Redeeming a Legion (Angels of Redemption)

[GhostLegion]

ok, im breaking down and putting this up to help get me motivated on diving into this mass of repainting and finishing i need to do across my collection... so first things first:

 

the task: to take the mass of miniatures in this image to be Angels of Redemption.  This is a representative sample of the whole of the project.  There is enough here to give a sense of the scope and scale ive put before me here, though there are other parts to this collection lurking elsewhere....my ravenwing is laughing at me right now for that statement...or are they taunting me?  i dont know.  no paint, no engine noise....kinda creepy to think that, no?

 

 

the goal: to get it all painted, based, completed, and/or otherwise presentable...without looking "cartoony" (evil bright colors)...  all with a similar basing theme (unity above all), though variations on colorings are intended and acceptable across units/groupings/models...  ALSO!!!  to see what else can be learned/done while fiddling through this pile of work...

 

the concept: Angels of Redemption.  Yes, bone and green.  with some modifications:

- Some of the Codex Astartes markings will be used from time to time (sergeant and veteran sergeant helmets, maybe veterans too, but im not sure there yet). 

 

- Robe work will primarily be in purple (cant remeber who i saw doing that a while ago, but thank you if youre reading this...loved that look)

 

- librarians will get the more common yellow robe and blue armor treatement, but will retain chapter colors on shoulders and shins. 

 

- chaplains will retain their black armor, not sure what to do for robes there yet...nor am i sure if i will keep the whole black for chaplain armor, or modify it some. 

 

- apothecaries will be mostly chapter color, though shoulders, helmet, left arm, and part of the back pack, will all get white.

 

- Deathwing will retain chapter coloring and markings

 

- Ravenwing will be black, but retain chapter colors on head, shoulders, and bike faring (not the whole bike, just the forward plate i think)

 

- Named/special characters will get enough treatment to reflect their Angels of Redemption status, yet be recognizable for what/who they are

 

with that all stated and out of the way now, i want to stress ANY and ALL comments, thoughts, ideas, pointers, or interesting techniques to try are now, and will continue to be, welcome.  i mean, come on, if they werent, im not sure i would be posting this up as a project!

 

So that image is out of the way and now im intimidating myself, but not really giving anyone a taste of things to come.  sure, ive a couple images lurking around...and some of my older work (and one new one) have been posted over time...but still.  not the same as this...  so let me toss out a quick thank you to Hm74 and his work on Azrael for motivating me to get this all going...  and as such, ill throw this up too as today's work...primed to current status in the image...

 

 

and ask if this looks done, or (as im tempted to right now) is another layer of brighter purple needed to add shape/depth and raise the highlight some?

 

 

 

edited for link to Hm74's Azrael thread

[GhostLegion]

Quick addition today.  First, the initial work i had done several years ago now on this color scheme.  yes, its clunky, chunky painting as i look at it now...but it did work well as a hook

 

 

So from there, ive been refining what i did...nevermind the paint change ups that have happened since that first attempt... and now im working with this:

which i think is bounds better, if only for the smoother coloring.  yes, these are lacking detains and refinement, but they serve as a baseline for the whole of this project.  this is the lowest level look im trying to achieve across the whole force...  of course, im not too satisfied with this and will be going back to detail work for them.  so here are examples of a company standard bearer (left), a company champion (center), and a basic bolter trooper (right)

 

all in all, these two images should give a bit more flavor for the depth of this project ive saddled myself with.

 

another hit here...since basing is always an issue for any army and the variety of basing is so wide spread, i thought i should keep mine relatively simple.  so this base is serving as the concept which will spread across the whole of the collection...urban work...

 

 

sure, some parts of the force will be in this style base environment...others more scattered...but this serves as the central theme for me to flex around

[GhostLegion]

Characters in progress...in varying stages of progress, all within the last few days.  Additional views of these are available.

 

 

This "counts as Pedro Kantor" is set to serve as one of the company commanders.  At this point, the basic coloring is down and the robe has been brought up a couple levels.  Next is bringing the armor colors up a bit more...and figuring out what to do with the banner...

 

My take on Belial is nearing completion I think, though there are some details I need to go back and rework.  The base is mostly done, but the hulk he's standing on needs some additional work, once I get more ideas as to where it needs to go.

 

This Azrael is shaping up to be one of the most fun pieces Ive worked on recently.  I am trying to get a leather look going for the over robe area (chapter colors), though not having the best time figuring out what to do there.  Current work on this is detailing, and focusing on getting the chapter badge painted up.  I am also trying to determine how I want the combi bolter and sword to look...and have yet to start his head...

 

 

why is posing and composition so much easier when youre not thinking about paint?

[GhostLegion]

So im slow in updating, but at least heres an update...

 

First though, I point to this dreadnought comparison.  Both images are the same figures, though the lighting is different (sometimes i really think taking a picture helps figure out what i need to do next...something about the lighting and coloring changes).  I am just not sure yet which option will work better for continuing priming across this project.

Incase the text block doesnt appear too easily, the image on the left has Army Painter System's Angel Green and Desert Yellow.  The image on the right has Army Painter System's Angel Green and Skeleton Bone.  While I think the Desert Yellow may work better as a base/primer coat, im still not sure there, so the undercoat and wash that will hit them next may tell more.  On the other hand, I really do like that Angel Green.  Very nice, rich color without too much work, and it takes washes very well...

 

On to other work...

 

Since the 26 Aug 15 post, the progress on the chapter master has come closer to completion...or at least to the point where im starting to think about some weathering and effects to add to it. 

So here's that progress, based now, and with the watcher added in.  Though im sold on the nice, purple robes for the Angels of Redemption, im thinking on keeping any Watchers in the Dark i include in the brown robed look.  Seems to make a good contrast at least...

 

Also, here is the progression ive been working for the face.  While its starting to look good here, i still have more work on the skin tone to do.  the quest for realistic skin tones at this scale continues for me, but this one seems to be getting closer...

 

Next addition to this update is two fold.  First is to say ive gone and tallied the sum of the first stage, the 10th company.  Yes, yes, ive heard it before, im a bit crazy to take on so many scouts...nevermind so many at one go, but thats the thing.  Once i hit 50 scouts, i figured: "Why not just finish the company?"  So here i am, working on 99 scouts on foot with a variety of weapons, 2 Land Speeder Storms (and their 5 scouts each), and planning...well, more brainstorming really, a cadre of marines to round out the company.  That cadre I am intending to be a company veteran squad, a command squad, and a captain, none of which i really have started...

So this is the base color view i have going.  Im trying to keep the colors more flat and faded, which seems appropriate for scouts in general, and as initiates in particular.  So keeping with this, the cloth/fatigues is staying to the brown-khaki range, while the armor is focusing to a flatter/darker version of chapter colors.  The marine cadre will get colors more in line with the rest of the chapter instead of this faded version.

 

As far as these scouts go?  99 primed.  80 with cloth work done.

 

Lastly, as a distraction I started working into a librarian conclave.  Here are 2 examples of the work there so far...

 

as ever, questions and comments are both welcome and appreciated....

[deathspectersgt7]

Nice looking AOR.

[GhostLegion]

Thanks deathspectersgt7, appreciate the compliment.  Hopefully I can get some time to really knock out a bunch of these in one go.  Unfortunately, such time seems fleeting and rare.  Have to admit, looking at the depth of this project it's clearly not a quick fix...even were I to try learning air brushing as I go.  So I try to get in what I can when I can...and between other projects (common theme I know).

 

Speaking of progress.  I got a set of scouts pulled together and stopped at the same point so I could do a color check and comparison...and thought someone else might be interested in these results.  All of these scouts were painted exactly the same, at the same time, and stopped before washing/shading.  The comparison here is of the different results (as ive said, sometimes pictures tell more about what ive done than my own eye can see straight away).  And yes, these are all monopose metal scouts...and yes, i know i left the mold (mould if you want) line on the faces and shoulder.

 

So first up is the basic view.

While the labels I included on the image should be clear, just to restate: the image left has no shade/wash applied, while the image right has a single coat of GW's Seraphim Sepia. 

 

Second is a series of comparisons using the Army Painter System.

To my eye, the Soft Tone looks very similar to the Sepia wash, but maybe settled and shaded a touch better.  The other two did a very nice job of flattening down some of the left over shine I had and adding some to the detail level....without additional paint.  I rather like that result so far.

 

Third, is a direct comparison of each Army Painter System shade to the Seraphim Sepia washed scout.

This is what I was really wanting to see the end result of.  As it stands, I'm leaning more toward washing the whole scout cluster with the Dark Tone.  Seems to me, that one had the best result overall and didnt blot out any color or detail in particular.  The Strong Tone didnt look bad either, but the Dark just looks a bit better.  I might end up mixing the two (seperate sections of the figures) though.  Might be the Dark Tone works well for hard armor, while the Strong Tone works well for cloth and skin....

 

So real progress note here...All my scouts are now at least reprimed.  20 are only at that level, while the rest are gaining in color.  And assembly line is about the only way Im able to work this and keep straight on things, so Ive clusered them into groups by weapon type. Here's hoping for more painting time in the next few days and some serious progress....

 

As an aside and maybe a bonus for some viewers....

In my looking for interesting parts and modifications, I came across a knight's power fist (as labeled) and thought it might be a nice addition.  Unfortunately, I now see I was wrong there...  So here is the part I ordered, and with size and scale markings which might help anyone else so tempted.

Looking at it online, it looked like it would be interesting and could make for a good addition.  Seeing it in person, well....it looks a bit small...  Maybe not so much in this image, but deffinately with the legs in play too.  I think the arm length is the problem, the hand size seems about right.

 

Detail wise, it is not a bad part.  The fingers are single piece and part of the hand, so no real alterations possible there without cutting and rebuilding.  Above the elbow there is a small ball/socket type connection, which comes attached as ordered/delivered.  However, this attachment is rather flimsy and looks like it could be easilly cut to reangle that part.  The elbow itself is solid, and as you can see, the elbow "joint" is a round insert which needs to be pressed into place.  The connection to the knight comes at the narrow join just below the shoulder...so the knight shoulder is needed, though the weapon would be changable (if magnatized at that point).  There are no pins or lines on the connection, so its intended as a direct attachment and locked to one position.  Also note, this particular part is left side only. 

 

All that said, I dont think I will be using the part myself.  I might look at it some more and find something to do with it...if only to use for inspiration for a scratch build piece...but I dont really feel Ive lost anything for the look/attempt...maybe Im just crazy there though?