Monday March 31 2008 Get it Set Up

Picture: A Penitent Engine, the sort of dreadnought of a Witch Hunters army. Not many people play this army and it is chock full of interesting models. See the rest here.

Download the spreadsheet and get your own Witch Hunters army going now.

I have a new guy on staff by the name of Alan. You've seen him in last week's Dark Heresy vids. He grew up in North Dakota and got his work ethic from working on a farm. It's been a pleasure working with him. He comes in part time to lighten my load doing this and that around the studio. Today I got to go home like three hours earlier than normal (ie a nine hour day at the studio instead of twelve hours!). That was real nice.

Back to work ethic: this solves everything. People with no work ethic are pretty much dead weight. So, that's the first thing I look for. Has the person ever really had to pull weight on anything long-term in their life?

I got my work ethic the summer of my Junior year when my mother announced that I had a full time job at the mill where she worked (sometimes double-shifts to make ends meet). Pardon my french, but I worked my ass off. That was the best thing she ever did for me. Then on my mission working 80 hour weeks. Then again after my daughter was born getting up at 4am every morning to get to work for years on end. Not to brag: I am generally a slacker when I can get away with it!

Everything is proceeding apace. We managed to get four projects through digital photography. A ton of stuff is incoming the next 48 hours.

Warning: if you have something that you need by Adepticon be SURE to check in with me.

I still have a few slots open at the end of April. Now is a good time to get that set up. Here's the basic information on how to set up a commission:

Hello,

Thanks for your inquiry. Here’s an introduction to the studio.

Getting a Quote
Attached is a spreadsheet outlining all costs of your project. Or you can download a generic sheet for your army here.

You have two options to get a quote:
A) Fill out the sheet yourself This spreadsheet will auto-calculate all costs associated with your commission. If you are providing and/or assembling your own models you will naturally zero out those totals.
B) Send a list of what you’d like done. What models need assembly? Cleaning? What models are you providing? What models would you like us to provide? I’ll send back a detailed quote.
C) Call me and I will set everything up over the phone with you. 801 372 8545.

We have several specials available. Only one can be applied.
1) Level 2—models can be given a basic paint job. Save 30% off painting.
2) Artistic License—we decide completely how a project is painted and based. Save 10% on painting.
3) Combine Level 2 and Artistic License. Save 35% off painting
4) Tank Factory—ten tanks painted for $400, assembled for $200. See below for details. Can be combined with Artistic License.

Scheduling a Project
This project will be scheduled officially for completion in 25-35 days. If you need your project for an event (like a tournament), please make that known, we can often accommodate that.

To schedule a project, we need the following things:

1) The models (or a list of models to be acquired).
2) A deposit as indicated on the Project Breakdown spreadsheet
a. Pay by phone with major Credit Card 801 372 8545
b. Pay via Paypal to bluetablepainting@gmail.com
c. Pay by MO (see website Service Guide for details)
3) The Instructions .doc sheet filled out and returned.

Terms of Service
I would recommend that you look over our Service Guide . A common point of interest is the quality standard for our models. We also have a downloadable Levels Guide that explains exactly how it works.

Minimum Run Size
Generally speaking, Levels 2-4 are reserved for whole units of models or vehicles/monsters. Levels 5-6 are for individual hero types.

Contact Information
Also keep up to date with our Daily Blog: www.bluetablepainting.blogspot.com I keep that updated almost daily.

I’d be interested to know how you heard of Blue Table.

If you want to contact me for any reason:
Email at bluetablepainting@gmail.com
Yahoo Messenger ID is jazzmouth
AIM ID is BTP_Shawn
ICQ ID is bluetablepainting ICQ number is 463862042
Phone number is (801) 372-8545
Facebook ID is bluetablepainting http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=633040196

Thanks,
Shawn

PS- if you have any problem with the spreadsheet, just let me know—I can send the quote as in-line text.

Tank Factory Special
· $400 for painting ten tanks
· $750 for painting twenty tanks
· $200 for assembly of ten tanks

For this special we need some leeway with color scheme. A complicated pattern or type might cost more.

How fast can we get it done?
Generally, a 3-4 week turnaround. Unless you send the models, then that takes less time.

 Large tanks, like a Land Raider or Necron Monolith, count as two tanks.
 A Baneblade counts as three tanks. Assembly is $90—the Baneblade has something like 250 parts.
 Small tanks, like an Ork warbuggy, count as half a tank.
 Exposed crew, dozer blade, unusual upgrades, or set of chaos spikes count as a regular trooper, at $4 for painting, $2 for assembly.
 Tau Piranhas and Land Speeders count as regular tanks. They are smaller but are not less time-consuming to paint.

Sunday March 30 2008 Winter of the Soul

First off, I don't know why people read this blog, but it seems to do well.

WARNING! No game-related material today

This is not only the record of Blue Table Painting, but also of a human life. I write it for friends and family as well as for clients.

I would hope to call you my friends.

Last night I came home after a long day in the terrain room. Renn and I spent quite a few man-hours on a super-secret project, which you won't get to see until about three weeks from now. It will be unveiled at Adepticon. I'm not saying it's especially good. In fact, after seeing some of the club projects from last year, I know it won't be competitive in that regard. But hey it's what we made and there it is.

I got home and fell asleep on the couch. I was exhausted. Then I heard the thump of a wide-awake Griffin kicking his door (he lays on his back and kicks the door in protest when he doesn't want to go to sleep). So I went up there with a blanket and pillow, turned on his waterfall nighlight, read him a story, sung him a song* and then snuggled with him until he fell asleep.

Then I fell asleep. It was like 2am when my wife came in and extracted me.

Griffin is my special little guy. We have a bond. I understand him. He’s like me. He watches my every move.

This morning I got up to find that Griffin had figured out how to peel a hard-boiled egg by himself. He was clutching the peeled egg triumphantly. I think he ate like six of them. I was cleaning egg shells from all over the house. That’s where he’s like me. He knows what he likes and he wants a lot of it.

Tamie was up until the wee hours last night going over old journals, photographs, and memorabilia. Her best friend since kindergarten died last week. She has been crying on and off these last days. Anything can set her off. So, this morning she was sleeping in.

This morning it was gently snowing, the powderiest of snow that doesn’t stick to the road but piles up six inches deep on the grass and branches. I went for my usual walk expecting to find some peace, but I am just wracked with pain mind, body and soul. I am really out of it. I even made two rounds. But to no avail. What’s going on?

We got to church early and actually got a good pew. It was the usual—drawing pictures of dinosaurs for an hour to keep Griffin entertained. The Elders were blessing the sacrament today and that was really a blast from the past (normally, only the younger priests do it).

By the end of the day I felt at peace. It was like my heart was a piece of driftwood—light and bleached out by the sun and the shedding of tears.

This afternoon I downed a bowl of rice krispie treats and chocolate milk. Yum. And one of my wife’s amazing salads. Yes, she can even make a salad good. Then off to visit my two home teaching families.

I’m a huge fan of home teaching. I think there’s an enormous power to looking after someone on a regular basis. Just checking in to let them know they’re loved, wanted, and that someone is there if they need a hand. You NEVER know when someone who you think is strong is having a rough time. Of course, a church program isn’t needed for this… but it doesn’t hurt!

Yeah, it all turned out all right.

And as of the writing of this entry, I'm watching an episode of Chowder with my daughter. Hi-larious. That one and Storm Hawks are shows I like just as much as my kids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCASiT1ud4I

*Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree – a Mormon children’s song.

Thursday March 27 2008 Snappin Pics

Picture: a Biel Tan Eldar wave serpent. Part of a duo.

This waking up at 3am thing is getting really old. Anyway, I have just completed the tenth season of Stargate and tried to watch Ark of Truth (the movie finale) last night but I just passed out on the couch. Then I gave it another run at 3am but only got like 30 minutes in.

I spent some time with my beloved wife watching American Idol and eating breakfast (banana and juice).

I think I've recently updated all projects, so just drop me a line if you don't know what's going on with yours.

When you see all the people at the studio (on Youtube) that's only the 10% of the time when artists are down to pick up and drop off projects. We hope to have a communal studio again someday!

Taking Care of Business

I share a building with an accounting firm. Handy.

Anyway, one of them had this little nugget:

What can a large pizza do that an Art Major can't? Feed a family of four.

About six projects came in today and are going through digital photography:

Urban Tau 01 AF

Fallen Angels 01 CC

Orks 01 Tm

Mordheim 03 DF

Eldar 02 BR

Dark Angels 01 JL

Space Marines 06 DJ

Everything is proceeding apace.

If you have a project you need by Adepticon, you should contact me right away!

Tuesday March 25 2008

Picture: a Terminator from the Dragons of Moloch. It's a studio army, 230o points and for sale for $1200. You know you want it.


This here is a hi-larious 40K web comic. If you haven't heard of it, you're really missing out.

http://www.tsoalr.com/

The following projects are under the brush this cycle (March 25-April 1):

Winter Elves 01 DB (ongoing, about half done)
Angry Goats 01 (ongoing, about a third done)
Deathwing 04 MD
Orcs 01 CF
Necrons 01 CS
Stormwing 01 ML
Deathwing 01 RJ Belial
Eldar 01 GS Display
Fantasy Figures 03 PM
Eldar 01 GS Basing
Genestealer Cult 01 TC
Eldar 03 CW
Dwarfs 03 KO

Last night was really weird. It was like three hours sleeping, two hours awake. Bizarre. I don't like it. It's messed up. What's wrong with me?

I spent part of the day in various meetings with businessmen and 'women working on smoothing out my operation.

Renn and Alan were in the terrain room working on some Eldar terrain, which you can't see yet, it's a surprise.

The big news of the day: Tamie's best friend, Tonya, was in a car accident and is paralyzed from the neck down and will probably not make it. Many years ago in the pacific rim she was bitten by a cobra which created an avalanche of life long health problems. So, she was not doing so well even before this. Tamie was a wreck talking about how the husband was doting on her and taking care of her. It was a tender scene.

So, that meant I had to come home early and pick up the kids from school and take care of them during the afternoon. Which of course means telling the kids in a stern voice to get along and only come see me if there's blood spurting more than a foot. Hey, I've got work to do!

Right this instant I'm watching Chowder with the kids. I love that show. Hilarious. Oh, and Storm Hawks is pretty awesome.

Dark Heresy Character Sheets

Picture: a Forge World commissar, part of our secret stash of figures for Dark Heresy. This was both painted and the snow photo-shopped by Renn Smith.

Check out these great resources for Dark Heresy.

Download them while you can!

http://www.thecourtjestersstudio.com/downloads/darkheresy.html

Sunday March 23 2008 Stargate and Sleep

Happy Easter everyone!

Today was the slowest newsday of all. A lazy Sunday morning, followed by church, then Easter dinner (ham and peas). After that I just slept and watched Stargate all afternoon (season 10).

Saturday March 22 2008

Picture: a conversion for a Chaos Mortals (warhammer fantasy) army. See the rest here. This is one of my favorite armies of all time, I did about 95% of the work and I had a blast with it. I just love to do themed armies. And I like to draw outside GW.

Some days it's just a slow news day.

Please excuse the scarcity of game-related material recently. I've had a lot going on. Sometimes my breakfast *is* the most exciting thing.

I managed to get up a quick studio update here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS_3xkXwUXk

I am trying to fill up a few remaining slots for April. I'd love to get those set up in the next week or so.

Friday March 21 2008

Picture: Forge World Nurgle Dreadnought.

Still pics.

I was up at about 5am this morning, corresponding with clients. Sometimes I can't tell if my body has had enough sleep. I went for a walk.

The sky this morning as dawn came up from below the black bowl of the horizon a thousand miles away. It was like I was suspended in the winter air above a lake of dusky blue-- if it were any bluer it would have been pitch, and all around the charcoal fingers of trees as if reflected.

Well about 7am I crashed again and didn't get up until about 9pm. It was good.

The the Dark Heresy session from 10am to 1pm (my one "fun" thing all week. Oh yeah except running a painting studio).

Pretty much the usual after that. Just getting things ready for the coming week. I managed to clear out digital photography.

Still looking for a project for painting in mid-April. If you need us to acquire and assemble models we'd best get started right now.

I am still very stressed out. I can't say about what. Let's just say that this last few weeks I've had a convergence of things that have put my mind, body and soul to the test.

Thursday March 20 2008

Just a few quick notes tonight.

There is a slot open for an army (painting), the week of April 8-16 and wide open after that.

The following projects just arrived in digital photography and are looking spectacular. I intend on getting to them tomorrow.

Deathguard 01 PE (and looking real good)

Lizardmen 01 JH (and also looking good)

And I think

Lord of the Flies

This afternoon when I got home from work my wife took off with my oldest daughter leaving me with the two boys (ages two and six). I was sooo tired and I fell asleep on the couch. We have this thing we call “Lord of the Flies”... The two year old dumped a bag of tiny marshmallows on the floor in one room, and pulled all the tissues out of a tissue box in another. Then he crapped his pants, took them off and put the turd in the toilet. I really hope this is after he got the cinnamon cake loaf and was walking around chawing on it!

Oh, and he had torn off all his clothes.

All these things happened during the reign of “King Slackius IV”.

Thursday March 20 2008

Just a note: I'll be out from 1pm to 5pm today, Mountain Time.

I will be in the studio after that.

--Shawn

Wednesday March 19 2008

Picture: a Cadwallon Militia by Rackham. Rackham is a French company that produces some very, very nice figurines. Unfortuneately, their distribution in the US is not very reliable. But they are far and away some of the most exquisite figures ever. See more.

Yet again I didn't get through all the digital photography. Just to put your mind at ease, here is what is DONE and ready to get pics:

Deathguard 01 PE (almost done, should be Friday)

Menoth 12 GQ

Eldar 01 GS HQ

Praetorians 01 RJ

Ravenwing 01 JP

Space Marines 01 EO

Necrons 01 NG

Vorador (you know who you are)

What else? I've got three armies for sale (these prices for limited time only):

Dragons of Moloch $1200 (2300 pts of Chaos)

Tau Drones $600 (1500 pts of Tau)

Lions Rampant $1200 (3000 pts of Imperial Guard)

More later!

Tuesday March 18 2008

www.40kradio.com

You should really try it. You might like it. Plus they have some good sponsors (wink).

First off, I'm running the Vampire Counts Core-tastic special (L2 infantry core for $2.75 each painting). It saves a lot of money. Email me for a spreadsheet.

You'll notice that I've not done any Youtube for a while. Don't worry, something's coming soon. I'll be back in the groove.

I feel like talking tonight.

First, the news around the studio. There are a bunch of projects in digital photography. I could have stayed late to get them processed, but I told the good woman that I would be home by 6pm.

As most of you have guessed, I've been having a hard time of it. It's not something I can talk about, really. But I can say this: things are not always as they seem. Usually, through adversity things come out better in the end.

These are projects that are due to be finished this week:
Deathguard 01 PE
Menoth 12 GQ
Road Warrior Orc Trays
Eldar 01 GS HQ
Angry Goats 01 (will take 2-3 weeks more)
Undead 01 CW done!
Ultramarines 01 JR
Eldar 01 GS Harlequins
Praetorians 01 RJ done
Ravenwing 01 JP
Urban Tau 01 AF --> This 3000 point Tau army will be for sale, it's being refurbished nicely
Space Marines 01 EO
Eldar 01 GS Vehicles
Necrons 01 NG
Vampire Counts 01 PB vorador
High Elves 03 CA

Um, also in digital photography is a War Machine project (cryx, pirates) and a Trollbloods box set.

What do I have cooking? A whole lot of nothing. I'm not working on any personal projects. I do have about fifty

And now the ramble. My wife and I are following American Idol this season. It's pretty interesting, but we really have to skip through the boring parts. That's about half the show. We're watching New Amsterdam right now. I've never seen it before. I'll tell you if it's any good.

Anyone else have trouble getting their kids to bed? They just won't stay down. Griffin is ever so cute. He's potty training right now, and doing very well with that. It's like an all night musical chairs. I have no idea where the kids will be every morning. It's crazy.

Did you know that I speak fluent Spanish! I spent two years in Chile on my mission. I spent about half in the capital city of Santiago and the other half in rural areas. Best two years of my life. Aside from the 13 glorious years with my wife!

Actually, I'm really tired. No more ramble.

Monday March 17 2008

Picture: Orc Bust by Forge World. See more pics. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Fortunately, I put on my green shirt this morning.

Last night was pretty rough. I'm on some wicked anti-biotics and I spent like four hours actually sleeping. Wah.

I haven't update Youtube because I'm really in a funk. I just get home and lay on the couch. It's all right everything will be OK in the end. So, please excuse me. I'm still performing my full range of duties, never you worry. Your project will get taken care of.

This morning I got up bright and early, swept the drive and headed out for a walk. I had a banana for breakfast. Did you know those things are really good for you. It's like a power meal with a peel. Very nice creation.

In other good news I managed to plow two episodes of Stargate.

I'm making a Forge World order tomorrow. Two projects are coming up: a Marauder Destroyer and nine Broadsides. Very nice. I have a wishlist for FW as long as my arm.

Don't we all.

I heard from an old client in the SF Bay area (DW) and that was really a breath of fresh air. His project was one of the first things I did on commission: an Undead army. I don't think I have the pics for that any more. But I do remember that I took pics of it in my driveway (I started working in my garage).

It was a normal day, getting projects together, and keeping things flowing smoothly.

When I got home, my lovely wife had prepared the traditional St. Patrick's Day meal: cabbage and corned beef. It was delicious. For Family Home Evening we played Talisman with the kids.

Sunday March 16 2008

All this week I've been picking away at the giant ice slab in the driveway. It started as a fifteen foot square monstrosity. Each day I spent a little time hacking at it with a chisel/shovel thing. At first it seemed like a hopeless task. Then I got it down to two large piles-- four inches of solid ice with snow packed on top of that.

The sun and rain made my work easier.

Then I got it down to the size of a kiddie pool, then a pizza plate, then it was gone. Then I started sweeping.

It's a metaphor for my soul.

It's been a typical Sunday. I got up bright an early and headed out for a walk. It snowed about an inch last night. I shoveled the entire walk and put some salt down.

Here's what's on my mind:

Ever keep in exercise the principle of mercy, and be ready to forgive our brother on the first intimations of repentance, and asking forgiveness; and should we even forgive our brother, or even our enemy, before he repent or ask forgiveness, our heavenly Father would be equally as merciful unto us.

-- Joseph Smith

Read the rest of it here.

And this passage from Matthew:

23 ¶ Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Aaaaand, in other news, my buddy Greg lent me Season 10 of Stargate and "The Ark of Truth" (Stargate Movie). So, it's all Stargate all the time at the Gately house. I put the kids on notice then made up a huge batch of rice krispie treats.

Saturday March 15 2008

Picture: a winged Hive Tyrant.

Hey all.

Still alive and kicking. Most of the pics are back up on the website (I lost about 7% of the albums when the website went down).

Be assured that everything is running smoothly.

Today I went to the studio to work on a super top secret project-- possibly the most complicated terrain project ever.

I came home "early" at 6pm and basically hung out with the kids and watched like five episodes of Stargate. I crashed on the couch then woke up around midnight, ready to go. Except now it's time to go asleep again.

It's been a loooong week.

Wednesday March 12 2008

Picture: An Emperor's Children Land Raider. See the other models from this set.

It's been a rough week. I have had troubles from all sides, not the least of which is the website being down. It is finally back up, but several months of picture uploads are now dead links. Over the next few days I'll be working at getting those up.

The following projects are under the brush and will be completed in the next 5-10 days. A few are exceptionally large (you know who you are) and will be longer:

Deathguard 01 PE
Menoth 12 GQ
Road Warrior Orc Trays
Eldar 01 GS (split into various parts-- vehicles lagging)
Angry Goats 01
Undead 01 CW
Ultramarines 01 JR +assembly
Praetorians 01 RJ
Ravenwing 01 JP
Urban Tau (this will be for sale soon-- a studio army)
Space Marines 01 EO
Lizardmen 01 JH
Eldar 01 GS Vehicles
Necrons 01 NG
Vampire Counts 01 PB vorador
High Elves 03 CA

As usual, if you want to know the status of your project, just contact me.

Blue Table Painting Website Still Down

UPDATE: the website has been resolved but still should be 24 hours to... well, something they said. I don't understand it. Not liking my hosting service right now.

In the meantime I have all pics of new stuff up here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24692050@N08/

Hey all. Don't be alarmed that the website is down. My hosting service is getting around to restoring my backup.

Pictures from the last four months will take longer to get back up.

Client Testimonial

Shawn,

I received my Empire and Witch Hunter armies last week. I have to say that you and your artists have forced me to reconsider how I view well-painted figures. By this I mean that I've been conditioned to think that a model has to be painted to the display standard shown on certain online catalogs. I was skeptical of your philosophy that figures need to look good on the table even if they show minor imperfections within 6-12".

Now that my armies have been unpacked, arranged, and battle-tested, I'm converted. The armies look absolutely gorgeous. More importantly, every step of the process in working with Bluetable has been professional, friendly, detail-oriented, and efficient. You did exactly what you said you would do, you did it on time, and you kept me informed throughout. I could not be happier and I will not hesitate to recommend you to my friends or to work with you again myself.

Please pass kudos along to your artists as well, who took their artistic license far enough to achieve great results without getting crazy.

On a side note, I have one more Empire mortar with crew that I'd like to send you to paint to match the rest of the army you did. Can I go ahead and send it along with instructions?

Best regards,

Ryan Hollingsworth

Blue Table Painting Website Down Temporarily

My server is down for a little bit. Don't worry about it.

Saturday March 8 2008 Eric and Elizabeth's Wedding

Today was the wedding of my wife's brother, Eric. In my wife's family there are three sisters (I call them "the Furies") and the little brother. So, at long last he is married.


That's why I was completely incommunicado on Saturday. I apologize for not warning you. If you are waiting on a response from me, I plan on catching up on Monday (and Tuesday).

The wedding was simple an beautiful. My daugher, Kenna, was a flower girl. She was brilliant; all in white with that little basket of flower petals. Afterwards we had a dinner and a dance. I danced with all the ladies (the older ones, not the young, hot wives) and of course my own eternal bride. What I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm.

I gave a toast. That went better than I thought it would. It was an audience participation toast-- the batman theme (ie na na na na na, batman!), except instead of "batman" it was "wed-DING!" I thought it would be completely retarded, but it went over well. Then the serious part.

After a night in a lodge bed (we stayed the night up at "The Homestead" in Midway) I felt like someone had hit me in the back with a 20 lb sledge. But there was an immense spread of unbelievable food in the main building. In all it was great experience and I got to meet a ton of new people.

Early Sunday morning we got news that Tamie's grandma Ernie passed away (she had colon cancer). I didn't think it would affect me, but I ran from the room sobbing and collapsed in the lodge kitchen. Well, that's how it goes with me. I'm not very good at goodbyes. It hits me like a whallop then I'm done.

Note: no need to send condolences or anything. Just give someone you love a big hug, if you must do something.

As a side note: my mother-in-law is really great. Stereotypes aside she stays out of our business and is only extremely helpful when asked. She has three great skills: cooking, sewing and singing. And we say that each of the three daughters inherited one of those things. I got the "cooking" daughter (the eldest) so I think I got the better lot. You can't eat a song! HAHAHAHAHA!

I even shot some clips. Here's the first of them (I'll be uploading more throughout the afternoon):

Sunday March 9 2008

I love it when a speaker at church gives a talk on something I'm good about. That is a rare occurrence. More often I see where I need drastic improvement.

Such is the case with this discourse by the late Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. I have read it many times. I present it to you as a jewel, something that has been of great value to me.

Slow to Anger

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), young men are called to the priesthood at a young age (twelve, usually). Year after year we are taught that we are not called to command, but to serve.

Doctrine and Covenants 121:

41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.

As usual, I find great need for improvement in my own life.

In other words, even if I have authority to dictate "how it's going to be" I should still work by loving kindness and patience, and not by coercion. I think this is one of the great Tests. Even Heavenly Father, with all power and knowledge, with-holds himself from using coercion on us, letting us figure things out for ourselves, even when we are hurting ourselves or others.

I reach my words out to those that may read this. May your life be blessed. I encourage you with my whole heart. Keep your chin up!

More Bang for your Bug- March Special

[As of late in the evening, March 8, there is only ONE slot open for this]

This is a limited special, geared to the Tyranid player that has an unpainted army.

Tired of playing "Hive Fleet White Primer"?

I have two "whole army" slots open, one for the March 18-25 cycle (2008) and another for the March 25-31 cycle.

If you can get the models to us by March 17 or March 24, respectively, we can get them done right away. If you need assembly, the models would need to be in eight days earlier than those dates.

This does not need to be for just Tyranids! You can grab those spots for an army besides Bugs, BUT the special price is only for Tyranids. In a perfect world you would send an already assembled army for L2 painting, masses of them even. But any project is all right.

This is for Artistic License. We get to pick a reasonable color scheme. You can make requests, though.

Costs are as follows:

$2.00 for painting a L2 gribbly (gaunt, gargoyle, ripper swarm, spore mine, etc.)

$3.00 for painting a L3 gribbly

$8.00 for painting a L3 medium gribbly (tyrant guard, tyranid warrior, zoanthrope, etc.)

$32.00 for painting a L3 large gribbly (carnifex, hive tyrant)

We'll only do the infantry stuff at L2 for this one.

Contact me at bluetablepainting@gmail.com if you are interested. Please send a complete list of what you have, what needs to be done EXACTLY, and when you can get the models/deposit in.

Two slots. First come first served.

Some Thoughtful Words

Hey Shawn,

I have been deeply amazed by your work ever since I showed up late to the party. (I sadly discovered you and BTP only a few months ago). Your spirit, drive, commitment and pure genuineness is an inspiration to anyone in the small business, hobby to job or gaming world; I happen to reside proudly within all three of those sub-categories. My name is Kyle and I have been gifted in life to have worked at an amazing specialty toy shop in Tucson, Arizona for the better part of 7 years now and I have great respect for your business.

I am writing you because I wanted to describe my resurrection back into tabletop gaming.

My father throughout my childhood immediately engaged my brother and I into the world of Dungeons and Dragons but he desperately wanted us to reach an age that he was comfortable letting us play miniatures with him. He was really into Chainmail and also had a tremendous GHQ spread for WWII play and as soon as we reached an age that he deemed appropriate we fell in love with gaming outside of the traditional RPG we were comfortable with. Over the next 10 years or so my father would lead my brother and I through adventure after adventure and we couldn’t wait for the next opportunity to game. We had a particular fondness for 40k because as we grew older we really got interested into the creation aspect of the miniatures. I really loved to paint and my brother loved to model terrain. Our coming home from school ritual all throughout high school was homework, paint, eat, play… pretty consistently. It was awesome.

Long story short, prior to my high school graduation my parents got a divorce and it rocked the foundations all our lives had been built on. My brother (already in college) coped by fading into the shadows and distancing himself from the divorce. My father quickly remarried and as a result bought large plastic storage containers and ‘retired’ all of the old gaming stuff… painful reminders of a bygone time. I regrettably did the same… until I discovered your work/blog/videos on Youtube.

Shawn, my love for gaming would crop up over the years as I would walk past an old Shadowrun book forgotten on my shelf sandwiched between textbooks or when I would drive by my local game shop and long for the lost days of my childhood, but after having found your little corner of the world I have since rediscovered my insatiable desire to play again. I have managed to round a couple of good friends up and we have started a little 40k group and cannot get enough of it. My Eldar have seen a great many battles in the last 2 months… and next week my father and I are going to meet up for a long overdue game.

Your passion is contagious and I cannot thank you enough for re-igniting my passion for this amazingly rewarding and deeply personal hobby/craft…

I figured as I sit here wrapping up homework for the evening that I would write you this… hope you don’t find it odd… I just wanted to say thanks and I look forward to your next batrep/video/blog. And if you ever make it out to Tucson…

Kyle

Tuesday February 4 2008

Picture: Chaos Knights of Tzeentch. They are for sale. Here are more pics. These are ancient-- I've literally been trying to sell them for years. Yes literally since 2005. It's a good set with some interesting conversion work.

The following projects are due to be completed in the next 5-10 days:

Ice Nids 01 JA
Hordes 05 JL
Falcons 02 MN
Heads 01 CH
War Machine 06 JL
Road Warrior Orc Trays (this has priority)
Ultramarines 05 TO
Tau 07 TO
Eldar 02 PM warp
Emperors Children 04 EB
Eldar 01 GS Harlequins (everything is in various stages, total completion by March 20)
High Elves 03 CA (delayed until now)
Daemonhunters 01 RK
Space Marines 01 EO
Lizardmen 01 JH
Vampire Counts 01 PB vorador
Tyranids 04 JC
War Machine 06 BF

It's going to be a big week. Some projects are bound to be late.

The following projects are in digital photography-- I couldn't get around to them tonight (my wife is out gallavanting around with her sister and I'm home watching the kids).

• Fictional Reality 03 MT


• Tau 02 MN


• Vampires 02 DF

We've got a wedding coming up this week, and so the whole week's schedule is revolving around that. Tamie's brother Eric is finally getting hitched.

Today was a good day. I ordered another garbage pizza. Sweet.

Today I got in a TON of figures for my Dark Heresy game. I'm super stoked.

Also, got in some Wood Elf specialty hero models.

Monday March 3 2008

Picture: an Inquisitor for the Sisters of the Argent Shroud army.

At last it's Monday! Thank goodness I can get back to work!

It was a typical day, getting projects ready for pickup tomorrow. I splurged and ordered a pizza (combo/garbage type). I got in a bunch of figures (like thirty) for the Dark Heresy game. I'm stoked about that.

For Family Home Evening we had the usual song/prayer/lesson then headed out to McDonalds Play Place for ice cream. The kids love that. So much for my diet. Heh.

Land of Lost Projects: the studio Orks have fallen by the wayside. They will probably get attention in April. Trollbloods are really on the back burner for the time being. All my effort is getting burned up by Dark Heresy.

Sorry, not much more to report.

Sunday March 2 2008

Warning: Oh, listen to me! Don't read on, there's no game-related material in here!

While we were in Vernal I saw some huge icicles. They must have been about five feet long.

The weather is getting warmer and the snow is retreating. This morning I went for a walk around the neighborhood. The clouds were low and grey, covering the peaks of the near mountains.

I love Sundays. Whenever my wife asks me to do something I just say "Day of REST!" really loud. It doesn't work, but it's fun to say.

During church, Griffin was having a hard time in nursery. It's directly during his nap time. I'm really considering just taking him home during that time. Yeah, that has to happen.

This winter I decided not to shovel my driveway. Soon, it was a huge slab of ice, eight inches thick. It was unmanageable. Oh, how I wish I had just shoveled the snow as I went along.

How like that is to holding grudges, or letting bad habits go on year after year. Struggling to keep my life clear of these things (forgiving and repenting often) keeps these things from hardening into an impenetrable sheet of ice on my soul. And even if I've let things get bad I need to start picking away at it, day after day.

Help is often closer than I think. Heavenly Father is much kinder than I am to myself and I've always found His good grace; like a warm day that makes the ice melt away completely, and I can't even remember it was there.

I am definitely not a very virtuous person. I have so very far to go.

One of my favorite discourses. It's long, but there are some gemstones in there.

After church I went to do some Elders Quorum stuff, but not before making up some rice krispie treats. I like to make up a batch in a bowl and eat them with a fork while they are still warm, with a glass of ice cold milk. That's the good stuff.

PS- Here I make my usual disclaimer: I am not a very good person. I struggle with what I suppose to be the regular weaknesses of mankind. I make no pretense. I'm just a guy who is trying to get better year after year.

Friday and Saturday March 1 2008

Picture: flashback to the "Tundra Nids". This happy fellow is a Carnifex.
See more pics here.
Download the cost sheet for Tyranids here.

A studio Tau army is going on the block soon.

Friday
Every day I go into the studio I think it’s going to be a breeze and it’s more like a hurricane. So much to get done.

Well, it was almost wrapped up by 4pm when we started our Dark Heresy game. We decided to just do a low-key session and look up every last rule as we went along in order to familiarize ourselves with the game.

After that I went to help Brenda move (the sister of one of my Home Teaching families).

Saturday
This morning we headed out to Vernal for the baptism of one of my nephews. That was simple and beautiful. We spent the afternoon at the house of Tamie’s sister. They have a really nice place out there. Vernal is high, rolling desert, like out of a Western (in fact, many movies from the genre were shot out in Utah).

More details: I am a real bear on the road. I gripe about my wife’s driving, bark at the kids, and generally gripe and groan about every little thing. It doesn’t seem to matter how much I set my will to keep cool, it always melts down. My wife is the driver in the family. She has some kind of iron will that keeps her going.

Griffin loves transformers. He pretends to be any number of them. He wants me to “fly” him around. He gets an enormous grin on his face the whole time.



It was snowing on the pass on our way home and that was pretty scary. We finally got home around 1am.