Back to BA! + 40k

[DeathCompanyIRL]

Hey all , 

 

It's been a while but I've decided once again to take the plunge back into tabletop gaming. In particular Warhammer 40k and my beloved Blood Angels.

This time however (3rd time collecting Blood Angels - keep buying/selling) I would like to really make a good go of the army. I'd like to paint them to a nice tabletop standard and actually get some games in. I was looking at starting small @ around 500pts and then seeing how i feel from there.

I hoped to pick the B&C hivemind for some help. I decided I would like to paint my BA's using the dry brushing technique on the GW website however I'm stuggling even with that. With my test minature coming out quite patchy after the wash. 

 

Am i suppose to only dry brush the edges of the model or the whole thing? I drybrushed the lot , is that why its patchy?

 

Also i have been trawling the net for a current 500pt BA list to give me an idea of where to start but not had much luck! Can anyone recommend a good starting point for me? I like the look of a small unit of Death Company with bolters but that is all I can come up with so far. When I last played Assault Marines were troops. And a jump pack Chaplain was the goto HQ. Has this changed a great deal?

 

Sorry i know there are tons of posts similar to this , but i have done my best trying to find out for myself and only pestered you guys as i was having very little success.

 

Thanks!

 

Dcirl.

[Paikis]

My 500pt list goes like this:

 

HQ -

Chaplain with jump pack and a meltabomb

 

Troops -

5x tacticals with plasma gun and rhino

5x tacticals with plasma gun and rhino

 

Elites -

5 death company with a power sword

 

As for the dry-brushing question, try dry-brushing the whole model, then re-painting the sections that should be solid colour. I haven't done it but if I was going to do my highlighting with drybrushes, that's how I'd do it.

[Fahlnor]

Can you post any photos of the model after you painted it? We can help a bit more if we can see what's actually happened. :)

 

In terms of drybrushing, you can definitely get some really nice and smooth painting going with a pretty simple technique, but as with anything, you need to practise and refine the technique.

 

My advise with drybrushing is to go in a few layers:

• Do your basecoat (Mephiston Red, probably)
• Then shade the model with whatever shade you want to use (options are probably red, brown or black). The shade goes all over the whole model.
• Then drybrush the entire model with your original basecoat
• Do a second drybrush with less paint using the next colour in line (for Mephiston Red, that would be Evil Sunz Scarlet), but focus on the areas you want to highlight (head, hands, toes, shoulder pads, backpack).
• The third layer of drybrushing should only be done in a top-down motion (so the brush starts at the top and connects with the model as you draw the brush downwards) - this creates the effect of light hitting the model from above. You want to do this using the final colour in the line (for Mephiston Red, this would be Wild Rider Red).
• Glaze the whole model with red.
• Paint the details *carefully*.

I'll go get a model and see if I can do some demonstration photos. :)

[Jorre]

Drybrushing is a great technique to begin with...... However I have never had any sucess with it when painting power armour!

 

Good luck and welcome back to BA!

Scouts are really usefull as your troop choice! and their cloaks and pants actually look pretty good with dry brushing! might be a good place to start

[DeathCompanyIRL]

Hope this link works... sorry for the bad picture but here is my test BA as requested.

http://imgur.com/a/pRtZY

As i mentioned i am using the method on GWs video on their website (the drybrush one)

Base Mephiston , dry brush kindleflame , wash with carroburg crimson.

 

And yes i realise my test marine was a Black Templar , he wasn't very happy about it either!

 

DCirl

[Fahlnor]

Ok, hopefully this is useful for you!

 

I'm not focusing so much on the how-to of drybrushing - there are a lot of

out there on YouTube. The aim was to give a simple step-by-step and show you roughly how you can expect it to look.

 

This was a super-quick paint job. Drybrushing can work spectacularly well on Space Marines and because this is a really simple scheme you could comfortably paint a full Tactical Squad using these techniques in about an hour. For an hour of painting, you would genuinely have a good-looking unit that you could be proud to put on the table!

 

So, start off by sanding your base and priming your model. I prime mine grey, but black and white are also common. Here's the primed model (good old 2nd Ed. squaddie!) with the paints we're going to use:

 

http://i.imgur.com/YsOT1yyl.jpg

 

 

Ok. Now basecoat with your base colour. As I said, Mephiston Red would be standard for Blood Angels. You can see the brush I used next to the model here - for this standard of painting, that brush can do literally everything you need until you're painting details. The important thing to make sure is that you're not blocking in any details on the model - particularly if you're using a bigger brush, watch to make sure you don't drown the model with paint.

 

http://i.imgur.com/RLAEy8Rl.jpg

 

 

Once the basecoat is dry, slather on your chosen wash. I used Carroburg Crimson here, but you could use a brown or black for a little bit more of a contrast in the recesses.

 

http://i.imgur.com/EXZX8j1l.jpg

 

 

He dries like this:

 

http://i.imgur.com/5E3uVKHl.jpg

 

 

Ok. Our first layer of drybrushing with Mephiston Red. This was a thorough drybrush, making sure to go all over the model and come at it from all directions. I've included a shot of my paper towel so you can see about how much paint was left on my brush before I used it on the model.

 

http://i.imgur.com/scIKIqBl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/m97B1lNl.jpg

 

 

Now exactly the same using the next red in the line - Evil Sunz Scarlet. Again, you can see how much I have on my brush before I start. The focus here was mainly on the areas I wanted to highlight, so I'm looking at the helmet, the hands, the shoulder pads, the top of his backpack. This is kind of a matter of personal preference.

 

http://i.imgur.com/0bH5khml.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/L5cHgAHl.jpg

 

 

Final drybrush, using Wild Rider Red. This used a bit less paint and focused on top-down strokes to simulate light coming from above and striking the model.

 

http://i.imgur.com/eDpzsAYl.jpg

 

 

I took a quick photo in direct sunshine at this stage to show the colours on the model, because the previous photos were pretty dark. This is where we stand with three layers of drybrushing.

 

http://i.imgur.com/QgNtGR3l.jpg

 

 

Quick layer of silver paint on metallic areas.

 

http://i.imgur.com/C3K0sI6l.jpg

 

 

Shade the metallic areas with Nuln Oil to give a layer of contrast on the metal.

 

http://i.imgur.com/yVzyRb4l.jpg

 

 

I now painted the base using some random browns (based with Dryad Bark, drybrushed with Zandri Dust and Ushabti Bone). I also dusted the bottom of the model's legs to make it look like he's picked up the dust from the battlefield. Quick photos against a paper towel!

 

http://i.imgur.com/w2OtNOYl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/Zv2M82ol.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/FpnBx4hl.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/OMUw5tMl.jpg

 

 

My advice would be to paint a few units to this standard. Once you've got comfortable at this stage, let's look at painting the eyes and a few other details just to finish the model off!

 

Hope this helps.

 

:)

[Fahlnor]

Hope this link works... sorry for the bad picture but here is my test BA as requested.

http://imgur.com/a/pRtZY

As i mentioned i am using the method on GWs video on their website (the drybrush one)

Base Mephiston , dry brush kindleflame , wash with carroburg crimson.

 

And yes i realise my test marine was a Black Templar , he wasn't very happy about it either!

 

DCirl

Perfect!

 

Ok, so the problem you're having isn't your painting. It's the GW guide.  Let me break this down:

 

Drybrushing, like any painting, needs you to use a reasonably broad spectrum of paints. Jumping straight from the base (the darkest colour) to the dry paint (the lightest colour) will create a massive contrast on your model. That will make drybrushing look patchy, whether it's your first model or you're the best painter in the world. Also, the lighter the colour you use, the more the drybrush effect will look patchy. Drybrushing white, for example, will look remarkably chalky.

 

Games Workshop say to use the dry paint to drybrush on top of Mephiston Red because they've designed a dry paint and have to justify that somehow. It's not an awful product, but if you want to use it, use it very sparingly after you've done the layers I mentioned above. The gradation in your spectrum will cause less contrast and the lighter application of Kindleflame will avoid the dusty, patchy look.

 

Secondly, the shade doesn't go on last. Games Workshop actually sell a paint which is ideally suited to going on after drybrushing - the glaze. The shade naturally flows into the recesses of the model and darkens them. It's not so useful for tying layers of drybrushing together because it sits so deep on the model, which is exactly the parts of the model you're not touching by drybrushing. The glaze, on the other hand, is brighter and less opaque than the wash and it sits where you put it. That means you can use it as a "filter" of sorts - when you've painted your drybrush layers, the glaze will over the top and soften the transitions, blending the colours into each other.

 

That isn't to say the shade is useless. Far from it. Use it straight after the basecoat to make your shadows pop. The more that you then drybrush over the top, the more contrast those shadows will create.

[Fahlnor]

Wasn't happy with those final photos. :P

 

http://i.imgur.com/4FMQMPjl.jpg

[DeathCompanyIRL]

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to reply so comprehensively. I really appreciate the advice! I am getting another test mini ready as-we-speak! I won't let a few poor test mini's put me off my favourite chapter!

 

Thanks again dude ur a diamond , will update with results!

[Fahlnor]

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to reply so comprehensively. I really appreciate the advice! I am getting another test mini ready as-we-speak! I won't let a few poor test mini's put me off my favourite chapter!

 

Thanks again dude ur a diamond , will update with results!

Looking forward to the results. :)

 

I'll do a real quick how-to on eyes later on this evening, too. There's a spectacular technique you can do really, really simply, but I don't currently have the paint I need for it. Will pick that up this evening. No idea how I've got this far without it!

 

Regarding the army list, Death Company are golden in just about any list. I like the look of Paikis' list. What is it that inspires you about Blood Angels? If we have an idea why you want to collect the boys in red, we're better placed to make suggestions for an army.

[DeathCompanyIRL]

They were in the starter set for 40k from when i was a child (back in like 96 or 97) and for me just epitomise badassery in 40k. I was really hung up on the idea of them being close combat monsters but i am warming to the idea of them charging in amidst a hail of bolter fire. 

 

Definetly want DC with bolters. I have a couple of sternguard made up from a killteam i started so could use those too or make them sergeants ro something. Keen to try tac squads with heavy flamers in some sort of transport. Never owned terminators so that might be cool.

 

Not a fan of Sanguinary Guard, Devastators, or too many transports. I'd like to start with 500pts and slowly work up.

 

Thanks for all the painting advice mate!

[Fahlnor]

They were in the starter set for 40k from when i was a child (back in like 96 or 97) and for me just epitomise badassery in 40k. I was really hung up on the idea of them being close combat monsters but i am warming to the idea of them charging in amidst a hail of bolter fire. 

 

Definetly want DC with bolters. I have a couple of sternguard made up from a killteam i started so could use those too or make them sergeants ro something. Keen to try tac squads with heavy flamers in some sort of transport. Never owned terminators so that might be cool.

 

Not a fan of Sanguinary Guard, Devastators, or too many transports. I'd like to start with 500pts and slowly work up.

 

Thanks for all the painting advice mate!

Huzzah!

 

I love Sternguard and heavy flamers and Terminators. If we can use them, we will!

 

Ok.

 

Most people will tell you that Death Company with bolters are a waste of time. Because bolters cost you an attack in close combat, most people will tell you to only give bolters to Death Company armed with power fists or thunder hammers. The reason is that both power fists and thunder hammers are Specialist Weapons, so they only gain an extra attack in close combat if paired with another specialist weapon. This means that taking a bolt pistol for the extra attack is a waste - they have just as many attacks in close combat with a boltgun as they do with a bolt pistol.

 

Myself, I say if you like boltgun Death Company, take them. You have Relentless, which means you can fire your Rapid Fire weapons and still charge. There may be a question of efficiency in terms of boltgun versus bolt pistol, but it's such a minor difference that it should literally never have any serious impact on your games. Do the stuff you think is cool.

 

Sternguard are also awesome. They're one of the most versatile shooting units in the game. Their special ammo means they can take on a huge variety of units and access to combi-weapons lets them fill in the blanks against any units they're maybe not ideally suited to killing. The one thing with Sternguard is they tend to be used as a fire-and-forget unit. Put the squad in a Drop Pod, plop them into the enemy line and destroy your priority target. Then accept that they're just going to die. If you want to use them differently, you're going to have to come up with another plan.

 

Terminators, I think are super-cool. Would you want them to be more focused on shooting or on close combat? Two different squads give you two different options.

 

In terms of writing an actual army list, you're normally looking at one HQ, two Troops and an Elite. That fills the minimum requirements of the Blood Angels regular army. There are variations, but most people will use this template.

 

If you're particularly keen on a jump pack Chaplain, that will tie into your Death Company nicely. Again, the list that Paikis gives you includes a good number of the things you like. Change the weapons around a little and you get this:

 

Chaplain

 - Jump pack

 - Melta bombs

 - 110

 

5-man Tactical Squad

 - Heavy flamer

 - Rhino

 - 125

 

5-man Tactical Squad

 - Heavy flamer

 - Rhino

 - 125

 

5-man Death Company

 - Jump packs

 - Power fist

 - 140

 

Total: 500

 

 

Or you could swap out the Chaplain with the jump pack and the Death Company for a Sanguinary Priest with some toys and a Sternguard squad:

 

Sanguinary Priest

 - Valor's Edge

 - 80

 

5-man Tactical Squad

 - Heavy flamer

 - Rhino

 - 125

 

5-man Tactical Squad

 - Heavy flamer

 - Rhino

 - 125

 

5-man Sternguard Squad

 - 2 combi-weapons

 - Drop Pod

 - 170

 

Total: 500

 

As you expand to more points, you can start bringing more of the cool toys. A couple of Tactical Squads does seem to be a good starting point, though. :)