Space Marine Drop Pod

Well, here it is. Done at last. I have to say that it turned out OK I guess but I am not really happy with it. I spent nearly 18 hours on the model and it really does not show. For that much effort this thing should look a lot better. Oh well, it will look good on the table and I plan to try it out later this week.

The second one has to be easier and quicker, right?

A Little Dry Spell

Well, it has been more than a month without an update and that is just not right. The problem is I have been having some trouble getting motivated for just about any hobby projects. I have been working on some stuff but nothing has really grabbed my interest lately. Not sure why just one of those things I guess.

The latest thing that I have been working on is the new Space Marine Drop Pod. I would love to show you some pictures but it is not done yet, even though I have put in nearly 12 hours building and painting the thing. I have at least 2 more hours left to go. Turns out this model is a true pain in the ass. It is by far the most fiddly model GW has ever put out. It is not that it has a lot of parts. It is just poorly designed - no real nice way to put it. To top it all off I have another one to build. Maybe I will do a step by step build post for the next one. I have learned a lot about how to build this beast so hopefully number 2 will be a little easier.

I have been thinking about other potential projects, something that might get me motivated. At the beginning of the year Tim and I talked about doing a large WWII tank battle in 28mm (1/48th). We put together some plans and ideas and set a goal of this summer sometime. The battle would be on an 8'x8' table with killer terrain and models. Well, we have both been busy with life and Tim has been busy with convention/tournament planning so we have really made no progress, and I feel no urge to get it going.

A friend has been working on a set of ACW rules for a while and last year I made a large investment in Sash and Saber 28mm ACW figures. I have also had my eye on the new Perry plastics and the new Crusader ACW figures. There is some really nice stuff out but, again, no spark to get this one going either.

How about WWI I ask myself. The Great War rules look pretty good even if they are basically 40K (my home-spun rules would have been a better choice). There are tons of excellent figures to cover almost all theaters and periods. There is a huge gap in the GWGW rules, however, and two of these gaps happen to be areas of interest - Eastern front or Mediterranean. Seems like now is just not the time to dive into this one.

WAB? Not likely. It has been months since I last played and years since I last cared. That is too bad as this was once my favorite game. Most of the local players have moved on. I do have a good start on a Kievan Rus army but who knows when I will ever finish it.

WHFB? I have made some progress in the last year on my Beasts of Chaos army. I have three core, a hero and some other stuff painted but I am still only about half way to a functional army. Seems like my local game group is not interested so this is really just a large painting project. Not something that will get me out of this funk.

Seems like the big project stuff just does not have any draw right now. I might need to go back to an approach I used a couple of years ago when I had a similar problem. Perhaps I just need to go digging through all my boxes of figures and just paint something that looks like it would be fun to paint. This can be a very inspirational exercise. No pressure. No bulk painting of a bunch of uniform figures. Just something that looks cool.

I'll let you know how it goes. Enough whinin' fer now!