Some time ago I got my hands on a couple of boxes of Wargames Factory Shock Troopers. I had planned to make a proxy Imperial Guard army different from my Mordian Iron Guard, but having two Imperial Guard armies is just stupid, especially when I no longer play 40K. I decided I could use them for scenarios outside of the GW universe, or possibly as henchmen for pulp or supers gaming.
Originally, I planned on basing them on snow, inspired by an old friend’s 90’s era Valhallan Ice Warriors army. I scrapped that idea. I then thought I would paint them in dark colors reminiscent of the Injustice Superman’s security force, but I couldn’t find a color scheme I liked. My Mordians are already predominantly black, so I wanted a different color scheme.
As you can see, I tried several. I like none of these.
Then, by chance, I stumbled across an old blog post by Atom Smasher of Tabletop Minions fame. I really liked his color scheme, so I contacted him to ask him how he did it. Sadly, he was unable to remember. (Side note: this is why I’m glad I started writing down my paint recipes in a notebook.) This left me back at square one.
This month was to be the month in which I finally painted this “army”, as well as all the vehicles and support units I have collected over the years. It was to be called “Shocktober.” Brilliant, I know. But I still have yet to decide on a color scheme for my Shock Troopers, so it’s once again getting pushed off.
Which leaves me with the question: what am I going to do for this month?
I’ll certainly finish the Dwarf King’s Quest, since I only have a few miniatures left to paint. Also, I’ve heard tell that there’s a Zombtober event being hosted on Brummie’s Wargaming Blog, and I could easily supply a zombie or two that has long awaited paint if I can wrangle an invitation. But I want to do something else…something on which I can say I’ve made significant progress by month’s end. I have several choices:
I could bite the bullet and clear out the side pile, which has grown since last I labored on it. That would basically free up some desk space while I complete a diverse set of miniatures that have been in various stages of paint and/or assembly for a long time (in some cases, years).
I could paint another old-school Grenadier box, those are always fun. I really enjoy revisiting these boxed sets, and I have quite a few.
No matter my current focus, I am always repainting Heroclix miniatures for use in my supers gaming. I could dedicate the whole month to that alone and clean out my freezer bin (where I keep my ‘clix that I need to rebase; the cold makes snapping them off the dials easy).
I could do another big project, like my Orc Warlord on Wyvern…something large-scale that will take up a lot of time and effort.
I could start work on another miniatures board game. Currently the only one I have unpainted is 3rd edition Space Hulk…pretty low on my priority list, to be honest.
Finally, I could always do some more work for Gaslands. I have plenty more cars to convert, and I need to get started on some scenery. I will most likely do this in addition to any miniatures painting this month. Also, I need to work on terrain more often, so this may give me the kick in the ass I need.
I guess we’ll see what happens. Suggestions are of course welcomed!
All sound pretty good to me, though I think the Grenadier stuff, Heroclix or Gaslands would be my prefered choices.
Cheers Roger.
I think with my participation in Zombtomber I will probably only get to do one small project in addition to finishing up the Dwarf King’s Quest. Gaslands it is.