Spicing up plain power armour+helgahst colour?

[Roma]

I am in the process of shaving off all the aquilias, shoulder trim, heraldry etc off the dark vengeance space marines, bikers and terminators.

 

My first test model looks bland (but the test colour was horribly chosen tbf). Any ideas on colour schemes, techniques etc to liven plain models up? Some kind of painted chapter symbol on the shoulder to start with. And planning on adding studs or something because flat shoulder pads look weird. 

[Major_Gilbear]

Well, besides sticking new "bling" like raised icons, purity seals, studs and shoulder pad trims on again, I think you're going to have to rely on your colour scheme.

Without seeing the models, or the scheme, or knowing why you shaved all the bling off the models to start with, I'm really not sure what else to suggest!

[Olis]

Maybe some judicious use of a checkerboard pattern? Works for the Lamenters. Or perhaps stick little examples of personal heraldry on kneepads like some B&C Fraters have done in the past?

[Roma]

The model is just your average DV marine, with the shoulder trim taken off, along with the aquilia, purity seals and chapter symbol.

 

Colour scheme is not existent yet, I'm trying to figure one out. Checkered pattern is a cool idea, breaks up the blandness.

 

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120323064951/warhammer40k/images/2/2c/Lamenters_OG_Colour_Scheme.jpg

[Roma]

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2010/2/20/84218-.jpghttp://game-insider.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/helghast.jpg

Anyone know what kind of colour helghast are? They look different in every pic, ranking from a black/grey/green mix to very dark matte silver. Or could you only get the effect by mixing colours/effects?

[Major_Gilbear]

Well, halved or quartered schemes can also help (see Storm Lords or Howling Griffons for examples) if you want something that's less fiddly than checkerboard patterns and such. Alternatively check out the Storm Brothers created by a user on these forums - a very awkward set of colours in that scheme, but pulled off really well and visually quite varied as the panels are all different colours.

 

Another suggestion is stripes over the armour in a Mass Effect 3 style? If you have a fairly one-colour scheme over very plain armour, these could look quite good with very little effort. You'd need to try placing the stripes in a few different ways to get one that looks good though, obviously.

 

You could also try chipping and weathering as a way to break up the scheme, but you need to be both extreme with the contrasts and restrained with the amount of damage if you want it to look good. Too much damage, or not enough contrast, and you will lose the visual impact that you're going for. Example:

 

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1452/1ohf.jpg

 

The contrast levels are high, the weathering and damage is modest, and colours for the oxidation are in bold colours but used sparingly. Both are otherwise fairly plain schemes.

 

Finally, you could also try painting a non-regular pattern on the armour. The obvious example is a subtle camo scheme like the IF example below, but you could also try painting a repeating line pattern over the model, or text, or stippling on one colour and glazing over with another to get a mottled two-tone effect. (Try looking for Alpha Legion pics as these are often painted in these techniques because they lack the more usual markings of other Marines).

[Roma]

Camo didn't work for me, but those are great ideas thanks.