536 - 6MMRPC 2015 is finished! Aaaaaand...

...I think we'll call it a very modest success. Let's summate:

General Aims:

1) Paint stuff wot needs to be painted;

2) Don't buy more stuff wot needs to be painted.

Results:

1) In SIX MONTHS, I painted (and finished) the following:

• five Flames of War Comet tanks...for someone else (a charity auction) - link here: [link]
• nine 40k Orks...ditto for Da Masta Cheef (a blog prize!) - see 'previous' post (#535)
• twenty-five 2nd Ed 40k 'beret-style' stormtroopers/militarum tempestus for the 'Last Hurrah' of my 40k hobby time (pic below), and
• half an aegis defence line.

That's literally all I've finished painting in six whole months (with some base coat slapped on my AEC MkIII en passant too)... but at least...

...2) I bought NOTHING that needs to be painted. Woo-hoo!

To qualify this, things I have actually bought over the timespan of the challenge include the following:

• the excellent 'Chain of Command' rules, by Too Fat Lardies,
• Bolt Action's 'Battleground Europe' supplement,
• For my beloved X-Wing, the original starter set, the 'Most Wanted' set, a B-Wing and a Hwk-290 (none of which - as someone helpfully pointed out, increase my painting mountain),
• Some more Bolt Action order dice and small gaming dice.

NB: I also won a rather spiffing box of Bolt Action Soviet Naval Infantry, but - being neither a purchase nor intended for my usage - they don't count.

So yes: that's where we are. I've saved a crapload of money and painted some stuff. 

6MMRPC FTW!

"What's next then, Chris?" I hear you cry.

Well, I've uncharacteristically entered a friendly* Bolt Action tournament for February...and bafflingly I also volunteered to put together a themed 6x4 table (something I've NEVER done before at all...in 24 years of the hobby!) so I have a to-do list for February:

• Paint 3 Section (already underway)
• Paint 2" Mortar Team (already underway)
• Paint OC's runner and acouple of extra Toms with SMGs (already underway)
• Finish painting my AEC MkIII
• Maybe repaint the markings on my Cromwell (this is so not a priority!)
• And...
• Execute and paint my submitted designs for a themed 6x4 playing table.
• Bugger.

It'd also be nice to get a couple more practice games in.

After that it's my usual pipe-dreams: (1) build and paint a Desert Rats light tank company for Flames of War, (2) make a 15mm version of my Bolt Action Army and (3) take over the world.

But now?

- Bed time. 

Thanks, everyone 

   for swinging by and supporting me in my efforts, and I'm sorry I haven't been keeping abreast of your efforts quite as well as I might have. Often I did actually read your posts, but on my mobile, and commenting on that infernal device is a bit of an arcane art...

- Drax.

* Favourite rule from the tourney pack? - "Don't be a cock".

535 - 6MMRPC 16 - Orks are FINISHED!

No internet at home again, so a very quick update via my phone, at work: as the title says, I finally finished Da Masta Cheef's Orks - hooray!

Yup - last week saw the last licks of vaguely-desert-y colours applied to the wee green blighters, and with luck they'll be wining their way westward as soon as I can get them packaged up and posted.

Late night mobile phone pics only, again, but with luck, Da Masta Cheef will be able to take advantage of that lovely American light to take some better pics.

Until next time then - forgive my lack of visits to your corners of the web, but online time is a rare bloody commodity for Drax at the moment, damnit.

- D.

531 - 6MMRPC 14 - Five Down; Four To Go!

Yup. More glacial progress on Da Masta Cheef's Orkses. Never let it be said that I am a speed-painter.

Obviously the mobile phone pic doesn't really do them justice, but if you look closely, they do have a kind of desert-y colour palette, and I promise you some of the details really are more subtle than they appear here!  

Hope all's well, folks...

- Drax.

510 - 6MMRPC 5: Orkses

Who would've thought that Drax would be painting up Orkses, eh?

Well, he is; I am.

I am RIDICULOUSLY busy with my second job at the moment (I'm essentially not blogging for the next two weeks) but - determined as I am to not fluff this second 6MMRPC - I snatched 20 minutes tonight in order to splash a wee bit more paint on Da Masta Cheef's rather characterful orks:

Another poxy late-night mobile phone pic. Mrs Drax has hidden the camera again...

Every little helps, right?

Sorry for the lack of comments on your blogs this fortnight: I will be back - promise!

- Drax.

PS: There's going to be some 40K action this summer. Jus' sayin'...

504 - 6MMRPC 1: The First Line in the Sand

Hullo All,

Great News!  Look what arrived in the post this week:

Admittedly, this is Da Masta Cheef's photo (my wife has our camera) but they all arrived safe and - as Cheef won my competition to have a unit painted-up by your sometimes-humble author - I look forward to adding them to the 6MMPRC pile...and they're such smashing models that they'll definitely be right near the top!


As I said I would, I've just started my seasonal second job, which means I'll be working many more hours into the evenings than I currently do...but I still propose to engage with the Second Annual 6MMPRC.

Over the next few 6MMPRC I'll explore the 'mountains' I have for various systems (they're not too significant, to be honest) and I shall endeavour to actually start to reduce those mountains - even incrementally - each and every week.

To start with - naturellement - here is the Draxian Painting Chart as it currently stands for my Bolt Action 28mm force:

In case you were wondering, in no way at all was I a tiny wee bit sneaky in purchasing three additional bits to add to the pile on the evening of the 31st May. Nope. That didn't happen at all...and those models are in no way the ones shaded blue, above. Nope.

So that's the first couple of bits on the pile. 

Honestly? After painting ALL of the green BA-28 models in five-and-a-half months since the new year (an absolute all-time, twentymumble-year record for me, incidentally) I shall be turning my attention away from BA at that scale for a bit, so I suspect the first things on my list will be either my 15mm BA models or...maybe those sweet, sweet Orks?

Other posts in the near future include:
Flowers and Welshmen...and why I love 'em 
and
My first Bolt Action game report. 
Yay!

With luck, some hobby time on the morrow.

Keep well,

- Drax.

292 Painting Accross the Pond - Drax Edition Part IIIa

Dear All,

About a year ago, I swapped models with The Inner Geek over in Texas for the 'Painting Across the Pond' project, in which we took a number of months(!) painting them up for each other. At the end of last year we finally swapped back, and with overhauls in the cottage I never got around to taking and posting images of the minis he painted for me. So here they are. Firstly it's the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Cadian Light Infantry (a Lt/Col whose name I don't yet have) and secondly, his faithful bodyguard - a freebie which Brian kindly threw in.
I couln't be happier. Please enjoy the pics and pay appropriate homage to The Geek's skill:

More soon,

- Drax.

PS: Anyone know how to get rid of these confounded spaces between lines when I post? Is it an html thing?

281 Painting Across the Pond: Finished!

Hi All,

I'm delighted to announce that after only eight months I've finished this project: painting the Ogryn Bone'ead sent to me in exchange with The Inner Geek. Do please check out his site (linked) as he ought to be posting what he's painted up for me, and please enjoy these pics. The challenge for me was twofold: (1) to try painting large areas of flesh tones and highlighting, and (2) to paint something I wouldn't normally paint, so I'd really appreciate any comments and feedback. Close-up towards the end...

- Drax.

250 Painting Across the Pond - Drax Edition Pt II

Hey, Folks.

It's the belated second installment of 'Painting Across the Pond', my transatlantic painting collaboration with The Inner Geek.

I've failed to make any progress, alas, on the female Guardsman, but I have put base coats on the Ogryn Bone'ead. I know it looks ropey at the moment, but it'll get better yet, I promise! Not helped in any way by the fact that the weather was so dire the autoflash went off even though I was outside!

This is really going to be an exercise in me practising some new techniques: I'm going to have a play with flesh tones (especially the musculature) and stubble...but for now I know it looks pretty damned basic. One thing I did want to have a play with was a different camouflage pattern on the trousers, but having done so, then checked the style of The Inner Geek's Guardsmen, I realised that (a) he goes in for a lot of light brown leather accoutrements, and (b) the orangey colour of the pattern I'd chosen would clash too much.

So, I added dashes of black to the pattern, and it'll be darkened more yet with some shading. I'm also adjusting the brown of the leather straps a bit more.

I've also made a tentative start on edge-highlighting the armour plates like the Geek does, but mine look rather too stark at the moment.

I will, of course, add a couple of Draxian touches in due course...

Be sure to check out the (doubtless awesome) stuff that The Inner Geek's been doing to the miniature I sent him: I'm almost salivating at the prospect! He'll be posting at some point today too.

Cheers,

Drax.

243 Painting Across the Pond - Drax Edition Pt I

Happy New Year, All!

...And what better way to kick off 2011 than with a fun new project?

After some email exchanges last year knocking some ideas about, The Inner Geek and I have decided to swap and paint a couple of each other's minis.

The Concept

Essentially, he won a competition of mine whereby I offered to paint up an unloved and unpainted miniature, and being the generous chap he is, he also offered to paint up a mini for me in exchange: how lovely!

The Mini

Anyway, here's what the Geek sent to England-land for me to paint up for him:

An Ogryn! (more importantly, one of the new, cool-looking ogryns)...but wait, there's more, for in his kindness he also sent me a gift to join the ranks of my own forces:

A female IG model (Guardswoman?)! Awesome! What makes her even better is the following: (1) it's a good cast; (2) she's not all breasty, scantily-clad and 'high' fantasy, and (3) she looks [point 2 notwithstanding] not unlike Mrs Drax...but in flak armour. Awesome. Sorry about the ropey pics.

Painting Plans

Hmmm...I'm looking forward to both of these for different reasons. With the Ogryn I'm looking forward to the challenge of painting him - not least because I've been meaning to work on shading some skin tones. I'd love to give his armour the look of having been fashioned from vehicle armour plates, so I'm starting to thing about ways to do that.

With The Girl, how I model her will depend on just what I want to do with her. For a couple of years now I've been meaning to base (sorry, Ron!) the Regimental Mascot, and as he is essentially hers in real life, I might just put them together...maybe they can make some sort of objective marker too, when needed, but the trouble is I'm unsure about the lasgun. I can't envision anything too twee like her throwing a ball for him, but if I use her in this role, then she'll need something other than the lasgun, I think. Any suggestions gratefully received!

Anyhow, make sure you check out The Inner Geek's first project entry - I've sent him a corker of a miniature secure in the knowledge that it's in very safe painting hands!

Thanks for reading, do please weigh in with any thoughts or encouragement, and here's to a successful 2011!

- Drax.