This project, let's call it 'Phase 3', has been sitting on my desk for about 10 months--Not counting the time spent on the game table, or being carted around in Deathbot's army box. About 4 weeks ago, I finally started adding highlights over the base colors. To be frank, I almost didn't.
I spruced these guys up with some pieces from other models I've collected over the years. Some were glued on, but some were attached temporarily by poster tack... more on that in a bit.
Progress has been slow on these two, but they getting close. Although I am second guessing the edge highlighting on the left dreadnought, and may use a different highlighting technique.
As seen in this image from a post last February, the dreadnoughts each *had* 2 'shoulder' mounted pieces. They were attached with poster tack. This works great for testing how a finished models will look before gluing. It actually held well enough (in this case) to survive the gaming table and moderate handling.
Deathbot has loved his space marine figures. Phase 1 was completed over 5 years ago, and was My First Blog Post. Over the years, I restricted how often and where he could play with the figures. As the frequency of broken guns and back pack lessened, so did my restrictions. This year, Deathbot has has shown he is very careful with his army, so I let him take the dreadnoughts to his grandparents. The day he got back from that trip, he had some friends over and the space marines were brought out to bolster an epic Lego mini figure battle.
The next day, I asked Deathbot to clean up the aftermath, including put away his Salamander army, and put the box on the shelf. As I occasionally do, I took inventory*. Everything was there, but the shoulder mounted bits. I looked through his Lego bin for about 20 minutes, and Deathbot looked around the room for about an hour. They were gone.
* I normally do not scrutinize how Deathbot treats his things. While Mrs Zorcon and I try and instill respect and responsibility,not having said toy/item anymore is the 'punishment'.
To the point of the sub-title of this article--"These are not action figures" (I went back and forth about how to phrase that. My first iteration was "These are not toy soldiers"). Well, in fact, they are game components--Sometimes pricey ones at that. On that note, I debated weather to replace the bits and/or to shelve the project indefinitely. Eventually, I chose to buy more bits on 'fleaBay', costing about $12, and finish the models. In the mean time they will stay on my work bench and not in Deathbot's carrying case.
In the end, I know these aren't precious stones or irreplaceable valuables. But they are customized painted models specifically for use in game... or simply put, toy soldiers.
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