Though the Space Mounties have been fighting valiantly to protect their country’s interests across the galaxy, they have found themselves outflanked by superior enemy firepower and discourteous sneakiness. In the face of this pressure, the NeoCanadian Courtesy Division has called in for the transfer of its most elite troops to reinforce the Canadian line.

Part 1: Arctic Space Ninja

The first to arrive was a representative of the deadliest regiment NeoCanada can muster: the Ijurujuq, an elite Inuit stealth corps that mercily stalk the snowbound lands of Space Nunavut.

The Inuit forces would be represented on the field by the Swiss Guard, also known as “the deadliest model in PanOceania”. The NeoTerra starter I picked up contained a Swiss Guard model that I’ve never liked, awkwardly one-handing a missile launcher while pointlessly brandishing a knife. Once I had the model in my hands, though, I realized that the torso and legs of this model are absolutely gorgeous in their design, detailing, and posing, and it was really only the arms that had always made me dislike the model. This ended up working perfectly– I had planned to perform a weapon swap anyway, so if I just sculpted him a new set of arms I could very easily jettison everything I didn’t like about the model and be left with an utterly badass pile of Arctic pewter and putty. 🙂

My sister had some sort of party two weeks ago and my family insisted that I go.

I checked to see if I had D&D or an Infinity event that weekend, but they were both the week before, so I was clear to attend.

“Oh, and make sure to bring a statue of me,” she said. “To go on a cake.”

Kind of a weird request, I thought, but I shrugged and knocked out some sketches. They were going pretty well for the most part, but something in the composition seemed off.

“It looks really weird to have just one person on a cake. The balance isn’t right.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “Throw someone else on there too if you want.”

“Mmkay. Anyone in particular?”

“Ehh.”

“Oooookay then.”

I dug around on her Facebook for some pictures to use as reference. There were a lot of this dude.

“Hey, will this guy be at the party? There’s a lot of reference here for him.”

She thought for a moment.

“I’d have to check, but I think so.”

I’ve decided to do three nice things that require almost no work on my part, because that pretty well sums up the kind of guy I am.

1. Anyone wanna sculpt at Templecon?

This year will be my fifth Templecon, and the first where I’m not planning to play much Warmachine. I’ll be playing in whatever Infinity events they have and probably getting in a few games of Grind and Thunderdome, but otherwise I’m mostly just planning to hang out and do whatever. During this period of whatever-doing, I was thinking that it might be fun to sit in a hotel room for like twelve hours straight and sculpt an army man. I mean, I’m paying enough for the bloody room, I might as well get some use out of the damned thing. 😛

Would anyone be interested in such an activity? Twelve hours is enough time to get a dude from wire to partly dressed; I’d be covering things like armature-rigging, fimo mechanics, useful tools, basic anatomy, faces, and clothing, with lots of random pointers in between about general technique and good habits.

The Infinity group at my store is currently running a mini-campaign that I’m greatly enjoying. Each of the eight participants has created a Spec Ops character for their army, including a bit of backstory to explain where they came from and why they’re awesome. Each week we’re paired against an opponent; the organizer writes some fluff about why we’re fighting, and assigns us an objective-heavy scenario to resolve the conflict. We play it out, and any Spec Ops who survive accrue experience to pick up new abilities and gear. After the game, both players write up a short fluff piece about the battle from their Spec Ops’ point of view; some players write a play-by-play of the coolest parts of the battle, while I’ve focused more on the grisly aftermaths of my relentless series of crushing defeats.

It’s been a hoot. 🙂

So, a few months ago, I made a really bad decision.

Yeah.

When I started playing, I came up with a colour scheme for my lovely new Space People using paper dolls in Photoshop; however, once this conceptual work was done, I then immediately proceeded to do anything but paint actual models for like four months. I drew pictures, I made terrain, I made fancy tokens, I made fancy scenario objectives, I made fancy transport cases… painting my Space Dudes was about the last thing I wanted to spend brainpower on, because for me painting isn’t really a creative endeavor– it’s more of a grudging obligation.

What finally made me pick up my paintbrush was a league my store scheduled for July and August. Someone else challenged the other members to be fully painted by the end of it, and while I’m nowhere near that level of completion just past the 3/4 point of the league, I have put paint on over half of my dudes. Which is, for me, a pretty incredible rate of painting progress. 🙂

There has been a further development.

“Mr. Spud,” he pleaded, “you have to sell me one of those Journeymen.”

Scott was, of course, incorrect. But I was feeling generous, so I made him a counter-offer.

“These ones make up a set,” I explained, in the tone I reserve for small children and mischievous puppies. “But if you’re a very good boy, you can go to the wall, pick a mini, and I’ll make you your OWN Journeyman model. How does that sound?”

“Gosh! You really mean it, Mr. Spud?”

I did. I was enjoying making them, and they weren’t exactly difficult to construct. Some armor plates, a tacked-on backpack, and you’re pretty much done. Scott skipped off excitedly toward the Privateer wall, clapping excitedly the way he does, while I turned back to my work. Some time later, he returned; his face flushed with innocent joy, and his arms loaded with possibilities.

“Alright, now you can’t have ALL of them,” I reminded him, peering over the top of the glasses I don’t wear but that I have on for the purposes of this story. “You’ll have to pick.”

He deflated slightly, but after a few minutes of rummaging through his precious cargo, he made a selection. And while his choice was unusual, I think that ultimately, he made the right one.

And so, once my own work was complete, I set about the task of bringing joy to yet another young heart.