Editorial- campaign badges

Editorial- making the most out of every project.

I was recently going through my bitz box and found this in it.  A small wing from a crashed aquilla lander and I decided to paint it up.  I figured out a basic paint scheme and got ready to work when a thought hit me.  How does one get the most out of a project.  Too often as hobbyist (myself included) we don't reflect enough on the mundane pieces we do such as troops terrain etc.  And yet the greatest hobbyist I have met lavish attention and go the extra distance on all these pieces and not just the centerpiece models.  It is this extra attention to detail and forethought that in conjunction with their skills truly makes an army or terrain collection stand out.

Here we see the wing painted.  It is tabletop ready but uninspiring.  While there is nothing wrong with it, it does not grab the imagination.  Terrain should tell a story.  It should enhance the game.  In the past I have been satisfied with the above I decided I wanted a bit more.  This blog chronicles the Stygian Wars so I wanted to mark it as belonging from regiments used in these wars.  I wanted a campaign or unit insignia that fit.  I wanted something that would stand out and yet at the same time not be over the top.  That campaign badge or squadron marking would need to be interesting suggesting a deeper story behind the wreckage, something that reflected the grimness of the dark millennium without being cliché.  Also by doing a little more weathering and adding flock I could make this small piece pop even more to those who viewed it.

Here then is the result of adding some flock, weathering, and a small unit badge.  When compared to the previous picture one can see clearly the better results gained by taking the time to make the most out of a project.  And while I admittedly don't always follow this advice I find my results more satisfying when I do.  After all which of the models would you prefer to play over on your table?