2023 – Quarter 1, Week 4

Welcome to the fourth week of my 2023 painting log. This week I have moved on to the second and final box of Quarter 1 – the Van Saar! Leaving behind the larger Ambots and returning to smaller gangers presented a host of new challenges and some disappointments.

A New Gang

As this was the first member of a brand new gang, I had a major decision to make at the start of the week – finding a color scheme. I knew going in that I did not want to do the standard Van Saar green. I considered the cadian green armor instead, but eventually decided on burgundy. Not relying on the common studio scheme is both freeing and somewhat anxiety inducing. As someone who has only recently gotten back into painting, I am not very confident in my ability to select a handful of colors that mesh well.

I spent more time than needed watching YouTube videos about color theory and how to develop a cohesive theme. It certainly wasn’t time wasted, but at this point does it matter whether I select a warm or cold white? Probably not, considering that I still cannot consistently paint clean edges or non-splotchy base coats. This analysis paralysis can be a serious impediment – just pick some colors and paint! I have to remind myself that (1) the only way to improve is to paint more, and (2) if I screw up, it can always be repainted. I would have to remind myself of these two truths several times this week.

Problems Arise

After basecoating the armor, I decided in to block in the rest of the colors that I would use. I thought that this would be the most effective way to check if the colors mesh or clash. Seeing is believing, after all. I had an image of dark burgundy and white in my head, but was not happy with the first pass. With only base coats applied, I just wasn’t happy with it. So I pivoted. The armor plates got black base coats, while the details were picked out in blue. I am still not sure about the blue, but I am much happier with the black/dark grey armor panels. Finally, I decided to make the gun casings white as a means to practice this notoriously difficult color.

From watching tutorials and reading various forums, I knew to basecoat the white guns in a grey. I think the tone that I chose might be too light however. I find that I am regularly worried about jumping highlight values and having too stark of a difference. Here, the grey I chose could probably be darker. In order to keep moving forward, I’ll try it out on the next mini instead of constantly repainting this one. I am very happy that it did not turn out chalky, at least!

I attempted some glazing on the burgundy portions, and found mixed success. It turned out fairly well on the larger leg sections, but anything smaller didn’t turn out quite right. Likewise, edge highlighting on these much much smaller pieces was infinitely more difficult than the large Ambot panels. I knew those robo-boys were going to be a better place to start. While discouraging, I know that I have to keep practicing in order to develop the level of brush control needed. Hopefully, with 9 more minis in the box, I’ll see an appreciable improvement.

Scorecard Review

This time, I did hit the timing goal, but completely botched the social media and blog goals. Keeping myself painting and committing time to the hobby is the primary purpose here, so I’m counting it as a win.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the progress so far this year. Although I have not hit the weekly hour goals with consistency, I remain on track to finish both of the quarterly targets.

As ever:

Keep painting.