# Order of the Hallowed Lily



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

A Sisters of Battle Painting Diary :victory:

The painting aspect of the army progression will be updated here, while the entire progression will be updated in my blog: http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/blog.php

I have 34 Sisters to paint currently, and this is the test fig for the army's color scheme after minimal shading and highlighting...


















I'm steering away from the traditional 'hard' colors of the Adepta Sororitas as, well, I'm just tired of painting red and black (http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=200&ppuser=55). :grin: What colors would work best for the details, such as the Inquisitorial Icon on the chain, the grenades, pouches, etc.? I don't want these girls to be too colorful, but I want a warmer look than the typical scheme.

I'm interested in opinions and comments. Thanks!


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

Another couple of highlights have been added, and a somewhat failed attempt at pure black hair.  I'm pretty pleased with the colors and the highlighting of the armor.


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

This is the final highlight, I think, for the armor. The metal should be in the golden range for this model. Do you agree? The hair is still not to my liking, but I'm not too sure how to improve it. Should I paint the studs on the gloves teal?


----------



## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

My thoughts

1) great colour scheme, very striking. No complaints whatsoever

2) to do black hair, paint it black and do a very small 'line' of white around the crown of the head, especially following the part of the hair, to show light reflection. Don't use colour if you don't have to and above all keep the highlight very thin and small.

2) Studs, grenades, small details, need to be a different colour from the main scheme. I would say go with a metallic brown like tin bitz and bronze/brass for the grenades and a similar colour for the studs and piping on the suit. Basically the only thing lacking on this model is the '3 point colour'. This is a colour that is NOT one of the main colours and is generally found on smaller details in 3 separate spots on the model in order to draw the eye around the model.

4) thin your paints just a hair more. It may just be the picture but the paint looks a bit grainy. Even if it means a couple more layers are needed, it will improve the model immensely.


Don't get the idea that I don't think this is a well done model though Hes. Couldn't be farther from the truth as I really like what you have going so far. This is the forum for constructive criticism though :wink:


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

Thanks Wraithlord. What color, other than brown, would you recommend? Truthfully, I'd like to leave metals out all together, though I really don't see how as I'm not prepared to tackle NMM. Would a lavender work?


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

I'm still working on that unifying accent color. Brown has been mentioned, as has tin bitz, and purple. I'm really trying to minimize metals and brown and purple just aren't my thing, but I'll try purple first, as its my daughter's favorite color (ugh).


















As for the thin paints, well, I'm still struggling to control the flow when the paints are too thin. With small details, I struggle. (Might I also mention that I have a bit of a nervous twitch, carpal tunnel syndrome and my eyes are going - all medically documented?)


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

How about burgandy? Purple was 'not-so-hot'.


----------



## DaemonsR'us (Jan 25, 2007)

Much better with the burgandy, makes the model stand out a little more to the eye then the light purple did, looking really good so far :biggrin:


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

Thanks. One last question before I call her 'Done'. Should I paint the bolter casings burgundy as well?


----------



## Red Orc (Jun 14, 2007)

'Spot colour theory' would say no, I reckon. You just want a few (classically 3) small areas of the accent colour. You already have four, though the icon and kneepad-heraldry are close enough for your eye to take them in together. Not sure if burgundy bolter-casings wouldn't be overdoing it.

Maybe teal?

BTW, I liked the purple, but then I'm 'artistically challenged'... :wink:

Much better hair in these later photos. Nice all round really, ya talented brarstrard! (Envious? I'm not envious! I'm... ermm... oh all right I am.)


----------



## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

MUCH better Hes, much better. The burgundy is perfect. As for the bolt casings, leave them metal. Anything else will look wrong as we all 'know' that casings are made of metal.

Leave it as this last pic shows with the addition of a slightly darker skin colour on the bottom lip and you have one fine model.


----------



## Lord Sinkoran (Dec 23, 2006)

look great nice colour scheme never seen yellow and turquoise together before make a nice combo.


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

I've started working on my remaining Seraphim. Thus far, they are only about half complete with over 5 hours into the six of them. This should be a fun project if the eye strain doesn't kill me first.


----------



## DaemonsR'us (Jan 25, 2007)

Wow awsome looking squad hespithe, not sure what else to say, just awsome looking!


----------



## Dirge Eterna (Apr 30, 2007)

Yeah! I've never seen a SoB army that looked good in bright colors, but that takes the cake.

And refuses to return it.

Excellent work!
-Dirge


----------



## The Wraithlord (Jan 1, 2007)

It only took you 5 hours to do six of them???? Holy crap Hes, I am impressed!


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

Nononono, It only took me 5 hours to get six of them half done. But, thanks all the same.


----------



## DaemonsR'us (Jan 25, 2007)

Thats still rather impressive for 5 hours for 6 of them even half done its really good qaulity, no chunky paint from looking rushed or overly hevily painted areas great work :biggrin:


----------



## demonkin (Nov 2, 2007)

very nic colour scheme but this isnt the thing you would expect 2 c incuisatorial warriors wearing but it makes a change from the usual which is good so im not sure on how to class the colour scheme other than very pretty!!:laugh:


----------



## demonkin (Nov 2, 2007)

very pretty, and very strange,not the colours i would have chosen though!!!:laugh:


----------



## Hespithe (Dec 26, 2006)

The ladies got their first serious intro into the fine, fine universe of WH40K tabletop gaming while under my command. Really, it wasn't that bad.

I was facing a 1500pt Death Guard army with...

1 Nurgle Lord w/ Daemon Weapon, Plasma Pistol
3x 7 Death Guard w/ Champion (PF/PP) and 2 Plasmaguns
1x 8 Death Guard w/ Champion (PF/PP) and 2 Plasmaguns with a Demonically Possessed Rhino
1 Predator Annihilator w/ Extra Armor
1 Defiler (never found out if it had any upgrades)

My list was the same as posted in my blog (http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/blog.php?u=55).

Deployment: 4x6 table with moderate terrain coverage. After rolling for deployment zones, I found myself with a small cluster of 3 huts, a large sloping hill to my left, and a thin sliver of a hill to my right. Opposite was a another large sloping hill on the far left, a fairly large copse of trees next to the hill, a small tangle of roots and rock, and then a 10” diameter circular. Each hill was open terrain with no cover benefits other than the chance that line of sight might be blocked. The huts would offer only 5+ cover, as would the copse of trees, and the circular ruins would grant a 4+ cover save. 
To my top left were the Predator and a squad of 7 Plague Marines on foot. In the center opposite were another squad of 7 Plague Marines on foot and the squad of 8 Plague Marines in the Rhino. To my top right was the Defiler, backing up the last squad of 7 pedestrian Plague Marines serving as bodyguard for the Nurgle Lord. I deployed nothing to my left, while I had the Retributors in one hut with one Exorcist and the Immolator behind the huts just to the left. The other Exorcist was behind another of the small huts to the right, with the three Rhinos forming a mobile wall of terrain allowing the three Sororitas Squads, the Seraphim, and the Canoness someplace to hide without having to hug the rear of my deployment zone. My opponent won first turn and opted to take it. 

Turn 1 showed the Rhino advancing straight toward my center while the central Plague Marines got caught up in difficult terrain trying to advance in cover through the roots and rocks. The other Chaos units stood their ground and began to open fire. The Predator had a bead on the Immolator which was positioned to shield the Exorcist during first turn fire, and it performed its role admirably, absorbing 3 Lascannon hits with nothing more than a ‘shaken’ result. The Defiler dropped a shell on one of the Rhinos but failed to do more than ‘shake’ it as well. The blast also caught the Canoness and one Sister, but the Canoness made her 2+ armor save against the AP3 blast, while the Sister made a 5+cover save as she stood out of line of sight behind one of the huts. What a lovely first Chaos turn for the Sisters! Now, time to return the favor by advancing all of the Rhinos straight forward in a lengthwise line in the middle of the table and popping smoke on all three. The Sisters then advance with the Seraphim and Canoness on the far left of the Rhino wall, one squad of Sisters behind them, and two squads of Sisters to their right. The Immolator advances at full speed toward the left and the Predator and Plague Marines in order to help block line of sight from the Chaos Predator to the Exorcist. The other Exorcist moves just enough to get a good bead on the Defiler. At this point, there is really nothing left to do but begin the carnage. Well, suffice it to say that the Sisters fared no better than Chaos on turn one, having caused absolutely zero damage to the foul Heretics. Now, everything was in the open and the pain would truly begin.

Turns 2-3 proved to be pretty hectic for both parties as the Chaos vehicles and the two Exorcist trade blows, but were unable to do anything more than ‘shake’ one another. The Rhino borne Plague Marines were able to jump out of their ride close enough to the Rhino wall to assault the Seraphim and the Canoness. Better that than rapid firing 5 plasma shots into the unit before hitting it with a ton of bolter shells, I’d say. Still, one Seraph was lost but a couple of Heretics bit the sharp end of a Blessed Weapon as well. The Seraphim left combat to the Canoness and hopped toward the center Plague Marines tangled in the briar (having rolled another ‘1’ for difficult terrain). The unit of Sisters behind the Canoness and her combat immediately joined and offered their support, slowly witling away this unit of Plague Marines. The Canoness and this squad spent the entire remainder of the game picking this unit apart, losing a total of 4 Sisters and leaving only the Chaos Champion alive at the end of the game. Points to Remember No. 1 – Blessed Weapons are Master Crafted. That combat should have ended much earlier. The other two units of Sisters advanced behind the Rhinos, and with a few lucky shots from the Chaos boyz on the other side, got the chance to use the smoking husk of one as cover while advancing into rapid-fire range of the Chaos Lord’s unit, which was also advancing on the two units of Sisters.

Turns 4-6 had things change in the Sisters’ favor. The Exorcists finally managed to remove both the Defiler and the Predator from the game, as well as thin out 5 of the 7 Plague Marines on the far left, leaving only 2 alive on that side of the table. The center Plague Marines put up a valiant fight (for heretics) and took all but one Seraph out of action, but again having only their Champion survive the fight. An Act of Faith kept this lone survivor from fleeing the board, and thus being able to use her twin Inferno Pistols to remove the enemy Rhino from the game. This left only the Chaos Lord and his lads, and I got the opportunity to let my army loose. From the two Sisters Squads, and the Retributors, I let loose with 4 Heavy Bolters, 14 Rapid Fire Bolters, 3 Meltaguns, 2 Heavy Flamers, and 1 Flamer. After a little incident with contributed to the wreckage of one of my Rhinos, the Lord had taken a wound due to plasma overheat. Now, after the fire (and a bit of Faith), the Lord had one wound remaining and the Squad was reduced to only one Plague Marine with a Bolter. Through two rounds of combat, the Lord was only able to take out 2 Sisters (rolled a one for the Daemon Weapon, he did), and the Sisters took three turns just to remove the one Plague Marine in combat. At the end of it all, the Sisters still had a member of every squad on the table, with only one Rhino destroyed, and one squad, the Seraphim, below half. For Chaos, only the Lord (with 1 wound) and 4 Plague Marines survived.

I really expected this to be a difficult game, considering the Str3 vs. To5 issue, as well as the problem with Feel No Pain and the loss of the extra attack on the charge. My heavy bolters and heavy flamers were largely ineffective, as were the bolters, but throw enough rocks… One point to remember is simply to remind my opponent that while they have 3+ saves, and BS4, not all of the Sisters have WS4. My opponent was under this assumption and did not realize the mistake until turn 5. Then again, I did not roll for my Master Crafted Blessed Weapon until turn 6. I did fail one Act (Divine Guidance) which would have massacred the Lord and his 2 buddies a turn earlier, as I rolled 4 sixes (meaning AP1 wounds) on only the 3 models. Also, I’m not sure if I played the army too aggressively, or simply not aggressively enough. I did consistently advance, on foot/pack, all of the Sisters, save the Retributors who took pot shots when they could. At least I ended up with 3 of my 7 units across the table, and 2 of them still scoring. 

Hopefully I’ll get to understand what I did right, and what I screwed up in this game better as time progresses. This game really was a lot of fun for the both of us, and an example of what can happen when the dice do not wish to cooperate.

Cheers!


----------



## St.Germaine (Jan 4, 2007)

Very intrigueing color scheme. Definitely a combo not often encountered. Excellent looking nuns.


----------

