You are probably wondering what in the world a picture of my dog (Abbey) and a Christmas ornament has to do with a 40k. Well, it has to do with the hobby side of any miniature war game really. About a month ago I my sister-in-law picked up a Christmas ornament that resembled her dog (a border collie). Unfortunately, the colors of the dog were all wrong as her dog is almost completely white and the ornament was largely black. Seeing this gave me an idea, so they let me take the ornament home to see what I could do. I quick coat of white primer and a few hours later, I produced an ornament that had a striking resemblance to their dog, even down to the little pink spots on his nose. I gave it a quick coat of spray enamel for protection. My sister-in-law was quite happy with the result.
Fast forward three weeks to my wife bringing home an ornament that sort of resembles our dog. She's a German/Australian Sheppard mix (my dog, not the wife) so no exact ornaments match her. While my wife didn't ask me to do it, it seemed like it was implied that I should try to duplicate my efforts. So, I again primed the whole model. I thought it best to start from scratch, especially considering my dog has a lot of areas where color over laps. I did a little bit of color mixing to get the correct tan/brown color and the rest was pretty easy. I am not quite finished yet and still need to do some more blending, highlights, and a wash or two, but the point of this article is the idea, not a how-to.
I am a decent painter and can be above average when I take my time, but anyone can do what I am suggesting here. Know someone that has a dog and you need to get a Christmas present for them? Consider painting them an ornament. The ornaments can be purchased at a lot of big chain pet stores or craft stores for less than $10 and it doesn't take too much time to do the painting. It's also not a bad way to get a girlfriend or wife to appreciate your hobby for more than the dorkiness that it really is.
So, depending on when this posts, there may still be time for you to do this for this year. If not, give it a shot next year.
Couple of quick tips/notes:
- Ornaments are usually resin or plastic
- Can be bought for between $5 - $30 (some online places rip you off)
- Thoughtful and from the heart gift
- Most of ornaments have texture, so they take washes pretty well.
- I recommend keeping the eyes that come with the ornament, so cover them with painters tape before priming or spraying enamel. Otherwise you lose the shine like my picture above.
Happy holidays and a happy new year to everyone!
