The Conservative Zone

My painting skills for Warhammer 40k has improved a lot since I started painting 2 1/2 years ago. Back then, I was under a time crunch and the assumption that the spray paint Ultramarine Blue was the same shade as the paint pot that Games Workshop sold. I made the deadline, but ended up with two tone units.

So, I have been repainting everything, this time by hand. So far, I have completed my 4 Tactical Squads, and a Dreadnought. for a break, I thought I would go after a Rhino Armored Personnel Carrier.

The following pictures I took at maximum resolution so you could see the detail. The pictures below are thumbnails, so click on them for the full picture.

Here is the first Rhino I painted, it even has a guy sticking up out of the top:

This is my "second generation" Rhino, where I've hand painted the exterior the paint pot color, and I've added a second storm bolter (machine gun) on top. This one still lacks any inking, and any real detail paining. I just wanted to get it to the paint pot color.

This, while not quite perfect, is going to stand as the best I can do. I have added special aftermarket doors and face, and I will be adding an aftermarket top when I get the money. I don't know if you can see, but the face was badly made (the aftermarket parts are made out of resin while the rest of the Rhino is made out of plastic) and there are gaps that I will have to address at some time in the future.

Note the different color of the storm bolters, and the aftermarket pieces. I'm still not done with the storm bolters, but the detail I still have to work on is on the far side. Also, notice the extra armor pieces. Those pieces alone doubled the cost of the Rhino, but I think they are worth it in making the Rhino "beefier" and not to mention that 40k is supposed to be a "wysiwyg" game. And I always put extra armor on all of my vehicles in the game because there is a "stunned" result if you get hit, and if you're stunned, you can't move or shoot, but the extra armor knocks stunned down to "shaken" so you can still move, just not shoot. That can be a lifesaver, which is why I always use it.

So, what do you think? Am I getting better? Should I continue to do this, or be just satisfied with what I have?