Monkeys

Turns out dark models that lean forward are hard to photograph.

I've been a lazy hobbyist of late.  Games aren't a problem, and I'm probably playing more than ever since getting back into gaming a few years back.  The struggle against unpainted (and worse, unassembled) models isn't going as well.  Today I struck a tiny blow against the unpainted masses in the form of four apes.  Before painting began my focus was on speed, but that fell down the priority totem pole in the usual manner as I got to work.  Despite dragging my feet a bit the actual painting went quick enough, though it was accompanied by a large pail of drying time.  I "drybrushed" the fur (aka 90% of the model) straight over the "primer" that the models come out of the box with, then gave it a heart black wash.  Panzerfists got a coat of black, then bronze, then a slathering of Tamiya Smoke (along with the silver generator on Markus' back).  Final details were eyes and tongues, both red, along with white teeth and colored wiring.  I had been set to base my Dust mans in the same manner as my Blood Angels, meaning painted ballast with static grass tufts, but now I'm reconsidering.  My base edges are painted black because I'm not going for a super-realistic style.  These aren't real mans, they're little bits of plastic, so I feel no compulsion to try and camouflage the base to make it look real.  As such I'm thinking about painting the bases silver since they have a diamond steel plate sort of texture, plus the rivets around the edge.  Maybe a silver top and rivets with a black edge, though that's a bit more work than I want to sink into these bases.  Will this be the much looked for start of painting Dust?  Hopefully.  The monkeys were the first because they didn't need any flash cleaned or pieces straightened.  The rest of the stuff?  Not so much, which presents a bit of a hurdle.  Maybe Santa will bring me a fat sack of hobby momentum.