Denied… again.

So my last post about IT issues revealed I could no longer blog within my IT network whilst able to see the images pulled from Google Photos. I ultimately resolved that issue by using our standalone laptop that makes use of a WiFi dongle not connected to our ‘managed network’. Everything was fine, I was writing once or twice a week which would cover me for 2 or 3 posts on the blog. Unfortunately a new issue has arisen. It would appear that our little £15 WiFi dongle has been somehow monopolising the IT network after a recent powercut. When all the servers came back on it somehow became the default that all the rest tried to connect to!

Anyway, our local IT guys, who are genuinely cool, still had to find a way to limit it. Fundamentally that doesn’t change anything. It took a few weeks for them to reconfigure the device but their bosses have suggested that it’s use is curtailed. That means I can turn it on occasionally to still blog but it is a bit of a palaver, again, and something I’m sure they would prefer not to be used. I mean I was using that WiFi dongle all the time, saving my data on my phone, so now that’s a challenge too 😉.

In conclusion, I can still blog and you may not even notice any drop in service, but once again there is another hurdle which makes my blogging more difficult and might be less frequent depending on how often I can access the kit.

Dreadtober 2019 – Metallics

#Dreadtober continues inexorably but as expected my progress is slow. In fairness this has nothing to do with the model or even the usually problematic brassy bronze. No it has been impacted both by the weather and general fatigue. Heavy rain has meant the garden has flooded and wading to the Man Cave in my wellies has often been sufficient to discourage me even attempting to crack on with my Dread. One night I braved the elements to get out there and slap on some Balthasar Gold on top of the Warplock Bronze.

Weapon options too. Originally I hoped to throw in my Deathwing Knights as well, as they are at the same stage but half an hour was just about as much as I could do before I felt it was time to go to bed. I’ve been monitoring my sleep again using Google Fit, I think I’ve made a little improvement in my sleep schedule. There are still the occasional late nights but I think they’re more uncommon now. I’ve had some early nights too, which doesn’t help the hobby obviously but should help me long-term.

Another night I got out to the shed and managed to sponge/stipple on some Retributor Gold. I’m a little uncertain on some areas of metallics but I’ll continue on until they’re all done and then decide if they should still be bronze or in fact green. I’ll need to cover splodges anyway so it’s no real hardship.

The guns are coming along too.

And the Fist, which I’d been rather impressed being black next to the green body but immediately decided I would not eventually keep it, but will quarter it so the fist is the 5th Company symbol. Really pleased that decision just came to me in a two step realisation. No doubts, no prevarication, just that looks cool, oh, or that would be cooler!

Another set of highlights to do, then shade washes to balance the colours.. This might then require some small highlights to sharpen things up and then it’s some limited verdigris and on to the greens.

Blood Bowl – Human Team Original Middenheim Marauders

I know it’s Dreadtober but I had been working on these Blood Bowl humans prior to that and it was a roller-coaster of emotions in the few weeks beforehand. It’s amazing how you can go from such a hobby high – absolute motivation and feelings of success to nothing. I have no idea why, I’d been sticking to a number of my processes and techniques to feel fulfilled, then I started painting my Blood Bowl Human team and it all seems to have evaporated. Despite being on my To Do List and being what I wanted to paint, even if they weren’t the priority items I’d originally identified, it hasn’t helped sustain my mojo.

I had just felt I could do the base coats and there was no pressure, I could predict how much progress I could do and although the output is ‘samey’ – the team is all dressed identically, how is that different than painting 10 Termagants?

But I did progress nontheless, but perhaps at the expense of my mojo… Despite feeling ‘this is what I wanted to do’ and being impressed with the results.

Khorne Red and Valejo GC Stonewall Grey.

I managed to get them all basecoated and would go on to do the flesh-tones across the team.

Then it was Army Painter Strong Tone [Agrax equivalent]. Foolishly I did the Bronzed Flesh guys with that, when a Soft Tone would have been better.

With them shaded I then added Stonewall and Khorne Red highlights [on the one on the right].

A single thin coat in places, stippled on to add some texture/dappled weathering effect.

Now this highlight takes an evening, so I could predict 12 nights work but I wanted to progress one of them with the second set of highlights – white and Valejo GC Bloody Red and part of me felt I’d gone too far, particularly on the red. I think I’ve lost something in the rich scarlet. So whatever motivation I had for these has waned somewhat. Luckily I have other priorities to jump to but what do you think? Which works best…?

Single set of highlights on the left, double highlights on the right?