Themed Army Ideas

Fighting Tiger Black Ops: Hadin   by James Arnold
Next up is Hadin, brother to Kamal.

Bio in Brief
Hadin prefers to complement his twin brother Kamal’s natural talents: where Kamal learned silence, Hadin learned great martial prowess. A situation his brother might avoid altogether was met head on by the fiery twin. Hadin's skill grew on an almost daily basis, until one day it got him in trouble. 

It was Hadin's fifteenth summer when he found himself face-to-face with a local bully and a pair of subservient thugs. All they wanted was the few coins that Hadin carried and they would let him go. Hadin knew the coins were of little value, and his family had plenty of money besides, but he refused to yield. What would have been trivial suddenly became the single most important event in the future Tiger's life. The thugs met a short end at the hands of Hadin's iron fists. The teenager tore into his would-be assailants with the fury of a storm, leaving nothing but bruises, cuts, and broken bones. 

Satisfied that he had made his point, the young Hadin was stunned to find himself under arrest. Having arrived halfway through the fight, a tribal guard was barely able to restrain the enraged youth from further brutalizing his already battered opponents. Hadin felt a wave of shame as he realized he was going to cause an embarrassment to his whole family by being arrested for such a petty fight. His head swimming with emotions, the youth did not even notice the shadow of his brother trailing him. At a crowded intersection, Hadin felt his bonds slip free, and was relieved to see the face of Kamal. The two beat a hasty retreat through the alleyways, returning home with a new respect for one another. From that day on the two were inseparable, and so it was that the shadow and the fist came under the command of Janhavi. 

Bitz
Hadin was made using standard issue Marine bitz. You can find all of his bitz in a Tactical Squad box.

Painting – Disaster and Recovery
I was merrily working this project when halfway through, I was struck by misfortune. After carefully cleaning and assembling my models (to the point where they are ready to be painted anyway), I primed them as usual. However, rather than the smooth coat that I am used to, the paint clumped together, forming a bumpy and cracked surface. I tried using nail polish remover to start fresh, but the primer held fast. I was stuck. 

Having this happen to one model would be tolerable, but this happened to three Tiger models, and I was not in the position to replace what I had already done. In an un-winnable situation thus created, I did what any good Warhammer player would do: I procrastinated. 

Rather than spend my free time trying to solve the situation, I just let the problem go. I think that happens to us a lot as hobbyists and players. We start out with the best of intentions and inevitably wind up having our social, business, or academic commitments getting in the way. This is okay until we come back to the project, only to find ourselves uninspired or distracted. I would like to present a list of ideas that helped me to get back on track.

Take a break. Nothing gets you more pumped about Warhammer than putting it down for a month. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that. This not only applies to Warhammer but everything else as well. In today's superfast-paced world, we find ourselves thinking about the next three projects before the current one is even wrapped up. If you just got out of school, take a day or two and just bum around during your free time. That way when you come back to painting you'll be pumped and ready.

Watch your favorite action movie. You know the one I'm talking about. The one where the guy does a double flip over the bad dudes’ head while blowing up their truck, solving the mystery, saving the girl, and delivering an important life lesson all at the same time. For me it's The Last Samurai. Seeing Tom Cruise get up for the fourth time in the rain after that dude just wailed on him with a stick makes me want to pick up a katana myself. But I'm not to be trusted with bladed instruments, so I pick up the old paintbrush instead. 

Pace yourself. A buddy of mine had his IG army completely dismantled at the hands of a nasty basement flood. Less than a week later, he had already repainted 25 models. That's impressive, but in the long run, I think it's going to hurt him more than help. It's so easy to burn out in this hobby. Know your limits and put the brush down when you know you need to do something else. When I made the big push to finish my Ultramarines, I put in almost 100 hours of painting in less than two weeks. I didn't paint anything again for nearly a year. After three months of renewed interest in painting, my skills have only begun to return to the heights they had achieved before my sudden departure.

See the forest as well as the trees. Humans are naturally social creatures, and as such we are prone to doing things other than solitary pursuits (some of us more than others). It is important to keep this in mind. For example, don't fool yourself into thinking that you're going to be getting any painting done if in the next three months you're, say, getting married. Leave yourself time when you actually have it. Trying to squeeze in an hour a day that you don't have is not only stressful, it's counterproductive. You're more prone to mistakes you'll have to correct later and you're really not enjoying what you're doing. And if you're not enjoying yourself working on your game, then you're really missing the point huh?

Related Pages
Fighting Tiger Black Ops: Introduction
Fighting Tiger Black Ops: Fiction and Articles
 

Posted July 2007. Used with permission.
 

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