After finishing this month's resolutions, I did not do what I was supposed to do (paint 48 Portuguese linemen), but rather I decided to finish off some figures I had sitting on the desk and also get back to 3-color.

You must understand that I have absolutely zero artistic talent. I was the kid who got kicked out of art class for not being able to draw -- in elementary school. I consider myself a crafstman with some modicum of skill, but never an artist. I usually paint in a very mechanistic fashion with washes and drybrushing handling things I have no talent for.

I really admire the Foundry/Dallimore 3-color style, because it requires something I don't have. To paint in the shadows and highlights and creases etc. you need to form a mental image where everything is supposed to go. I guess this comes naturally to some people, but not me. We covet the things we see, and thus I wanted this skill. Since my orbital mind-drain ray failed to arrive in the mail, I was left with learning it myself.

Being too stupid and stubborn to admit defeat, I decided to apply the John Blanche method to learning. While I'm still a little shy of 10,000 figures, I feel I'm starting to get the hang of this. Even though it's been a while since I last painted anything in this style, it all came back to me pretty easily.

I think these are the first 3-color figures that I've done that I'm really happy with. And ironically, once you get the hang of it, it's not really even that much slower. With small batches it's probably even faster because there is no drying time for washes.

Oh yes, the actual thing. So now we have Cybermen, and Daleks, and the TARDIS and The Doctor and most importantly Sarah Jane, we are almost ready to go. We just need some hapless victims for the alien monsters to blast... now, where did I put those UNIT trooper wannabes?

And some rules, gotta have rules if only for show... somehow flashing a book or pile of papers reassures the players even when you're totally winging it.

P.S. And I didn't even break out the expensive brushes for this work. Out of sheer laziness, I must admit. A good brush is very helpful with this style, but not absolutely essential.

P.P.S. Why don't I have a picture of The Doctor with TARDIS?