Call to Arms - Tools Down, Challenge Complete
Well, after a particularly intense weekend, I can say that I have no intention of painting a MkVI Space Marine ever again. As it would transpire, painting forty of them in one weekend proved immsenly arduous and I am truly burnt out on the damn things. However, the positive takeaway is that the weekend is done and the challenge has has been completed - we have successfully painted an Age of Darkness box each in a single weekend to raise money for charity.
It does feel good and we’re both utterly thrilled to have participated and finished this challenge. However, there are some key learnings to take away from this too.
Kenny - Debrief
Lessons Learned
My main takeaway is to try and determine a better and more efficient way to paint metallics, because this easilly took the longest of any stage of the challenge! Powerpack vents, bolter details, chips/scratches, banner poles, etc. It was just an absolute avalanche of detail to paint.
The next thing for me would be to try and be more attentive when building in the future. Unfortunately, as I was painting I realised that some of the bits I was using were damaged or hadn’t printed properly. They’re small details that you only really notice if you stop and look for a long time, but I know that they’re there and that’ll definitely bother me moving forward.
Things That Went Wrong
I was actually very fortunate right up until the 11th hour. Then, absolute disaster, as somehow the banner in my command squad had snapped off. Frustrated and in a frantic panic, I tried to pin it back in place with the pole. Unfortunately, it’s not exactly straight and is quite noticeable if you stop and look at it. Likely, I’ll look to replace that model at some point. The main thing I learned from this is don’t panic and keep your cool. Things WILL inevitably go wrong, but what matters is how you resolve those problems.
Additionally, always dry fit anything that is remotely fiddly. My Siege Breaker absolutely boiled my blood as I couldn’t quite get the cloak and the power pack to fit right for about 10 minutes- having already put super glue on! This was an upset I definitely could have done without.
Favourite Part
My absolute favourite part of the challenge was getting to the end, laying all of the models out on the table and just feeling immeasurably proud at how much I’d accomplished in such a short space of time. The painting won’t win any awards, but the fact is that I’ve now got 2,400 points of fully painted Death Guard that I hadn’t had 48 hours prior. Considering I finished and went tools-down at 23:52 on the Sunday night - I couldn’t have cut it more closely!
It was also a really nice chance to enjoy a bit more of a social setting when building or painting. It’s always much nicer to be able to do something like this alongside someone who you can talk to, bounce ideas off-of and ask for advice.
Chris - Debrief
Lessons Learned
Consider sub-assemblies! I avoid them wherever possible, as the more loose bits you have knocking about, the greater the chance of disaster (losing them). This would have been grand for the marine power packs.
Likewise, having a thin-poled resin banner chucked around the table was asking for trouble.
Things That Went Wrong
Not a lot truly went wrong on my end, bar the banner breaking…twice. But thankfully clean breaks and easy fixes.
It got to 00:10 on the wee hours of Monday morning and I realised, with a few bits left to sort, I had missed out a bare head for one marine to be painted. It was at that point I admitted defeat and went to bed. I just had bases to pigment and the tracks on my Spartan to finish. I sorted these out first thing after a few hours sleep. It was still the weekend somewhere in the world!
Favourite Part
When the whole thing was coming to an end! As soon as I finished drybrushing Bolters and painting the weapon casings, it is was all “coming up Milhouse”! I used an array of brands and gubbins on this project, so I’ll be doing a seperate post going over what I used product wise with special thanks to some special folk who sent me some bits to prievew. Otherwise, getting transfers bang on in placement and flat is always a highlight.
I’m excited to expand the army. I intend to do some vehicles to balance out all the bodies that I’ve painted, but another Tactical Squad wouldn’t go amiss…
This brings us to the end of our Call to Arms challenge of 2023. In total, we’ve raised over £500 via our JustGiving page and this will ensure that struggling families in Derby will have food and other essentials - thanks to the wonderful work of Doorways Derby.
We extend our sincere and heartfelt thanks to anyone and everyone who has helped us in this. Whether you’ve donated a single pound, shared the link or even just commented on our posts to cheer us on - thank you! We both consider ourselves very fortunate to be able to do something that we thoroughly enjoy and can do so in the name of doing good and supporting those in need.
Finally, if you might be interested in learning how we were able to achieve the results on the Imperial Fists as quickly as we did, you can attend the upcoming, great value, novice friendly painting workshop. In this we’ll be focusing on larger models (Imperial Knights, Spartans, Stompas, etc). You can find more information and get your tickets via the link here.
https://www.tabletopevents.co.uk/tickets/p/painting-workshop-battlezone-beta-garmon
Until next time - be good to yourselves and each other!
