New Nids?

I don't know if anyone else has seen the news yet, but an internet user uploaded some pictures that appear to be from a white dwarf and which show new kits from GW. The link is http://imgur.com/a/FZqc3. I just wanted to share my thoughts about the new tyranids in particular, but I will touch on the Space Wolves in that release towards the end.

Finally the wishing GW would give us another model wave has come to an end (maybe). This is long overdue. As a tyranid player I enjoy converting, but my preference is to have a model out that I can customize and not have to scratch build whole models. That was why my immediate reaction to the release of new plastic models was excitement. The more I think about it though, the more upset I get. There are a couple things I just wanted to throw out there.

• Which Models Did They Make- So far, the pictures are just showing the hive tyrant with wings, swarmlord, tervigon, and tyranofex. This seems like a big release but really it is 2-3 kits that make all of this. And where are the harpy, ymgarl genestealers, parasite of mortrex, doom of malantai, tyranid prime, and our spore pods. In my army, I run tervigons, but also the parasite and doom and pods and I want to try the ymgarls. It may be an economic decision based on projected sales, but it still annoys me that they went with the big $60+ kits and ignored people like myself who play a more non-standard build. 
• Why now?- I am appreciative of the fact that they are no longer just ignoring my bugs, but why did it take so long to put the kits out? I feel like if they had time to come out with an almost full dark eldar line and create a new process of resin models, they could have spent a little more time filling out the tyranid line. The main change from 4th edition to 5th was that we got plastic raveners, gargoyles, and trygons. While I just a big flock of the gargoyles as a screening unit and a trygon prime to bully people, we really didn't get many of our new units released. It is frustratinig to see less and less of the nids when they are stylistically such a cool army.

 I suppose that is all I really wanted to say for the day. In the end, I will most likely buy 3 tervigons and 1-2 tyranofexes just cause the new model looks amazing, but I guess I just had some bitter feelings. Hopefully this will spark a renewed interest in the tyranids and we will see more model support soon. I can dream anyway.

Motivation v. The Swarm

Hello again everyone. I have been fighting through a cold this past week and am just starting to work myself out from under a load of coursework so I figured I would post again. With my struggle to find hobby time recently, I thought a nice post would be about motivation, mostly in terms of painting, but also just to hobby in general. On my hobby table, I currently have set up 108 termagants, all primed and waiting to be painted, so I thought I would share a few tips on how I plan on getting through this huge task.

• Take your time. If you are bored as you rush through painting the first time, you will be even more bored when you go back and touch up all of those models again.
• Work on small groups. As impressive as it is to see 100 or more models out on a table, you will go insane looking at how many you still have left to go. I find that working on 5-8 troop models at a time is just right.
• Always do a test model. There is nothing more frustrating than getting your squad halfway done and realizing that your highlight colors don't work or that you picked a bad base color. Plus, if you do a test model, your assembly line process will already be worked out.
• Give yourself a time limit. Set aside a chunk of time and work during that time, but stick to your ending time. This cuts down on exhaustion from too long painting one thing, and if you didn't finish everything you wanted to you will have that much more drive to get it done next time you paint.
• Mix it up. When you are painting loads of the same model again and again, it can get tedious. After you paint a couple groups of troops, paint an independent character or monstrous creature. The break will reset your mind and give you new-found enjoyment.
• Stretch periodically. The body gets sore if you sit in one position for too long. The goal shouldn't be to stretch when you are sore though. Stretching should be preventative. I find that if I keep a cup of water with me and drink it as I paint, about the time I need a refill is about when I need to move around a bit. 
• Find a well lit area. Eye strain can put an end to painting quite easily if you paint in a dark area. Other than better lighting, another nice way to eliminate some strain is magnifying lenses. 
• Paint socially. Painting with my little brother is always more fun than painting alone. For those people who don't have someone handy to paint with, a podcast is almost as good. When I am painting alone I always listen to the latest episodes of the Independent Characters, the 11th Company Podcast, 40K UK, or 40K Radio. I recommend all of these podcasts highly.

I hope that some of these help you with any motivation issues you are having. I plan on using them quite a bit in the coming weeks. Happy painting everyone!

Hello World

Hello to everyone out in cyber space! I thought I would start the new year with a blog. Never done this before, so hopefully you will all bear with me as I stumble through this process. First, I suppose a little introduction is in order.

I am a college student in the United States of America studying to be a teacher. My biggest hobby is currently Warhammer 40k. I like to paint and convert and play. I used to play Nidzilla in 4th edition with the old Tyranid codex, but after 5th edition came out, I stopped playing for a couple years. After finding the Independent Characters podcast and the 11th Company podcast this summer, I found my passion for the hobby again. (I am on each their forums under the name Chmcho). With my new-found excitement, I re-vamped my old Tyranids and played in the local 'Ard Boyz. Though I lost badly, it was a fun day and kept my excitement going. I recently decided to delve into power armor for the first time and decided upon a Dark Angels Deathwing army.

Now that I have introduced myself a little, I will go into my goals for the blog. Along with what I am sure is a million other people, I decided to start the new year with a blog. I wanted a place to just share my thoughts about the hobby, post pictures, and just post my thoughts about tactics and the game in general. I hope to provide interesting and relevant content that whoever reads this will enjoy. My goal is to post at least once a week. I look forward to feedback from the community and the process of evolving this blog.