# New players first army of Ultramarines



## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Ok so I've just started playing and decided to go with Ultramatines. I really like all the fluff that goes with them and also I bought battle for Macragge years ago and never took it out of the box so I thought I might as well make use of the marines or tyranids I had and find marines much more interesting and heard they were beginner friendly.

I thought I'd aim for 500 points and then see where it takes me so bought a command squad, commander, assault squad, sniper scouts and another tactical squad, and then go from there.

So far I have built the commander, the snipers and tactical squad and am just starting to paint the first squad which came with macragge. Not done much painting before so could end in disaster. I'm using loctite glue and citidel spray for priming/undercoat is this a good idea or are there better options?

I will post this 'before' shot (sorry about the quality) and then an after shot when I have painted one marine and then another when whole squad is done.

Time and space is somewhat limited (work, wife, 2 year old triplets and moving house soon, but new place has a garage which will be mine!!)

Any tips on simple ways to improve ultramarines would be very welcome indeed.


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## JAMOB (Dec 30, 2010)

For glue I would just grab some superglue from home depo/the supermarket and use that - it's cheaper and often more effective anyway.
For spray paint, same thing. Black and white spray paint are almost universal, and you can change the color later with highlights or something if you want, or just paint over it with blue.
For blue: I am not familiar with the new paint range having not bought any paints in the last year, so I would just compare the cover codex color to one in the shop and get that. Then get one a shade lighter and one a shade darker for highlights etc.
If you're going with the smurfs, just try to copy the basic color scheme (blue with some yellow and red or something).

For an army list: Tactical squads are always a good idea, 2-3 in bigger lists is standard. Command squads are good in big games (situationally) but in smaller games they are too much of a point drain. Assault squads are good depending on the army, much better with blood angels (but I'm biased). What I would get next depends on what kind of army you want to play: probably the best bet would be to invest in some tanks. I would grab a predator or vindicator and some rhinos, then maybe some assault terminators. We have a great forum subsection devoted to that for more precise (and more helpful) advice.

What else was in maccrage? That's definitely a good start, btw. You are well on your way.


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## fatmantis (Jun 26, 2009)

first, dont be put off with all the smurf haters out there, ultramines where my first army and i still play them alot (i dont need a codex of fancy rules and tricks to win) hehe. for 500 point i have a thunderfire cannon, a 10man squad with a plasma gun/plasma cannon, and a 5 man squad with a libby, and it works quite well. as for colours you can go to my page and have a look at the way i paint mine, i have a lighter color blue than the usual, due to crimson fists being basically the same colour. other than that you can pm me for any other questions ")


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## Dusty's Corner (Aug 25, 2008)

"A happily made model, paints happily well" -DC
Consider how you base each model as it will help create themes, styles, and can help get models in better poses. They can also interact with their environment more giving a sense of realism. 
-Make sure you remove mould lines!
- Make sure you drill out any gun barrels!

Looking forward to seeing this progress!
Good luck with the moving etc!


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Thanks for the advice. Hadn't really thought about basing yet so will have to look into that. Maccrage came with a tactical squad, force field generaters, genestealers, some gaunts, spore mines, infestation markers and something else wierd and alien looking. Also an A5 size rulebook, (4th ed) a book of scenerios to play through and some scenery in the form of 4 or 5 pieces of a crashed shuttle. There was also blast markers/templates/scatter dice etc.


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## Iron Angel (Aug 2, 2009)

I always use Loc-tite super glue for everything, I used to use GW plastic glue but it never held well for me. Loc-tite is still strong after all these years.


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Ok I have progressed a little with the painting I have a 5 or 6 half painted marines I have followed the very basic guide in bfm book ie spray black dry brush bolters and packs bolt gun metal layer of blue, blood red eyes, gold breast plate and shoulder pad rims, bleached bone and scab red seals and scorched brown holster. Looks fairly tidy but by no means complete need highlights and dry brushing. Will take advice above (thanks again) on highlighting blue bits but stuck for ideas on helmets, eyes, backpacks and weapons? Any advice would be great thank you.


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## WaLkAwaY (Dec 5, 2012)

chris p said:


> Ok I have progressed a little with the painting I have a 5 or 6 half painted marines I have followed the very basic guide in bfm book ie spray black dry brush bolters and packs bolt gun metal layer of blue, blood red eyes, gold breast plate and shoulder pad rims, bleached bone and scab red seals and scorched brown holster. Looks fairly tidy but by no means complete need highlights and dry brushing. Will take advice above (thanks again) on highlighting blue bits but stuck for ideas on helmets, eyes, backpacks and weapons? Any advice would be great thank you.


Picture is a little fuzzy but I can still tell that you put some work into that baby. Nice piece of work. And did you say this was your first? I would not have guessed that.


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Yeah, sorry about photos just a blackberry I'm afraid no proper camera right now. Also yes this is the first mini I've painted since I was 12 or 13 splodging up my heroquest and space crusade sets! I was pleased that they were tidy just very basic would like to get better with highlights gonna get some paints today some different shades of blue


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## the_barwn (Jul 23, 2011)

chris p said:


> Yeah, sorry about photos just a blackberry I'm afraid no proper camera right now. Also yes this is the first mini I've painted since I was 12 or 13 splodging up my heroquest and space crusade sets! I was pleased that they were tidy just very basic would like to get better with highlights gonna get some paints today some different shades of blue


did you uses the macro setting on your phone? it looks like a flower in the display when you select it.

Looks real good so far though, good job


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## Ring Master "Honka" (Oct 31, 2011)

i had a quick look through other peoples comments but i didnt notice anyone suggesting this if im wrong please people correct me.

i would suggest doing a dark blue wash next will get into all the cracks gives it some shading. then go back over the flat/higher sections with the original blue paint. 

hopes this helps


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Ring Master "Honka" said:


> i had a quick look through other peoples comments but i didnt notice anyone suggesting this if im wrong please people correct me.
> 
> i would suggest doing a dark blue wash next will get into all the cracks gives it some shading. then go back over the flat/higher sections with the original blue paint.
> 
> hopes this helps


This sounds like a plan, I tryed drybrushing a very dark blue and then a light ble on top. I liked the dark but not the light. A dark wash highlighted with the original shade should be less pale which is what I didn't like with plan A.

Thanks for the tip!


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Ok so here's the (SLOW) progress.

Again, apoligies for the poor photo quality must use something better than my phone.

I have 9 almost finished tac squad ultramarines, 7 bolters and 10 backpacks done too but had packed up when I thought of taking photo. Pretty happy with backpacks, very happy with bolters and think for a first go marines are ok so far. Still have a flamer and missile launcher, bit of touching up and dry brushing, transfers and bases to do. Going to use a black fineline pen to detail power armour couldn't work out how to do it so neatly then saw an article in white dwarf (seems obvious now) Feeling quite frustrated with lack of time I'm able to spend at the moment, I'm moving house in 3 weeks and things are busy! The sergeant is another matter not got far with him yet still trying to find a good mix for skin that isn't too pink or brown or pale but not happy yet.

Can't wait to get going properly in new place got a rhino and sergeant tellion to do now aswell. At this rate it will take years


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## neferhet (Oct 24, 2012)

Don't worry about the slow progress: until it is progress it is good.
I've waited years to complete my chaos legion, and now i'm just a score of models from doing it. I'm almost sad 
A nice trick i've employed to keep the progress running is to paint every time I have a scrap of dead time. Even 5 minutes. Just a couple of highlights, just a based model, just a drybrush...invest 15 minutes a day and you will have, by the end of the month, painted 450 minutes. Wich is a full tactical squad painted with good detail.
Cheers!


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

fatmantis said:


> i dont need a codex of fancy rules and tricks to win


:laugh: no, just power armour, bolt guns, ATSKNF....


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Got some clearer photos that I took today in daylight don't normally get a chance till its dark, think they're slightly better. I'm not completely happy with how they have turned out some of the blue and gold looks a bit pastey and shows brush marks, is this bad technique or could it be because I mainly used old paint? I started with ultramarine blue and shining gold that were both bought years ago and never used at the time, would this effect? New paints bought recently seem much better. Also ultramarine blue looks lighter and more sort of pastelly if that's a word than I have seen in other photos of ultramarines. Does anyone use a darker blue? Anyway here they are.



Any tips on better ways to finish off much appreciated. Also should have used an emmery board to file lines but didn't know this when I started been learning as I go think next squad will be better already just from the few tips already sugested so thank you all.


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## neferhet (Oct 24, 2012)

This is a nice tabletob quality model
If you want to add some highliughts i suggest to do that on the blue before washing and to drybrush some chainmail on the bolter


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

i am having trouble loading photos of my first finished squad i have a new phone a Nokia lumia 925 which wont let me upload directly from phone. Tried transferring to laptop but wouldn't load on there either. I'm not very techy anyone know why it wont work or have any ideas?


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## ntaw (Jul 20, 2012)

As far as posting pictures I thought they had to be hosted online to be embedded? I have a private folder on Facebook that I upload pictures to from my phone so that I can 'view image' in a new tab and copy/paste the URL into the box that shows up when you click the little picture icon in the post window that I am currently typing this message in. 3rd icon from the right above the text window, when you hover over it 'insert image' pops up.

...or is it to do with you actually getting the files off your phone and onto a computer?


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

ntaw said:


> As far as posting pictures I thought they had to be hosted online to be embedded? I have a private folder on Facebook that I upload pictures to from my phone so that I can 'view image' in a new tab and copy/paste the URL into the box that shows up when you click the little picture icon in the post window that I am currently typing this message in. 3rd icon from the right above the text window, when you hover over it 'insert image' pops up.
> 
> ...or is it to do with you actually getting the files off your phone and onto a computer?


I used to be able to upload directly from my old phone cant do it on new one. Will have to try this way.


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

chris p said:


> Got some clearer photos that I took today in daylight don't normally get a chance till its dark, think they're slightly better. I'm not completely happy with how they have turned out some of the blue and gold looks a bit pastey and shows brush marks, is this bad technique or could it be because I mainly used old paint?
> 
> Any tips on better ways to finish off much appreciated. Also should have used an emmery board to file lines but didn't know this when I started been learning as I go think next squad will be better already just from the few tips already sugested so thank you all.


Try watering down the paint a bit. Two ways to go about it. The first which is the standard GW way (i.e. as instructed by GW managers at the shop) is to put a dab of paint onto a paint palette/used-CD/perspex sheet/etc., and add a tiny drop of water to thin it down before painting. This means that the coat you apply will be a bit more runny but will dry smoother. It also means have to apply more than one coat though. However one disadvantage of this method is that the paint you put onto the palette will also be drying out as you are painting (similar to the paint drying out in the bottle if you leave the top off while painting!).

The other alternative is similar but with the use of a wet palette. This simply comprises of a small container with a soft foam or sponge filled with water to the level of the foam/sponge and a sheet of parchment paper on it for the paint. It works the same way as with the normal palette but the parchment paper will slowly wick moisture from the wet foam/sponge underneath and keep the paint from drying out while it is exposed to the atmosphere. In most cases, you don't really need to add any more water to the paint (or maybe a very tiny drop to get it going when you first start) as it does it by itself. In fact after a while you may find that the paint is actually too thin at which point you have to add a bit more paint to thicken it up!

In both options, the objective is to thin down the paint to allow the applied coat to naturally self-level on the model. A coat of paint on its own without any thinning has too high a viscosity for to self-level, resulting in the retention of the brush stroke patterns whilst drying.


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

ok i still cant post photos directly as i used to be able from my phone but here is a link for a snap of my first squad. I was quite pleased with them but the camera let me down a little by toning down the red eyes some of the marines look a little vacant all blue!https://18bf9c56-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites...OzWo43WKowClzqlgQfTEDQ3_rAlA==&attredirects=1

let me know what you think any tips or constructive criticism appreciated cheers,

Chris p.


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

next bit of progress nearly finished this captain here's a before shot

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=5A8DA06CE16E8326!261&authkey=!AH1bYGA446mqgmo&v=3

i found it much easier to paint in pieces wish id thought of that before seems obvious now but in still learning. I have a squad of snipers to start next wish id left them in pieces too....

heres the after shot.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=5A8DA06CE16E8326!258&authkey=!AJ9XXb0FixcLlc8&v=3


just a base to do now.


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

ntaw said:


> As far as posting pictures I thought they had to be hosted online to be embedded? I have a private folder on Facebook that I upload pictures to from my phone so that I can 'view image' in a new tab and copy/paste the URL into the box that shows up when you click the little picture icon in the post window that I am currently typing this message in. 3rd icon from the right above the text window, when you hover over it 'insert image' pops up.
> 
> ...or is it to do with you actually getting the files off your phone and onto a computer?


 
thanks for advice i am using sky cloud now works perfect cheers


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## Wookiepelt (Jan 29, 2013)

If you want to post images within the text of the post, other image hosting sites with direct links are available. The one I use is Postimage. After uploading the image to the site, you simple copy the "Direct Link" address and add it to your thread text via the "Insert Image" button function above.


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Heres a snap of my captain almost finished.


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

Wookiepelt said:


> If you want to post images within the text of the post, other image hosting sites with direct links are available. The one I use is Postimage. After uploading the image to the site, you simple copy the "Direct Link" address and add it to your thread text via the "Insert Image" button function above.


Thankyou very much!!!

Dont know why the old way stopped working but this is great:victory:


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## chris p (May 18, 2013)

its been nearly a year since i started and progress has been somewhat slow at times, but i think on the whole im improving. i have been lazy with updates and photo taking, but so far i have 2 tac squads, a sniper scout squad, an assault squad, chaplain cassius, telion, a captain, stormtalon, rhino, master of the forge on bike with con beamer conversion (not quite finished) and a razorback. im working on a command squad, painting the fluff version plus 4 plasma toting veterans to roll with an apoth. i have devs, thunderfire cannon, and assault termies not even touched yet but am painting a little as offten as poss. here is the first of the plasma vets. any consructive critism welcome


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## fatmantis (Jun 26, 2009)

your doing well its a really nice table top mini


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