MBA++Blood Angels 5th Company - into the Leviathan's maw

[Xenith]

On 1/10/2023 at 11:15 AM, Majkhel said:

Changes are more cosmetic in nature:
- I like to put some things and bits on the bases more often now apart from the texture paints and tufts (which I also edge highlight a bit btw)

- I do discreet OSL effects more often

- I think my heraldry (knee pads) got a litle more convincing too despite it becoming a challenge to develop something at least partly unique every time.

 

 

I think that even these small tweaks to the scheme, like adding the heraldry and extra details really bring the models to life, so maybe not technically improving since 2021, but the appearance of the final model is still going up! 

[Majkhel]

Thanks Xenith, I think you do have a point there.

Dropping in to say I'm not dead yet. I've been lured away by other gaming systems an painting, but I realised I still want to add at least one model a month to my Blood Angels. To that end I have a Blaguard Vetran prepped on my desk. One of the bunch I built way in 2020 after I got my Indomitus box

Have to say that newly announced Desolation squad did a lot to knock my 40k-related hobby mojo down  

[Majkhel]

Soooo it seems I get to use my "Pyromaniac" sooner rather than later after all

 

[Majkhel]

Ok, it's been couple months since I touched 40k and with the release of the Leviathan, I feel I've gathered enough motivation to get back at least to painting my Blood Angels again. 
The final months of the 9th edition carried many disappointments for me (like pushing HH models to Legends and banning them from tournament play... ). New edition itself also seems already quite complicated with many rules and names completely redefined.... but I do acknowledge that I might be biased here as I put quite some effort in learning some other systems those couple months.

However I always say that I actually play games mostly as a form of motivation to paint minis. I did paint a small army for the Infinity the game and learned quite a lot from it. Learned some of the rules as well and even participated in a league event. That last part was a bit exhaustive for me to be honest, so I recently found myself having lost some of the initial painting momentum there.
Fortunatley the up-scaled Terminators in the Leviathan box got my attention and so here I am - back again to my beloved Blood Angels with brushes and red paints ready

Gonna start slow with the Call to Arms challenge where I already pledged 5 Terminators + TDA characters + a Repulsor I've been saving for the ETL (I still hope it willcome back eventually!)

I added a little purity seal/blood-drops bling to the Terminators - not too much as I don't want to be bogged-down in the assembly stage too much. I want to paint. No,... I NEED to paint 
That being said, I did a little extra thing with the TDA Librarian that will be a challenge I hope I can pull off!
 

Spoiler

 

On the Captain, I still haven't decided if I want to magnetize him, or simply leave him with the current loadout. For the moment his arms aren't glued. Then again, I have a spare which I can magnetize after this one is finished.


Wish me luck, cheers!

[Rhavien]

Welcome back brother! Good to hear that you want to paint red again. I'm looking forward to see your interpretation of the new wonderful minis from leviathan 

 

[Majkhel]

It took me way too long with the holiday period, but test Leviathan Terminator (Brother Testo then?   ) is ready.

 

Spoiler

I gathered a lot of experinces in painting colored NMM in the last last couple months on Corvus Belli miniatures. Those are noticeably smaller and so allow for more leniency in terms blending. Now with the up-scaled Terminators it was a bit awkward to have so much space to work on. I'm sure I'll get used to it, but for a moment at least it felt... alien

Spoiler

<SUFFER NOT THE ALIEN TO LIVE!!>
<thank you Brother Chaplain!>

Anyway some things could probably be done better, but I put some restrains on my perfectionism - I think he looks good as he is

 

I love the sculpt by the way. Still just a little too plain perhaps - I'd like to see some laurels or couple more skulls and purity seals (especially on the power fists). But then it gives us space to add things on our own as we like it (which I fully intend to capitalize on). Also it has to be said how well the original design holds it's own when made bigger. 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Majkhel

[Rhavien]

Awesome paintjob as always! How did you do the chapter symbol? Freehand? Anyway, it looks fantastic. 

[Majkhel]

4 hours ago, Rhavien said:

Awesome paintjob as always! How did you do the chapter symbol? Freehand? Anyway, it looks fantastic. 

Thanks! 
And nope - it's just a decal. The bigger one from Indomitus set if I recall correctly. Those new ones are definitely an improvement over the older ones. Thinner and with smaller outline margins. I still cut them a little in the upper section between the wings before I place them. And if I still get some visible outlines after all the chem is dry, I just paint them with the background color.

[Majkhel]

Returning from a 1,5 week voyage (small boat cruise on a lake) and I pushed final touches on the Terminator Sergeant:

 

Spoiler

 
I'm now feeling quite comfortable in the gold TMM scheme. Putting it side by side with NMM is tricky, but I think the final result is accaptable. Probably the most important thing is not to overdo it. Battle-damage probably helps too. But it is definitely fun to try and put as much effort and skill into a mini as is possible.

 

I gave the sergeant a golden Veteran-Sergrant helmet, because... rule of cool I guess. Plain red helmet somehow felt just that - plain. I could have added some colored stripes or other marks, but I'd like to reserve them for other battle-brothers who will not have as many defining features as Sergeant already has with a fancy NMM sword, back-banner and black pauldrons. Those I also gave him because I couldn't find any reason not too. Even less so because the Cataphractii sergeant also got them.

 

So now I have 2.... which means I'll need to definitely push quite hard to complete my Call to Arms vow. I wonder how on Terra I'll manage that 

[Majkhel]

Super fast in my terms - 3 days and another Terminator done. 

Nothing fancy apart from a little wink towards the Infinity Stones' gauntlet  
Funnily enough I didn't notice the relation until I came to choosing the color for the stones. First thought was to make them green, like most of my gems. Nice experience to try and paint different colors, especially the yellow one on the chest.

 

Spoiler

And the squad so far:


Cheers!

Edited August 22, 2023 by Majkhel

[MadGreek]

Awesome paint job on all three Termies. Gotta say, though, I just don't like the red grass on that third one. I think something that contrasts with the model more would look better.

[Majkhel]

6 hours ago, MadGreek said:

Awesome paint job on all three Termies. Gotta say, though, I just don't like the red grass on that third one. I think something that contrasts with the model more would look better.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!
And I agree. Looks like I was in too much of a hurry and just slapped whatever I had on hand onto the base. I do have some of those red tufts sprinkled around and they generally look all right especially since they are mixed with other things.

Spoiler

In this particular case however I see I could have chosen a less dense piece - despite edge-highlighting it still looks a really solid chunk of vibrant red. I'll see what I can do with that

[Rhavien]

Those will be the most sexy terminators running around. I bow to your skills Majkhel. 

[Majkhel]

At YOUR service! 

[DemonGSides]

God damn those are some really nice terminators. I wish I had half the skill!

[Majkhel]

21 hours ago, DemonGSides said:

God damn those are some really nice terminators. I wish I had half the skill!

Thank you kindly! Skill comes with practice and time - no other way around it (unless you're from another planet like some of the folks definitely are  ). It also helps if you manage to find the right method for the job that works for you. That saves you lot of frustration and eventually - time.

The way I paint them does take me long and is sometimes draining because of that (only brush not to mention I constantly tinker with poses and extra bits). But it works for me for the time  

Edited August 23, 2023 by Majkhel

[Majkhel]

Larger post.
First - I made some changes on the red bush grass on your feedback. I wanted to keep it as I already have some of those dispersed among my minis. I made it smaller though and as an afterthought I threw in some ruin-bit adding more colors in the process. 

Secondly - squad progress: number four:

Spoiler

 

Sooooo I did a 'thing' as you can see. At least I tried to  
Decided to make him a test subject for painting sculpted lightning before I get to the Librarian. Initially I only wanted the 2 electric discharges (made from wire) to glow and that glow to be reflected on the PF's fingers. But it just didn't look right - the effect was more like frost. So I also painted smaller arcs of electricity on the fingers and I think it's better. I also hope it still sells that fingers are initially black (it's just an so much easier background color for blueish lightning than red). Harsh reflection was added on the armored plates of the PF and lighter reflections further away: on he helmet, plastron, belt buckle, hip plate. 

I also attempted a change of light color reflections on the Imperialis. It was interesting, but not easy with the TMM - I used more silver than usual and some blue ink. I think it's passable, but requires more research and practice

All in all, a fun little project and good training for me.
Cyclone ML is magnetized (I think the bit is from Spellcrow but not sure - it's been in my bitsbox for ages)

And the squad updated:

With how slow I'm moving through my plastic reserves, I find those "family photos" a great thing mark progress.
Cheers!

Edited November 14, 2023 by Majkhel

[Paladin777]

It's all awesome, but holy moly that power fist is incredible!

Edited September 3, 2023 by Paladin777

[Xenith]

Awesome work and great to see you pushing yourself further with the lightning effects, this unit is gorgeous! 

[Majkhel]

It's been some time, but I did manage to get back to my Angels! Which is quite comforting really.

I did fail the Call to Arms vow, so a mark of Servitor is mine to bear until year's end. That I will do . Nevertheless I will complete the initial vow and with that I give you the Repulsor tank:

 

Spoiler

Took me ages to complete (apparently leaving a project for weeks on end doesn't help in this ) and many things I could have pushed further. Perhaps I'll revisit it at one point, but for the moment I'm drained by it and want to move to other things. 

 

Speaking of which, I picked up the Terminator Captain and made some solid progress:



Still a WIP and colors are muted by the camera too much, but I wanted to show the cloak which I built up from pure black adding a magenta ink (a new medium for me) to increase the saturation of violets. Painfully slow, it was still an interesting journey and I really enjoy those explorations sometimes. 

Golds and silvers need touch-ups, Storm Bolter's casing needs to be done (and barrels.... how could I miss those?) and I only started to work on the base. Sword's blade is nice, but I' want to show it better on a finished model.

 

Cheers everyone!

Edited November 14, 2023 by Majkhel

[Rhavien]

Welcome back Majkhel! Good to have you back and what a return it is. Love your repulsor and all the added iconography. However I don't dig the missile racks, I guess. Technically superb, but for me it shifts the role from a secondary to main armament to much. But thinking about it, wasn't there a tank from a video game with that silhouette? Command and conquer or something similar? 

The captain already looks fantastic. Violet and purple complements red armor really nicely 

[Majkhel]

Cheers Rhavien!
The Repulsor... Well it all really came out from the discomfort I got during building phase. The turret is really small (Executioner is sooooo much better in this regard!) and over-cluttered with weapons I just had to do something with it. It's not perfect by any degree and I wouldn't really like to repeat it if I ever get another Repulsor. It's also not easy to paint The main benefit for me is that it allowed me to make the turret noticeably longer. 

 

EDIT: and yes  I think one of C&C's Mammoth Tank versions had something similar 

Edited November 14, 2023 by Majkhel

[Blindhamster]

lovely work as always! I particularly love the use of purple

[Xenith]

Looking great! 

[Majkhel]

Thanks guys! I'm really happy you like it