+Die Trying+ - the Sable Spectres march to war

[Prospekt]

http://i.imgur.com/yro9NHY.jpg

“O my poor kingdom, sick with civil blows! O, thou wilt be a wilderness again, peopled with wolves, thy old inhabitants!”

 

*

 

The Imperium of Mankind lies in tatters. Railing against the oncoming dark, its crusades peter out to a fizzle, a dying spark swallowed by the long night. The Cicatrix Maledictum has torn the bastions of man asunder, and foes assemble beyond the great rift like never before. Necron dynasties awake beneath cities and reclaim their birthright in genocidal holocausts. Aeldari warbands, once fractious and petty, unite beneath the banner of their death god. On one side of the galaxy, the Tau Empire ascendant, sweeping across the system; on the other, the hungry shadow of Tyranid Hive Fleets looms and coalesces thicker with each passing day. And all the while, the mad gibbering laugher of daemons echoes in the void.

 

Roboute Guilliman, Lord-Commander of the Imperium, challenges the rampant threat of these dark days with renewed vigour. His armies bring new instruments of war to bear – Primaris Astartes, the Space Marine honed to an even finer edge. Entire chapters of these weapons issue forth unto a savage, unforgiving galaxy, and their names fast become the stuff of legend.

 

But beneath every bright statue is a cold, dark shadow upon the ground…

 

*

 

///++BRIEF++//

The Sable Spectres are a Chapter composed entirely of Primaris Astartes. Precious little is known or recorded of them – whether this is due to their more covert modus operandi, or simply that their deeds have been lost beneath the daily deluge of information from every distant corner of the galaxy, none can say for sure. Earliest records pinpoint their formation at the end of the Indomitus Crusade, when Guilliman’s Greyshields disbanded from their legions and split into Codex-compliant organisations.

 

The armour of the Sable Spectres is painted a deep blue, bordering on black, which goes some way towards explaining the chapter’s name. Their icon is two strips of crimson against a field of blue-black, over which is emplaced a high gothic Lambda.

 

http://i.imgur.com/SeB0SdB.jpg

 

 

///++HOMEWORLD++//

http://i.imgur.com/2QAnaCW.jpg

Image Credits: http://malicious-cadence.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/forestworld_small.jpg

 

Wirral, a heavily-forested planet on the far edges of the Segmentum Obscurus. The planet has defied classification for aeons: some documentations call it a Death World, while others have it on record as a Feudal World. Wirral is all of these things and more. The seasons change at the drop of a pin - scorching summer one night, freezing winter by the morning. Dense woodlands cover most of the landmass, making travel on foot extremely difficult and hazardous: such environments, after all, are the perfect conditions for apex predators to thrive and attain primacy.

 

It is this difficulty of travel which stymies trade and the movement of peoples. Mankind on Wirral, therefore, is constantly at war with himself and the environment. There is no single, dominant society; its quasi-medieval populace is comprised of warring houses and clans. They are intensely isolationist, shutting themselves within great keeps of stone and iron to keep the wild world at bay.

 

Though the homeworld of an Astartes chapter, Wirral is otherwise a forsaken backwater at the armpit of the Imperium. Because it has no cohesive government, it is largely incapable of paying tithes to Terra – and if not for its people’s loose faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind, would most likely have been either completely forgotten or ordered for destruction by some overzealous Administratum sycophant eager to please his lord.

 

Interestingly, the Sable Spectres have minimal physical presence upon Wirral itself. The world is more of a recruiting ground than a bastion for them – they have no fortress-monastery upon the planet, instead operating much like a fleet-based chapter. On the rare occasion that the Spectres do set boots on the ground, they have little to no interaction with the populace, save for stealing away warriors for service – a habit which has led to many a local legend of giant red-eyed ghosts in the fog.

 

 

///++ORGANIZATION++///

Amongst the Codex-compliant Chapters of the Imperium, the Sable Spectres are one of the most divergent. They show a flagrant disregard for the tenets of Guilliman’s manuscript, and are only barely considered to be Codex compliant because the basic organizational Chapter structure is followed.

The Spectres rarely follow the Codex’s detachment doctrines. They are fond of deploying in smaller, flexible strike forces known as Spear Clades. The make-up of a Spear is largely mission-specific – from anything as small as infantry kill-teams to a larger force employing the heavy armament of Dreadnoughts, Aggressors and Armour.

 

http://i.imgur.com/e1K4krp.jpg

A reconnaissance Spear of Sable Spectres moves cautiously through the jungle, directed by a Knight-Intercessor Sergeant.

 

 

///++PROVENANCE++///

If little is understood about the Sable Spectres themselves, even less is known about their gene-sire. They have no distinctive physiological traits that could pinpoint the origin of their gene-seed, and given their nonchalant attitude to the Codex Astartes it is also unlikely that they are direct successors of the Ultramarines. Some say in hushed murmurs that the Chapter’s unflinching predilection for terror tactics is a forbidden echo of the VIII Legion, while others yet whisper that the hydra has many heads…these remain but rumours, however, and it is unlikely that the Sable Spectres’ true sire will ever be known by any but themselves.

 

 

///++ETHOS++///

The Sable Spectres display an affinity for close combat, and each Spear often tends toward a Reiver-heavy composition. It is perhaps a legacy of warfare on Wirral, where the thick forests make pitched battle a thing of rarity. The Spectres rarely deploy en masse in glorious assaults, preferring to draw the battle into the killing fields of claustrophobic confines and dense spaces. This aversion to prominent warfare could explain why the Chapter remains mostly unknown throughout the wider Imperium, coupled with the fact that most of their operations take place around and beyond the Great Rift into the Imperium Nihilus.

 

The Sable Spectres have a notorious reputation on the battlefield itself for cruelty and relentlessness. This is not so much a psychopathic disposition as it is a carefully considered approach to how battle should be waged. The watchword for the Chapter’s philosophy of war is merciless efficacy – they are masters at exploiting weakness and will pursue the complete disassembling of the foe with single-minded obsession. It is not uncommon for an enemy force to be left brutalized in the wake of a Spectres Spear Clade; neither is it unheard of for their disfigured bodies to be displayed prominently. War, after all, must be waged on levels mental as well as physical.

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/BRTl6i8.jpg

Ill met by moonlight - an unfortunate Tau Pathfinder stumbles upon a Sable Spectre. No doubt the meeting is over quickly.

 

Some fanciful beliefs hold that the first Sable Spectre was charged by Belisarius Cawl to wage war in this fashion, for no others would have the gumption to take such an undesirable duty. Most scholars disregard this as romanticised drivel. It is more likely that they were simply let slip by Cawl onto the galaxy’s darkest reaches, as a master looses the chain binding a savage hound when a thief enters his house.

 

Those who have met or encountered the Spectres in person often report being intensely discomfited while in their presence, which is hardly surprising given their approach towards warfare. At best, the Primaris Astartes of the Sable Spectres are walking weapons; cold statues capable of movement and speech – and at worst they are singular avatars of destruction. When a man leaves Wirral to become a red-eyed ghost, it is as if he also becomes the embodiment of the planet itself: all at once the knight in the castle and the monster in the woods beyond it.

 

The Chapter, being involved in constant operations, is almost perpetually under strength. Their fondness for unending engagement is another relic of Wirral, a tradition of wandering knights who forsake their keeps and seek out the mightiest adversaries to slay in the woods. It is for this reason that once a target has been identified, no matter the odds, the Sable Spectres will move to find and destroy it...

 

http://i.imgur.com/OSkpG3A.jpg

 

…or die trying.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Prospekt

[Prospekt]

Hello everyone! Long-time B&C lurker here. I've been in the hobby for about a good decade now, but I've spent most of my time painting one-off miniatures rather than armies. With the release of 8th ed and Primaris marines, however, I figured there'd be no better time to start, so this log will chronicle my journey as I embark on building a small kill-team or detachment of Primaris. I'm still waiting on the release of 8th ed Kill Team rules before I can truly tailor an army list, but until then I'll just be picking up whatever models suit my fancy.

 

To kick things off I bought the Easy-To-Build kit of 3 Primaris Intercessors, and have been plugging away at them. Here's a WIP shot below:

 

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

Still all pretty and clean.

 

http://i.imgur.com/L3VyCgB.jpg

Post-weathering.

 

For all my misgivings about the setting and the concept of Primaris Marines (more below), the models themselves are absolutely amazing. They dwarf the aging, somewhat dated proportions of their older cousins, and the large open spaces are perfect for colour gradations and depth. I remember as I was painting them I was constantly thinking: now this is what a Space Marine should look like.

 

http://i.imgur.com/6PeB3jb.jpg

 

 

+++///META: Reflections on Primaris Astartes///+++

 

I have to say that I'm not the biggest fan of the new setting, or of the background for the Primaris marines. I feel it severely compromises and undermines the role that the Adeptus Astartes have had to play for the longest time - as *the* super soldier, the pinnacle of human technology and martial spirit. Having bigger, better marines dilutes that primacy of stature and homogeneity of the Adeptus Astartes. Then again, these are early days, and I am excited to see how the Black Library and background writers reconcile the existence of Marines and Marines 2.0. 

 

I've also been quite swayed by arguments I've heard from people in favour of the advanced background. The uncharacteristic brightness of the Imperium's new leader (a returned Primarch - who would've thought it??) and armament is checked against the growing shadow that swallows the galaxy: the Cicatrix Maledictum, the dying Astronomicon, the enclosing Tyranid hive fleets and wakening Necron dynasties and Chaos spreading unchecked. In other words: your Marines might've had a size upgrade, but as soon as they round the corner they are mauled by five Greater Daemons an Eldar Death God and the biggest Ork WAAAGH! the galaxy has ever seen.

 

So while the new setting may not enthuse me 100%, I can at least realise the immense potential that it offers. And it is extremely exciting to explore philosophies of war and dystopia in this brave, dark new world, especially through the building of a new army entrenched firmly in that setting. For me, it's an exercise in creativity to work within the constraints of the studio's vision, whilst trying to retain the same grimdark-ness that's characterized 40K all these years.

 

The colour scheme of my homebrew chapter (the Sable Spectres), was conceived with all this in mind. The clean 'Eavy Metal look would be too shiny for the vibe I was going for - in order to break out of the too-bright, parade-ground mould, they needed to look suitably dark and battered. For the general aesthetic of Blanche-ian grimness, I took inspiration from the fantastic and visionary works of the good folks over at Iron Sleet, as well as the painterly explorations of Apologist. When it came to the army's specific palette I tried to replicate the rain-slicked blues and blacks of Halo ODST, framed with flickers of deep red:

 

 

 

 

I think this grungy, Noir colour scheme visually establishes an interesting space to begin exploring the uneasy implications of Primaris Marines. What made the original Astartes so interesting was how far removed they were from humanity: that instead of being superhuman, they were necessarily transhuman, and so utterly detached as to be almost alien. But if a Primaris marine is more than a Space Marine, how much more inhuman does that make him? How much more of a cold weapon rather than a vibrant soul does he become? There's an intriguing tension within the idea of the Supersoldier 2.0 - that when the physical properties of a human are this advanced, the very concept and core of humanity regresses and are lost.

 

If you've sat through and endured my rambling muses on the background of little plastic toy soldiers, thank you for your patience  More to come once I finish this 3-man squad, and updated fluff as well!

Edited July 28, 2017 by Prospekt

[Aramis K]

I like the armour colour, what did you use?

Totally agree about painting the new models, they feel right and are a joy to paint.

[Kordhal]

Wooooah that colour scheme is fantastic! Loving how gritty they look!

[BeatTheBeat]

Great work, the colours and weathering are just wow. Keep it up!

Cheers,
BTB

[The Traitor]

The scheme looks great, I am a big fan of dark colour schemes with few colours, and this one is no exception!

[terminatorAM]

Wow, I'll be watching this with interest.

 

Great job with the dark color scheme + weathering + osl eye going. It all works together very well.

[Vazzy]

Looks great dude. Looming forward to seeing more!

[Prospekt]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! Arriving at this colour scheme took so many repaints that I destroyed a Primaris captain beneath layers and layers of acrylic (I still haven't had the heart to strip him), so to hear that it finally works is something that's very validating indeed

 

I like the armour colour, what did you use?
Totally agree about painting the new models, they feel right and are a joy to paint.

 

Cheers Aramis! The main colour is Incubi Darkness - over a black undercoat, I used progressive zenithal drybrushes of Incubi Darkness + Abaddon Black, then pure Incubi Darkness, then Incubi Darkness + Ushabti Bone.

 

Real life has gotten in the way of much of my painting, but the 3-man squad is finally done, and I've written up the fluff for the Sable Spectres in the first post. Next up along the grand plan is an HQ option in the form of a Primaris Librarian, and then I shall get my hands on a box of Reivers. Enjoy!

 

*

 

http://i.imgur.com/f7YzhHE.jpg

 

All three of the Intercessors together.

 

http://i.imgur.com/T2Qae1d.jpg

Knight-Intercessor Sergeant Alasdair

 

I replaced the stock head option with a bare head from the Mk III Space Marines kit just for variety. It was a bit of a nightmare to paint - I don't know if it was because the facial features were sculpted awkwardly or if it was just me, but I struggled quite a bit with the details and I think the skintone looks a little flat. Dd manage to cover it up with light stubble as well as a scar painted along his left eye though.

 

http://i.imgur.com/24vu4VZ.jpg

Sergeant Alasdair has elected to display personal heraldry on his left pauldron instead of the standard Intercessor squad marking (which can be found on his right shin-plate instead). This particular floral motif is known traditionally as a Death Blossom. On Wirral, where the harsh seasons are constantly in flux, a flower can bloom one morning and die by the next. It is therefore a cultural symbol representing neither life nor death, but both - to live is to accept impending death, and vice-versa, to die is to acknowledge and celebrate a life lived. It is custom for warriors on Wirral to adorn their armour with a flower motif before embarking on a near-suicidal mission or quest, preparing themselves for doom whilst striding into battle with the knowledge that they still have breath to spend on pursuing the foe.

 

http://i.imgur.com/r1d9vpi.jpg

Intercessor-Errant Chretien. Chretien bears a standard-issue combat knife, and its chips and scratches indicate much heavy usage.

 

Swapped out the auspex for a combat knife from the Space Marine Tactical Squad box, because I always thought it was a little silly to have a Marine gazing at his auspex in combat like a rush-hour commuter glued to his/her phone. The hands scale perfectly, which to me is evidence of Jes Goodwin's great attention to detail and consideration in designing the Primaris marines. Hand-swap possibilities are endless, especially if you want to model your Primaris marines with pre-existing, chapter-specific weaponry. Also, the comically-oversized combat knives now look properly tactical on a Primaris marine.

 

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

Intercessor-Errant Catigern.

 

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

The Sable Spectres designate their Intercessor squads by three vertical crimson stripes against the blue-black field of their armour on the left pauldron. 

 

*

 

And that's all I've got for today! Embarrassingly, this was my first time batch painting models in 10 years of painting. It definitely sped the process up, although it did leave me slightly fatigued by the end of highlighting all the battle damage. I suppose you sacrifice dedication to each individual model for efficiency and speed, but it's a great way to get a cohesive squad out within a given timespan - all too often I've intended to paint a squad and then completely lost steam after finishing the first Marine  

 

The Easy-To-Build kits are quite great; affordable and with fairly dynamically-posed models. They fit together alright, although I still elected to use glue for most of the appendages just to make sure they stayed on. Do note that the pauldrons are sculpted on though, so you can't swap them out for alternative shoulder pads.

 

I would say the only drawback is the annoying pre-coloured plastic: I undercoat everything by hand, and it just felt like the paint was harder to get on than on regular grey plastic. Also it makes the tiny areas where you've missed the undercoat pop even more, as you can tell from the close-up photos. I suppose a good way to mitigate this is to undercoat everything first, but I think I'll be sticking to regular kits just for the ability to create your own poses.

 

One last thing that I'd like your opinions on! I'm still in the process of finding an ideal backdrop to photograph my miniatures against, based on the light. The photos in this post have been mostly taken under a daylight lamp at night, but I've got to hold my models in that specific position so it looks rather...unaesthetic. The other alternative I have has been demonstrated in the group shot, which is using actual daylight through a window. The light is a little harsh though. I'll provide an example of a solo model shot in that light below:

 

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

 

Do you think this works better, or should I continue using the daylight lamp? Or perhaps both

Edited July 28, 2017 by Prospekt

[Aramis K]

Back again to say I really like the markings on these guys as well. The death blossom is fantastic.

How are you doing such neat stripes? In particular the diagonals on the right shoulders. That's what I'm struggling with on mine.

[MagicMan]

The weathering on these guys has blown me away, they look real. Love the sombre, brooding tones too. Beautiful. 

[Spaced Hulk]

The awesome colour scheme had already made the Spectres my favourite Primaris Marines to date, but the fluff and attention to detail has made this my current favourite hobby blog. Excellent work mate, I look forward to more updates! 

[MikhalLeNoir]

Yeah. Ranks about the best weathering effects I ever saw.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Well done. I especially like Sgt. Alasdair and his Death Blossom.

[Prospekt]

A teaser of things to come...

 

*

 

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

 

////// + O M E N + //////

 

*

 

Back again to say I really like the markings on these guys as well. The death blossom is fantastic.
How are you doing such neat stripes? In particular the diagonals on the right shoulders. That's what I'm struggling with on mine.

Thank you Aramis! Getting the lines straight was honestly in part due to lots of practice (and botched paint jobs...), but I think some helpful tips would be: paint on the line in a continuous, dragged stroke across the surface, instead of bit by bit. Doing the latter results in a very jittery, jagged line, and you'd be surprised at how straight and smooth your lines can be when you throw caution to the wind and just go at it.

 

Don't be afraid if the line strays beyond its boundaries either - it's actually better to paint in excess, then just cover up any errors with the base armour colour later. I could do up a brief tutorial if you'd like

 

The weathering on these guys has blown me away, they look real. Love the sombre, brooding tones too. Beautiful. 

Cheers MagicMan! I spent so much time mulling over how the colours should look and what kind of palette I should restrict it to, so reading comments like these is very heartening and validating.

 

The awesome colour scheme had already made the Spectres my favourite Primaris Marines to date, but the fluff and attention to detail has made this my current favourite hobby blog. Excellent work mate, I look forward to more updates! 

Thanks Hulk Especially rewarding to see that the fluff has gone down well with viewers. I think the best part of our hobby is that we all partake in the building of the universe through the models that we paint, so fluff and story will always be the centerpiece of my projects. Tournament viability be damned

 

Yeah. Ranks about the best weathering effects I ever saw.

 

 

Well done. I especially like Sgt. Alasdair and his Death Blossom.

Cheers Mikhal and Bjorn! Honestly the weathering is something of a happy accident - beyond the chipping, all I've done is run watered down Typhus Corrosion into the recesses, but the earthy brown texture and tone happen to go well with the cool hue of the armour.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Prospekt

[Bjorn Firewalker]

What are the antlers for? (I'm assuming the Marine isn't a mutant.) A symbol of rank, like the golden antlers that Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, wore? Will he wield a thunder hammer?

[apologist]

Skill at applying paint comes a distant second to an eye for tone and atmosphere; but you've got both in spades. These are dramatic, moody and fit perfectly in with background from as far back as Rogue Trader to today.

 

I'm a particular fan of the smouldering eye lenses and the original tactical markings; but the underlying colour scheme deserves applause - it's very difficult to balance a dark scheme, but you've done it nicely.

 

To top that, you've also given them imaginative, well-written background and character that's thought-provoking and accessible.

 

...and now you've also got that awesome antlered conversion work? Four mechadendrites up - these are stunning; looking forward to where you take the Sable Spectres next.

 

One last thing that I'd like your opinions on! I'm still in the process of finding an ideal backdrop to photograph my miniatures against, based on the light. The photos in this post have been mostly taken under a daylight lamp at night, but I've got to hold my models in that specific position so it looks rather...unaesthetic. The other alternative I have has been demonstrated in the group shot, which is using actual daylight through a window. The light is a little harsh though. I'll provide an example of a solo model shot in that light below:

Natural daylight always gets my vote, but the best days for that are when it's slightly overcast. If you've got a south-facing room, that's generally a good spot, but if you're having to deal with cast shadows, your best bet is to get a large sheet of tracing paper. Hold that up against the window and you'll disperse a lot of the glare, which will give you much more flattering images of your great paintwork.

[Brother Aiwass]

Excellent job brother! Consider me subscribed.

[KBA]

This is Primaris at its best. I can only imagine a Repulsor tank in those colours.

[Kordhal]

These are fantastic, both in execution and fluff wise! Really looking forward to seeing how the librarian ends up!

[Vairocanum]

Some seriously fantastic paint jobs! Love the weathering and looking forward to seeing the librarian!

[Brother Aiwass]

What are the antlers for? (I'm assuming the Marine isn't a mutant.) A symbol of rank, like the golden antlers that Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, wore? Will he wield a thunder hammer?

Maybe based on Kernunnos, or directly on King Arthur's mythos (like Rob indeed, as he's just -to me- Martin's vision of Arthur in decay interpreted from Marion Zimmer Bradley novel Mist of Avalon; The King Stag)?

[Gabocius]

Those miniatures are wonderful ! While I didn't like so much the primaris at first, a grim dark color scheme actually fit them very well and your work really put sense and life in these miniatures.

 

Could you give a recipe for the blue-ish black of the armor ? I'm thinking that it would be a good base as well for some black legion marines.

Very curious of the background of your incoming librarian !

[brother tycho]

Looking great!  I align with your feelings on primaris, I'm buttoning my lips on any further comment thou, this should be about your awesome panting

[Prospekt]

Update time! I've gotten the first stages of the armour done, along with some heraldry. It's awaiting weathering, but I'll be leaving it at this for a while as I have to attend to some personal matters in the coming days. These pictures will have to tide you guys through until more work gets done

 

http://i.imgur.com/u4Lf1us.jpg

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

What are the antlers for? (I'm assuming the Marine isn't a mutant.) A symbol of rank, like the golden antlers that Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, wore? Will he wield a thunder hammer?

 

 

 

 

What are the antlers for? (I'm assuming the Marine isn't a mutant.) A symbol of rank, like the golden antlers that Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, wore? Will he wield a thunder hammer?

Maybe based on Kernunnos, or directly on King Arthur's mythos (like Rob indeed, as he's just -to me- Martin's vision of Arthur in decay interpreted from Marion Zimmer Bradley novel Mist of Avalon; The King Stag)?

Almost, but not quite! You're quite right in pointing out references to the King Arthur mythos - I indeed wanted the Sable Spectres to convey some elements of the Grail romances. However, the Librarian's antlers are ornamentation inspired by a number of things; first of which was the overall tone of the project. Think of the Round Table and the stereotype is of knights in shining armour riding on adventures. However, the Arthurian mythos was comprised of much richer aesthetics than just that one trope. In particular, tales such as Gawain and the Green Knight, or even the quest for the Holy Grail, often involve knights in the rough, dark uncertainty of the forest/wilderness, and it was this element that I wanted to evoke. Gawain and the Green Knight conveys that tone intensely, especially with the titular Green Knight depicted as something like a forest spirit or avatar of the harsh woodlands.

 

Antler ornamentation screamed "mysterious forest spirit" the most to me, so I decided to tack on the helm antlers from Araloth onto the psychic hood. There's a historical precedent for these as well; they were also used decoratively on Samurai kabuto. But I am also heavily indebted once again to the folks from Iron Sleet for being the first to visualize this idea - Omega Orion has antlers as well, and their entire current project (the Thorn Moons Crusade) is based around the aesthetic of jungle and forest.

Skill at applying paint comes a distant second to an eye for tone and atmosphere; but you've got both in spades. These are dramatic, moody and fit perfectly in with background from as far back as Rogue Trader to today.

 

I'm a particular fan of the smouldering eye lenses and the original tactical markings; but the underlying colour scheme deserves applause - it's very difficult to balance a dark scheme, but you've done it nicely.

 

To top that, you've also given them imaginative, well-written background and character that's thought-provoking and accessible.

 

...and now you've also got that awesome antlered conversion work? Four mechadendrites up - these are stunning; looking forward to where you take the Sable Spectres next.

 

 

 

One last thing that I'd like your opinions on! I'm still in the process of finding an ideal backdrop to photograph my miniatures against, based on the light. The photos in this post have been mostly taken under a daylight lamp at night, but I've got to hold my models in that specific position so it looks rather...unaesthetic. The other alternative I have has been demonstrated in the group shot, which is using actual daylight through a window. The light is a little harsh though. I'll provide an example of a solo model shot in that light below:

Natural daylight always gets my vote, but the best days for that are when it's slightly overcast. If you've got a south-facing room, that's generally a good spot, but if you're having to deal with cast shadows, your best bet is to get a large sheet of tracing paper. Hold that up against the window and you'll disperse a lot of the glare, which will give you much more flattering images of your great paintwork.

Thank you Apologist! Your praise is humorously ironic: I've been following your blog for the longest time now, ever since the Praetors of Calth and the Court of the Sun King, and the philosophy that I approached the Spectres with (tone and balance) is one that I picked up while reading your posts on tonal composition and colour theory. I still remember being blown away by the balance of colours on Arcimboldo! Even the other elements of this project, such as the fluff and the tactical markings on the Intercessors, have been very influenced by your approach to interrogating ideas through modelling and painting, so your approval of the Spectres is, in a way, things coming full circle

Excellent job brother! Consider me subscribed.

Thank you Brother!

This is Primaris at its best. I can only imagine a Repulsor tank in those colours.

Thanks KBA I'm not such a huge fan of the Repulsor, but I do intend to get a Redemptor at some point, so watch this space

These are fantastic, both in execution and fluff wise! Really looking forward to seeing how the librarian ends up!

Cheers Kordhal!

Some seriously fantastic paint jobs! Love the weathering and looking forward to seeing the librarian!

Thank you Vairocanum

Those miniatures are wonderful ! While I didn't like so much the primaris at first, a grim dark color scheme actually fit them very well and your work really put sense and life in these miniatures.

 

Could you give a recipe for the blue-ish black of the armor ? I'm thinking that it would be a good base as well for some black legion marines.

Very curious of the background of your incoming librarian !

Thank you Gabocius! I feel like the Primaris models themselves called for the grim dark colour scheme, given their great proportions and posing. It's just a pity that the official 'Eavy Metal style is super clean and crisp.

 

The recipe is as follows:

 

1) Black Undercoat

2) Zenithal drybrush of 1:1 Incubi Darkness and Abaddon Black. This should be drybrushed onto the raised areas where light would catch, leaving the black in the shaded/recessed regions.

3) Zenithal drybrush of Incubi Darkness. This should cover less area than the first drybrush, keeping to where the light is brighter.

4) Zenithal drybrush of 3:2 Incubi Darkness to Ushabti Bone. Same as above; this should cover even less area and should be where the light would be brightest.

5) Glaze of Drakenhof Nightshade to tie it all together.

6) Edge highlight of 2:1 Ushabti Bone to Incubi Darkness.

7) Apply chip damage using some foam dipped in Abaddon Black.

8) Highlight the battle damage with the same mix as the last zenithal drybrush, but add a little more bone into the mix so that the highlight 'pops' more.

9) Water down Typhus Corrosion and run it into the recesses of the model.

 

Hope that helped! Can't wait to see how you'll work these colours onto your Black Legionnaires

 

Looking great! I align with your feelings on primaris, I'm buttoning my lips on any further comment thou, this should be about your awesome panting

Thank you marcusc! Please, there should be no buttoning of lips when it comes to discussing our feelings on the miniatures and what they evoke - the whole reason I post my reflections on them is to provoke peoples' thoughts and engagement with how they fit into the scale of the larger 40k universe or vibe Edited August 1, 2017 by Bryan Blaire
Corrected a minor URL issue