Hello,

I am Ash Barker the guy in charge of the Retail Stores in the eastern half of the country. Paint or Die, no problem, I plan on painting the entire army with my teeth.

Army List

Another week and another blog, here I sit with five days until the tournament at the Oakville Battle Bunker, and I'm actually sitting with one model left to paint.

Here are my two Rhinos, fresh off the assembly line from the Chapter Forges and ready to carry Tactical Squads One and Two into combat.

Pictured also is my half-finished drop-pod for Tactical Squad Three. This model completes my 1,700 points and has me ready for the tourney! With six days left before tourney day and the due date... I'm actually sort of impressed with myself. Usually I slack off and do everything at the last minute... but I’ve had so much fun painting these guys (it's like doing loyalist Iron Warriors... i.e. EASY!) that I'm actually kind of excited to paint another 50 marines and complete the Battle Company!

So close to being done!

Seriously guys, I don't know what's up with me this year. I'm almost TOTALLY done this army and it isn't even close to three days before the tournament.  Yeah, it even feels weird to me.

But anyway, I actually have all my infantry finished! I know have a fully painted half-company of Space Marines finished, and even the photos to prove it.

 Big update this time!

I finally sat down and did some serious painting, and since my last update I've gotten 8 more Assault Marines, 10 Tactical Marines, my Dreadnaught, Commander and Terminator bodyguard finished!

I've also gotten my 10 Devastators and last 10 Tactical Marines basecoated and hit with my magic armour-aging wash (1/4 Charadon Granite, 1/8 Brown Ink, 1/8 Black Ink, 1/4 Floor Wax, 1/4 Water).

Enjoy the photos!

Left to paint are...

Details and highlights on...

10 Tactical Marines
10 Devastators

I've still yet to assemble...

 Not a lot to see here, I was knocked out with a cold the last few days… but I’m planning on getting these models finished tomorrow on my day off.

If I do that will leave only…
20 Tactical Marines
10 Devastators
5 Assault Marines
1 Dreadnaught
1 Drop Pod
1 Commander
3 Rhinos
Man, I’m WAY ahead of last year’s Paint or Die! Something must be awry…

 I finally posted something!

To mark this momentous day I figured I’d let you guys know what I’ve been up to.

Well, most of you probably have heard about our Battle Tour, Brother vs. Brother It’s kept me on the road the past few weeks, and that has kept me from doing much in the way of blogging.

That said, I’m WAY ahead of where I was last year. Anyone who kept tabs on the original Paint or Die) will remember it was almost the end of the competition before I started building my army.

This time round I’m WAY ahead of schedule. With the exception of my Rhinos, all thirty Tactical Marines, ten Devastators and ten Assault Marines are built and primed. I’ve also got my Terminators, Dread and Drop Pod assembled too!

How have I done all this? On the road! Painting in hotel rooms isn’t as hard as you’d think. Observe…

Conveniently, all my paints and infantry fit in a single carrying case. Toting that around in my luggage has been a snap! Most hotel rooms also provide you with a desk and lamp. I used a local tourguide wrapped in a plastic bag for a pallete, and one of the plastic cups that the hotel provides for my water.



Not too shabby! The fruits of my labours so far are 10 Tactical marines, 2 Assault Marines and a heap of base coating. I went for more of a brushed-steel look on my Red Scorpions, instead of the basic codex grey from the Forgeworld website.

I’m also planning to play the Anphelion campaign with Jay Griffiths and his D99 Drop Troops and Ryan Brouckxon’s Tyranids. Stay posted for this!

'With the recent Horus Heresy novels being as cool as they are; I've spent a lot of time checking out the Forge World Space Marine accessories (mostly the old-school armour bitz). This prompted me to pick up a unit of the awesome Red Scorpion models and I was hooked!

My plan is to do a half-company led by Commander Culn. That will mean 30 Tactical Marines, ten Assault Marines and ten Devastators. I'll be tossing in a Terminator retinue for Culn (in a drop pod) and a Mk IV Dreadnought as well.

Overall I think this list will do well. Following the Codex Astartes I should have something equipped for every situation, as well as a good deal of mobility. Attack, defend or secure... I should be able to do it all!

Now I'm pretty confident I'll be able to get this done... After all, it's me. I can paint without even using my hands. My big problem (as you might remember from ‘Paint or Die 1’) is getting stuff ASSEMBLED. This time I'm gonna get a head start. My challenge for myself is to have EVERYTHING finished by the end of October so I can get back to work on my Blood Raven APOCALYPSE formations.