Yep. All hand painted & such, but the main point is a game that's kind of like an excessively complicated cross between risk and chess.

I've got $10 that says once I tell my buddy that it'll be his excuse.

For a decent army, it depends on which one you're shooting for. For Space Marines, a couple of tactical squads (10-20 of the guys wielding the boltguns) and a chaplain or librarian make a pretty good starter.

Think a ridiculously complicated mix of chess and risk. It's a tabletop game that you play using your own models, terrain, etc. If you've got a games workshop near your place, the guys that work there can do a far better job of giving an intro to the game than I could ever do via text.

The basic idea is that each player has an army, and your objective varies from mission to mission while fighting off the enemy army. Each unit or model has a bunch of rules and stats associated with it, and you play to beat your opponent (or opponents). The main appeal for me is that there's a massive amount of fluff/back story with all of the models, so it's really cool for me to be able to, say, re-enact battles from the 40k books I've read, or come up with missions of my own. My buddy and I frequently do planetary invasion campaigns, but my favorites are the boarding action missions.

It is. If you've got time to check Craigslist a couple times a day though, it'll save you a lot if you're patient. I just bought a $330 space wolf army, some imperial guard stuff and a transport bag for $100. Sold the Space Wolves alone to a buddy of mine for $150, so the rest was basically all free. Profit to be made, if you're persistent.

Bloody hell mate. I would be honoured to battle you if you're ever in Birmingham, UK

Haha not THAT rich, though a backpacking trip across Europe *is* part of my bucket list. Or at least a vacation, with a side trip (or three) to Warhammer World.

Agreed, and I will. For now I've only got a unit of gants and some genestealers done. Hate posting individual photos. I'll get some put up once I can get a decent handful of em together.

Heyyy that looks nice, I like the white/blue, it's an awesome contrast. I decided on white/black.

Looks sharp. I almost did all black, going for an alien theme, but there'd be no depth at all. Love it though. Toss 'em on a lava-esque death planet and you've got some sexy models there.

Agreed, and I will. For now I've only got a unit of gants and some genestealers done. Hate posting individual photos. I'll get some put up once I can get a decent handful of em together.

It'll sound cliché but practice makes perfect. Thin your paints, and look online for tips and advice from experienced painters. Most of my methods I've stolen from someone else. Blending the flames on that hammer, the gold on the chaplains...I'm pretty sure at this point everything I paint uses some form of advice or research I've gotten from someone else.