my Warboss, lootas, and a painboy.  I had exclusively Orks until Spring 2012 when I started Blood Angels.  Many of the models from this time period still hold up nicely such as my Battlewagons, Snikrot, Big Meks, and some early nobs.

First pass

"Completed"

Most of the time was spent painting boys to a 3 color minimum.  I only completed 1 squad of 18 boyz and they still remain as the only boyz I've finished.  Even though it was only to a minimum standard, 150+ models is a lot to plow through.  I learned a lot about brush control, drybrushing, and washes in that time.  Something I would never have had the opportunity to test out with a less forgiving army like space marines.  Orks can be sloppy and crude, but still look good.  It was also a fun army to convert.

April 2012 - April 2013

So much thick red primer

 As with my Orks, my Blood Angel army was mostly focused on getting them to a minimum to play in tournaments.  It's shocking how little I actually completed during this time.  I painted a lot through the summer, but the fall/winter saw a dearth of hobby progress with the birth of my daughter.  However, they stuff I did complete, mostly looks just as good alongside my current output.  I invested in better brushes, significantly increased my pool of available paints, and by early 2013 was focusing on details with multiple highlights and layering.

Librarian, still holds up well

Chaplain, first completed BA model

I still have yet to finish a single BA vehicle I started during this time.  Twice as many models are incomplete vs. actually done.  However, the models that are completed don't need to be revisited unlike some of my early Ork work.

April 2013 - April 2014

The first year of my official tracking yielded 424 points.  A rather arbitrary number overall, but useful in year to year comparisons.

Dreadknights

I completed the majority of my Inquisition army this year with 181.5 points coming from what is now GK/Inq/Assasins.  Another 145.5 from Blood Angels.  Most of the items were magnetized arms, although I did complete squads of assault marines, snipers, tacticals, devastators, and a drop pod (my lone completed BA vehicle).  The rest of the points were split between terrain features (bunker, defense line, etc) and random Orks.

Imperial Bunker

April 2014 - April 2015

My total for 2014/15 blew away the prior year with 729.5 points.  Around 3/4 of the points came from Daemons and completing half-finished models.  This is the nadir for BA, as I didn't complete a single model. 

Ork Bikers

By my count, 102.5 of the points were for Ork models that were more than half finished from the previous year.  this includes the Nob bikers and Kommandos.  Most of my focus was on completing units, rather than project hopping.  Still, several units are mostly done and should yield easy upcoming points including my interceptor squad which is about 40% finished, my warbikers (75% finished), Grukk (60%), and my Plague Drones (50%).

Slaanesh Daemon army

The bulk of my year was dedicated to Daemons.  An impressive 352.5 points for Slaanesh alone (including the Soul Grinders), with another 89.5 from Be'Lakor, Tzeentch, and Nurgle models.    the total for Daemons alone, 442, exceeds my 2013/14 output.  I was really excited to paint Slaanesh and don't foresee having this kind of enthusiasm in the upcoming year.

Conclusion

I anticipate that 2014 will remain the high water mark for some time to come.  Maybe after my 2nd (not yet conceived) child is in school (so 6+ years) and I get super excited about starting a Dark Eldar army or something similarly numerous or engaging.

Maybe this will finally be the year of terrain.  Ever since 2006, when 40k first caught my attention, the idea of scratch built terrain has intrigued me.  The ability to take nearly anything and turn it into functional battlefield terrain is currently beyond my grasp.  I've been so focused on models.