GrimDark Blood Angels Blog 24/09/19 *new warlord conversion*

[Aothaine]

Ahhhhh! I want my models to turn out like this! The flat smoothness of it all...

 

So jealous!

[neonmole]

Thanks so much for the kind words guys! 

 

It means a lot!

 

I have a question for my fellow blood angel painters - has anyone done any Death Company (preferably with an airbrush) with good results? I am probably going to do some soon, and given this army is the first time I have used an airbrush I am learning new colour techniques as I go - thus far I am only capable of painting Red & Gold!

 

How best to get a good black that isn't just a boring "flat black" I wonder? Any advice on techniques/colour palette would be super helpful.

 

Im an thinking of using a sort of navy black as the airbrush highlight colour, with an edge of a brighter blue / grey. Examples/success stories of this particular would be cool!

 

Cheers!

Joe

Edited July 17, 2017 by neonmole

[LutherMax]

Here are some of mine. I tend to use greys to highlight and go lighter with it than I want to end up, then use Nuln Oil to tone it down and make the recesses and panel lines darker. You could definitely mix in some blue to make it more interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by LutherMax

[neonmole]

Thanks Luther! Really inspiring stuff as always!

 

A question - do you use the same "pre-gloss" technique here when applying the nuln oil?

 

And another actually... how do you do the red "X's" etc on these guys? I have been wondering this as I am not sure how to achieve a consistant red on those small areas without the use of the airbrush... these parts seem too small to mask off so I guess they are done by hand? How do you get the consistant red tone?

 

Cheers

Joe

Edited July 18, 2017 by neonmole

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The flamestorm cannon-armed Land Raider Achilles looks AWESOME.

[LutherMax]

Thanks Luther! Really inspiring stuff as always!

 

A question - do you use the same "pre-gloss" technique here when applying the nuln oil?

 

And another actually... how do you do the red "X's" etc on these guys? I have been wondering this as I am not sure how to achieve a consistant red on those small areas without the use of the airbrush... these parts seem too small to mask off so I guess they are done by hand? How do you get the consistant red tone?

 

Cheers

Joe

No need for gloss because there's so little contrast between the black/grey and the Nuln Oil. When using Nuln Oil (Gloss) over red armour the pre-gloss coat is very important so that the wash runs into the recesses and doesn't stain the upper surfaces. On black armour it's more to tone down the highlights and tie everything together. Any 'patchiness' from the Nuln Oil just adds to the worn, battered look.

 

For the saltires I've used both airbrush and bristle brush methods. On the Forge World models (third pic down) I sprayed the whole shoulder pad red before anything else, then added some shading with the airbrush, then put thin pieces of tape over it to mark the 'X' before spraying the whole rest of the model black / grey. I then removed the tape before doing the Nuln Oil coat so the shade tied it all together.

 

The saltire (and chainsword casing) on the single marine in the second-to-last pic were painted by hand. I just layered the following colours in this order:

- VMC Hull Red

- VMC Burnt Cadmium Red

- VGC Gory Red

- VMC Red

- Edge highlight VMC Amarantha Red

Edited July 18, 2017 by LutherMax

[eggroll]

Always good to see another devoted BA painter neonmole! Been awhile since I visited B&C and it's always good to see new BA armies painted to such a great standard. Looking forward to seeing your army take shape!

 

Also, I really like your kitbashed captain model a page back with the Dark Eldar wings. I had a similar idea myself based on an older concept artwork though never got around to building it.

 

http://www.ba40k.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/unnamed.jpg

 

Can't wait to see you paint yours up!

[neonmole]

Cheers Luther, fantastic insight as always! The techniques for painting black will become very relevant soon! (seen below)

 

Thanks Eggroll. Its been such a fun journey thus far with the BA. I just wish I could paint faster! Seems I always just want to get onto the next thing! Its been a struggle to keep focused and not just get caught up in a growing wish list! Trying to just focus on making & painting what I want to, and not being too worried about anything else!

 

Anyways - progress. The fruits of my labour this evening - my Death Company Chaplain! Just a few simple conversions here, swapped the inferno pistol out for a bolt pistol - both because I didn't want to pay the 20pts, but also because this means he can be used as Lamartes too! Value... Only other additions; bit of GS on the base to adjust the pose, and of course - the wings! Super happy with this guy, cannot wait to paint him.... got a stupid last SG and tact squad I have mentally committed to first though! Boo...

 

http://i.imgur.com/u5DuNfv.jpg

 

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

 

Only one more model painted, but since I am posting I will share - 4th SG squad member. (sword guy, back right)

 

http://i.imgur.com/HeK6i0U.jpg

 

And finally, a group shot, because why not!

 

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

 

 

The 4th SG is actually a little rough up close... definitely the least well executed of them though. Hence why he's relegated to the back.... My OCD instinct wants me to do-over him. I am resisting though, I want to press on and start something new. Getting real tired of painting gold...

 

Super happy with the chaplain though! I hope you like him. One of those times when and idea in your minds eye just comes together!

 

Cheers guys.

Joe 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Chaplain looks great with a winged jump pack. Good job on the Sanguinary Guard.

[cezrulez]

Where did you get the legs and wings for this Captain?

Also where did you get the wings for the JP Chaplain?

Both are looking awesome.

 

 

Hi everyone!

 

 

There is also a guest star in this shot! My captain that I have been waiting on parts to convert! (ebay bits sellers are the best thing every... Didn't really exist in my heyday!).

 

 

 

 

I wanted to capture a real "angel of death" /vengeance vibe! Hence the dual melee weapons (which is actually not *totally* useless in the new rules! The primary weapon, the big axe, will be a relic blade. I hope you like him, I am super happy with the result - really looking forward to painting him up, planning to go the all gold route. I will likely not repeat the realistic bio-technology wings on the sanguinary guard (I would likely just have naked jump packs on them - I hate the blocky wings they come with) though I may do this for my other characters, of which I get the feeling there will be many in the 8th!

 

Thanks as always for the comments guys, you are awesome motivation!

 

Cheers,

Joe

[LutherMax]

The legs are Deathwatch I believe. Not sure about the wings... Edited July 25, 2017 by LutherMax

[Arkhanist]

The wings are one set from the dark eldar scourges I believe.

[neonmole]

All of the above are correct!

 

Legs are deathwatch, wings are from dark eldar scourge. Praise be to eBay bits sellers!

 

Despite being perfect scale & fit, the wings are quite tricky to get on.. I used green stuff for the initial join. This seemed good until one broke off. Because of how big they are you need the join to be very strong. To do this I sort of "flowed" plastic glue into the join once the GS was dry to melt it all together where the plastic parts meet. Because of the shoulders/jump pack positioning you really cannot see the join itself so this method worked quite well, and they seem very solidly attached now.

 

As a footnote, the captain has actually undergone some additional work since I posted that pic - some additional conversion on the weapons, as well as an Iron Halo. I'll post a pic when I get home this evening!

 

Cheers

Joe

[Panzer]

I'd probably try to magnetize the wings so they don't break off so easily and to make the model easier to transport. :D

[Charlo]

I need me some Deathwatch legs.

 

The upright poses are really threatening! 

[neonmole]

@sfPanzer

 

For sure. Magnets (or pinning) would be a good move here. The reason I did not what that I was really trying to get a precise pose, which is quite hard with those methods. The GS lets you wiggle it around a lot as it dries. But absolutely, from a durability perspective it is probably the way to go mate.

[neonmole]

As I mentioned earlier - for those interested, here is the updated version of my Captain:

 

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

 

http://i.imgur.com/ghk3G1L.jpg

 

So a couple key changes -

 

- he now has a sword, rather than an axe. I did this as I wanted to get a better pose. The idea was to mirror the position of his arms / the swords on both sides. For anyone interested the sword is from the grey knight terminator kit.

 

- He now has an Iron Halo. I think that particular part is from the BA terminator box.

 

- Finally, and perhaps the oddest part is the meltagun built into his chainsword! Basically - once I thought about the rules for 8th in detail, it feels like a massive waste for a captain not to have a decent gun. As such I wanted him to have a meltagun, but did not want to model. Inspired by some fond memories of Final Fantasy VIII (those who played will know!) this was my solution! I think it turned out pretty cool :)

 

Cheers,

Joe 

[Panzer]

If I might suggest something.

I know not everybody likes it but I personally am a huge fan of the Iron Halo the Primaris Chaplain model has so maybe try to give your Captain a similar one? It woudl definitely make him stand out more and fit the angelic theme you started with the wings. ;)

[neonmole]

Hi guys,

 

I've been a little quiet on here for a while! Lots of real life stuff over the past couple of weeks - not least of which was getting married!

 

With all of that done I'm back at the BA! I have actually painted and build quite a lot more, by my standards/pace at least...

 

Today I actually have a more specific request.. I need some opinions/advice. Those of you following will remember that I was asking for some tips of painting the black armour for my death company. Last night I did a test model for this, and I'm really curious to see what you guys think:

 

 

 

The model is obviously very far from complete, with only the black done, and a couple of bits of red as examples.

 

What do you guys think - does this recipe work? I'm happy with it as a test, but I think it needs work to match up with the rest of the stuff I have done...

 

Thought?

Joe

[Palwatch]

What layers are you using - thats not abbadon black base is it? It looks amazing

[Aqui]

Well, this is another simply fantastic BA blog! I really want an airbrush after seeing this! :wub:

[Arkhanist]

Congrats on getting married! Only taking a few weeks off painting is pretty short ;)

 

The Dc model is lovely technique as always, but it does look a bit grey - which is always the problem with smooth highlighting black! The effect will lessen as you paint the lighter parts to an extent; If you use your hand to block out the rest of the model, the black parts round the saltire look a bit 'blacker' due to the contrast, so you can leave it as is if you're happy.

 

One option though is a black glaze, which will keep the smooth highlights but tone the panels darker towards black. You could focus this on the lower half of the model and in areas that should be shadowed to get a similar effect to your tacticals. Just mix some nuln oil with lahmian medium (or glaze medium) about 1:1 and use a 'damp' brush in smooth strokes rather than blob it on - that should avoid blotchiness.

[neonmole]

Cheers for the input guys!

 

@Palwach

No, it's not a pure black like abaddon. It's done using the "rubber" set of paints from "secret weapon miniatures". Really cool set of colours that are black, but with some oily green hues in there to make it a bit more interesting!

 

@Arkhanist

I agree, my reservation is that it's a bit gray. The funny thing is that this model already has a black wash on it!! I did it using the exact same method I use on the red guys (an attempt to get a somewhat unified look) - gloss varnish, then nuln gloss, then lahmian to dull the shine.

 

I think the trick is probably to be a bit more restrained during the airbrush of the base coat, maybe leave a bit more pure black showing through, while maintaining the contrast with the brighter highlights...

 

I'll do some more testing this evening and see how it goes...

 

Another thought: Right now I am thinking I will do the weapons the same black colour as the rest of the army rather than the red you see on GW death company models. I am a little wary that this might make them a bit monotone, but it quite like the idea of them being totally black, with some accents of colour for a really sinister look! I think to pull that off the trick would be to get some interesting tonal variantions in the blacks & grays. Weapons/armour/armour joins etc.

 

Cheers

Joe

Edited August 29, 2017 by neonmole

[brother_b]

Wow this is amazing! If you think it's a bit grey how about a nuln oil or other such wash to darken it up again? May not be as clean as you'd like though.

 

I must say that the lights on that land raider just look stunning. It's probably how subtle you made the highlight  but wow, it really looks illuminated!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The gunblade-like weapon is an excellent idea.