# Space Marines: Chapter Fireflies



## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

It's been a while since i played and painted the game (2004). 
Due to the bother of my wife i have refound my love for 40K, after some work online finding out paintscheme's and testing them.
I have started to repaint my old Space Marines army about (2200 points) in the design i like.
I'm not the best painter, sometimes I got my case of the shaky hands.
So the details are very hard to paint for me.

I've just started painting them yesterday, I'll try to post some pictures this evening or tomorrow.
to get an idea look at the pictures i added here.

Scheme's:


Colors in use:
-Blood Red
-Scorpion Green
-Sunburst Yellow
-Ice Blue
-Skull White
-Chaos Black
-Codex Grey (needed, not at the shop at the moment)
-Chainmail Silver (needed, not at the shop at the moment)
-Bleached Bone (needed, not at the shop at the moment)

Keep u guys posted.

Greetz Fireflies


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## genesis108 (Jul 29, 2009)

Seems like a very bright and colorful scheme..interested to see how it looks.


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## LTP (Apr 15, 2009)

heya  

I like your plan for a DIY chapter because lets face it DIY chapters rock lol. One thing i would suggest is that at the moment there are lots of colours spread out over the mini now thats not a bad thing but with the colours you have chosen it might end up looking a bit like a christmas marine. 

maybe you could go for a quartered or halved scheme to centralize the colours more. 

Just a suggestion hope it helps cant wait to see these.


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

That's why i have three "test subjects" just have to see how they work out


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

Agree with LTP, the one in your avatar looks better with less colours. I'd probably not advise a halved or quartered scheme though, they are quite hard to pull off, and if you get teh shakes it might be a bit disheartening to start off with.

Is there any fluff for these guys? Have you thought about looking at pictures of real fireflies to get colour inspiration?


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## LTP (Apr 15, 2009)

Fireflies said:


> That's why i have three "test subjects" just have to see how they work out


Cool thats always a good way to do it


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## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

it does look a bit christmasy, but i always had an issue with red and green put together it actually drives my wife nuts. but anyway its not a bad scheme quite bright and vibrant.

Colors i cant stand together are purple w/ green makes me think of barney, yellow and green or purple and yellow.


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## LiamDawson27 (Apr 25, 2010)

I like it. It's a nice change to the regular DIY chapter, including mine. The bright colours will make them stand out when they're fielded


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## bloodthrister (Mar 29, 2008)

or you could indeed make 'em look christmassy with snow bases (and maybe even get yourself a terminator commander/librarian with santa's hat?)
Tbh I don't really see what's wrong with a christmas themed army. It can make very cool conversions and you could even make a diorama of your army marching through a snowy landscape when it's christmas!

I think you really should go on with this scheme!


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

Varakir said:


> Agree with LTP, the one in your avatar looks better with less colours. I'd probably not advise a halved or quartered scheme though, they are quite hard to pull off, and if you get teh shakes it might be a bit disheartening to start off with.
> 
> Is there any fluff for these guys? Have you thought about looking at pictures of real fireflies to get colour inspiration?


I haven't really thought off any fluff, but i'll think of something apropriate.

I can explain u the name: Im into car tuning and my "show"car is Called Firefly (because the color name is Fire Red).
So i really like red and thought that Fireflies would be a cool chaptername. For the colors I didn't really look at pictures of Fireflies, abvious it we be red with a extra color, i found that the bright green we be a good contrast.
So i stuck with it.
The yellow is a substitute for the gold, because gold would be messing the colors up.

so here are some pictures that i took of my "test subjects" keep in mind that they are not finished:


i know i'm not the best painter, but c&c's are always welcome.

Greetz Fireflies


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## genesis108 (Jul 29, 2009)

Definitely bright and colourful. They seem a bit too busy, but that may be because they haven't been washed. I'm not sure about they grey/blue on the bolter and chainsword...seems out of place.


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

genesis108 said:


> Definitely bright and colourful. They seem a bit too busy, but that may be because they haven't been washed. I'm not sure about they grey/blue on the bolter and chainsword...seems out of place.


I'm nog sure on what to do with the weapons, i like the blue in combination with the silver thats is supposed to get their it makes them stand out and be easy recognised in gametime. Could't really think about an other color i guess.. because it blend in to much with the marine


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## Graf Spee (Apr 29, 2009)

mhmm.. normally a good advice is to pick one basic colour. use some alterations of it and maybe one secondary colour for details... use more colours or brightly contrasting elements and your model ends up looking like some orc freebooter. i can't exactly put my finger on it, but your choice of colours is somewhat disturbing to my eye. maybe shade them down to some darker version.. but it's hard to tell.


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## Marneus Calgar (Dec 5, 2007)

I like the choice of colours, but I don't really enjoy the vividness of them. But thats a personal thing. I would personally have them darker, but they look good all the same +Rep


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

The vividness will wear of a bit when i'm done with them. First i'll repaint them and when i like it they will get a dark wash over them or something like that. Just have to see how to do that.


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

Got 2 new pieces to show.. these i painted before i had shakey hands.. The Grey Knight Terminator is going to be my Termi Squad Sergeant, I liked the way its different than the others and the Techmarine (yes its an old model) is also ready to be used in my new scheme


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## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

its a good solid scheme but a few things at leats from my POV 

keep em bright if you want not a problem there at all just add some definition to it thats all also when you can decide on a color for a the gun just use black it goes with anything


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

Got soem Fluff on my Army

Chapter Fireflies:

As one of the smaller Chapters the Fireflies were ordered by the Emperor to guard the border of The Veiled Region against the invading Hive Fleet Leviathan. 
Knowing that it would be an impossible task to stop such an Hive Fleet.
Leaving their home planet empty and unguarded they took their whole Armada to the border of The Veiled Region. Once they Reached Gryphonne IV they have put their battleship “the Glowing Star” and its armada in orbit around the Forge World Gryphonne IV. Home of the legendary Adeptus Titanicus: The War Gryphons.
Most of the battles are on the surface of Gryphonne IV fighting in the dense cityscape using the narrow streets to their advantage.
The Adeptus Mechanicus planet Tesla Prime, evacuated and halfly Tyrannoformed is also an frequent battleground.


Chapter: Fireflies
Homeplanet: Coastal IV
Colorscheme: Blood Red, “Glow in the Dark” Green and Sunburst Yellow

HQ
Captain “Pyra”
Chaplain “Brother Crenax”
Command Squad “Raikan”
Techmarine “Prometeus”

Elites
Veteran Squad “Tharsis”
Dreadnought “Impending Doom”
Terminator Assault Squad “Elusia”

Troops
Tactical Squad “Arotha”
Tactical Squad “Vulcron”
Scout Squad “Illustris”

Fast Attack
Assault Squad “Hadex”
Land Speeder “Spirit of Fire”
Bike Squadron “Haze”

Heavy Support
Land Raider “Inferno”
Whirlwind “Hail of Fire”


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

Hey Guys,

got a few pieces again to show u.

Dreadnought "Impending Doom"
-most basic colors done.
-sarcophagus need to be done
-the powerfist and flamer aren't finished yet
-some detailling need to be done, but i don't have the right paint for it at the moment.


Landraider "Inferno"
-got the basics done for the raider
-weapons and such are still on hold untill i figure out what to use (Standard pattern or Helios pattern)
-some detailling need to be done, but i don't have the right paint for it at the moment.


Scout Squad "Illustris"
these are done except for basing it properly.
this is the max details i'm getting out of my shakey hands, so its not the best out here on the forum but its oke with my standards.


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## primeministersinsiter (May 31, 2009)

I gotta say, those guys are a bit bright. Personally, I tone them down a bit.


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## Euphrati (May 24, 2009)

Wow, these are quite... bright. I must say that your warriors take the 'astartes don't wear camo' thing to the extreme. I would suggest taking a test model and giving it a heavy coat of black wash to tone down the eye-watering factor a tad and see how it looks. 

Having a _single _bold colour on your minis can really make them pop, however when All of the colours are screaming it can turn out to be a bit overbearing to the viewer.


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## TheSpore (Oct 15, 2009)

you know this is how old school SM were painted back in the day and i feel they are a bit bright but i think you got a good solid look on these but definately try using some washes tis might help with the eye gouging a little bit. try a black under coat that might even help as well


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

The undercoat is black, but i use 2 layers of the colors to make them a bit more covering, maybe when their all done i'll seek out a dark wash to tone them down a bit


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## edd_thereaper (Oct 21, 2008)

awsome ideas, maybe a wash of badab black over the whole model may help tone down the bright colours and add some depth to the models

good work so far, keep it up!

edd


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

It's been a while since my last post.. i have been busy with the colors i have at my disposel. i want to show umy progress. I have found it harder to paint because my shakey hands are much worse than a few years ago. Keep in mind that all models are unfinished because i need more paint to make them complete.

My elite Vanguard Squad, is going to be the Retinue for my jump chaplain (currently building)









































my Dreadnought









my Whirlwind









my landspeeder









my landraider









my Chaplain









my Captain


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## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

I really like you're scheme, it's not very often you see space marines painted red which can't be mistaken for BA. The others are right about it needing some darker tones to shade it but i wouldn't go with black just to dull the colours. If the imperial fists can get away with being bright yellow then you can easily get away with a bright red and green scheme.

The second point that i would mention is your colour pallet. I know this has been brought up before but it's probabley worth loosing some of the colours, all you really need it two contrasting colours and maybe spot colour to represent metal. A lot of the areas which you have painted black, yellow or blue would look just as good in a simple silver or one of your existing main colours. 







See on your dreadnaught how the lascannon army looks a lot more professionally done with just it's chapter colours and the silver piping, it actually make the shape of it stand out a lot more than the power fist despite the fact that the fist uses another colour completely.

The problem with black as a main colour without highlighting is that it looks like you've forgotten to paint a section even if that is your overall colour design.


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

Thanx for the cc..

Most of the black paint u see, is the undercoat.. Because i don't have all the paints like silver and grey these parts aren't painted yet.
I'm just working on the models with the colors i have at the moment. when my Blood Red en Scorpion Green are depleted i will get some new and hopefully they will have the others colors i need in supply.


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## yanlou (Aug 17, 2008)

The colours are a little bright, i think toning them down would maybe look better. 
Try working from a say scab red upto blood red, so its not overly bright, same for the green.
Also there's to may colors been used, a bit to busy, drop the blue, keep the white for veterans, for the eagles on the chest and things like the crux terminatus do them brass or gold, not yellow as its to bright and clashes.

And also thin your paints, they look to thick, and patchy, try thin layers and build it up to an even color, and as iv said above, try painting your colors from a darker shade upto a lighter shade, same with the white, try working from greys up words dont forget to wash your model to add depth and also highlight.

Apart from that its a very good start, keep it up, :biggrin:


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## loyalist42 (Sep 7, 2007)

I agree that your overall color choice seems pretty bright. I've never been a particular fan of bright colors on Marines, but I suppose that's more or less personal choice. 

You're not getting complete coverage. The undercoat is showing a bit. I'd suggest watering down your paints and using more coats. That should smooth out the look on your models. Some shading wouldn't go amiss, either, as previously suggested.


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

I'll try to do some watered down painting this weekend.. I'm not really good with this but i'll give it a try on some models.


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

Jeaj finally got my other paint colors.. time to finish some work.. I'm going to make some little changes to the scheme, it doesn't feel right to me at the moment.

Ow and got myself a smaller brush..so when i get the shakes.. i don't spill as much paint on the rest of the model


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

Almost finished my jump chaplain, don't know what to do with the zeal color.. and im scared to wash it with some darker colors

Meet Brother Marcus:


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## GNOME_NINJA44 (Jun 3, 2010)

Looking good i like the bright heraldic sort of marines.
good use of BA bits as well adds a nice touchk:

But i have to ask which kit you got the thunder hammer from?


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

GNOME_NINJA44 said:


> Looking good i like the bright heraldic sort of marines.
> good use of BA bits as well adds a nice touchk:
> 
> But i have to ask which kit you got the thunder hammer from?


Since im using the BA logo as a logo for my Fireflies (wings are firefly wings and the blood drop is the glowing body of a firelfy. So gold en scorpion green)

So BA Lemartes Guardian of the Lost is used for my jump chaplain. I used the BA kit of Deathcompany (from that kit is the thunderhammer) as his retinue.


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## 5tonsledge (May 31, 2010)

nice job man. have say not crazy about the name though. FireFlies isnt very intemidating. of couse neither is salmanders so i guess go for it


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

Here's an impression of my "Grey Knights" allies... it looked allright in the light but the flash on the camera reveals all.. ouch.. so i need more work on it still


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## rich11762 (Jul 18, 2010)

i like your colour scheme there is a lot you can do with it your painting seems to be getting a lot better as the pics go on the one abouve is a very tidy paint job, to be honest i work on roads for a living a my hands are also very shaky ive sorta been forced to develop tricks to help with my painting, for instance your models have a lot of differnt colourd segments if i was to tackle that first i would build base spray black then id spray again the main base colour such as red all over then all you have to do is paint out the green sections, that saves some brush work, every model i do before i start i work out the order i need to add all the layers the easyest so i dont need to keep goin over myself forever, i hope that was a little helpfull to ya mate, look forward to seeing more work.


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## Fireflies (Jun 22, 2010)

rich11762 said:


> i like your colour scheme there is a lot you can do with it your painting seems to be getting a lot better as the pics go on the one abouve is a very tidy paint job, to be honest i work on roads for a living a my hands are also very shaky ive sorta been forced to develop tricks to help with my painting, for instance your models have a lot of differnt colourd segments if i was to tackle that first i would build base spray black then id spray again the main base colour such as red all over then all you have to do is paint out the green sections, that saves some brush work, every model i do before i start i work out the order i need to add all the layers the easyest so i dont need to keep goin over myself forever, i hope that was a little helpfull to ya mate, look forward to seeing more work.


Thnx, I've been thinking about some tricks to.. yours have some pros en cons. For example if u need small things silver drybrushed u still need to make them black since u sprayed them red and then drybrush them silver. I guess its all down to personal preferences. Maybe i'll try it for some next models.

I'm currently working on a Vanguard Retinue for Brother Marcus (my jump chaplain). pics are a few pages back.. still need to tidy them up a bit, since i switched some parts from yellow to silver and gold.


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## Orochi (Jan 28, 2009)

You need to give these models a black wash at least. Colours are very flat and could do with some serious highlights.
Personally dislike the colour scheme entirely, but I admire the effort so don't give up!

Practise makes perfect.


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