+ inload: Chaunterwick Unathletic ready for play +

+ First drive +

The team's moving out onto the pitch. After a push last night, I've got the squad ready for gaming. I hesitate to say absolutely finished – I'd like to punch up the red with some glazes, and I'm umming and ahhing about weathering – but they're certainly at a stage I'm happy with for a few games.

Numbering on both the front and the back helps with identification during gaming, so I've added high contrast flashes with the player's number on. These also look nice, of course! A few little details like this work wonders for making them appear like a sports team.

You won't have missed the names on the front of the base, either. These are visually distracting, but these are gaming pieces first and foremost, so I think they're worthwhile here. In the past, I've always found it adds hugely to the enjoyment of the game if I can think in terms of individuals rather than abstract pieces – and that applies to both sides. Victories are sweeter when 'such-and-such' scores a sweeping touchdown; and setbacks are softened if you can think in sports terms – 'so-and-so' stealing an interception from your pass is a more immersive result.

Distinguishing positional players is important, and I like to make it as easy for the other coach as possible. In addition to the differences in sculpt and pose, my blitzers all have a white frontpiece to their helm. This is the sort of decision you can make that doesn't compromise the uniformity of the team strip, but does avoid confusion, which is the bane of Blood Bowl. No-one likes seeing a critical play fail because you mistook the stormvermin for a gutter runner.

Fortunately, the sculpts of this team make distinguishing positionals relatively easy; the catcher and thrower here are good examples of how a change in pose and a few select details can help a sculpt to tell a story – in addition to having a ball sculpted on, the throwers share open-faced helms (in contrast with the barred helms of the linemen and blitzers), and their poses make them look lighter on their feet without charging (as with the blitzers). Similarly, the catcher is much more lightly armoured, and has an oven glove catcher's mitt that further emphasises his pose.

Here's the team photo. The throwers are my favourite sculpts; probably because their faces are more visible. You'll notice the ball on Jimmy Turnpike's base – it's easy to forget the other bits and bobs you need for the game; and I think it's a shame to have a pair of lovely teams playing with unpainted reroll counters, turn markers etc. As a result, I started painted those at the same time; though I'm afraid my eyelids drooped before finishing the re-roll marker!