Black Templar WIP Crusade

[sibomots]

Hail brethren,

I am in the middle of building a Black Templar army (750 - 1500 pts).  I chose the Black Templars because I am one!

 

 

What follows is moved from another thread

 

My Nikon doesn't have a macro-zoom lens (yet), so I cannot take very detailed pictures of day 1 work.

But what I did was:

1. Pin the legs.
2. Glue torso, and attach torso in battle pose to legs.
3. Glue backpacks to torso.
4. Glue right arm (only) to torso.

Waiting to pin the left arm, head, and weapons so I can prime them separately then base coat and reach areas that would be hidden by the next steps.

Plan to:

5.  Glue on right hand weapon
6.  Glue on left arm to hold said weapon accordingly.
7.  Glue on head
8.  Paint rest of it.

In  between painting phases, work on the bases.  I got some nice rocky material to PVA on to the base, Will paint, shade, and wash them.

I was surprised that the non-Starter SPESS MAHREENS were not as "complete" as the Starter kit units.

My modeling buddies are sort of excited about my BT army, I will try to make it not suck.

 

I'm re-reading the Version 7, C:SM book section on BT.  I am unclear if there are any particular units that are _not_ in the style of BT.  The comment from the model-shop to the same question was essentially: "Not a lot is known about BT since they are off on their own and do not have regular chapters."  So my reply was, "so it's essentially chefs choice in determining which figures (units) can appear in the crusade...(?)" to which I got a vague "nod".

 

It seems I have a bit of planning and decisions to make to get from 500pts (URL above) to 1500 pts.  I definitely want to present a Emperor's Champion and at least one of the characters (Chaplain Grimaldus & Retinue, or Helbrecht).

 

 

 

[The_Chaplain]

I suggest you check out the black templar subforum if you haven't done so already-- there are a lot of active "flufiness" discussions, artwork, inspiration, etc.  

 

Looking forward to seeing some pictures brother-- will you be painting these templars for this year's E Tenebrae Lux? 

[TDF]

The previous Black Templars codex didn't have Whirlwinds or Devastator Squads because Black Templars are close-combat-orientated and hiding behind a hill firing missiles at the foe isn't very knightly or honourable. However, I'd argue that some of the enemies of man are unworthy of receiving a noble death from the teeth of chainsword and blasting them to itty-bitty little pieces with heavy weapons is a far a more appropriate measure. Basically, if your Marshal decides it's OK then it's OK.

I look forward to seeing your Black Templars army grow.

[Peredyne]

Any BT army that wants to be fluffy/true to the Canon will always include an EC and stay away from Psykers. Anything else is golden for the Boys in Black.

 

Other Fluffy choices:

 

Neophytes

Land Raider Crusader

[Firepower]

 

I'm re-reading the Version 7, C:SM book section on BT.  I am unclear if there are any particular units that are _not_ in the style of BT.  The comment from the model-shop to the same question was essentially: "Not a lot is known about BT since they are off on their own and do not have regular chapters."  So my reply was, "so it's essentially chefs choice in determining which figures (units) can appear in the crusade...(?)" to which I got a vague "nod".

 

Don't look to C:SM for Templar fluff.  That book butchered the chapter with asinine half-assery and sweeping, arbitrary, contrary changes.  The 4th edition Codex is the Holy Tome, and for poos and giggles, try out Helsreach by ADB, too.

 

As far as fluffy or anti-fluffy units, Devastators and Whirlwinds are out, but not as definitively as psychers and scouts squads.  Templar Neophytes only fight in Crusader Squads, no ifs ands or buts.

[sibomots]

The Gallery seems to be having an issue, so I collected the pictures I had taken so far and posted them here:

 

http://sibomots.com/SanctusVendettaCrusade/

 

I am looking for pointers on the best colors to use for skulls on armor/weapons.  I'm trying to follow the Codex insignia as close as I can without forgetting a small detail here or there.

 

C&C welcome of course... Show me where I can do better.

[Firepower]

It could just be the photography, but it looks as those those are all metallic?

You don't necessarily have to stick with a single color for skulls, aquillas and the like. I alternate between bone, silver and occasionally gold myself, although I always use bone for the chest emblems.

[sibomots]

I see what you mean.  I screwed up and used Leadbelcher to layer on the armor insignia. 

 

Why did I do that.  Hrmmm I can fix that I think.

[AndrewChristlieb]

You may have picked up an old tactical squad there, I don't know which starter you're talking about (Dark Vengeance?) but the new tactical squad boxs are quite nice and well packed with bits and bobs.

 

You should try to paint from the inside and work your way out, that way you don't bump something on the outer parts with paint for the inner parts. To a lesser extent I try to paint dark to light also, but that's largly because the inside areas are typically darker.

 

The obvious Templar units are the Templar only choices of course (Helbrecht, Emperor's Champ, Grimmy, Crusader squads). The other big one is the Landraider Crusader which is a Templar creation. Oh and Chaplains are pretty spot on for us.

 

No nos are Scouts (we train them differently: see Crusader squad), the mentioned devistators and whirlwinds, psykers of any flavor (including allies with the exception of Grey Kaniggits). You can take these mind you (except Psykers, we really can not take any of those outside of allies) but try to make a convincing excuse ;).

 

Drop pod assault, armored assault, seige attack, foot slog, and I'm going to toss in the newish air assault (Stormtalons and Stormravens plus some of the FW stuff like the Cestus) are all pretty orthodox (or in the case of the air assault lists are at least accepted by most). Gunlines are flat out. :D

[sibomots]

OK.  Good to know.  I have acquired the models for the BT army except for the named characters.   The only Templar figure I have is the Emperor's Champion.  The two vehicles I have are the Razorback (Rhino), and the Crusader; both of which I have not yet assembled.  I'm still working on the troops.

 

The mail-order I made with GW arrived on Saturday with two sets of the BT upgrade so I have enough bits to fit the troops in the right insignia and armor coverings.

 

A question about the  side door on the Rhino - it appears that it just fits into a recessed area.   If I glue it in, then the door is placed.  But I wonder if people choose to pin this door in (or use small magnets) so they can remove the door.  During game play, is it important to be able to remove the side door?  The BT Upgrade Kit has spare side doors with the BT insignia.

 

The batch I'm working on is 18 Initiates and 2 Sergeants.  I'll rework the paint I've put on so far:

 

1.  Re-do the silver to grey since the Leadbelcher came out too metalic as was noted above.

2.  Touch up the Purity papers and Seal to make them look better.

 

The homework I need to do is to lay out the troops and assign the weapons according to my Army list.

 

As far as bases go, I've been looking at various pictures -- some are painted on the bevel edge in a brown color, some are black.  I asked the fellas at the shop what color seems  best and they recommended a neutral color (black) or brown.  I am leaning towards brown-ish.

 

The shop I frequently visit is the Mox Boardinghouse  which is manged by a guy who specializes in miniatures so I get lots of advice while I'm there working on the models. They have a large table setup for those who want to work on their models in the store.  I hook up my MP3 player to headphones, cue up the Metallica black album and begin paint/work.

 

They are planning an event in May -- Warhammer 40-May, where they are preparing some WH 40k tables and having organized games for 500, 750, and 1000 pts on each successive week in May.  I'm trying to get my 500 pt BT Army ready by then.

 

It seems like I got a long way to go. The troops need arms attached, weapons selected (and painted), and shoulder pads fitted.  It's going slowly.  Perhaps this is normal.

 

Thanks again for the help so far.

[Firepower]

What's all this about painting inside out or outside in?

As for the grey/leadbelcher, what are you trying to do exactly? Is it a highlight? Do you want it to be the basecoat, instead of simply using flat black?

[sibomots]

The goal was to base coat the insignia area with a metallic-looking color, not a metallic paint. I chose the wrong paint effect to base the insignia of the armor.  Leadbelcher (my mistake) was chosen but it turns out it is metallic, I should have chosen something like Codex Grey mixed 1:1 with Black.  I think I just screwed up.  But I can fix it.  BT will never shy from the challenge! ;-) 

 

My proposed resolution is to fix the armor/insignia areas with a Codex Grey + Black mix and then highlight that, then wash it with black ink, then dry-brush Leadbelcher or some other likewise highlighting color. 

 

I think I will experiment on some scrap sprue material first after I watch some more APJ videos.

 

Painting inside-out?  I think you already know or do it, but the way I rationalize it is this:

 

Imagine rays traced from the center of the model in all directions.  Those rays that intersect the model surface closest, get painted earliest.  Those rays that intersect the model surface further away get painted last.

[Firepower]

Well, you're certainly taking some unorthodox approaches to your BT. I can't really help with your approach to black. It doesn't even make much sense to me

I don't recomend this inside-out approach, though. For mass production, it's much easier to pick a particular piece of the model, or a particular color, and do all the models on your table at once before choosing another color/piece to work on. For instance, doing all things that you plan on painting bone or white, or all the purity seals, or all red, etc. It makes for a pretty efficient assembly line.

Normally I'd recommend doing the black last of all, because in part you can clean up any sloppiness or overspill of color from the previous step. But with ink involved, and metals, I don't think the same applies to your approach.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not gonna be much help to you

[sibomots]

I'm very convinced that my approach is wrong.  ;-)

 

So, I will listen to alternative approaches.

 

EDIT:  Found this page.  Good reading.  Synopsis:  All Black Templar units described and analyzed:

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/555825.page

[ephrael]

I'm very convinced that my approach is wrong.  ;-)

 

So, I will listen to alternative approaches.

 

EDIT:  Found this page.  Good reading.  Synopsis:  All Black Templar units described and analyzed:

 

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/555825.page

Which approach do you think you have wrong, the painting or the army list?

[sibomots]

I guess now that you ask, probably both ;-)   

 

But let's set aside the BT Army list for a moment.

 

Model building-wise, what I've assumed is the general approach is:

 

Setup:

 

  Clip and de-burr parts

  Pin legs for convenience (drill and glue pins into feet)

  Pin arms and weapons used per BT list (and do a few extra just in case the list changes)

  Pin selected heads.

  Assemble torsos selected for BT

  Greenstuff gap typically found in torso assembly.

  Razor clean mold lines on legs, arms, and weapons

  Razor clean mold lines on jet/backpacks

 

Painting:

 

  Black prime all plastic.

 Hand basecoat all plastic black.

  Razor clean (removing the paint if any) surfaces where arms get glued.

 

Torso:

 

  Hand paint Insignia Codex Grey, Steel, etc.. drybrush insignia (since it's going to wind up INSIDE when the arms get glued)

  Hand paint related armor features that will wind up being hidden by arms/weapons - base, highlight, etc..

  Check that all edges that need highlighting that will end up behind arms and weapons are done now.

 

Shoulder pads: (remove pins and clean surface that will be glued)

 

  Prime pads grey

  Paint white area

  Paint edge black

 

Arms + Weapons (remove pins and clean surfaces that will be glued)

 

  Attach right arm to torso.

  Choose weapon and left arm that match (1) Weapon pose, (2) torso pose, (3) leg pose (eg., make it "fit", and if not choose new weapon and left arm).

  Once fitted, glue left arm in, glue weapon into pose.

  Paint features of arm and weapon(s) now that they are "outside"

  Attach painted shoulder pads and highlight as edges and reflection dictate.

 

Head (remove pins and clean up surface that will be glued)

 

  Attach head to match pose.  Paint eyes, head, face, etc..

  Paint Purity Seals (if any)

  Paint highlights in Legs/Torso/etc that are exposed.

  Attach and paint jet/backpack.

 

Insignia:

 

   Attach decals (if necessary), write liturgy on shoulder pads (where appropriate), write liturgy on Purity papers where appropriate.

 

Patina:

 

    Gun barrel edge

    Heat signature on muzzle of ranged weapons

    Grime / Ink wash shoulder pads and weapon

 

Base:

 

  Prime base

  PVA glue and base texture.  Paint/wash if necessary.

  Attach figure to base, glue well (perhaps use existing pins, but shortened for more support through base; consider action pose with           existing base texture)

  Flora attached to base (if necessary / appropriate for climate)

  Paint bevel edge of base

 

 

   ???

 

    PROFIT  (Ie., Kill The Enemy)

 

 

 

That's generally (maybe some steps out of order, maybe some steps edited) what I thought is the process.  Never made WH models before so I'm not sure of what makes the most sense.

 

Army List

 

I've had a lot of help here, so I'm still learning the details.  This is the 500pt list I had come up with:

http://sibomots.com/SanctusVendettaCrusade/976_M41_Sanctus_Vendetta_500pts.pdf

 

The 1500 point BT list I'm kicking around is:

http://sibomots.com/SanctusVendettaCrusade/976_M41_Sanctus_Vendetta_1500pts.pdf

[ephrael]

Your plan for painting looks pretty sound to me.  I would suggest that you give it a go as planned asap and don't second guess yourself.  It's all too easy to get caught up in the pursuit of the "best" way to paint your minis and never actually apply paint to them.  Paint first, question later is my personal painting rule.

[Firepower]

Mhmm.  I'd recommend painting up a model as planned, and evaluating after the fact.  Mistakes are always easier to see in hindsight.  

 

I just wouldn't paint up a big batch right off the bat.  Not until you're sure the final product is what you want.

[sibomots]

Sounds fine.  I'll take your advice and paint one model up complete and see if the schemes I've planned will work in batch-mode.

 

I had some free time after work and I accounted for all the troops (Initiates and Neophytes) in my kits.  

 

I also cleaned and prepared my Emperor's Champion (resin model bubble pack from GW).  Resin seems much more brittle than plastic models.

 

(I noticed today that GW online store is sold out of the BT upgrade kit, Grimaldus, and EC)

 

I also took another look at my basic Dreadnought.  I think I should go back and green-stuff gap fill some molding/assembly gaps (almost 1mm on the top edge).

 

Meanwhile on the scenery front -- I've been glancing through the previous version Codex book for BT (I think you're right -- GW nerfed things up pretty good when they combined it into the Codex: SM book).  I feel like BT are just an afterthought in the current rules/fluff (not as much attention in the current Codex).  Be that as it may, the pictures show grand Gothic style facade and I am sketching out some plans to recreate those walls and facade for my game table.  (I built a 10' x 5' gaming table with smooth play surface in my workshop).

 

I think the scenery / terrain is just as important in the look and feel for the BT Army as anything else.

[sibomots]

Sample #1

 

http://sibomots.com/SanctusVendettaCrusade/index.html#sample

[Firepower]

Alrighty, first and foremost, thin your paints. You're going for a skim-milk consistency. That's the starting advice for everyone to ever paint a mini Thinner layers take a bit longer, but you get a much better finish.

Second is base layers. GW paints are semi-translucent, meaning the color beneath will affect the color you're painting on. Things like the tabard's and shoulders' off white are best painted in a few layers of darker to lighter browns, i.e. dark brown, brown, light brown, final color. And because you're going through several layers, thinning the paint is all the more important. You can take a shortcut by using the new-ish GW foundation paints, but it's still best to use a foundation that's a shade or two darker than the final product.

Mold lines are still hanging around on the model, particularly on the front of the pistol.

You've highlighted the black in some places, like the leg, and left it solid black in others, like the sword arm and backpack.

Some things are simply a matter of going back and cleaning up. The edges of the cross on his chest, the overspill of the tabard's white on to the cross on his belt, etc. You can also use touch ups to sharpen highlights into a finer, distinct line. This is particularly easy on black. Simply 'push' the grey lines towards the edge by going back and painting the interior of the thicker or sloppier lines with more of the base black.

There's a lot of speckled metallic paint on the face for some reason.

[sibomots]

I will try a second Templar.  

 

Question about bases -

 

The base I used was a 25mm base.  It seems like it was just a bit too small?   What is the rule on base size?  What if I (say) chose to use 32mm base instead?  Any rule issue?

 

On the first Templar example above, I simply missed a lot of detail.  The mold lines - I thought I had razor-cleaned them all but I missed some!  And,  I forgot to check the highlighting on the whole model.

 

My old eyes are just straining to see all the details I need to see.  To say I use "magnification accessories" is putting it mildly.

 

Some other issues I encountered on Templar #1:

 

1.  The shoulder pads - there seems to be a lot of tolerance in the concave area of the pad.  Is this correct?  Do you use any filling compound?  Before or after the pad is attached?

 

2.  Front apron placement.  I see that the BT upgrade kit has aprons.  The accuracy of the molds in the upgrade kit seems less than the accuracy of the SM models.  In otherwords, things don't line up that well.  Is this common?  Do you prefer to razor-clean up the edge or do you also use Greenstuff?

 

3.  I don't know how it happened, but the torso's I made had this situation. The back of the torso from the SM kit had male pins and the front of the torso from the BT upgrade kit had male pins.  They didn't mate, I had to scrap off the pin from one side and redrill out the recess for the two halves to join.

 

Anyway I'll give it another go for Templar #2.

 

EDIT:

 

About thinning paints -- yes, of course that is what I should do better at.  Questions --

 

Do you thin your paints _in the pot_ or do you thin them on the palette ?

 

Here's what I've been doing, correct me if this is wrong:

 

1. Pre-mix my "thinner"  20 parts water, 1 part "Flow-Aid", 2 parts Dry-Retarder. Keep in a small (8oz) glass jar for future use.
2. Take a dab of raw paint out of the pot and put it in a clean area of the palette.
3. Eye-dropper out of my "thinner" jar an ounce or so of thinner into a second area of the palette.
4. When I paint, wet the brush in the thinner, dab some paint on the brush, lightly rub the brush at the edge of the thinner to mix the thinner and paint.
5. Draw a bit of excess moisture off the brush and then apply paint to the model.

It's a very tedious process.  More often than not I end up with way too much moisture that pools in the crevasses (eg., shoulder pad edge)  

 

What I am suspecting to do is:

 

Premix my thinner as suggested.

Add the thinner to the pot of raw paint (enough thinner to make the paint like skim-milk)

Paint from the pot.

 

Down-side:

I've permanently thinned the paint (cannot use it for dry brushing really(?) in the future)

Does this accelerate the curing the acrylic?  Does it shorten the life of the paint _in the pot_ ?

 

Up-side:

The paint is always correctly mixed, no double palette areas, keeps the paint always the right consistency.

The Dry-retarder keeps the paint less likely to dry at the pot unless I don't close the pot when I'm finished.

 

Alternatively, I've experimented quite a bit with my airbrush.  I am waiting for a part that will enable it to work finer lines and have better control of the width of the brush stroke.  But in general, the brush (as far as priming my Dreadnought), the results were spectacular.

 

I am going to try to do the Templar #2 in airbrush and detail with hand-brush (highlights, weapon areas, eyes, etc..)  But I will try to paint the front/back of the aprons with airbrush, paint the "black" in airbrush, etc.. all the areas that are big enough that overspray isn't an issue because I can go back and hide all of that in detail hand brush.

 

I agree that getting the assembly line process is the way to go, but I'm just trying to get a sample made (one sample) that can be replicated.

 

Every layer of paint I place is lighter than the one before it, usually.  The apron was three layers.  Dark to light.  The papers/cloths are dark to light in two or three layers.  I don't know where the metallic paint is coming from. 

 

I take it you don't use metallic paints for the highlighting of the link-chains, and gun, chainsword ?

 

Thanks for the advice.

[Firepower]

1- No, I don't fill the shoulders in.

2- Firstly, they're tabards, not 'aprons.' Secondly, I'm not entirely sure what you mean. They have trouble fitting on a lot of the new Marine legs, if that's what you mean, because the legs are more dynamic than the stance of the old Tactical squads, for which the tabard torsos were designed. If you're talking about general mold lines, yeah, older kits have more pronounced ones than the new kits. Just gotta shave them. Sometimes quite a bit.

3- For the new Tactical squad kit, the designers flipped the male-female ends. All the old kits have male fronts and female backs. You can buy old torsos from bitz sites, or just make do and trim the tabs off.

My thinning process: A mix of 10:1 water:flow aid in a dropper bottle. A good sized dab of paint on the palette. A drop of the flow aid mix into the paint on the palette. From there it's basic brushing 101, i.e. not overloading the brush, keeping a fine point, washing in water between every brush load. And again, the consistency you're looking for in the palette is skim milk. You can tell you've got it right when you streak a bit up the side of the cup, and it drips gently back down into the pool while leaving a thin coat of color behind.

I wouldn't recommend drying retarder myself, because that tends to make paint too watery and hard to control, especially for fine detail work like edge highlights.

I do not drop the flow aid/water directly into the pot. I only pour water (without additives) into the pot when old paints have become especially thick or dried out, and even then I add water in very sparing amounts.

The metallic flecks may be coming from the brush when you drybrush other metal spots. The flakes will occasionally fling off the brush, so you have to watch out for sparklies. I generally do metallics first to avoid this problem, but doing them first also means they can rub off if you aren't careful while painting the rest of the model.

Metallic paints are indeed the way to highlight metal parts like chains. An especially effective technique is a basecoat of a dark metal like you have there, highlights of a lighter metal, then a black wash.

For the lighter parts, you need to make sure you have a smooth, solid color before moving on to the next. The whites and off whites have very clear brushstrokes and streaking problems.

I concur that you shouldn't do an assembly line until you nail down a method you are satisfied with.

On a side note, you should talk to the mods about getting photos to work in your gallery, or at least to post images directly rather than directing us off-site. You tend to get a lot more attention if people can see the pics just by clicking the thread

Finally, the truth of the matter is you won't get a really good looking army off the bat. I've been painting 20 years, and I only started putting out good models about 7 years ago (and I'm a long way from the skill level of some other painters around here). Even going through my own Templar blog which started 5 years ago, I can see a dramatic difference between the beginning and the quality of my painting now.

It's a skill like any other, meaning it takes practice, and you'll have to accept that your first attempts are gonna have a lot of mistakes, even with advice from other painters. Learning to have a steady hand, smooth brushstrokes, the right consistency of paint, where to begin and end, and how to work with different colors is just something that develops over time. We can only point you in the right direction.

Ah, and I should point out that seeing techniques of better painters is often more useful than just reading. There are several great youtube channels for painting advice, like BuyPainted and AwesomePaintJobs. Do as much research as you can, as often as you can.

[sibomots]

Very cool. Thanks.

 

The Gallery seems to be back online.  I'll transfer images there since the Gallery is working again. I wanted to post them there, but at the time the Gallery had a database error. 

 

Being a machinist in an another life, I can appreciate the attention to detail.  But, as  my eyesight begins to diminish I tend to overlook some things that I should't.  As an engineer now I should be following a process that is definitive.

 

That was my first model of any kind made for table-top war gaming. I expected it to be a baseline from which to improve. ;-)

 

I'll take your advice to heart, Brother Firepower.  Much appreciated.

 

When I showed the sample to my friends at the shop, their reaction was about the same as yours.  A question came up regarding the left shoulder pad.  Some said that was for the Crusade/Squad insignia, not the Templar cross.  So,  I thumbed through my notebook of photos (gleaned from browsing the web of Black Templar pics, downloading, printing). I got about 30 nice photos in there to help remind of of small details.  In those photos, _some_ of the left shoulder pads have the Cross, some do not.

 

In terms of "fluff", what's the real answer you think?  Cross? No Cross?

 

I'm getting quite a bit of support and advice.  I was let known about a few sites - the Painter's Tale (a site via blogspot) which has some good information too.

 

I am getting some sneaking suspicion that GW is trying to phase out BT.  The previous Codex revision included an actual book Black Templars, currently the Codex:SM just lightly covers them.  It's almost as if some of their fluff is getting brushed out of the fabric of Space Marine culture.  Maybe that's just my reading of it.  I'd love to be wrong about it.

 

My workbench has a backlog of stuff to do.  I got about 30 troops to finish, a Dreadnought, a Razorback, EC, Chaplain, and the behemoth Crusader vehicle.  So, I got my work cut out for me for at least a few months.

 

More questions --

 

Burr removal on the gun magazine and forearm of the weapon -  The molds have this ribbed effect.  In the recesses of the ribs is a mold line.  It's difficult to remove unless I run what is literally a "thread of fine Emory paper" through the recesses.  I am wondering what the pro's do?  Do they just shave off the ribbed surface, and remake it with greenstuff?

 

In terms of the Crusade symbol.  I am OK to make up a new Crusade symbol for use throughout the army?  I see a few places to apply the use of a symbol - On the vehicles, on the left shoulder pads, etc..  Is it typical for modelers to make up their symbol? Is it within the rules?  Or do folks tend to use existing decals provided by GW?

 

On the BT section of this site (B&C) I found URLs to third party stores that sell torsos and other bits that are "Templer-ish".  I take it that it is OK to use them in a fielded army of BT?

 

The Badger airbrush parts I ordered online arrived that will let me try a technique that I was interested in - I am going to attempt to paint the talbard, shoulder pads, and body of the BT SM with it so that there are no brush strokes there.  Then go back and do all the detail work in brush (Crosses, belt, chains, edges of the pads, guns, weapons, highlights, eyes, etc..).  My theory is that the broad areas that can be painted this way will look better and the small (very small) areas that are painted by brush will be fine by brush.

 

The other question was about eye color - Red is required?  Greenish?  Bluish ?  Is there anything in the Fluff that would require  one color of eye lens over another?  All troops need the same eye coloring?  Eg., EC the same as BT troops?

 

Interesting comments about thinning. I do almost the same thing, except that I didn't realize the Anti-Dry agent was responsible for watering it down too much.  I'll experiment on some sprue scrap to see what you mean.

 

Despite all my efforts to do my best, I know I have a lot of practice to go through.  It's somewhat reassuring that it takes years to achieve some level of proficiency.  

 

You, the rest of the Brothers and Sisters who take this work on are free to chime in and point out anything I could do better.  No words are off limits !  Let me know anything that can inspire or encourage me to be a better model maker.

 

Later,

 

sibo

[AndrewChristlieb]

Templars display the chapter symbol on both pads per the fluff. We don't have squad insignia so that's not a concern. If you want to do a crusade badge on the shoulder pad I don't think anyone would flip out about it, but it will look odd to some. As for your crusade badge if you do one you're free to make it however you like. There are several examples in the 4th ed BT codex iirc and plenty of examples here if you dig around.