Brother Christopher's Purple Marines Project

[Brother Christopher]

@TheArtilleryman I'm not really doubting my my work. I'm more of a 34-year-old child nitpicking at my own shortcomings and comparing what I do to pro-level painters. But I'm almost over this stage. I can't stress it enough how illuminating it is to work on these models and actually consider what I'm doing for a change.

 

@Firedrake Cordova Thanks for the suggestion with the glaze. Luckily I have a glaze medium and try to mix it with some red. I wouldn't have thought of that, too, but if wxecuted correctly, it should help with making the lips more distinct.

 

@gaurdian31 Oh, I intend to mix older helmets into all my squads. Even though I've limited the planned extent of conversions, I still want that oldschool mishmash for my units. As for the eyes, for the first time I followed some piece of ancient advice that I've always found to be counter-intuitive: first I painted the entire eyeball black and then, I added spots of white on the sides of the 'eyeball,' leaving a black pupil inside. This is a somewhat reverse approach to what I used to do for years: paint the eye white and then struggle with adding a speck of black in the middle.

 

I must say... the 'new' approach makes it way easier to get a better-looking eye. After doing these two faces, I regret being so forgetful and stubborn in the bast.

 

Overall, that's some overwhelmingly good feedback. Thank you! Now I have no doubts that I'm on the right track. You guys made my day and gave me an amazing boost of morale. Having said that, I must confess that I haven't done anything today.

 

I've just realised that I messed up the the chest plate on the sergeant while gluing on the arms; I'll need to rework that.

[TheArtilleryman]

 

As for the eyes, for the first time I followed some piece of ancient advice that I've always found to be counter-intuitive: first I painted the entire eyeball black and then, I added spots of white on the sides of the 'eyeball,' leaving a black pupil inside.

Thanks for the tip! I’m gonna give this a go next time I have to paint something bare-headed.

[Firedrake Cordova]

 

Luckily I have a glaze medium and try to mix it with some red. I wouldn't have thought of that, too, but if executed correctly, it should help with making the lips more distinct.

I think GW use thinned Carroburg Crimson, but my memory could be playing tricks on me  

[gaurdian31]

 

As for the eyes, for the first time I followed some piece of ancient advice that I've always found to be counter-intuitive: first I painted the entire eyeball black and then, I added spots of white on the sides of the 'eyeball,' leaving a black pupil inside. This is a somewhat reverse approach to what I used to do for years: paint the eye white and then struggle with adding a speck of black in the middle.

 

I must say... the 'new' approach makes it way easier to get a better-looking eye. After doing these two faces, I regret being so forgetful and stubborn in the bast.

Like @TheArtilleryman said I will have to give that try the next time I muster up the courage to paint a bare head. I'm excited to see this current group of marines all decked out and to see what you come up with next. Glad you are going to be mixing in the old school helmets on these.

[Grotsmasha]

 

I think GW use thinned Carroburg Crimson, but my memory could be playing tricks on me  

Was also going to suggest thinned Carroburg Crimson

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the tip! I've tried something to the line of your recommendation and it didn't work well, but that's probably me not having the right paint. I'll revisit the face and fix that and use your tip for the future - I think, if executed correctly, it's a fix to a problem I had with faces.

 

I've also made progress on the shoulder pads and the squad is almost ready.

 

Conceptually, I'm loving the white arms. Realistically, I'm not that sure. Painting the white bits was draining and, even though I spent probably too much time on these, I failed to avoid some mistakes with the consistency of the paint. Don't get me wrong: I feel that these are the best white bits I've painted but, at the same time, I see that they are inferior to how I paint other colours on a 'technical level.'

 

So unfortunately, I'm mostly stuck where I were 1-2 weeks ago: I kind of want the whites but am hesitant to do another 10-15 models. For now, I'll pivot to painting regular troops too see how an all-purple Marine actually looks. Later, though, I'll have to decide.

 

Right now I'm pondering the options: 1. the original idea, i.e. whites arms and helmets; 2. the 'Standard Space Marine' approach, i.e. white helmets for the veteran infantry; 3. stick to the paint scheme, i.e. purple body and arms+pads+helmets in a different colour but paint something that's more forgiving (maybe silver/gold) or something that I'm batter at (black should work well with my colour choices).

 

Enough talk: some photos of the models:

 

 

 

 

For the Chapter icon, in the end, after feedback from me family, I opted for a Maltese cross. I almost went with transfers but I figured that doing free hand symbols is a bit cooler ;)

 

Also, I think it's a nice homage for my life-long 40k love and a nice link between my pre-primaris and primaris collections.

[TheArtilleryman]

They look ace! The white is done really well from what I can see and works great on these guys.

[gaurdian31]

Can't believe I missed this last week. These came out great! See where you are after painting the next squad, but I think option 2 might be the best. No point burning out if you are not enjoying painting white. Also I think if you go option 3 silver or black would look best. My vote would be silver.

[SvenIronhand]

As someone who is whole-hog for Primaris, it's interesting seeing someone come to modern SM from the opposite and doing something about it. That said, distinctions will probably disappear, and a Space Marine will once again just be a Space Marine. However, I greatly like the scheme you've put together here.