# Raven Guard "pic heavy"



## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

Ok long story short I stopped playing in 3rd edition around the time Tau came out. 

New game store opens by my house and I get sucked back in and decide to do a Raven Guard army. 

I have picked up some of the foundation paints and the new washes but mostly still use my 5+ year old Vallejo paints, which needed a good shaking and remixing on a few. 

So with out picking up a brush in about 4 or 5 years it has been a harsh lesson in how much water to add, when the paint gets thick, what colors blend better, etc, etc. 

So please be gentle, I know I'm not taking a Golden Daemon but I am trying to get a nice table top quality force together. 

None of these guys are really done but you should get the idea of where I am going with my base colors, shades, high lights, etc. 

First thing was to start with some Terminators. Being Raven Guard I'm going all black and white with some grey high lighting. I got the hammers from a friend and shield is from a Menoth shoulder with a bretonnian crest over it. 










Same feel for these guys, have to rock some lightning claws for fluff 










And my base colors start with black of course, astronomicon grey, then adeptus battle grey and build up to white skull white from that. 










I'm going to run 3 drop pods so I can get 2 Dreadnoughts down 1st turn 



















Thank God the transfer sheets are coming out because my free hand is sketchy at best 










Can't have Terminators with out a Landraider 




























I did find out the hard way on the land raider that black is not always black. After a primer coat with black, I washed the entire tank with Vallejo air black, then on the touch ups tried to use Vallejo game color black which came out really shiney and almost a darker shade... Not sure how I'm going to get around that just yet. 

Had to have Shrike of course 



















A Pred for punch and some Razor Backs for the Tac squads 










Most of tac guys are in primer but I wanted to start working on the Sargent's for them and used some veteran models and a few old bits I had around 



















And last for this update my dreads




























I'll add more when I can, just a slow going process building up to white over a black under coat with out getting my paint too thick or have brush streaks. 

Again, its been a while so don't be overly harsh on me :scratchhead:


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## edd_thereaper (Oct 21, 2008)

awsome work, painting is clean and crisp

my only suggestion is that you could do with another spot colour, or maybe just add more of the red to bring the whole model out

cheers

edd


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## yanlou (Aug 17, 2008)

ooo very nice, very well painted +rep
not sure if you know this as youve just got back into 40k, as your doing raven guard you might be interested in these from forgeworld
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/RAVEN-GUARD-SPACE-MARINES-UPGRADE-PACK.html
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/New_Stuff/RAVEN-GUARD-SHADOW-CAPTAIN-KORVYDAE.html


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

Oh yeah the new forge world goods are on my list of things to get next  I had to have the Land Raider doors first though.


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## bobss (May 18, 2008)

I'm very impressed by your freehand work, and loving the effort and -dare I say- patience that has gone into it, thus far. Excellent Chapter and I'm eagerly awaiting more Drop Pods to fit their guerilla ethos 

.... Reminices of Isstvan V and steel-rain. Awesome!


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## Marneus Calgar (Dec 5, 2007)

Justindkates said:


> And my base colors start with black of course, astronomicon grey, then adeptus battle grey and build up to white skull white from that.


Nice work! The only thing I will say is the white looks a tad flat, I would personally build up from the foundation grey, but leaving some in the recesses, meaning it gets some definition. All in IMO . 
But great work! +Rep!


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

Yeah I'm going to work out to a flat white as hell white then go back and black line and wash it down some.


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## shaantitus (Aug 3, 2009)

These are magnificent. Clean and crisp. Very nice indeed. I would be proud of these if they were mine. Rep for the great work.


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

Thanks guys! I'm going to try and work on those 2 Sargent's tonight and if I have time another Terminator. 

I'm leaving for LA tomorrow to so some work and I won't be back until the 17th : / 

I have to get my paint fix in while I can!


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## Marneus Calgar (Dec 5, 2007)

Justindkates said:


> Thanks guys! I'm going to try and work on those 2 Sargent's tonight and if I have time another Terminator.
> 
> I'm leaving for LA tomorrow to so some work and I won't be back until the 17th : /
> 
> I have to get my paint fix in while I can!


Take them with you! You're not the only one with a need for a fix .


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## Dar'kir (Jul 11, 2009)

nice work thus far the white is really clean and crisp


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## The Warhound (Feb 13, 2010)

I like the work mate, very cool and clean, I love the Raven Guard they look great! :grin:


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## Something Yellow (Nov 22, 2009)

AHhh finally another Raven guard player *high five* :biggrin:
I was thinking about re-painting all my marines because there were no other raven guard players but this has given me inspiration :victory:

Your models look awesome! Nice and clean.. Unlike mine

And how do you do your snow!?!?!

Here are some photos of mine..

















How can It be raven guard without these guys??
















I don't know why but I painted up a few Vets using gold


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

I am back from Los Angeles so I can get to work and post some more images soon! 

And my snow is a mix of elmers glue mixed with water then painted on my bases, thin in some spots thick in others then while its still wet I dip the bases in baking soda. 

Let it dry for a bit and then shake off the excess.


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

Something Yellow said:


> AHhh finally another Raven guard player *high five* :biggrin:
> I was thinking about re-painting all my marines because there were no other raven guard players but this has given me inspiration :victory:
> 
> Your models look awesome! Nice and clean.. Unlike mine
> ...



That is one bad ass looking Terminator Chaplin. Love it! We need to get all the Raven Guard peeps together. 

Stupid Black Templar's always steal our B&W color scheme. :laugh:


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## Something Yellow (Nov 22, 2009)

Justindkates said:


> That is one bad ass looking Terminator Chaplin. Love it! We need to get all the Raven Guard peeps together.
> 
> Stupid Black Templar's always steal our B&W color scheme. :laugh:


Damn Right! the guys at Games workshop were like.. 'oh hey cool black Templar' and I said.. 'No thanks I'm not a wank' :so_happy:

We should show people how much better Raven guard is and hopefully get some more playing :biggrin:


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## WarMaster Sindr (Jun 23, 2010)

Me Likey alot keep up the good work:victory:


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## ThaPinkPownerFatty (Aug 12, 2010)

niece and clean. but clean is just not my cup of soup i love battle damage but for a 5 year break pretty deasant


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

ThaPinkPownerFatty said:


> niece and clean. but clean is just not my cup of soup i love battle damage but for a 5 year break pretty deasant


Yeah I'm thinking of doing some weathering on the tanks. I'm going to try my luck with the Tamiya weather kit and the snow stick.


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## LTP (Apr 15, 2009)

Very nice models you have here. 

You are a very neat painter which always makes a paintjob look 10 times better. I like the white but it needs some definition on the rivets etc Maybe a wash or something? 

The faces you have done are great. 

Keep up the good work and have some rep


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

LTP said:


> Very nice models you have here.
> 
> You are a very neat painter which always makes a paintjob look 10 times better. I like the white but it needs some definition on the rivets etc Maybe a wash or something?
> 
> ...


Thanks! Yeah I have to figure out some way to weather these guys up a little. Can't have them all looking like they just got the armor straight from the forge.


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## Pherion (Dec 18, 2008)

very good work here, everything is clean and crisp. I do have a few suggestions though.

Many of your colors look like one or maybe two coats of the same color. I would highly suggest learning some layering and mixing techniques as these will bring an incredible amount of depth to the miniature. A few things look like they could use a wash just to clean them up. One of the gold guys looks like he isn't finished (is he?).

For the white I would suggest:

Dheneb Stone
50/50 Dheneb Stone/Bleached Bone
Bleached Bone
50/50 Bleached Bone/White
Very thin Devlin Mud wash

OR

Adeptus Battle gray
50/50 Adeptus/Fortress Grey
Fortress Grey
50/50 Fortress/White
Very thin Badab Black wash

Try out both schemes, one produces more of a bone color, the other more of a blue white (probably what you are looking for in this case).

Either way, remember that if you are priming black, you need to ensure good coverage for lighter colors. That means a good number of thin coats (never never never use thick paint). The foundations in the above schemes will provide good coverage, but over black may still need to be done twice.

Cheers man!


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

Pherion said:


> very good work here, everything is clean and crisp. I do have a few suggestions though.
> 
> Many of your colors look like one or maybe two coats of the same color. I would highly suggest learning some layering and mixing techniques as these will bring an incredible amount of depth to the miniature. A few things look like they could use a wash just to clean them up. One of the gold guys looks like he isn't finished (is he?).
> 
> ...


I haven't tried the Dheneb stone yet but I did get the foundation set so I'll give it a shot! Thanks.


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## Talos (Aug 4, 2008)

These look great, the painting is very neat and really makes them stand out. I would suggest breaking up the snow on the base with some rubble or something. I think snow bases look better when its not just all white.


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## Otep (Mar 18, 2008)

the only thing i can say is how the hell can we go gently on an army that looks better then table top! its damn near GD status!!

the only thing i saw that was a flaw, mind you it was ONE picture and its a tiny thing....



Justindkates said:


>


the leather groin area looks a tad flat to me... thats all i could find! and even that you wont be able to tell from the other side of the table or even at an arm's length!

+rep my friend!


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## jimmyhoppityhop (Aug 10, 2009)

this thread is something i can totally relate to, i stopped playing 40k, i come back a year later and theres shrike in the codex and my jaws drops, and i litraly said, that kicks black templars ass, now im their my main army and i love their colours!!! its good to see that the raven guard are not being ignored anymore, black templars gonna have to bow down to our kick ass screen


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

Ok I know its been a while but work and trips and paying bills and other things that suck have come up. 

I did manage to get some paint on my drop pods, I got some etched brass and my transfer sheets from Forge World and I did get some paint on 2 Sargent's. 

Remember these are works in progress so be gentle on me


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## CLT40k (Jun 18, 2010)

Hooray the etched brass came in... See ya thursday


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## Justindkates (Apr 30, 2010)

CLT40k said:


> Hooray the etched brass came in... See ya thursday


I gotta be honest I was less than impressed with the etched brass. The transfer sheet on the other hand I love.


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## CLT40k (Jun 18, 2010)

Hey for the transfers, here's a protip 

1. hit the area with testors gloss coat
2. while it's tacky, put the transfer down
3. go over it with dull coat

Makes for really good looking transfers


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