Knowing very little about 40k before I got into the hobby, I spent hours trawling different websites to try and get a feel for the different armies. In the end, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, I went for the Guard. Why? I'm not really sure, to be honest. The summary execution rule for the Commissars appealed to me (or at least a sick, twisted part of me) and I guess I just liked the overall 'feel' of the army. Knowing a new codex was just around the corner didn't hurt either!
Not having done much modelling since I was about 10, I figured I'd start with some plastics - both for the ease of assembly and the opportunities for trying my hand at some of the great conversions I'd seen on forums and blogs around the place. Obviously, that meant choosing between the Cadian and the Catachan range, the former of which I liked the most.
Next it was off to buy a box of Shock Troops. I didn't invest too much to begin with, just in case I decided I didn't, in fact, want to delve too far into this crazy hobby.
Whoops.
Anyway, with the help of a mate I got my first guy assembled and painted. The colour scheme wasn't inspired by anything in particular, I just thought it would look good on the table.
In coming up with a theme for the army, a WWI Western Front-style force immediately sprang to mind. Having trenches, mud, duckboards, craters, barbed wire etc. would allow for some simple but effective modelling opportunities, and I figured I'd have a lot of fun with it.
Below is the second Guardsman I did. You'll notice the colour scheme has been reversed from the first trooper - I thought this would be a clear way to distinguish command squads, and this is something I've continued with for the rest of my force.
My army as it stands, these guys included, needs some repainting work. At the moment though, I can field them on the tabletop so my priorities are currently to get new units built and painted - more of that to come!
If you've read all this (I know it was a fair bit!) I hope you've enjoyed the insight into my choice of army. I'm certainly happy with the choice!
Next time, a little bit about the background for my army and the army list I'm working towards as we speak.
2 comments:
You have a commendable amount of patience to be putting that much detail on your Guardsmen. Great work and an excellent start to your hobby life.
I'll follow your blog when I'm not playing EVE, their in-game web browser won't let me sign in on your home page.
Thanks Soundwave! I'm hoping I can keep a good standard across my entire force - I'm enjoying painting at the moment (although I haven't done any for a long time) and I'm hoping it stays that way, even after my 50th Guardsman!
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