DIY Space Marines- Dreadnought

[Aaric]

I've been out of the hobby for several years, but got back into it over the summer. I decided to try and repaint my old Space Marines, as I already had the models and I wanted to do my original army justice. But anyway, onto the pics!!

First up is a dreadnought that is almost done, just need to paint a few lenses and base it:

The highlights on the grey have been washed out a bit in the pick, in real life they are a bit brighter/more Tron-like, especially on the sarcopahgus. The red and bone checker pattern will be incorparated throughout the army, as well. Also, this dreadnought is from when I first got into the hobby 5 or 6 years ago, and thus the assembly was a bit rough, so please ignore any mold lines or things like that.

I'd like to incorporate some sort of freehad relating to the chapter logo in read on this side.

The grey looks dark in this pic, but it shows the strength of the highlights a bit better.

Next is part of a WIP tactical squad that I had assembled:

I'm going to try and pack as much detail onto the marines as possible, purity seals, accessories, etc, as I think it makes them more unique, and combined with the red/bone heraldry, makes them look like accomplished warriors in their own right.

Here's the most complete one of the squad.

And here is the heraldry on his shoulderpad. I didn't make it too detailed as it was my first attempt, but I like it (despite it being a bit crooked). All my marines will have some variation of this on their shoulderpad. I'm currently thinking of have the first squad use squares, and the second use stripes, etc. in order to differentiate between squads.

And everyone together...

My next project will be to finish the tactical squad or repaint this bad boy

I'm hoping to incorporate either a freehand related to the chapter badge (which still needs to be decided) or just more or the red/bone checker pattern. I'd also like to experiment with battle damage, as I didn't dirty up my dread for fear of ruining it :lol:

Some quick background:

So far i've come up with the idea that these guy's homeworld was completely burned by Chaos invaders, and that the survivors from my Chapter repainted their armor ash grey in remembrance of their homeworld. They have vowed revenge upon the (still to be decided) Chaos force, and possibly the red on their armor represents either the blood of the battle-brother's who fell defending their homeworld, or that the Marine has been in action against their Chaos enemies.

I have some things that I would like input on from you guys, if you don't mind. First is what color should I paint their eyes and lenses? I'm thinking of doign the plasma coils and power weapons in purple, and do you think that if I did they eyes and lenses in that color too it would be too much? The other option is just to go with red. Secondly, I'm still undecided on the chapter icon. I was first thinking of going with a lion so I could use these shoulder pads from scibor miniatures. I would give my vet sarges and assault squad members one each, and my HQ would have them on both shoulders. However, I have bought a bunch of sang guard death masks for my assault squad, so I was also thinking of just saving money by not going with the lion pads and just going with a sun-type logo. What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading trough this long post, any questions or feedback would be appreciated!