Jump to content

What do you use to show your Chapter Symbol?


Recommended Posts

Hello all!

 

As we all know, the left shoulder pad on codex adherant Space Marines is used to show off the chapter symbol. Is this something you do, and if you do, how do you go about showing it? Do you buy shoulderpads with already modelled symbols? Do you use transfers? Do you paint it yourself? This is especially interesting to know from people who have your own homebrewed chapter with no ready to buy shoulderpads to go with them.

I'm on a eternal quest to find good shoulderpads for my chapter, but for now, I have had no luck, so I'm looking for you for inspiriation. :)

 

Sincerely,

 

Reclusiarch

All freehand painting here :)  

 

It can be a royal pain, frankly.  Sometimes it takes practice, such as the crosses for my Templars which got significantly better and easier to make as time went on.  I had shoulderpads with crosses molded onto them, naturally, but I made sure to have a freehand pad on every single one of them for the sake of distinction and character.  

 

Other times I bite off more than I can chew by making it too complicated and/or hard to replicate, as I did with a DIY years back which had a serpent forming a mobius strip for a symbol, and a BA project I abandoned with a very complicated winged eye symbol.  I try not to do that anymore.  My newly made Broken Arrows, for instance, have had a supremely simple symbol since I first thought them up as an IA for that very reason. ;)

thanks to B/C i have been making transfers for my csm. for my chapter its a black skull, but when we where able to order bits i would order skull shoulder pads.    now with the transfers i put them all over along with chaos stars and what nots. 

All freehand painting here smile.png

It can be a royal pain, frankly. Sometimes it takes practice, such as the crosses for my Templars which got significantly better and easier to make as time went on. I had shoulderpads with crosses molded onto them, naturally, but I made sure to have a freehand pad on every single one of them for the sake of distinction and character.

Other times I bite off more than I can chew by making it too complicated and/or hard to replicate, as I did with a DIY years back which had a serpent forming a mobius strip for a symbol, and a BA project I abandoned with a very complicated winged eye symbol. I try not to do that anymore. My newly made Broken Arrows, for instance, have had a supremely simple symbol since I first thought them up as an IA for that very reason. msn-wink.gif

Yup

Free hand, welcome to my world. To be honest it's the most trying part of painting my guys, I would do another chapter but I am way to far down the line to change now. Wish I could go back in time and tell me not to. If anybody invents a time machine.....

That said it does look good when finished.

What sort of symbol are you going for?

I used to get the plastic ba specific shoulder pads with the round section in the middle and scrape the crap off and paint checks round it. Now it's all completely free hand. Though I think chapter house are doing lamenter shoulder pads.

Cheers

LM

For my DIY Chapters freehand, although for my Steel Wings I did consider using either DA or BA shoulder guards and adjusting them.  The few examples of Canon/"official" Chapters I have I use molded ones.

 

When I finally get around to starting Iron Hands, I'll be using molded ones as well.

My Chapter has no Chapter symbol, and so they leave the left shoulder pad blank (right shoulder pad on Terminators). In fact, one might even go so far as to say that the blank pad is their Chapter symbol...

 

That being said, I would much prefer sculpted pads, but I would not be afraid of mixing it up and using a decal here and there.

 

Plus, it would depend on your Chapter. For example, I doubt that sculpted pads are a common occurrence in the Raptors outside of the Chapter's upper echelons.

Painted everything on with my first DIY. I never got a single decal to sit flat on a shoulderpad and eventually came to appreaciate to opportunity for a little customisation on each marine.

 

Also had a go at casting my own. Picked a few things up I'd do different with the moulds now. But overall pretty awesome.

 

I also considered using vector based images to have them plotted in vinyl foil at one point, but I don't work with that stuff anymore. Never got around to try it. Would probably work better for vehicles than pads anyway but still, whould have like to try it at least.

 

 

So if I were to start another army, I'd just cast my own pads.

Lamenter does commission Chapter symbol sculps where he sculpts PA, TDA and Tank sized symbols and then creates a blue stuff mould from which you create greenstuff casts. Chevk out army310's Dark Wolves in the WIP forum to ser what I mean.

 

Cheers,

Jono

Thanks everyone for your answers! Freehand seem to be fairly popular, but I think I lack the skill to do anything that I would be comfortable with myself. :) Grotsmasha, Lamenter did some really nice stuff, but it seems he no longer is open for commissons; a shame!

 

For me? Well, I've tried Puppetswar (awesome guys, just don't have the icons I'm looking for), Scibor miniatures (too large it seems, even the small shoulder pads?), custom minis (the propotions are too flat) and Chapter house studios (the quality seem to be lacking a bit). Just have to keep looking! Any suggestions? Have you perhaps bought some molded shoulder pads from some awesome but obscure store and used as chapter symbol?

With this exact issue in mind, I've deliberately created a symbol for my DIY chapter, the Blooded Hands, which incorporates elements of existing symbols, so a little combining of decals of extra freehand painting on ready moulded symbols is all that is required, in order to speed up the whole modelling/painting process. 

 

My symbol is based on a fist icon with a blood drop imposed over it, not tremendously exciting, but easy to reproduce and representative of my chapter name. For larger examples of it, on vehicles and such like, I've used Imperial/Crimson Fists decals, and hand painted the blood drop on top. For shoulder pads,  so far I have got some IF terminator pads from forge world, and added the drop with green stuff, which worked pretty well.

 

http://velken0027.deviantart.com/art/Assault-Terminator-Sgt-367252178

I tend to use decals, but I paint over them, using them as a guide for freehand. if I didn't paint over them, they would look odd against my painting style, as the armour would be shaded from a zenithal point while the transfer would be a flat colour. I have occasionally used molded pads on characters, but on the whole I don't like the molded pads for Ultramarines. However, it's not all decals. I often mix up how I present stuff like the chapter symbol and squad markings, so when i'm being a bit more unorthodox it's all freehand. I also use brass etch symbols for the chapter symbol on other parts of the armour, but not for the shoulders as it's just easier to seat a decal to the curved surface than it is to seat a brass ultima.

 

My Minotaurs ... when I finally get into them ... will be a mix of molded pads for characters/veterans and decals/brass etch pads for normal brothers, with some freehand unique heraldry and patterning scattered around.

Forge world decals for my Iron Hands and I print my own transfers for my Sons of Medusa, I always use Micro Sol/Set on the transfers too to make sure that they lay down properly on the surface that they are placed, then a coat of varnish and weather them up.... lazy I know but it works for me :)

I've freehanded them recently due to using converted DV marines and so incorporated some bits of the DA symbol. I'm currently painting a new one in PS so I can print some decals off and use those - I may remove the hand painted one but not sure yet.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.