Nova-Bound: First Update

I didn't spend quite as much time at the painting table this past weekend as I would have liked, but I got a good solid session in on Sunday, working on 17 Termagants.

After having an accident while prepping a bottle of Jade Green and spilling half of it on the carpet (it came up with Airbrush cleaner and a lot of elbow grease), I started by doing the skin highlights with the jade green, concentrating on the heads and tails, with the top of the legs getting a little bit as well. I think it turned out ok and subtle enough, but it doesn't quite match the rest of my forces, so I'm not sold on the airbrush here.

From there I put down the airbrush and went to work, starting by line highlighting Jade Green and White mixed for most of the raised edges and creases. It's a little sharp in places, and I might go back with some thinned jade green to smooth some of the edges. At the same time, these are little cannon-fodder minis, not centerpieces.

Next up was the carapace, which started with liberally feathering Khorne Red over the black, only leaving the slightest bit of black in the deepest crevices.

I followed that up with a feathering of Mephiston Red about 50% up each plate. 

All told, including cleaning up my mess, it took about seven hours at the table. I still have two steps left before basing these guys and calling them done (I ran out of PVA, otherwise would have based them before priming). First is the Putrid Green on the fleshy bits. That will be followed up by touching up missed spots with black. The green details can take a long time, but I'm hoping to have these critters wrapped up in a day or two, although other life events may delay that a bit.

After more contemplation on my list and plans, I've of course, changed my mind several times. What it will come down to is of course some good playtesting. My original list included a few options I haven't used before, or haven't used in the way they would be used in the proposed list. In the next month or so, I plan on getting a bit more gaming than normal and really focusing on evaluating how Mawlocs, Biovores, and Swarmy fare. 

I'm also on the fence about putting the Zoanthropes in a spore or not. Putting them in a spore should allow me to drop them right next to whatever I need them to vaporize, be it tanks with Warp Lance or infantry with Psychic Shriek. On the other hand, some of the more interesting Telepathy powers are Maledictions and so, couldn't be used on the turn they drop. Finally, if I run two flyrants, and the Tervigon sticks more in the backfield, I may need some synapse escort for my army crossing the field. 

Anyway, because of my changing ideas for the list, I've moved some of my to-do list around. In particular I've moved the second flyrant and 10 Gargoyles up into the Must Complete section, which now has more stuff than I will actually need, but I haven't decided what to demote to a stretch goal. 

I also moved the display board up to my highest stretch goal, and have a general plan in place. The concept of the board will be the horde crossing an Imperial mansion garden that has been drained of life by the hive fleet. If I bring Swarmy (or just feature him on the board) I might have the garden dying where he walks and the swarm follows - a steady line of brown and grey corruption to verdant life. The edge of the garden is flanked by a marble patio, with an access road to the side. The access road will feature the Mawloc project. All that said, I'm pretty terrible at terrain building, so my concept could be outpacing my skills in the extreme. 

Must Complete:

1. Mawloc Project
2. Paint 8 Devourer Termagants
3. Paint/Repaint ~ 40 Termagants
1. 32 Assembled
2. 17 painted - 75%
4. Paint/Repaint ~ 20 Hormagaunts
1. ~12 assembled, ~4 broken from base
5. Second Flyrant converted from 3rd Edition Hive Tyrant
6. Magnetized Mawloc/Trygon
7. Paint/Repaint 3 Zoanthropes
8. Paint/Repaint 3 Biovores
9. 10+ Gargoyles

Stretch Goals:

1. Display Board
2. Model and Paint 1+ Mycetic Spore
3. 10 Devilgants
4. 10 Hormagaunts
5. 2 Tyrant Guard
6. 4 Hive Guard
7. Doom of Malan'tai Conversion

It's been nearly a week since I decided to go to NOVA and I've done less than I would have liked in preparation. My biggest accomplishment to date might have been ordering some battlefoam to transport my bugs in better safety than my current cases. I need to get to work, but my schedule is not looking that great, with plans for all but one weekend between now and the tournament. That said, I tend to be someone who needs looming deadlines to be productive, so I still expect to improve my army a lot. Also, if anyone going to NOVA is interested in the Trios Tournament or needs one more person, let me know; it might end up being too much gaming, but I really like the idea and would like to participate.