Quick update on my Contrast GSC… I’ve mainly the black and metal areas still to do, plus pouches,etc. I’m currently sitting at ~8.5h in total, across 54 models. Which, if my maths is right, equates to less than 10min per model 😳

I’ve ran out of space for paints, so I got this handy corner paint rack. Some assembly required, but it was nice and straightforward. I’ve spent more time blogging it than making it 😂

All the robes and under suits painted on 50ish models in just under 2 hours. Basically looks the same as if I’d painted them Warpstone Glow, then shaded with Beil-Tan Green. So Contrast definitely cut out a step

I’ve just received the update to the Citadel Paint app (now called “Citadel Colour”) and y’know what? It’s *really good*. It looks better, there’s several quality-of-life improvements, the guides are much more detailed, and the new “My Projects” bit is super handy.

Ok, so I did manage to get a small session in. It was mostly spent trying to figure out the iconography of the Knight/Household, and painting tiny little candles.

Still plugging away at this Imperial Knight. There’s been a lot more edge highlighting than I’d planned to do. Shoulders, shield, and last of the trim left to do.

Work in progress Imperial Knight

In advance of Girl Wonder geting into the hobby, I’m putting together a flexible 4×4 gaming board. In your experience, how much scenery is good for this size of board, for each of AOS and 40K? Bonus internet points if you can show examples ?

I’m not sure which version of the amazing new Abaddon model I like best: with cloak, or without. Both look amazing. Without the cloak looks more like every depiction up to now, but with the cloak feels more imposing.

And the resulting photograph. I’m not happy with how this model turned out in the end, thanks to trying to fix some avoidable mishaps, but I’m taking it as a learning experience.

Warhammer 40,000 Ultramarine Sergeant

Putting paint brush to miniature for the first time in weeks, with something just for fun, rather than for the tabletop. I kind of feel like I needed this. Today I discovered I love painting with a size 3 brush!

If you’re looking for something to watch this evening, you could do worse than watch this livestream of Alfonso “Banshee” Giraldez painting a small bust and fielding questions from viewers: https://www.youtube.com/c/MiniatureArtTV/live ?

Has anyone seen any good conversion ideas for Imperial/Inquisition/Ministorum Crusaders recently? I’m weighing up whether to make my own, or get some of the old metal models from GW. Send me links, pictures, or even just your ideas, if you have them! ?

Bit of a bad brain evening, so I’ve spent the time assembling more sisters to distract myself. Somehow I’ve ended up with a couple more Battle squads than I expected! Still got the Repentia to go…

Hopefully the weather improves soon, so I can get them primed!

After several hours of clipping, filing, drilling, and pinning, I’ve finally finished assembling the first of 2 Penitent Engines.

It better be amazing on the tabletop after all that…

The first units of my Sororitas are complete, taking me most of the way towards that part of my 2019 hobby goals, and marking my first entries on the PaintHammer 2019 form.

As always, there’s loads I’d like to be done better on these (the white robes mainly) but finished is better than still in the WIP queue, so Im trying not to nitpick too hard!

The Imagifier will be getting her banner as soon as I find the copper foil I bought to make it.

With all the cool new stuff constantly being released by recently, it can be very easy to end up with a large hobby backlog. When this happens it’s possible to get overwhelmed by your “to do list,” and it starts to become a mental drag; when this kicks in, your hobby no longer feels fun and instead feels like working a job you hate. Sometimes it’s just best to declare something a lost cause and just start over afresh.

I went through this very recently. My backlog had grown too big for me to see sight of the end of it – especially with the glacial pace I paint at! When I took stock of what was in the queue I had 2 full armies: a jump-heavy Flesh Tearers list, and a mechanised Tempestus Scions list. Not counting fun stuff like vehicles and characters, I had well over 100 models to prepare, assemble and paint… and these are just the army projects! Throw in various starter boxes for other games, and other sundry small projects, and the list was nearer 400.

Too. Damn. Many.

What to do? My initial plan was to freeze buying anything new until I’d whittled the backlog down to a more manageable level. Such a sensible plan might work for many a struggling hobbyist, butnfortunately, it was not the right plan for me. Despite several months of not buying any new figures1, I made zero impact on the pile of miniatures I had to work through. On top of that, I found myself losing all inspiration for certain projects. Some of that came down to gnawing insecurities about being able to achieve the vision I had in my head, others from indecision about what that vision even was any more. In the end there was just a pile of boxes and sprues causing me to feel terrible every time I thought about it. This was no longer a hobby, it was a chore. Something had to give, and it would be great if it wasn’t me.

In the tech world, there’s a popular approach to email management called Inbox Zero. The idea is to have your email inbox as empty as possible, so the amount of time your brain is occupied by email is as close to zero as possible. The intention is to reduce the distraction and stress caused by an overwhelmingly full inbox. Related to Inbox Zero, is Email Bankruptcy – the practice of deleting all email older than a certain date (often that day) due to being completely overwhelmed.

One day I realised I needed to declare something similar – Hobby Bankruptcy – or I was going to drive myself out of a hobby I’ve loved for over 20 years.

https://twitter.com/atChrisMc/status/585733864183767042

How was I going to do this? Throwing out hundreds2 of pounds of miniatures would be insane, especially if I changed my mind about something. Selling would take too long, and was subject to the fickleness of others. The simplest (non-destructive) solution won out: I took everything 40K/WHFB related, and stashed it in the loft. Out of sight; out of mind. Literally. The only survivors of the “purge” were source books and the limited edition 25th anniversary Crimson Fists miniature.

https://twitter.com/atChrisMc/status/585836777702875136

https://twitter.com/atChrisMc/status/585841570697609217

I can’t express just how much of a weight off doing this has been. I’m no longer under (self imposed) pressure to work through a massive backlog I no longer had the enthusiasm for, and yet, if I rediscover that enthusiasm, I can pull individual kits from the loft to work on as and when I want to.

In the meantime though, I am free to start work on new projects3

And yes, I do know I’m crazy.


  1. And growing increasing anxious about not getting the cool new shinies. 
  2. OK, maybe it’s higher… 
  3. Obviously, any new projects will have much more strict rules around the number of models allowed in the queue at once. No more buying entire armies in one go! 

The Rumour Mill has been frothing for months about a “revised” version of 40K 6th Edition. In the last couple of days there have been leaks from White Dwarf Weekly confirming it was happening – and it appears to be a whole new edition.

Obviously, this is the Internet, and specifically, this is the online 40K community. Where previously we had people saying we needed a revision/new edition to “fix the imbalance,” “add clarity [about what is/isn’t official],” “make the game fun again,” etc, etc, etc… we now have much wailing and gnashing of teeth. The sky is falling! This is the “death” of 40K! It’s a “money grab.” Insert your favourite Games Workshop hate here!

Sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up. Ask for a new edition; get a new edition; complain there’s a new edition.

Some cheese with your whine?
Some cheese with your whine?

So what do we know about what’s coming? Two main things:

  1. There’s a “new” psychic phase, just like the magic phase in Warhammer Fantasy.
  2. You now have the option of building your army in one of two ways: “Bound” (which uses the Force Organisation Chart), or “Unbound” which is a free-for-all, take whatever you want affair.

That’s pretty much all of the interesting details we know. If you want my opinion (and you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t) these are awesome changes to 40K. Why?

Psychic Phase

I hate the current implementation of psychic powers in the game. Having to remember to use different powers at different times in different phases is a massive pain in the hoop. Not using psychics right can lose you a game, yet at the moment they’re so fiddly that it’s all too easy to forget them until it’s too late.

I put “new” in quotes above because a dedicated psychic phase is not unheard of in 40K. We had one in 2nd Edition, and while it added an extra phase to the game, it was beautifully straightforward and it worked. I realise that at least half the player base isn’t old enough to have played with a dedicated phase, and so it’s a big, scary change… but trust me on this: the game will have one less potential point of frustration.

The FOC (or lack of it)

For years and years and years, players have been complaining they can’t field certain “fluffy” armies on the table because the force-org restrictions wouldn’t let them (think Space Marine “Reserve Companies” and the like). Guess what? You just got your wish. Got the points for it? By the sounds of things now you can take it in an “Unbound” list. What was the first complaint about this change? That it would be the death of fluffy armies. Seriously.

If you’ve been paying attention to Jervis Johnson’s column in White Dwarf, he’s been telegraphing such a change for months.

The one fair criticism which could be levelled at this change is that it opens the door for all sorts of spam-list abuses. Is that a game issue, or a player issue? Has everyone lost sight of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”?

Not to mention, we haven’t got any details of the “bonuses” given to Bound (FOC-using) lists. These could still turn out to be an equaliser.

If you’re playing amongst your good friends then sure, take that ridiculous list as a one-off, for the lolz. But taking it to your FLGS for a pick-up game? That makes you That Guy. What do we always say? Don’t be That Guy.

As for tournaments, I imagine they’ll be Bound-List-only, perhaps without the bonuses, depending how the chips fall on those. That way no one has to get their knickers in a twist any more than they do nowadays. It’ll be the same 40K the Internet Community have been anticipating the death of for more than a decade.

In a nutshell, I like this change because it brings so much freedom to the game. I can have a load of fun playing more-or-less what I want, without having to tick boxes on an FOC that’s grown to sprawl over an A3 page when printed… if I want to. Or I can have fun playing with a “cohesive” army and reap some in-game benefits for doing so. The choice will be mine to play the game how I want. GW have actually written into the rules what they’ve been trying to tell us for years: have fun, playing the game your way. We won’t know for sure until the rulebook hits the shelves, but as I said on twitter yesterday, 7th Edition sounds like it’s going to be a hoot to play.

Bloodspire Cover Art

Addendum: My Wishlist for 7th Edition

If I can wishlist for a moment, here’s some more changes I’m hoping to see in 7th Edition:

  • Less “Ignores Cover” – at the moment, there are far too many ways to apply IC, which essentially makes cover useless as a game mechanic. No cover makes it harder for assault armies to do their thing. Would need to be an Errata item for existing codexes though.
  • Less low AP – massed AP3/AP2 is too common, and exacerbates the prevalence of Ignores Cover, making anything without an Invuln save far too squishy.
  • No more random charge distance – seriously, I hate this bit of 6th. I need no other justification other than it just feels stupid to play.
  • Special Rules do not affect Allies, unless specifically noted – 80% of shenanigans gone in one fell swoop.
  • Assault from Deep Strike – would make for some epic moments, and would be a significant boost for assault armies. Definitely of benefit if Ignores Cover remains as-is.

I doubt any of these will happen, but a guy can dream, right?