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The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors


Lord Asvaldir

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Night Lords 82nd Company, "The Condemned"

 

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fbXtHAaoc5k/U7Jd-XyibjI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/SsGf2pcnRk4/s1600/Sevarius.jpg

 

 

After many years as a solely Word Bearers enthusiast, with my dive into 30k I've decided to expand my horizons and go for a Night Lords company. This new project is something I'm really looking forward to, been too long since I had some new marines to work on. But before I can take the dive into spending too much money on resin, I could use some advice from veteran Heresy collectors.

 

My first question, is does it work to mix plastic space marines with 30k resin parts? I am considering using Terror squad torsos and heads for my first few squads, but buying space marine arms/legs for a cheaper price off ebay to safe myself some cash, since cost really is a large concern for me, just not sure if those parts together will fit. 

 

Second, painting wise I could use some tips. I'd like to use a really deep, dark blue, but not a blue that looks purpleish. I also would love to use some lightning techniques, but I'm not sure where to start on that. 

 

I'll also have to get my list posted over in the army list section so I can figure out my first few purchases. Regardless of which direction I go, I figure you can't go wrong with terror squads with volkite chargers, so I'm thinking that is where I will start. Lore will also be coming once I've done a fair amount of reading on the Night Lords. 

 

It will probably be some time before there's some real pictures of models in this thread, but once I get the gears moving I hope to keep myself motivated by keeping a constant stream of new pictures coming. 

As one among many who do Night Lords on this site I'll welcome you into our group of untrustworthy murderers.

 

You can certainly mix plastic and resin very well, the main thing to avoid is aquilas or too much scrollwork to keep the heresy feel. The terror heads really add a lot of value and actually look better when spread throughout a force rather than every guy wearing one (IMO). The raptor kit is a gold mine for us. The only real thing to avoid is too much blatant chaos bling, arrows and 8 sided stars weren't in fashion yet lol (that being said I've totally missed shaving them off some of my bits so there you go). Getting a nice collection of chains, spikes, skulls and skin trophies is pretty useful too

 

For painting there's a bunch of methods to get a nice, midnight clad feel. Augustus b'Raass has some verrrrry pretty Night Lords, though they may be a bit lighter than what you're looking for because of the airbrush style. AlanofAngels has an incredibly crisp and rich blue going on his. Brother Heinrich has a really nice dark blue that is worth looking at too. My own personal blue is Regal (or P3s Exile, Kantor is just too dark) as a base coat, a 50/50 layer of Mordian (currently macragge) and the regal and then a black wash for a finished result.

 

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e86/bulimic_possum/001%20july%20pix%20of%20stuff%20for%20clarence%20and%20jason/IMG_1439_zpsoooxjavy.jpg

 

 

 

However I'd say the shade of your gold/bronze/brass is equally important as it needs to compliment the shade of your blue; no super dark blue with burnished gold trim 3rd ed style :P

 

Lightning can be tricky, but it just takes some practice. Some steps that should make things easier and help the end result

1. Use a very light grey, white is too harsh for anything but highlights of the grey

2. Having enough water mixed with your paint so it flows properly. You can't be fighting to put it on the model and expect a nice clean line

3. Go on a diagonal, I find left to right is the norm for me as I'm right handed

4. Never do straight lines; squiggles and sharp breaks are your friends

5. Arc off of the most pronounced squiggles and dips

6. It's to break up the flat blue on the model, how much you need is proportional to how much non-highlighted blue you have. I tend to use a bit more lightning than the     other high tier Night Lord painters as I cheated and didn't use highlights and need to distract the eye from all that blue :P

7. This is only really useful when you start to want to experiment with the lightning, but the closer you do it together and connect it the more it looks like sheets of               lightning across the area instead of arcs (how I tend to paint it) or bolts (how others tend to paint it) 

 

Since you say you're interested in terror squads (as every 30k Night Lord player is :P) doing terror markings on helmets will help add character and reduce FW upgrade kits. Easiest way is to do a skull over faceplate, though anything that could cause more fear than an astartes already does works too :) . Just practice on some spare helmets first until you get a look you want

I've only painted a couple of Night Lords helmets as base decorations, but I like the way it's come out even if I do say so myself. Unfortunately I don't have any  particularly clear shots of them. Clicking on the pictures and zooming in on the helmet is probably best for viewing:

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/5/7/711962_sm-.JPG
http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/5/7/711964_sm-.JPG

Anyway, that blue is done with Vallejo Game Colour Night Blue as the base coat and then VGC Imperial Blue. WIth a little bit of VGC Magic Blue added into the Imperil Blue for a hard edge highlight around things like the mouth grill. I add a little Reaper Master Series Anti-shine additive to ensure the matte finish as Vallejo's Game Colour line can dry a little glossy even after shaking.The lightning you can see a little bit of is a very watered down Magic Blue with a thinner line of VGC Glacier blue inside it.

 

Great tutorial except you added the wrong photo :-P

No they didn't, there's a blue helmet on the base, which is the only Night Lords they've painted up til now.

 

 

Its unfortunate that he doesn't have any better pictures or angles as his work just looks like a dark blue with a line highlight from this angle, despite the amount of work he put in

Thanks for the tips guys. The title quote just actually hit me as something that fits Night Lords perfectly, it will be the motto of my company. Don't plan on making a Melissandre though, the Night Lords ARE those terrors she speaks of, not anyone that would follow her. 

 

@SkimaskMohawk: I actually looked through your whole thread before settling on Night Lords, your models are awesome. I'll have to take a look at the other Night Lords painters you mentioned, I am certainly looking for a darker blue that would work. I'm actually consider silver for the trimmings, I just prefer silver over gold and I feel like it fits the whole night theme better, question is though is that too unlike a night lords company to have silver trim. 

 

As far as modeling goes, I'd love to see 30k plastics, I've seen the pictures I'm just not sure when those will be coming around, if anytime soon, and patience is not my strong suit when it comes to wanting to work on a new project. Avoiding the aquila is definitely my first rule, I don't want to see that at all on my traitors. Good thing is seems there are a fair number of 40k marine bodies with no aquila which I think can mix ok with terror squad torsos. Raptors are definitely going to be my go to kit for more head options, I actually might use those models are 30k raptors unless there are too many chaos symbols on them. Never use those models in my 40k army cause the rules suck, so it will be nice to have a chance to use them. 

 

@sockwithaticket: Hard to see the Night Lords head there, but thanks for the color suggestions I look into those paints you recommended. 

Ave Dominus Nox

 

 

I'm actually consider silver for the trimmings, I just prefer silver over gold and I feel like it fits the whole night theme better, question is though is that too unlike a night lords company to have silver trim. 

 

This.  Do this.  Silver (or steel or however you want to describe it) is the way forwards with HH NL.  Not saying you cant do other colours at all but when I saw the illustrations in the FW books I was sold on that colour for my trims.

 

as some Examples:

 

2015 08 23 23.46.08

 

NL Raptor 1 - complete 1

 

also don't be scared of the lightning, just practice it some.  There are loads of good tutorials on here (especially on the NL specific topics, see the murderers call for a good start point).  I only use two or three colours for mine and have found that a light touch gets me the result I want.

Thanks, that really means a lot to me :)

 

I also think a nice beaten iron could work really well, going by the same metric as golds (don't go super bright if the blue is really dark, etc...)

 

I forgot to mention it but Dan the Deamon as a huge inspiration for converting (as are the previous members I mentioned earlier)

Welcome to the Legion. 

 

Here is some of my guys, they are all 30k/40k mixed armor. I originally designed them for 40k, however I wanted an older feel for them since they are veterans of the heresy. Thus they now work well for my conversion of the army to 30k.

http://i1162.photobucket.com/albums/q532/mv8830/Night%20Lords%20II/3126fc6a-048b-4c89-836a-395a4f47d033_zps22d7f417.jpg

 

As for the scheme:
• Basecoat black
• 45° Zenithal highlight with airbrush of 1:15 mix VGC Black:VMA French Blue
• Nuln Oil Wash
• VGC Magic Blue edge highlight

Lightning is fine lines of Magic blue with White highlights. For lightning practice is definitely key, also pull up pictures of real lightning bolts when you do it, most people don't and just try to go off of memory, this will produce a comic or cartoony look to your lightning. Once you've done it enough you'll get an idea for how it should look and then you can do it without looking at pictures. 

Also this is the man that really started it all: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/172506-night-lords-18th-battle-company-flight-715/

Dan is a fantastic modeler and painter and he is the biggest influence on the look and feel of my own Night Lords. 

@cowboy: those are some great examples of silver trimming, you have my convinced. 

 

@SkimaskMohawk: My pleasure man, love to see the progression of some great projects. 

 

@sockwithaticket: That's a much better picture, now I can make out what it looks like. 

 

@Brother Heinrich: Those look really nice. Good to see some models with 40/30k parts mixed as that's my plan for my models. Colors are nice as well, unfortunately I don't have an airbrush but it is something I've considered getting for awhile. Painting lightning is something I'll get some models to practice on. Dan's got some really sweet conversions, wow so many ideas. 

 

Thanks for all the advice guys I think I'll be off to a good start. 

Err Heinrich, it's in the AoD, not WiP.

I'd suggest going with grey lightning as opposed to blue. The grey will provide a much higher contrast without needing a highlight, meaning there's less of a chance to ruin the lines. Also don't worry too much about getting the lightning right; my first attempt was my Terminator praetor and that was without reference tongue.png

Err Heinrich, it's in the AoD, not WiP. I'd suggest going with grey lightning as opposed to blue. The grey will provide a much higher contrast without needing a highlight, meaning there's less of a chance to ruin the lines. Also don't worry too much about getting the lightning right; my first attempt was my Terminator praetor and that was without reference tongue.png

lol damn, disregard. Whiskey and weed will confuse the best of us.

  • 1 month later...

And so it begins...

 

http://i1127.photobucket.com/albums/l627/Odin-Fatebearer/IMG_20151028_183705524_zpssrw1hguw.jpg

 

 

All the parts for my 30 terror squad members, a good start to my night lords force. I'll have an example painted model up soon. 

 

I've also decided on some lore for my force. It's going to be the 82nd company lead by Asavar Kul, a captain of Terran birth who served since the very earliest days of the legion. The company is known as the "condemned", and all marked with red on their gauntlets, as every member is marked for execution for some crime they committed. The company is a dumb for the most unstable members of the legion, mostly raptors and terror squads prone to needless slaughter, though they are kept in line by Kul and they are often sent on suicide missions.  

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