Before the outbreak of Coronavirus threw the world into turmoil Games Workshop announced that March would see the release of a range of new models for the Adeptus Mechanicus, those cybernetically enhanced sons and daughters of Mars (and other, inferior, forge worlds of course!). The spread of the virus has, naturally, knocked that release schedule back a bit but even before that happened I was suffering from mixed feelings about it. On the one hand I have a long standing love of the Adeptus Mechanicus, dating back to long before there was a range of models available for them, and more crazy-looking troops in service of the tech-priests can only be a good thing. On the other I’ve still never painted a single model from the range and it’s getting embarrassing!
Long ago I started to work on a test model for my first squad of Skitarii rangers, but about half-way through the painting process I stalled and somehow I never quite got back to it. I don’t quite understand what the issue is, I love the models, I love the background, I love the idea of painting them, but somehow the action of actually picking it up and moving the brush never seemed to happen. With the release of new models imminent I decided that this had gone on long enough, sat down and forced myself to finish it.
Now let me say first of all that I still love these miniatures, they’re amongst the best things that GW has produced and if I ever build an army in service to the Imperium (rather than one looking to smash it down) then these are the guys for me. However, god damn this was fiddly to paint! Working on him seemed to take me hours and the whole exercise became bogged down by frustration and irritation, not something conducive to getting the rest of the collection painted up. On the other hand I was feeling really pleased with the end result and enthusiastic about finishing some more – even if I wasn’t particularly eager about the actual painting stage itself. ย I did have a second ranger assembled and undercoated however so I set myself the challenge of getting him painted as well – and not taking weeks and weeks to do it. In the end I cracked through him in perhaps an hour and a half or so, quickly enough that my enthusiasm didn’t abandon me along the way.
Side by side I think they look pretty good, certainly it’s not obvious which one was on the painting desk for several years and which one I rattled through in an afternoon.
Oh and it goes without saying that these are perfect for the latest challenge being run by Ann’s Immaterium, the “Paint the Crap You Already Own” April Challenge. As a result of my longstanding love of the servants of Mars I bought myself a handful of models as soon as they were released, and continued to bolster their ranks every time I saw a good bargain in the years since. By now I’ve ended up with quite a backlog and between Ann’s challenge and GW pausing all new releases during the current pandemic the decision has been made for me – I need to paint the crap I already own rather than day-dreaming about the slew of potential new recruits which will sooner or later become available to the macroclades of the red planet.
Anyway, getting these done has fired me with enthusiasm and lifted aside a psychological block that’s been hanging over the project for quite some time. I don’t know when I’ll get back to working on this project but at last I can say I’ve painted something and hold my head high amongst the other tech-priests! Should the urge to paint more Skitarii strike me sooner rather than later I’ve even assembled a few more, ready for the brush as soon as a suitable opportunity arises.
I’m not sure exactly when I’ll tackle them, I’ve got a few other big projects I’m wanting to crack on with (my Necromunda Cawdor gang, more Blackstone Fortress, the rest of the Warcry terrain and chaotic beasts) but right now I’m just enjoying picking up loose odds and ends and getting them finished. Next up is likely to be some more Necromunda WIPs and then something Orc-y (and yes you read that right, Orc-y rather than Ork-y…).
April 20th, 2020 at 7:38 am
Brilliant work, they look ace! Skitarii are extremely fiddly to paint aren’t they? I worked on some a few years back and they were even quite awkward to assemble
April 21st, 2020 at 7:15 am
Thank you! Oh yeah, nightmare to assemble, nightmare to paint – but I still love them though. What’s wrong with me eh! I dug out my Cawdor gangers earlier and the same could be said of them – I’m clearly a sucker for punishment…
April 21st, 2020 at 10:05 am
I think it’s the tiny legs on the Skitarii and the tiny arms on the gangers, they are really awkward to position and can just fall apart for no reason ๐
April 20th, 2020 at 8:41 am
Great work on them. They are impressively fiddly looking models, so I salute you in your efforts and look forward to seeing more of them from you soon.
April 21st, 2020 at 7:17 am
Thank you! I must confess by the time I finished working on the first one I thought I was on a hiding to nothing but the second one was a lot easier and has restored my confidence, I’ll try to tackle some more soon ๐
April 20th, 2020 at 10:12 am
They are looking good, and I love your series title!
April 21st, 2020 at 7:20 am
Thank you! I wanted to use that title for my original review of the Ad Mech when they were first released but then I went and forgot and used something else instead. It was too good to waste a second time though ๐
April 20th, 2020 at 11:43 am
These look great, I really like the dials / button / readouts on their backpacks.
April 21st, 2020 at 7:21 am
Thank you! I’m actually a bit of a sucker for painting those – I suspect they were a big part of what attracted me to the Ad Mech in the first place ๐
April 20th, 2020 at 2:48 pm
Nicely done mate – a bit clean for you though aren’t they? ๐
I agree with you that they are fiddly buggers to paint btw, but I’m not sure why that is! It’s weird…
April 22nd, 2020 at 10:29 am
Thanks mate! Aye, they are on the clean side – I did intend to weather the bottom of the coats a bit more, they should really be caked in Martian dust, but by that stage I just wanted to finish the damn things. I’ll try to do more of that kind of thing with the next ones and then go back and dirty these two up if I feel they need it.
April 20th, 2020 at 5:54 pm
Very nice.
Cheers,
Pete.
April 22nd, 2020 at 10:29 am
Cheers ๐
April 20th, 2020 at 7:31 pm
Ooh I do like these. Very steampunk. Personally I love the detail and if anything was ever going to move me from metal figures to GW these little chaps could well be it. Nicely done and I love the red.
April 22nd, 2020 at 11:21 am
Thank you! Yes they’re very steampunk, I know that some 40k fans haven’t approved of them for exactly that reason but I love them (most of the time anyway, when I’m not struggling to paint them…). I’ve got quite a heap of them waiting for attention so expect to see plenty more sooner or later!
April 22nd, 2020 at 7:10 pm
Nice work. I love the aesthetic of the Mechanicum and I think it really is ‘peak 40K’ in the sense that it’s closest to the early Blanche art work. As always, your painting makes everything better.
April 23rd, 2020 at 10:31 am
Thank you! Yes they really captured that “40k” aesthetic with the Mechanicum (and the new Sisters of Battle), there’s an element of it in the other Imperial ranges but for my money those two capture the Imperium that I grew up with to a T.
April 23rd, 2020 at 8:12 pm
Love the metalwork on these – very cool. Also the red capes are neat.
April 24th, 2020 at 1:03 pm
Cheers – I usually find metalwork nice and easy to achieve but these ones were a bit of a challenge. I think I made a bit of a meal of it though – hopefully the next ones will be easier, and I’m definitely pleased with the results so that’s all that matters in the end right ๐
April 26th, 2020 at 2:35 am
Agree. Those were done just right.
April 24th, 2020 at 9:45 pm
These rock, especially the reds. I also blessings of the omnisiah for the post title. Well played.
April 25th, 2020 at 9:24 am
Thank you! Yeah that title was too good not to use ๐
June 28th, 2020 at 4:11 am
Nice work. I’ve seen a lot of cool schemes on the AdMech over recent years, but they’ll always be red to me, dammit!
July 1st, 2020 at 8:48 pm
Thanks muchly! Oh yeah, other colour-schemes are fine for lesser forge worlds – and some of them do look really good. Holy Mars is the most important planet in the Imperium bar none though – why settle for second best?