Brother Christopher's Purple Marines Project

[Brother Christopher]

Just a quick update - consider it a proof of life!

 

I did the rough highlights on the whole squad (the actual colour of the minis is more like in the previous post; the photos below were taken with a flash for convenience):

 

Also, me being me, I needed to fix one of the guys and extended the shin guards to cover more of the knee:

 

 

It probably didn't need fixing but I feel it's an upgrade; the proportions of the legs feel sort of better.

 

The photos were taken while the green stuff didn't cure properly. I intend to adjust it after it hardens.

 

You can also see the rough-ish, relatively thick highlights - I also intend to revisit and refine them. This is probably the best thing that came out from highlighting hundreds of Templars: I discovered that it's much less mentally straining to not care about the quality of the initial lines. I can only hope that the same will apply to these purple guys.

 

The stark, flash-fuelled lighting in the photos flattens the highlights, too. Currently, there are two layers but that's not exactly apparent from the photos.

 

@TheArtilleryman and @Pearson73 Thanks for the thoughtful replies! I'll get back to you (hopefully) later this week, after things settle a bit. But I do appreciate your feedback; it's an amazing source of motivation.

Edited July 30 by Brother Christopher

[TheArtilleryman]

I absolutely love the fact you’ve taken these photos against a backdrop of what looks like 1980s Robin Hood Lego!! That’s my childhood right there…

 

They look great, and like you say, the initial lines can always be tidied up afterwards. It’s always quicker and easier to correct with the base colour later than meticulously try and get every line exactly right first time.

 

Also, please don’t feel you have to reply to every post , especially if you’re busy!

Edited July 30 by TheArtilleryman

[Firedrake Cordova]

That purple looks great - it really pops in the group shot, and the edges are nice and easy to "read".

[MoriyaSchism]

These look brilliant even at this point, they are exactly what the Primaris should have been. Your work is quite inspiring. I ran into similar real life issues with my current project but since there's a state holiday coming up I'm going to start working on it again.

[Brother Christopher]

On 7/31/2024 at 1:12 AM, TheArtilleryman said:

I absolutely love the fact you’ve taken these photos against a backdrop of what looks like 1980s Robin Hood Lego!! That’s my childhood right there…

 

Unfortunately, it's not. But it's a more recent LEGO remake/homage set. While I don't buy LEGO regularly, I felt I needed to treat myself and get this one.

 

On 7/31/2024 at 1:12 AM, TheArtilleryman said:

They look great, and like you say, the initial lines can always be tidied up afterwards. It’s always quicker and easier to correct with the base colour later than meticulously try and get every line exactly right first time.

  

You're absolutely right. Revisiting the lines also allows for ome creative freedom; I'm fiddling with a thinned-down paint to get a smoother transition between the thicker and thinner lines. The results aren't particularly apparent but there's something there, for sure!

 

On 7/31/2024 at 8:07 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

That purple looks great - it really pops in the group shot, and the edges are nice and easy to "read".

 

I'm super glad you like that. As you can gather, I'm quite concerned (or even obsessing!) about getting things right and finding the right purple was a long process. Now, I think, I'm quite happy with both the colour and 'recipe.'

 

On 8/2/2024 at 3:18 PM, MoriyaSchism said:

These look brilliant even at this point, they are exactly what the Primaris should have been. Your work is quite inspiring. I ran into similar real life issues with my current project but since there's a state holiday coming up I'm going to start working on it again.

 

Thanks! This means a lot to me. I do hope that you managed to get some work done, as you planned.

 

While I'm quite certain that I won't convert the models to the extent that I did these, I have some modifications in mind. I guess that these 5 test models were/are a valuable source of insights on how and what to do with the rest. 

 

On the one hand, I regret that my initial converting fervour and enthusiasm were dampened. Sure, it would've been cool to have a more unique army. On the other hand, I understood that there is some appeal in a more uniform force. Without these models, I probably wouldn't have appreciated this because I wouldn't have really stopped to think about what I want. While I do tend to be very apprehensive and overthink details, I often fail to give due consideration to the big picture. Right now, I feel that I have a pretty good grasp of what I want. I still intend to add variation to my not-Primaris Primaris Marines, I will definitely want to stick to the aesthetic of their original armour.

 

On 7/17/2024 at 11:00 PM, gaurdian31 said:

Maybe make them Sternguard or the equivalent in that they are veterans to explain why they have slightly different armor?

On 7/30/2024 at 7:52 AM, Pearson73 said:

as a veteran tactical squad

On 7/20/2024 at 10:31 AM, Rusted Boltgun said:

Also, those rivets are great! Those guys feel like Sternguard to me. A small band of hardy veterans.

 

So, I guess that you were much wiser than me. Eventually, and this is a properly final call, I will paint these guys as veterans. Firstly, it seems fitting with the older marks of armour; secondly, I want to capitalise on them being test models and try my idea for a paint scheme for some vets.

 

The current plan for the god-emperor-know-which-version of the colour scheme for my dudes is this:

 

Regular Marine (I'm leaning towards a metallic trim, so silver or perhaps gold):

 

Sergeant (the same but with a dark green helmet):

 

Veteran (the arms and helmet are intended to be not-metallic grey or perhaps white):

 

And now for the most important part of this update, I think I reached a point where I can say that I've finished the edge highlights on the armour. I also made sure that the white balance is right.

 

 

 

And a bit of a close-up on one model:

 

 

Links to higher-res photos: group 1, group 2, solo 1, solo 2.

 

The official paintjob is much smoother but I think I can live with this.

 

 

I'm really looking forward to hearing from you; I hope that you like it and will agree with me that it's good enough for a force of ~70 marines.

 

I'll also share some of my thoughts.

 

1. Something that's quite irregular of me, but I must say that I am kinda happy with how these turned out. Sure, there's room for improvement but I don't think I want to push the skill-to-time-to-output ratio further on the required effort scale (these are definitely things!). What I want to say, similarly to my Templars, I feel that I'm near a sweet spot. I must also assure you that the models look better in real life, at least to my eye. The photos are 4-5 times larger than life.

 

2. The rough darker areas work well enough for me; they add an illusion of depth to the colour and improve on the 'base' colour that needs a boost/twist. And the darker colour is just that. Paradoxically, I didn't like the darker colour as the base colour for my army. I'm sure that they'd be much better if I opted to put more effort into these and did proper wet blending, instead of painting on darker bits but, hey, I suppose they get the job done. After all, my goal here is to find a time-efficient way to feign GW's box art style and have fun doing this. 

 

As an aside, I think I'll buy a squad of 5 cool models and really try my best. Or perhaps I'll reserve the premium treatment for character models in this project.

 

3. In a twisted way I suck at either edge highlighting or at assessing miniatures. Disclaimer: As stated above, I'm very happy with how these turned out.

- I could further make these lines thinner (and I did try that) but I don't like the 'improved' look. The thinner lines would probably speak more of my skills and would look nicer in close-ups but I seem to really like the chonkier lines I did since they make the details 'pop' on the table.

- These models technically have 4 (four) layers of edge highlights but I can only see two. This means that either my hands (I might have completedly painted over the earlier work) or my eyes (I can't distinguish subtleties in colour) don't work properly. Regardless of the reason, this is a lesson learned: I'll stick to two layers and perhaps add a final lighter layer on the 'top edges' or prominent armour plates.

 

4. I plan on adding some minor battle damage to the armour. Also, I'm toying with the idea of painting some Nigh Lords' style lightning pattern on these (perhaps using pink as the 'base' for the lightning bolts). I've always liked that unique feature of that legion...

 

Last but not least, here's a final farewell to me wanting to trying out "new crazy techniques" that yield great result at a fraction of the time. The Primaris project was supposed to be my gateway to trying out contrast paints, slap chop, NMM, effects paints or messy 'grimdark' paintjobs. In the end I succumbed to a combination of being a coward (afraid to try out new things) and being old/conservative in what I like.

 

Despite me liking other people's models painted with 'new' styles and methods, many of which are excellently presented here, I just couldn't force myself to see my models painted like that. Well, perhaps I'll give that a go as my next 40K project.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6 by Brother Christopher
Added links to high-res photos.

[Pearson73]

I like the proposed scheme a lot, and the veterans extending the silver from trim to arms feels like a nice way to show their progression. Perhaps after participation in a notable campaign, or after performing a particularly valourous deed warriors are permitted to paint a piece of platin silver, until they reach full veteran status with their prowess clear for all to see. I also like your approach to highlighting, sounds like it reduces pressure and also allows tweaking as you go, and as you see the paint dry and colours change.

 

I think you'er right to be happy with these guys, they're looking cracking. As for your feelings about reverting to familiar painting techniques, I would also do the same if I'd spent hours converting some models, and was planning to build an army around them. Experiments are for one off pieces, at least for me!

[Firedrake Cordova]

Honestly, I think they look great

[Dr_Ruminahui]

While I think they would look great in gold trim, I think they would look too Emperor's Children if you did.  Which, as an Emperor's Children player and a huge fan of purple-and-gold, really pains me to say. 

 

And personally, I prefer the silver/steel coloured arms, but as said above, both look good.

Edited August 7 by Dr_Ruminahui

[gaurdian31]

I think silver is the way to go as mentioned by @Dr_Ruminahui they may read too Emperor's Children with gold. The veterans are looking good and you really made the rivets on the one marine pop!

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks, I think I'll stick to silver as the metallic go-to colour. While I don't mind associations with the Emperor's Children, I think I'll reserve gold details for HQs. My paint scheme will probably be a collection of things I like from other chapters and warbands. It's a cool process of collecting, exploring and testing ideas but it feels oddly stressful. It's probably a combination of real-life mental strain and self-imposed objective to get things right. That's why, at this stage, I'm particularly hesitant.

 

Speaking of being hesitant, as a last-call decision, I figured I really like how Raven Guard differentiates between veterans and regular troops. After all, I have basically no experience with painting white but - at the same time - it's a really striking colour. In an attempt to get a more 'striking' result, I decided to try and see whether I'll be able to pull white arms and helmets instead of grey/steel.

 

 

 

 

I'd say that these arms are 70% ready and I think I quite like this. The colour isn't proper white, yet. It's a pretty smooth and consistent layer of Vellejo Ghost Grey that I intend to highlight with proper white. On the flip side, I don't even want to think how much time it took me to get these sub-assemblies to this stage. The grey/steel look would be way faster, for sure. However, I don't intend to have more than 20 'veteran' models so the time sink wouldn't be that bad.

 

***

I also feel I need to share this silly inner struggle. I don't care about the game; this is supposed to be a models-first project. Yet, despite this, I find it extremely difficult not to think of the squad composition in game terms.

 

Right now, I'm torn on the use of Heavy Bolters. I have two models: a Leviathan Sternguard and a Company Heroes gunner. I think I'd like to dedicate one to a count-as Tactical Squad (say, for use in kill team), but that would mean that one of the squads is incomplete. Things are even more 'complicated' from a painting perspective since I want to add variety to the way I paint different battlefield roles and how I denote veterancy in my Chapter (different arms, helmets, pads). Plus there's the base size difference between Sternguard and Command Squad... Jeeez. I'm just now realising what a headache it is to be organised in this modelling and gaming landscape. I now have way more sympathy for those of us who complained, e.g., about GW change to the missile launcher Primaris squads, i.e., people made squads of 10 and had only one sergeant, while now they needed two. The way GW imposes limits on squad these days drives the orderly and concerned person inside of me crazy. It's silly because I am in a way aware that this doesn't matter: I don't care about the units viability in the game. I just seem to not be able to stop caring about squads not being legal.

 

Alternatively, I think I'll force myself to break with this kind of reasoning and perhaps take a more nostalgia/retro approach and go with 'count as' tactical squads and an oldschool command squad, perhaps even with a special weapon (also, as a throwback to Dawn of War 2 where Tarkus was quite effective with a plasma gun)? I think that I should leave one veteran with the first heavy bolter and build one as an intercessor without a tabard with the second heavy bolter; I think that a less embellished Primaris scale model should have this brutal grace with a heavy bolter.

 

 

I'm planning on doing two 5-man bolter squads and, with kill team in mind, supplementing them with 1 heavy weapon (1 heavy bolter and missile launcher) and 1 special weapon (1 flamer and plasma, being leftovers from a Hellblaster and Infernus Squad).

[Firedrake Cordova]

They do look good.  As an aside, Apothecary Grey (or grey acrylic ink mixed with a lot of Contrast Medium) works well, too.  

 

As an old-timer who's had their Space Marine army since 3rd Ed, I feel your internal pain.

[Rusted Boltgun]

The white looks good in the photos but I bet it is a lot of work.

 

I feel your pain about having 'compliant' loadouts / squad structure. I don't (yet) play other than Kill Team but have always wanted any forces I have drawn up in my head (or are actually assembling) to reflect the rules of the game. Frustrating as those rules change / don't fit what I have in my head 'from the old days' or even from KT to 'big 40k'! 

 

[Pearson73]

The white looks good and really pops!

[Brother Christopher]

Thanks for the feedback on the white and words of support regarding the rules and whatnot. I think that eventually I'll manage to deal with this and find a solution that's right, i.e., not carding about the 'official stuff' and sticking to models that I (think I) like.

 

I think I managed to finally get the white arms done.

 

 

And some close-ups:

 

 

 

 

So, my thoughts: I'm quite happy with my second stab at painting white. I think the white bits contrast nicely with the purple armour, too. Regarding the paint job, I think the output above is very near the best I can do with the skills and tools I have. I think there's definitely room for improvement but I'd probably need some aids (magnification) or I should work in more optimal conditions than what I now have. Currently, it's HOT in here to the degree that, even with a wet pallet, it's a constant struggle to keep the paint flow optimal.

 

But, very much in my annoying style, I don't think I'll carry on with this paint scheme for the other elite/veteran troops. While I found painting the purple bits extremely fun and relaxing, painting white was a bit of a chore. While the satisfaction of "I did better than I expected" wore off, I realised that painting white makes me very tense. To the point that for the first time in my life, I felt that my eyes are properly tired. Also, it took me aeons to get where I got with the paint job. Further, while I've probably reached the peak of what I can do now with white, I find the style or aesthetic inferior to what I ended up with the purple bits.

 

I know that I will make my final decision after I paint the first all-purple squad, but now, I'm leaning towards changing the plan for the veterans. I'll either revert to grey/silver arms or go for all-purple armour with white helmets and, perhaps, gun casings. That way I'll get some nice purple-white contrast that I'm looking for but limit the white surfaces that I have to work with.

 

After all, most of the vanilla chapters use a simpler scheme. I think that instead of overdoing it, I should probably stick to the liveries and markings as instructed by the Codex Astartes.

 

***

An interesting discovery, working on this prototype squad turned out to be an invaluable source of knowledge and insights. I'm definitely benefiting from these in ways that I did not expect. Take the white arms for example: initially, I've only been concerned about whether it will work colour- and skill-wise. Now, I've discovered that due to the sense of tension, I'm not sure that I need this. This forced me to revaluate my assumptions, as well as reconsider the paint scheme. Both of these things, as it turns out, are very important: once again, I found myself stuck in the realm of wants and dreams: for the Primaris-era models, I wanted a fancy paint scheme; one which involves painting more colours and employs a fancy and challenging pattern. However, the plan was formed when the project was way smaller in scope. Pulling out from these wishes felt like a failure. But now I'm beginning to accept that as something actually good: I perhaps don't need to do fancy things, introduce fancy patterns and risk of ending up with a set of 'overdone' models; perhaps I can focus on doing things that are less demanding technique-wise, that take less time but are effective in other ways. Now, I think, I'll perhaps be able to make the shading of the armour of the next batches of models pop even more on its own.

[Firedrake Cordova]

I think the white on the arms came out really well  I don't know how hot it's been in Poland, but it's been too hot to do anything here the last couple of days, so you have my sympathy on that one!

 

And yes, magnification is helpful - at some point in your life you become resigned to needing it...   

 

You're definitely right on not over-complicating the colour scheme though - it's a trap many fall into when designing their own scheme.

Edited August 13 by Firedrake Cordova

[gaurdian31]

They look great with their white arms and it is understandable why you wouldn't want to continue with it as white is a difficult color to paint. I do love that you gave the sergeant a purple vambrace, makes him stand out a bit more. The black for the weapons casings came out really well too.

[Brother Carpenter]

OOOH been away for a little time, what lovely progress you've made.

Really digging the white arms. 

 

I share your work/life/hoppy balance problems. Loved to be a kid again with seas of time to paint and play.

 

Keep the inspiration going.

 

 

[Brother Christopher]

@Firedrake Cordova The temperatures were around 31° so probably not that bad but the building my apartment is in retains heat pretty badly and I don't have AC in my hobby room. So, while not terribly bad, the prolonged heat wave was quite tiring.

 

I'm still trying to paint without magnification but I think I'll arrange for something just for the finest of details.

 

@gaurdian31 I'm glad and worried about the fact that you like the whites ;) I feel the same way: I like how they are but am not a fan of the process of getting there :D While not much changed sine I'm on the fence here but I'm mmore and more leaning towards dropping this feature of the paint scheme and sticking to purple all around. As such, I find myself being quite impatient and want to 'rush' the first regular, entirely purple models to do a side by side comparison. My imagination aside, I prefer to trust my eyes. I badly need to take a proper look at how the actual models are before making the final decision.

 

And regarding the casings: they had to come out well after all those years of painting Black Templars

 

@Brother Carpenter Thanks for the kind words. It's a huge morale boost to know that my hobby work is inspiring to some degree! I too, would like to be ~10 years younger. In the end I probably wouldn't change much, but I do miss the simpler life with less duties and things to remember about. And this is coming from someone who doesn't have kids (yet): I can't imaging adding one's own neophytes into the life-work-hobby churn

 

***

I'm also making progress; did some work on the heads and glued them in so my first Primaris-scale Marines are almost complete, bar the shoulder pads. Working on the helmets further fuelled my concerns about doing larger areas of white (but that's to be determined in the future) but, at the same time, made me realise that I, subjectively, levelled up with my painting.

 

It's probably silly and objectively not very true, but I felt that I had better brush control and did a better job with lining the whites, painting the eye lenses (in a more fanciful way than the quick method I'm using for my Templars) and - most importantly - with the faces. I think I'm actually proud of how one of the faces came out and happy with what the other face could have been had I not ruined it by firstly overlooking a tiny fibre and later ruining the paint in an attempt to remove it. As always, I'm a bit worried about how the heads I'm so proud of end up looking in a close-up photo. But to me, in real life, even under a +8 dioptre magnification (I have some macro lenses that I use to inspect my work), they're the beast heads I ever painted. And that's something!

[gaurdian31]

Your templars are quite lovely so I see what you are saying about the gun casings. I'm excited to see these guys with heads! Also looking forward to the all purple marines too!

[Brother Christopher]

Thank you very much! I'll be returning to my Templars after I'm done with these. I have some unfinished business there, on the Squat-Marine Front!

 

Here are some photos of the almost-finished heads. The close-ups are a bit unflattering and really push the limits of what I should post but this is a test run so I figure that there isn't too much room for cheating here.

 

This is the slightly ruined face that I wrote above:

 

This is the surprisingly well-painted face:

 

 

 

 

And here's a little experiment with green; it's a custom colour (the hobby store didn't have the paint that I wanted to get so I had to improvise). I think this will be my secondary colour: for Sergeants' helmets and perhaps robes.

Edited August 21 by Brother Christopher

[Firedrake Cordova]

Honestly, they look great to me. 

 

One minor point - the first one might benefit from a light glaze of red on the lips, if you can catch them with the edge of the brush

[TheArtilleryman]

Those faces are ridiculously good; I don’t know why you’re doubting your work. I think I have in my whole painting life painted one face that I was happy with and it was pretty much a fluke. Great work as usual.

[firestorm40k]

I really like your Marines' colour scheme, and the conversion work is excellent! 

[gaurdian31]

Heads and helmets are looking great! The green will be a good color to go with the purple and I love that you are using a beakie helmet, one of my favorite helmet designs. Those faces came out great, how did you do the eyes? That's what keeps me from doing human faces is getting the eyes right.

[Terminatorinhell]

Excellent paint work :3