I picked up a paintbrush again last year after a 20 year hiatus. I was given a copy of Space Hulk, a game I’ve wanted for years, little did I know it was just a gateway drug to 40k!
Of course I didn’t want to immediately start on those highly detailed Blood Angels Terminators without having got my eye in again. So I managed to find a copy of Shield of Baal: Deathstorm which supplied me with a Tactical Terminator squad to practice my paint scheme on. That box also contained a unit of Death Company and a Furioso which, of course, I built. I suddenly found myself with a growing Blood Angels force, the hobby had me hooked again…
Being a new father meant I didn’t have a huge amount of time for painting but I still chipped away until after a year I had painted the Terminators, a Tactical Squad, a Dreadnought and a Librarian.
I noticed that my FLGS (Warboar, Bromley) was hosting a painting course run by Siege Studios and my tolerant wife signed me up. It was a great weekend and James Otero took us through a bunch of techniques that I now use all the time. I also got the chance to try out an Air Brush for the first time which immediately went to the top of my “must acquire at all costs” list. It was on that course that I met Fingers who offered to introduce me to the gaming side of the hobby. 8th edition had just been released so I swatted up on the rules and cobbled together a half painted army to field against Fingers’ AdMech force (of course I got a schooling). I’d made the transition from hobbyist to player and have never looked back!
I’m currently painting up the Blood Angels I have, writing dozens of lists in BattleScribe and trying to become a better player (with the help of the master tactitians at RFW).
And those Space Hulk minis? Yeah I’ll get around to painting them at some point, just after I’ve finished these Death Company. Oooh and that Librarian Dreadnought. And these Sanguinary Guard…
