Ashen Sentinels - my Primaris Space Marine army

[firestorm40k]

...and here's 4th Company Captain Ouranos, Master of the Fleet:

 

(after noticing - before AND after varnishing the miniature  that there were a couple of places I'd forgotten to highlight..!) 

 

Off for a holiday new, when I get back it's on with Bladeguard - and something for Call to Arms..! 

[Firedrake Cordova]

They do look great - the leather and edge highlighting on the armour is both really nice.  

 

Whilst I'm sure it's irking, I don't think anyone will notice the slightly angled decal on the sniper's should pad.  

Edited May 31 by Firedrake Cordova

[firestorm40k]

39 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Whilst I'm sure it's irking, I don't think anyone will notice the slightly angled decal on the sniper's should pad.  

Thank you - yes, like I say, it's not too noticeable unless you look at it from an angle where the shoulder pad is 'down' at its usual position 

 

Lesson learnt - make sure you leave your decals to settle and any setting solution to be fully disolved/absorbed before carrying on with painting the miniature, folks..!

[gaurdian31]

Again great work all around! The scouts look great together and the captain looks great as well! 

[Pearson73]

Love the contact markers on the auspex! Ouranos' tilt shield is ace too. 

[firestorm40k]

Earlier this month I started work on a squad of Bladeguard Veterans, but now Call to Arms is under way, I've made a start on my pledge for that - a squad of Aggressors. At the armour highlight stage of the former, and the panel lining stage of the latter 

 

 

If you're a regular visitor to this plog (thank you ), I'd be grateful for any feedback over on my blog for this army, as I'm trying to decide which Company the Bladeguard are from - this will determine which colour I paint their tabbards/robes  I'm still not 100% sure yet which option I'll go for, so any input is appreciated! 

[Firedrake Cordova]

I think either would look good.  

 

Giving them green tabards would tie them in to your captain (and any other elements of your force with tabards), whilst giving them the cream tabards of the first company would mark them out as separate/different.

 

I think the question is, if you made them first company, would you have any other elements from that company in the future? If not, would you be happy with them being the only element which is visually distinct from the rest of the force, or would you rather they appear integrated?

 

Personally, I'm leaning towards green ...

Edited June 21 by Firedrake Cordova

[firestorm40k]

3 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

I think the question is, if you made them first company, would you have any other elements from that company in the future? If not, would you be happy with them being the only element which is visually distinct from the rest of the force, or would you rather they appear integrated?

Thanks for your input @Firedrake Cordova  I do indeed plan to add some 1st Company elements to this army in future - at least a squad each of Terminators and Sternguard. As well as that, future expansions if this army will focus on different Companies, for example the next stage is 2,000 points which will be from the 3rd Company. So doing the Bladeguard as 1st Company means they'll fit with any other selection of models I choose for any game.

 

I think that as they're intended as part of the 4th Company force I've already done, it does make sense to tie them to that - so I'm still very seriously considering green for the robes 

[Firedrake Cordova]

Well, it sounds like you've got a pretty grand plan for your force if you've got another 2,000 points planned out  

 

If you're not planning on "bouncing" the same Bladeguard models around as bodyguard for other units, I'd do them in the same colours as the character they were guarding to tie them together. But that's just my personal preference.  

Edited June 21 by Firedrake Cordova

[firestorm40k]

30 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Well, it sounds like you've got a pretty grand plan for your force if you've got another 2,000 points planned out

Indeed, let's put it this way - between Dark Imperium, some Kill Team sets, an army set, Conquest magazine and Imperium magazine, I've quite a lot of Primaris Marines to build and paint 

[firestorm40k]

Thank you to everyone who gave their thoughts on the Bladeguard robes - I have made a decision as to which colour I will paint them  Unfortunately you'll have to wait until I get on to that stage of the miniatures to find out what I chose..!  (Sorry ) 

 

Anyway, I currently have a painting desk that is overflowing with Marines 

 

Starting on two Intercessor squads and a Lieutenant, as in October I'm starting a narrative campaign with Crusade elements and they'll be part of it. 

 

I'm still working on the Bladeguard and the Aggressors - prioritising on the latter as they're my CtA pledge.

 

I've done the armour highlights, now working on the shoulder trims. Got to admit, I haven't enjoyed doing armour highlights as much as the other Marines I've done in regular Tacticus armour - there are more plates, meaning more edges; doesn't bode well for doing the two squads of Heavy Intercessors I have planned after the regular Intercessors pictured above 

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nice work on a Aggressors  

 

13 hours ago, firestorm40k said:

Unfortunately you'll have to wait until I get on to that stage of the miniatures to find out what I chose..!

Tease!  

[firestorm40k]

59 minutes ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Tease!  

Haha  Hopefully you won't have to wait too long..! 

[gaurdian31]

Aggressors are coming along great and can't wait to see the Bladeguard!

[Rusted Boltgun]

I'm part way through some Heavy Intercessors and I've enjoyed the armour - there's less to them than the Agressors. That said, I've only got five and I've avoided adding too many trinkets to keep the pace of progress high 

 

Edit: I am envious of your edge highlighting ability, your Marines do look nice and crisp.

Edited July 5 by Rusted Boltgun

[firestorm40k]

An update - I think I'd be further on with the Aggressors if it weren't for my decision to paint two squads of Intercessors and a Lieutenant in tandem 

 

I'm still on target for getting them done to mee the Call to Arms deadline - just chipping away at each of these over the coming weeks..!

 

On 7/5/2024 at 4:19 PM, Rusted Boltgun said:

I'm part way through some Heavy Intercessors and I've enjoyed the armour - there's less to them than the Agressors

Thanks @Rusted Boltgun-that's reassuring I still need to assemble those however  And thank you for your kind words about my painting 

[Firedrake Cordova]

They look great.

 

Just remember ... it might take you twice as long, but when they're done, you'll have instantly completed twice as many  

[gaurdian31]

They're all coming along nicely! Shoulder trim looks great and love all the other detail work you have done.

[Pearson73]

Regarding the robes, I agree with @Firedrake Cordova, the idea to match the robes to their ward is a really nice one. I also agree that though batch painting may feel like a slog (especially if you're sat on the highlighting stage...) you will suddenly get a big boost to your force!

 

 

[firestorm40k]

Thank you @Pearson73 - apologies, I missed your comment until just now! 

 

On the subject of the Bladeguard, here's the 'big' (read: underwhelming ) reveal - I went with what the majority recommended - they're 4th Company Veterans 

 

 

Slowly chipping away at them as I'm doing the Aggressors for CtA, and two squads of Intercessors so fitting them in between. Speaking of the Aggressors, they're slowly getting there - helmets and decals done over the last week:

 

I'm on target to fulfil the vow, which is good seeing as I inevitably end up with multiple painting projects all at once 

Edited August 11 by firestorm40k

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nice work. Good to hear you're on target to complete on time  

[Brother Christopher]

I'm constantly staggered by how great your paint scheme works. I am also fan of the greens; I'm looking for a nice green for my dudes and I think that yours is probably what I'm looking for. Do you paint the trim on the shoulder pads the same way as the Captain's cloak?

[firestorm40k]

Thank you @Brother Christopher 

 

Do you paint the trim on the shoulder pads the same way as the Captain's cloak?

It's slightly different; on the shoulder pad trims the base is Vallejo Flat Green, shade with Vallejo Green Ink, then highlight with Citadel Warboss Green (& a mix with White Scar for final highlight). 

 

On the cloak it's Warboss Green base (two thin coats ), Coelia Greenshade then Nuln Oil in the recesses, then highlight with Warboss Green & White Scar.  I found I had to do a bit of glazing on the cloak (add a bit of lahmian medium to the mix), so it's a bit more of a faff doing that than the shoulder trims  Anyway I hope you find that some help! 

[gaurdian31]

Aggressors are looking good and can't wait to see the blade guard completed! They all look great!

[firestorm40k]

Thank you @gaurdian31 

 

I thought I'd give hazard stripes a go on the Aggressor Power Fist cabling; first time I've tried this at this scale - it's not terribly consistent/neat, and looks better at distance. Anyway, here's how it looks:

 

I won't be painting any more of these, so that'll probably stand as my only attempt at such small stripes..!