# Blood Angels Chapter project



## jaysen

I've been working on painting a chapter of space marines for some time now. It's slow going but this is what I have so far. The 4th company isn't painted. 2 of the land raiders, 1 baal predator, 1 banblade, and the 3 drop pods aren't built but are patiently waiting on my table back at home. About 4 squads of 1st company are painted and I'm currently working on this.

The attached pictures are of 1. the models i have primed and am working on painting here in Afghanistan, 2. The primed 4th Company (taken months ago), and 3. The painted models that I posed for a picture (taken in April 2011).

Formation: Dante's Sanguinary Host
Commander Dante
Honour Guard (blood champion, sanguinary novitiate, 3 x honour guard w/jump pack, power weapon)
Sanguinary Guard 
Sanguinary Guard (death masks, chapter banner, 3 infernus pistols, 2 plasma pistols)
Sanguinary Guard (death masks, 1 infernus pistol, 1 plasma pistol, 1 power fist)

Headquarters Company: (not a formation)
Mephiston
Corbulo
2 x Sanguinary Priests (jump packs, 1 plasma pistol, 1 infernus pistol, melta-bombs)
2 x Librarians (jump pack, 1 plasma pistol, 1 infernus pistol, force weapons, melta-bombs, sword of sanguinius, might of heroes)
Techmarine (servo harness)

Formation 1st Company:
Captain w/ jump pack, lightning claws, melta bombs
Honour Guard (Sang novitiate, 4 x veterans with jump pack, power sword)
Chaplain w/ terminator armor, meltabombs
6 x Terminator Squads (1 lightning claw squad, 1 thunder hammer squad, 4 "tactical squads, 3 Land Raider transports)
4 x Veteran Assault Squads (vanguard) (Most of these have infernus pistols or plasma pistols + power sword, power fist, or thunderhammer)

Formation 2nd Company:
Captain w/ jump pack, power sword, plasma pistol, melta bombs
Honour guard (Sang novitiate, Tech marine, 3x veterans with jump pack, power sword)
2 x Assault squad (2 melta guns, powerfist)
2 x Devastator squad (4 x plasma cannon, 4 x heavy bolter, storm bolter, two land raider crusader transports)
6 x tactical squads (3 x plasma guns, 2 x melta guns, 1 x flamer, 5 x lascannon, 1 x missile launcher, rhinos with hunter killer missiles and storm bolters)

Formation 4th Company: (unpainted)
Captain w/ combi-plasma, power sword
Honour guard (Sang novitiate, company champion, company banner, 2x melta guns, razorback transport w/ TL assault cannons)
2 x Assault squads (2 x plasma pistols, powerfist, power sword)
2 x Devastator squads (each with 1 Missile launcher, 1 multimelta, 1 plasma cannon, 1 lascannon, razorback w/ TL lascannon)
3 x Tactical squad (flamer, missile launcher, drop pod)
3 x Tactical squad (flamer, missile launcher)

Formation: 10th Scout Company:
Captain w/ combi-plasma, power sword
Honour guard (sang novitiate, 4 x veterans with power weapons (heresy and corvus armor))
5 x Scout squads (bolt pistol, combat blade, 1 sergeant with powerfist)
2 x Scout squads (sniper rifles, missile launcher)
1 x Scout squad (combat shotguns, heavy bolter)
2 x Scout squads (bolters, heavy bolters)

Formation: Ancients Assault Force
Techmarine (servo harness, power weapon, plasma pistol)
5 x Dreadnoughts (2 Assault Cannon, 2 multimelta, 1 TL lascannon, 2 missile launcher)
3 x Furioso Dreadnoughts (1 Frag Cannon, 2 Magna Grapple)
1 x Furioso Librarian (Might of Heroes, Shield of Sanguinius)

Formation: Death Company Company
Astorath
Death Company Tycho
4 x Chaplains (jump pack, melta-bombs)
4 x Death Company Dreadnoughts (2 w/ blood talons, 2 magna grapples)
30 x Death Company + Chaplain Lemartes (10 powerfists, 10 power weapons, 10 chainswords, 3 plasma pistols, 3 infernus pistols, jump packs)
30 x Death Company (8 powerfists, 10 power weapons, 10 chainswords, 2 thunder hammers, 3 plasma pistols, 3 infernus pistols, jump packs)
10 x Death Company (10 power weapons, jump packs)
10 x Death Company (bolters, power weapons, ride in a stormraven)

Extras:
3 x Baal Predators (heavy bolters, storm bolters, TL assault cannons)
2 x Predators (1 with lascannons, 1 with autocannon, heavy bolters)
2 x Land speeders (1 heavy bolter, 1 multimelta, 1 assault cannon, 1 typhoon missile launcher)
4 x Bikes (2 meltaguns)
1 x Attack Bike (multimelta)
3 x Stormravens (2 with multimelta, assault cannon, and hurrican bolters, 1 with typhoon missile launcher, TL lascannons)

Allies:
2 x Baneblades
1 x Shadowsword
1 x Warhound Titan (plasma blastgun, vulcan mega-bolter)
Imperial Guard Platoon (2 squads, plus 3 heavy weapon squads with lascannons)


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## Dave T Hobbit

Commendable dedication; my plan to build an entire company of SMs stalled before it got as far as you have, without the extra difficulty of being in Afghanistan.


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## jaysen

*Update to blood angel project*

Okay, my goal is to paint at least 5 models per week till I go home in December. So, far I'm on track with that goal. I've "finished" 10 models, my lightning claw terminator squad for 1st Company. Well, they are as finished as they will get till I get access to the rest of my paint and some basing materials. I'm seriously thinking about giving the whole army some nice, resin cast bases. I've been just using standard flat bases with green grass but it is just too plain and non-cool.


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## InkedDnA

HUGE BA ARMY!!! AHHHHH! I wish i still had access to my deployment money :/ I put it into a couple CD's. DAMN IT! 

Making good progress. 5 a week soounds like a good solid number. Can't wait to see everything as you progress


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## Bane_of_Kings

Wow, that's a massive army! Have some rep .


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## Doelago

Wow, thats awesome. :shok:


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## jaysen

The real problem, aside from time and money, is that I don't think there is a list anywhere of how many vehicles the Blood Angels have. It only talks about dreadnoughts and thunderhawks. The number of transports, tanks, skimmers, bikes, and stormravens is left to the imagination of the owner. Bah!

I have created my companies from the space marine battle company template. But, since Blood Angels can take assault squads and death company as troops, I'm thinking of deviating from the template on my next company. 

3rd Company
Captain: power sword, combi-melta
Honour guard: champion, company banner, novitiate priest, 2 x power sword, razorback twin-linked assault cannon + HK missile + storm bolter

3 x tactical squads (flamer, missile launcher, rhino)
4 x assault squads (2 x meltaguns, power sword, meltabomb)
2 x space marine bike squads (assault bikes with multimelta, 2 meltaguns)
1 x death company squad (5 power swords, 2 powerfists, 3 chainswords, 2 infernus pistols, jump packs)
1 x Death Company Dreadnought (blood talons, magna grapple, heavy flamer)
2 x Dreadnoughts (1 Assault Cannon, 1 Plasma Cannon, 1 Missile Launcher, 1 Magna-grapple)


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## Azkaellon

There is a full list of there tanks\Ground units in the front of the codex, Hell my army is already a full non-heresy company then some.........Shame im pre-heresy so i need 1000 marines + Support for my first company to be finished D:

Also as your army is post heresy, you would only be able to have a mix of the following up to 101 models. (Page 9 Ba Codex for Veterans)

-Terminators
-Vanguards
-Sternguard


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## Bubblematrix

Are you intending on adding a Thunderhawk out of interest, that army looks cool as hell, but a Thunderhawk playing big daddy to the Stormravens would look neat.

I didn't spot any dreads - are they going in there?

Looks very nice though, good luck in completing it all.


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## Zodd

That's an impressive army. And it's a Blood Angel army :biggrin:
I think i would draw your attention to the Army Showcase. This army deserves to be posted there.
And have some rep.


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## jaysen

Azkaellon:

Does the codex list the number of support vehicles? Predators, Land Raiders, Land Speeders, etc? I don't have my copy with me.

Also, the formation data sheet for 1st Company has terminators, assault terminators, vanguard assault squads, sternguard squads, 1 honor guard, 1 captain, 0-1 chaplain, and 0-1 librarian. That's a possible 108. I guess the chaplain and librarian officially count as part of headquarters company. Since the Blood Angels have never been a "Index Astartes" chapter, I feel I can use some artistic license when it comes to filling out the companies. Plus, who is to say that a tactical marine can't strap on a jump pack or ride a tactical motorcycle if the need arises? Also, the chapter is probably never at exactly 1000 marines. That's the goal, but depends heavily on recruitment, casualties, "retirement", etc... One company might have a bumper crop of recruits or be reinforced for specific missions. My thought about the 1st Company honor guard is that they are the newest candidates for the veteran company, recruited from the cream of the line companies. They are brought into the honor guard to be evaluated by the Captain and his most senior sergeant, the company champion. The members of the honor guard therefore maintain the badges of their company on their right pauldron to show that they are not yet part of the 1st Company. Once they have earned the blood champion and Captains approval, they are then moved to one of the companies regular squads and given the honor of wearing the white skull badge.

Bubblematrix:

I've got 15 dreadnoughts built, but only 4-5 are painted. You can see 3 in the group picture, a red dreadnought in the center, and two death company ones on the right.

I've been thinking about building a scratch Thunderhawk or two. I've got a friend with templates for the body and wings. That's a goal for the future. First, I want to finish painting 1st and 4th Companies.

By the by, I got busy Monday and painted up 5 veteran assault marines. I know I'm supposed to do 5 a week, but these will be done in just two days, so I might do a whole squad this week. They go faster than the terminators.


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## jaysen

I want to order some scenic bases for the models I'm working on here. I have a hard time remembering which size is for infantry and what size is for terminators. I really wish the USA would switch over to the French Metric system like the rest of the world. I looked it up on google, 25mm and 40mm.

I think I'll completely finish painting the models on the plain jane bases. Then, paint the bases to perfection. Then glue the figure to the nice base. That way, I don't have to worry about getting base paint on the feet.


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## jaysen

Azkaellon said:


> There is a full list of there tanksGround units in the front of the codex, Hell my army is already a full non-heresy company then some.........Shame im pre-heresy so i need 1000 marines + Support for my first company to be finished D:
> 
> Also as your army is post heresy, you would only be able to have a mix of the following up to 101 models. (Page 9 Ba Codex for Veterans)
> 
> -Terminators
> -Vanguards
> -Sternguard


You know, I really don't agree with how GW calls the pre-heresy formations "great companies." Why not just call it what it is? It all goes back to how much one person can reasonably manage on the battlefield. The longstanding idea is that a good commander can manage 3 main formations, plus 2-3 support formations, and possibly 1-2 in reserve. So, the "company" would need to be divided into basically 5-6 parts, call them "platoons", then platoons to squads. Since Space Marines are more capable and have lesser numbers, a squad is equivalent to a regular platoon, maybe. So, maybe 2 squads per team, that would give 3 main teams, plus the support and reserve units, the assault and devastor teams.

So, all that said, a company would remain about 100 Space Marines, no matter how many marines were in the main organization or "legion."

3-4 companies should form a battalion. 3-4 battalions then form either a regiment or brigade. 3-4 brigades or regiments form a division.

So, 400 Space Marines per battalion, 1200-1600 per chapter, and 3600-6400 per division. 2-3 divisions would form the legion, 7200-19200 space marines. Then, you have to add in about 3-4 servitors and support personnel for every space marine and additional personnel to pilot aircraft, crew the large ships, techmarines, apothecaries, librarians, chaplains, etc...

So, I suppose a "Great Company", such as in the Space Wolves would be the equivalent of a modern chapter. Then an Expeditionary Force or Crusade Force would probably have been comprised of a chapter or division, depending on the size of the force. Only in a few of the expeditions were there extremely large forces of space marines that comprised an entire legion. Horus' was the only one I have read of. It had almost all of the Luna Wolves, plus several companies from other Legions.


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## jaysen

I stayed up late painting this figure last night and when I finally hit the rack, I thought I'd done such a good job that I took pictures. Now, looking at the up close pictures, I think I must've been really sleepy, hehe. I'll definitely have to touch this guy up and possibly redo the entire head. I guess this just goes to show how usefull a good digital camera is to self critique your work. To fix the head, I think I'll try to detach it, strip it, then redo the whole thing before re-attaching. I'll let you know how it goes.

The back screwed up area is where the jump pack was attached. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I completely built the model before painting. I should have waited on attaching the pack on this particular model because of the pose and the detailed pauldrons.


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## jaysen

Okay, this Sergeant is about as far as he's going to get till I get some resin bases and learn a better way to paint faces.


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## Dave T Hobbit

The face is not bad.

He look too red to me; I would pick a different colour for the weapon casing to add some variety.


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## jaysen

Yeah, I've struggled with that myself. What's a good color? Don't want to use black, boltgun, blood red.... I also think it'll lose some of the redness when I put him on the good resin bases. They will be mostly gray and green.


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## Dave T Hobbit

jaysen said:


> Yeah, I've struggled with that myself. What's a good color? Don't want to use black, boltgun, blood red....


Yellow is traditional; green might also work.


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## jaysen

I've got about 20 more of these guys to paint. I'll try some different things. For this guy, I might just do some caution stripes or kill count marks. If I repaint it and try to completely cover the red, it'll end up really thick.


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## jaysen

Well, four weeks down and 20 space marines painted. I've started another 5 terminators last night. Just 50 to go, k:. I need to try and get a few days ahead, so when the resin bases come in I can add them without getting behind in the schedule.


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## Dave T Hobbit

Quite an amazing rate of progress there.


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## jaysen

I decided to go ahead and build a Terminator Librarian to help lead the main force of 60 terminators along with the terminator chaplain. I took a terminator from the new Gray Knights box for it. I love that new force staff they have. I've got a honour guard that I just started putting together last night, but still need to find a suitable captain for 1st Company. He needs to be in power armour and distinct. That's gonna be tough with so much ornamentation and specialty I've already put on the vanguard assault marines and sergeants. What would really be cool is if I could find or make a model slightly taller and bigger than the rest to be the captain. Maybe I could convert the finecast Blood Angels assault sergeant model? Maybe I could take a standard space marine and add some green stuff in the joints to make him taller, maybe some platform boots.


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## InkedDnA

Quick question. I was a Ranger in the Army for 4 years. I can't even imagine having enough free time to paint a set of legs during one of my deployments. I am in no way trying to be a dick or anything, I was just curious what your MOS and branch are?


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## jaysen

Oh, no problem. I'm not going to talk too much about what I do, but suffice to say I'm not in the trenches. I was the last two deployments, but this time I'm basically a liaison officer, and get off work most nights before 1900. So, I have from 1900-2100 or so when I hit the rack.


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## InkedDnA

Ah. Gotcha. I was just curious. Your army is HUUUUGE, lol. I wish I would have got back into the 40k scene when I was enlisted, Garrison life would have went by A LOT quicker. haha. Appreciate what you do, and keep the updates comin! I love checkin this thread to see the progress you're making.


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## jaysen

Here's some pics of the Honour Guard and Librarian. I messed around with some green stuff to fill in the cracks on the jump packs, but it didn't work well at all. These still need some work before going to paint. But, I think the poses turned out well.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

The poses look great! Lets see some paint!


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## jaysen

For all those who have been following this PLOG, I've been taking a small break from painting. I haven't had a lot of free time in the past two weeks, and what I have had has gone into the Titan project. I do have 5 terminators primed, based in blood red, and waiting for my attention.

So, in the mean time, I thought I'd share some more photographs.


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## jaysen

I've been somewhat busy this week. I got my forgeworld Blood Angels land raider doors in, but they were all warped and covered with flash. So, I fixed one set and partially built the Land Raider Crusader. I'm still waiting on primer paint to arrive in the mail so that I can finish the build. Some parts have to be painted before you put them together or you can't reach all the parts.

Also, I've put together two 5-man assault squads without jump packs. This is something that has been against my better judgement in the past. I love jump packs and can usually judge 12" and 18" and use terrain quite effectively in 3rd and 4th editions. Now, however, the remove jump packs rule has completely changed and the razorback has once again become a good choice. So, I've also built a razorback out of a rhino I had and extra Land Raider hull gun parts. I'll have to wait to make a las-plas variant, since I have no parts for it.

I'll post pictures tonight.


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## jaysen

Here are the pics.


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## InkedDnA

I love following this. It just keeps getting more and more awesome. As for your titan project, do you have a time frame for its' completion?

I'm also diggin the haji coke in the back. gotta love them pop tops.


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## jaysen

The titan is subject to the whims of the US and USMC postal system. I've been waiting for the bastions, styrene sheets, and other fortress for about a month, it seems. I hope to have it ready for paint by Christmas. I want to have it painted and ready for battle when I return to the states. That way, I can bring it with me to the Apocalypse big games in January and February.

I've decided to start another Blood Angels company and put the 1st Company on a back burner. I realized I really don't have a very competitive Blood Angels list and needed some assault squads without jump packs. Since there is no Blood Angels version of the Space Marine Battle Company data sheet, this will be the company that I draw my regular smaller game armies from.

Also, my beleaguered 2nd Company was painted about 10 years ago and I want to have an army that shows off my more recent skills. 1st Company is great, but I doubt I'll field it often. So, it's on to 4th.

It also gives me an opportunity to paint the whole company with the official Blood Angels color scheme, which I have never really done.


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## jaysen

I decided to do some more plastic doodling and make some more characters. The first is my Sanguinary Priest in Terminator Armor for 1st Company. The second is a veteran sergeant for a 4th Company tactical squad.


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## jaysen

Well, I finally got my huge box of goodies from CCG Armory. The good part is they had no qualms about shipping spray paint to me. The bad part is that it took a month to get here, arrrggghh!!

So, I do some last minute cleaning of the infantry models I've built since I got here, put them on some cardboard, and take them outside to spray. I shook the can for over a minute and was carefull to paint in sweeping light coats.

Once done, I let em dry for 5-6 minutes and brought them inside to look at them. That's when I remembered a very important thing about spray paint. It don't work if the paint dries before it hits the model. The models were coated in this fluffy dusting of dried paint dust.

So, after about 30 minutes worth of sulking, I decided to see how salvageable they were. I took a toothbrush and went over one of them. About 95% of the primer paint just brushed right off, leaving a slightly smoked look on the model. I built a small cardboard paint booth inside my room to prevent any stray paint getting loose or any dust or wind getting in the way, then painted the sergeant again right there inside my room. I know, I know, I should only paint in well ventilated blah blah blah.... But, I couldn't. So, after spending an hour brushing the paint dust off all the other models, I repainted them inside the room (approx 22 deg Centigrade, as opposed to about 45 outside). This time, it worked fine. I left the room while they dried to avoid the brain damage and stuff.

BTW, this will be my first attempt at painting the way most people do, by using black primer. All my other models have been primed with white. I think I'll still use white on the vehicles. It just takes too much paint to do that many layers on a land raider.


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## jaysen

Okay, I went and spent the night painting a test model up and I'm really really not happy. There is something fundamentaly wrong. The surface of the paint is all gritty and lumpy and I think it's caused by the primer. I went ahead and finished the model just to check colors, but it will have to be stripped and redone. I do like this painting method although it takes a lot longer to do. I just need to take some sand paper to the model first, or something. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears. Here are the pics.


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## Dave T Hobbit

I see your point regarding rough primer.

Apart from that the scheme looks good.


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## Fenrisian

That army is F*cktastic ! Keep on churning those out ! And also , Space Wolf deployed the whole chapter in the invasion of Prospero ( to refer to the question in the first or second page ).


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## jaysen

I took your suggestion, Dave, about painting the weapons a complimentary non-neutral color. The traditional yellow does look pretty good. Also, the green company badge looks awesome on the red background. I just need to find a good paint-pen to outline those teardrops and clean them up some.

I've ordered a lot of the blood angels triple teardrop shoulderpads from the bitzbarn.com website. They should make the sergeants, at least, look better than my hamfist attempt at freehand.

Also, I used a toothbrush to brush away most of the grit on another of the rough primed models. After 3-4 minutes worth of scrubbing, it looked smooth enough to paint. I'll post pics tomorrow, so you can compare and contrast to the ones above.

Fenrisian, I read the two novels, Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns. They were excellent storytelling. The Magnus tragedy was very dramatic. But then, when I read the Space Wolf side of the story I wanted to burn all those heretics alive, heh. I have a small Space Wolves army started and that will probably be my next project once I've tired of painting red.


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## Dave T Hobbit

jaysen said:


> I took your suggestion, Dave, about painting the weapons a complimentary non-neutral color. The traditional yellow does look pretty good.


Glad I could help.


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## sponsra

Amazing army. Have you calcutaed the total point-cost, and total number of minis? (and total $ )? You got a really good, vibrant red going! The primer seem slightly grainy though? Or is it just the photos? As for the bolter casings I did mine brown. i have a IF force and and since they're chicken-yellow I didn't want to add another bright color so I imagined they where cased i leather. But the yellow looks good though... Are you gonna go with the black primer now? Like you I always prime white -feels like I have more control over the colors that way..


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## jaysen

Yeah, most of the army is primed white, then washed several times in blood red till really red, then washed with flesh wash and gryphone, then I go through a 3-4 step highlighting process. This works and is a really fast way to paint. But, the non-red parts get a little lost and end up looking red through their intended colors. And, the shadows aren't convincing.

So, I've tried switching over to the mainstream way of painting in the 5 step process that most award winning painters use. It takes a lot more time and you kinda have to work on one model at a time. But, the results are already showing, even though I have to improve my process and get better at it. I'm working on my second model in this fashion, and it already looks better than the old ones.

Last estimate on total points was 25,000, but it's always growing. I'd say I have around 550-600 infantry models and uncounted numbers of vehicles. The full list is on my Army Showcase, if you are interested. Look at the "My Armies" link under my avatar.


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## jaysen

Here's some more pics. The primed models show how F**ked up that damn Armory Black Primer is. They should pay me for the models that have been ruined. The red model is the Assault Marine that I brushed for a long long time with a tooth brush to try and get the primer somewhat smooth before starting. He is better than the first one I painted, but not as smooth as I'd like.


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## InkedDnA

Wow man, what a crock of shit. That definitely sucks that your primer is powder coating your models. Is it just too damn hot out, or is it shitty primer?


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## jaysen

I don't know. Maybe it's because there's zero humidity? After 5 mins of brushing, they are almost acceptable. I had this happen once before with a cheap generic brand of primer and that was in Virginia in the Winter.

You know.... They would make cool "victims of a meltagun" models. They look like they've been hit by a Grey Knight incinerator, heh.

The attachment is the final picture of the test figure before I strip him down to bare plastic and start over. I think he looks okay, but I'd like to make this new army a bit better than my old armies. I'll start him anew, and maybe do something about that 1st edition plastic pose.


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## jaysen

*Assault Space Marine #2*

I've pretty much finished the second assault marine, painted using the black primer, mechrite red, blood red, gryphone wash, blood red, blazing orange. For the wings, I'm going with a simple codex gray two coat drybrush, then finish with light space wolf grey drybrush. The pistol and sword are using a basecoat of snakebite leather, then a 50/50 mix of snakebite and golden yellow, then straight golden yellow highlight.

After looking at the photos, I'm seeing a lot of mistakes I couldn't see with the naked eye. I definitely need to get some of those hobbyist magnifying glasses.


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## jaysen

Other than the obvious paint mistakes like the red on the chainsword hilt and the teardrops need to be neatened up, and the right eye needs to be fixed, are there any other things I should do to this guy? Should I try for fancy jeweled teardrops on the company badge?

I think I might also go over the wax seal on the purity seal. It's not as solid as I'd like. 

I think he came out much better than the first one. I'm hoping this is a trend and the next will even be better. I'm going to paint one of the Mark VI Corvus armored marines next.


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## Dave T Hobbit

It looks good.

If you want to be really tidy, the shade on the left pauldron looks a little thick at the front.


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## jaysen

*Scratch built sanguinary priest apothecary arm.*

I've fixed the too dark shadows and other things I noted before. I've also started painting another assault marine (without jp). This time, I'm doing a Corvus Mark VI armored guy. It'll be interesting to adopt the yellow I've used on the weapons to a large rounded helmet.

Also, I've been exasperated by the utter lack of support for the Blood Angels Sanguinary Priest, which is potentially a very exciting model. All of the regalia and ornamentation of the chapter should be focused on these holy medicine men of the chapter. So, I've been on a crusade to make my own. But, the apothecary arm is only sold in the Headquarters Squad box ($30) and the Grey Knights Terminator box ($45). That's too expensive for one arm and I really don't want the rest of the bits.

So, I studied the thing. Basically, it's the cuff and sleeve of a powerfist, with the hand part removed, a normal hand substituted, and a few drills and such added. Well, I have most of those parts, so I started to work last night. It still needs some work cleaning up and greenstuffing. But, it's a start. The apothecary backpack was left over from the last HQ squad I used for my BA Honour Guard for 8th Company.


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## Dave T Hobbit

Clever conversion idea.

It already looks good.


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## jaysen

I was able to do some more painting today on the 8th company, vehicle born, assault squad. It's looking pretty good, considering the problems I had with the primer.

Hopefully, I'll be able to fix those problems with the next squad I do. Here's the pics.


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## GrimzagGorwazza

Looking good dude the yellow on the guy with the non beaky helmet is looking particularly nice. Have you considered adding some heat damage to the chrome of the melta? a little bit of really dilute blue ink applied to the tip of the weapon would make it look like it's been superheated repeatedly. 
+ rep for the impressive undertaking, can't wait to see the whole chapter stood to attention with your warlord watching over em.


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## jaysen

Well, I haven't been painting in the last few days, but I have been busy building.

I got bored and decided to put some stuff together. In the past few days, I've been putting together my Space Wolves and some tanks. So far, I've done the following:

1. Built 10 Blood Claws
2. Built 10 Grey Hunters
3. Built 5 scouts with bolters
4. Built 1 Space Wolves drop pod
5. Built 5 space wolf terminator wolf guard from black reach terminators

6. Built 2 Vindicators
7. Built 1 Rhino
8. Built 3 Grey Knights Terminators
9. Finished building the remaining Blood Angels assault squads and sprayed them black.

I found out that if the spray can has been in my room air conditioning long enough to be the same temperature as the room's air, and I shake it up for a good 60 seconds, and I give short controlled bursts from 6-8", the spray works okay. It's still a bit grainy and still leaves some dust on the model that has to be brushed away. But, the end product isn't near as bad as the last batch.

Here's some pics of the converted black reach terminators with TH/SS and LC from the wolf pack sprus.


----------



## jaysen

Well, I've built everything I have to build. I guess I gotta go back to painting now. I don't know why I have such an aversion to painting from time to time.

Okay, so now I have about 9 weeks in which to paint 35 space marines, about 30 terminators, 20 vanguard marines, 2 land raiders, 4 razorbacks, 2 vindicators, a drop pod, 5 scouts, 10 blood claws, and 10 grey hunters.

I don't think I have enough time left, :shok: I think I'll start with the 6 assault squads and razorbacks. That will at least give me a newly painted, fieldable army to play when I get back.


----------



## Dave T Hobbit

That is a lot of stuff to paint; that might be more than I could paint in nine months let alone weeks.

Try not to go insane!


----------



## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

I have to agree with Dave, good luck on that.

On a second note, have you resolved the issue yet with the primer? Would hate to see alot of your models get messed up due to the primer issue.

Every think about investing in a portable airbrush w/compressor and some Vallejo airbrush primer?


----------



## jaysen

I've about halfway figured out the primer issue. 1. The paint can has to be in the air conditioned room for enough time for it to be the same temperature as the ambient air. 2. The armory primer paint is not the best stuff in the world and will still leave a light coat of dust on the model that is paint that didn't stick. I brush this off with a toothbrush.

I think I'm going to wait on painting the vehicles. The rest of my army's vehicles are sprayed with white primer, cleaned, then sprayed with red pepper krylon, cleaned, then washed with blood red, then washed with devlan mud and highlighted. Since I can't seem to get any more paint shipped here, I'll wait till I get back to the states. I really don't want to attempt the same method i've been using on these troops on tanks. 1. It'd take way too much expensive gw paint, 2. It'd be much much harder to get the paint to come out as smooth as the spray.

So, that just leaves the rest of 1st Company, and about 35 troops of 8th company. If I can just finish about 3-4 squads, I'll be happy. I don't have near as much time on my hands now as I did a few months ago.


----------



## jaysen

Here is my first completed half-squad for 8th Company. I decided to start with 5th squad, since I'll make the ones with jump packs be 1-4. 5-8 will be razorbacks and 9-10 will be reserves with magnetized jump pack / backpack. I just remembered I still need to put some transfers on two of these models, so I guess I'm not done yet. And, I need to paint the squad markings on the kneepads.


----------



## Chaosftw

Holy shit thats a lot of marines! very wicked!! 

+rep!

Chaosftw


----------



## Dave T Hobbit

Very consistent work on the yellows: well done.


----------



## Haskanael

damn your making good progress, I like the shoulder pad.


----------



## jaysen

Thank you, gentlemen. I'm starting on the second squad tonight.


----------



## jaysen

I've got the second squad primed and based but got pretty tired of painting them after that. So, I decided to paint up a character. Here's my terminator librarian. He's about 90% finished, just need to finish the shoulderpads, the resin base, and detail the face.


----------



## Dave T Hobbit

You have captured his expression very well.


----------



## jaysen

Here's the latest project. This is going to be my 1st Company Captain, I think. I'm not that experienced with green stuff, so this might take a few tries. I got the idea from the picture of sanguinius in the front of the BA codex.


----------



## mad matt

That´s what I call a really impressive ARMY!!! Great Job!


----------



## Medic Marine

Holy Blumpkin Batman these are some stellar models. 
Lots and lots of character and dynamic poses for the army, Your red is smooth and well done, the yellow accents the army well and is smooth with great highlights. 
I personally really like every face I have seen, lots of character and great detail work. 

I have plenty of inspiration to go back to my project log now, great stuff here. 

REP!


----------



## jaysen

Well, I've been away from the web for a week and I've got withdraw. Here's the start for the terminator captain. I still need to do all the joints, the eye lenses, and finish the gold filigree on the gorget. Oh, btw, this guy was made from a AoBR terminator sergeant model, with grey knight helmet and rondel.


----------



## Dave T Hobbit

Crisp clean painting there and good choice of parts.

However, the chest looks a little plain at the moment compared to the rest on the model.


----------



## jaysen

I was thinking to freehand some gold filligree but it's not working out. Maybe I'll make some simple curley ques? I wish I could paint and model well enough to make it look more like the picture.


----------



## jaysen

I went onto Amazon and priced out my 2nd Company. If I were to buy the models now, it'd cost me over $800. Ye gods, it's amazing. I don't even want to know what 1st Company cost with its 60 terminators, 40 vanguard, 6 land raiders, and 5 dreadnoughts.


----------



## jaysen

I've started another character. I was dissappointed with the green stuff cape I made for the terminator, so this time I'm trying something different.


----------



## jaysen

I'm about 95% done with half of 6th squad, 8th Company. I just need to drill some barrels and do some touch ups. I'm still struggling against the really rough and grainy black primer. You might not be able to tell in the pics, but up close the surface of the models is like sand paper. So, it's less that optimal conditions for a nice paint job. My next squad, I might start from scratch and use thinned citadel paint as a base coat. 

PS - the marine in the middle photo is a casualty. He has a smoking hole in his right pauldron and is in the process of being knocked down.


----------



## Carna

Looking good there buddy. I like the back-banner. The cape on the SC looks good too!


----------



## jaysen

Thanks, I'm totally open to comments, critiques, and suggestions. I've been in the hobby a long time, but have only recently started to give painting a serious try.

In fact, I pulled out the assault terminators that I painted earlier this summer. When I looked at them, I immediately recognized that I have come a long long way in the past few months. Now, I have to go back and redo them. Or, maybe I'll wait till I'm done with the current army. That way I'll be that much better before redoing the expensive terminator squad.


----------



## jaysen

Well, I must've drank too much coffee at work yesterday, because I couldn't go to sleep. So, I stayed up and worked on my first attempt at a Sanguinary Priest paintjob. It came out okay, but next time I'm going to do something different with the white helmet.

This guys is almost done, just need to do the base and backpack.


----------



## Minizke1

jaysen said:


> Well, I must've drank too much coffee at work yesterday, because I couldn't go to sleep. So, I stayed up and worked on my first attempt at a Sanguinary Priest paintjob. It came out okay, but next time I'm going to do something different with the white helmet.
> 
> This guys is almost done, just need to do the base and backpack.


Looking smexy.


----------



## jaysen

jaysen said:


> I've been working on painting a chapter of space marines for some time now. It's slow going but this is what I have so far. The 4th company isn't painted. 2 of the land raiders, 1 baal predator, 1 banblade, and the 3 drop pods aren't built but are patiently waiting on my table back at home. About 4 squads of 1st company are painted and I'm currently working on this.
> 
> The attached pictures are of 1. the models i have primed and am working on painting here in Afghanistan, 2. The primed 4th Company (taken months ago), and 3. The painted models that I posed for a picture (taken in April 2011).
> 
> Formation: Dante's Sanguinary Host
> Commander Dante
> Honour Guard (blood champion, sanguinary novitiate, 3 x honour guard w/jump pack, power weapon)
> Sanguinary Guard
> Sanguinary Guard (death masks, chapter banner, 3 infernus pistols, 2 plasma pistols)
> Sanguinary Guard (death masks, 1 infernus pistol, 1 plasma pistol, 1 power fist)
> 
> Headquarters Company: (not a formation)
> Mephiston
> Corbulo
> 2 x Sanguinary Priests (jump packs, 1 plasma pistol, 1 infernus pistol, melta-bombs)
> 2 x Librarians (jump pack, 1 plasma pistol, 1 infernus pistol, force weapons, melta-bombs, sword of sanguinius, might of heroes)
> Techmarine (servo harness)
> 
> Formation 1st Company:
> Captain w/ jump pack, lightning claws, melta bombs
> Honour Guard (Sang novitiate, 4 x veterans with jump pack, power sword)
> Chaplain w/ terminator armor, meltabombs
> 6 x Terminator Squads (1 lightning claw squad, 1 thunder hammer squad, 4 "tactical squads, 3 Land Raider transports)
> 4 x Veteran Assault Squads (vanguard) (Most of these have infernus pistols or plasma pistols + power sword, power fist, or thunderhammer)
> 
> Formation 2nd Company:
> Captain w/ jump pack, power sword, plasma pistol, melta bombs
> Honour guard (Sang novitiate, Tech marine, 3x veterans with jump pack, power sword)
> 2 x Assault squad (2 melta guns, powerfist)
> 2 x Devastator squad (4 x plasma cannon, 4 x heavy bolter, storm bolter, two land raider crusader transports)
> 6 x tactical squads (3 x plasma guns, 2 x melta guns, 1 x flamer, 5 x lascannon, 1 x missile launcher, rhinos with hunter killer missiles and storm bolters)
> 
> Formation 4th Company: (unpainted)
> Captain w/ combi-plasma, power sword
> Honour guard (Sang novitiate, company champion, company banner, 2x melta guns, razorback transport w/ TL assault cannons)
> 2 x Assault squads (2 x plasma pistols, powerfist, power sword)
> 2 x Devastator squads (each with 1 Missile launcher, 1 multimelta, 1 plasma cannon, 1 lascannon, razorback w/ TL lascannon)
> 3 x Tactical squad (flamer, missile launcher, drop pod)
> 3 x Tactical squad (flamer, missile launcher)
> 
> Formation: 10th Scout Company:
> Captain w/ combi-plasma, power sword
> Honour guard (sang novitiate, 4 x veterans with power weapons (heresy and corvus armor))
> 5 x Scout squads (bolt pistol, combat blade, 1 sergeant with powerfist)
> 2 x Scout squads (sniper rifles, missile launcher)
> 1 x Scout squad (combat shotguns, heavy bolter)
> 2 x Scout squads (bolters, heavy bolters)
> 
> Formation: Ancients Assault Force
> Techmarine (servo harness, power weapon, plasma pistol)
> 5 x Dreadnoughts (2 Assault Cannon, 2 multimelta, 1 TL lascannon, 2 missile launcher)
> 3 x Furioso Dreadnoughts (1 Frag Cannon, 2 Magna Grapple)
> 1 x Furioso Librarian (Might of Heroes, Shield of Sanguinius)
> 
> Formation: Death Company Company
> Astorath
> Death Company Tycho
> 4 x Chaplains (jump pack, melta-bombs)
> 4 x Death Company Dreadnoughts (2 w/ blood talons, 2 magna grapples)
> 30 x Death Company + Chaplain Lemartes (10 powerfists, 10 power weapons, 10 chainswords, 3 plasma pistols, 3 infernus pistols, jump packs)
> 30 x Death Company (8 powerfists, 10 power weapons, 10 chainswords, 2 thunder hammers, 3 plasma pistols, 3 infernus pistols, jump packs)
> 10 x Death Company (10 power weapons, jump packs)
> 10 x Death Company (bolters, power weapons, ride in a stormraven)
> 
> Extras:
> 3 x Baal Predators (heavy bolters, storm bolters, TL assault cannons)
> 2 x Predators (1 with lascannons, 1 with autocannon, heavy bolters)
> 2 x Land speeders (1 heavy bolter, 1 multimelta, 1 assault cannon, 1 typhoon missile launcher)
> 4 x Bikes (2 meltaguns)
> 1 x Attack Bike (multimelta)
> 3 x Stormravens (2 with multimelta, assault cannon, and hurrican bolters, 1 with typhoon missile launcher, TL lascannons)
> 
> Allies:
> 2 x Baneblades
> 1 x Shadowsword
> 1 x Warhound Titan (plasma blastgun, vulcan mega-bolter)
> Imperial Guard Platoon (2 squads, plus 3 heavy weapon squads with lascannons)


 
Recently added to this list:

Formation: 8th Assault Company
Captain in power armor + jp + pw + infernus pistol
Honour Guard + jp + 2 pw + 1pf + blood champion
6 x Assault Squad + pf + (2)mg (removed jps)
4 x Assault Squad + pf + (2)mg 
Sanguinary Priest + jp + lightning claw
Sanguinary Priest + power weapon

4 x Razorbacks + 3 TL assault cannons, 1 x LC + TL plasmagun
1 x Drop pod

Land Raider Crusader #3
Land Raider #2
2 x vindicator
1 x Librarian + terminator armor + storm bolter (1st Company)
1 x Captain + terminator armor + storm bolter (1st Company)
1 x Sanguinary Priest + terminator armor + power weapon + storm bolter (1st Company)
1 x Captain + power weapon + plasma pistol (4th company? gotta get back home and see what all is needed)


----------



## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

WoW, thats quit the list as well.

As far as the painting goes the last guy you just did looks so much better then the others in my opionion, however, that damn primer is still jacking up you models mate. Are you priming inside or outside?


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## jaysen

I primed all these guys at the same time, outside in 100 degree F 0% humidity weather. So, one mistake is costing me big time. I've since figured it out and fixed the problem. But, I don't have the time or materials required to strip and reprime.

The Space Wolves that I primed last week look fine. But, these first 35 blood angel assault marines are all hosed up. I see it as practice and training. It'll make the smooth models in the future look that much better. I've got 65 other models to paint for this company and I'll be sure to prime them very very carefully.

Here's the finished (except for the base that I'm still waiting for) sang priest. I painted up the backpack and added some gray shadows to the white areas. I need to find a good white surface to take photos on, the gray is forcing the camera to lose some contrast.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

He looks so much better than the yellow. Grab some white printer paper for the time being and place the mini on that for picture taking, a piece on the bottem and behind will do just fine.


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## jaysen

Okay, this next model isn't completed yet. It's one night's work and a proof of concept. I've still got some blending and some detailing to do on him.

The big differences are: 

1. Not using sunburst yellow, but instead using desert yellow, iyanden yellow, and skull white. This gives a much softer ochre color that is easier to blend and mix.

2. Hand painted chapter badge. I need some more practice at this, obviously. I need to make it slightly smaller, and tighten up the edges. However, it still looks better than the transfer.

3. Hand painted 3D looking company badge.

I'm also going to paint the base rubble a graveyard earth color, to make more contrast with the bricks and masonry.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

That shoulder badge looks really really good! Good job man!


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## Dave T Hobbit

Technically the new yellow looks great; aesthetically I preferred the punch of the previous yellow.

The freehand is an excellent start; I always disliked painting on pauldrons as the curve is not even.


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## Djinn24

Looking awesome. I would not have guess it was painted on until you said something and I looked closer. The transitions on the yellow are a bit rough and seem dull.


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## jaysen

The funny thing is that I initially used the three tear drop company badge, instead of the two drop design as per the codex, so that I could use the sanguinary guard shoulderpads with that design and not have to hand paint them. But now that I see how easy it is, I really prefer hand painting.


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## Weapon

Oh my fuck.

THAT'S A LOT OF BLOOD.


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## jaysen

Yeah, and I just bought the rest of 8th Company. It'll be a while before I have all of 8th painted and added to the official group shot. Then, I need to paint up 4th Company next. They are primed and waiting on my work table in Virginia. I'm hoping to have 1st, 2nd, 8th, and 10th companies completed by the Spring gaming season.


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## Crimson Shadow

Between you and me, I think we've got almost an entire Blood Angels Chapter.

And I now have pictures so it DID happen. 

although the pic, gets an asterisk because it's missing my 4 Drop Pods (forgot to put them in), and my Furioso Librarian.


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## Lubacca

Crimson Shadow said:


> Between you and me, I think we've got almost an entire Blood Angels Chapter.
> 
> And I now have pictures so it DID happen.
> 
> although the pic, gets an asterisk because it's missing my 4 Drop Pods (forgot to put them in), and my Furioso Librarian.


 
Compared to this I have an incredibly SMALL force and I feel like I should apolgize or blame the cold temperature.....:shok::laugh:


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## Djinn24

Shit that is a lot of BA.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Criminy, I know that was a bitch to setup...LOL!


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## Crimson Shadow

Disciple_of_Ezekiel said:


> Criminy, I know that was a bitch to setup...LOL!


Took a couple hours. Hence, why I chose to add the asterisk about the missing Drop Pods and Furioso Librarian. I was halfway through putting everything away, before I realized I'd forgotten to put them in. Damn that, setting everything back up for those.


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## jaysen

Doh! I can't see the pic. Can you add it as an attachment or upload it to the Heresy Gallery? My network won't allow links to sites like photobucket.

---> Nevermind, I can see them in your army showcase. Very nice collection. I see you prime with white then add red for that bright blood color. That's how most of my army is done.

I know what you mean about the setup. I tried to setup all my painted BA, but forgot an entire case in the garage that had several vehicles. My problem is that I like buying and building as much as painting and it takes much less time. So, I've got about as many models unpainted as painted, especially now that I'm taking my time painting. I've been able to paint quite a bit on this deployment. I've painted two full squads for 1st Company, a terminator librarian, and three 5-man assault squads so far. I want to complete another 5-man squad, a librarian on foot, and maybe a razorback or two before I redeploy next month.


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## jaysen

Here's my latest squad, finished last night. Whenever I take pictures and post them, I inevitably will see things that I forgot to paint or splotches that need touching up. I had to take 3 sets of pictures for the Sgt and I still missed something. See if you can spot it.


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## Medic Marine

Nice, smooth yellow. The bases are well done as well. Good use of the DC sprue to add to the models as well.


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## Crimson Shadow

jaysen said:


> Doh! I can't see the pic. Can you add it as an attachment or upload it to the Heresy Gallery? My network won't allow links to sites like photobucket.
> 
> ---> Nevermind, I can see them in your army showcase. Very nice collection. I see you prime with white then add red for that bright blood color. That's how most of my army is done.
> 
> I know what you mean about the setup. I tried to setup all my painted BA, but forgot an entire case in the garage that had several vehicles. My problem is that I like buying and building as much as painting and it takes much less time. So, I've got about as many models unpainted as painted, especially now that I'm taking my time painting. I've been able to paint quite a bit on this deployment. I've painted two full squads for 1st Company, a terminator librarian, and three 5-man assault squads so far. I want to complete another 5-man squad, a librarian on foot, and maybe a razorback or two before I redeploy next month.


My collection would be even larger, had I not run into a little snag (unemployment). 

But I agree with you, I like to build the models, and play, waaay more than I like to paint. Hence why most of the models are primed and base coated, all stuff I could do with an aerosol can and an airbrush. I'm slowly getting everything painted, but at the rate you're going, you'll have everything painted long before I do.


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## jaysen

I also sold about 80% of my BA collection back in 2004. That's why I don't have any of the older vehicles or dreadnoughts left. I really screwed up with that move because I would love to have them back right now. I do have about 30 or so of the original metal blood angel marines and death company that I will be stripping down and repainting.


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## Daemon Prince Paintbox

.............!!!!.........That's a lot of red! How many pots of the stuff do you go through a week?! Have fun painting them.


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## Djinn24

This is shaping up to be a nice little painting blog! Keep up the great work.


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## jaysen

Daemon Prince Paintbox said:


> .............!!!!.........That's a lot of red! How many pots of the stuff do you go through a week?! Have fun painting them.


I've been through two pots of Blood Red and two of Mechrite Red and about to finish my first Iyanden Darksun since I got here in May.

Medic Marine, Crimson Shadow, and Djinn24: Thanks for the comments. I'm working on one more 5-man squad, then going to try and finish a Razorback or two before packing everything up and shipping it back to the States.


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## jaysen

Well, I've got the initial rough draft for a 8th Company banner for my command squad. C&C needed. There will be three dags at the bottom with script. The banner will say Deus Sanguinius.


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## jaysen

Here's an idea for a veteran sergeant back banner. I'm not that impressed with the 3 I've done so far and want to redo them. I'm going to try to come up with 6 distinctive sergeant banners that compliment the company banner. Here's the first.


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## jaysen

I called back home this morning and found out that my resin bases were sent to Virginia instead of Afghanistan. So, I've got a choice. I can either keep 8th squad on regular bases and wait to get home or rip the resin bases off of my honour guard and use them for 8th squad.

I don't have any pics, but I'm done with three of the marines from 8th squad. When finished, I'll post a group pic. I should be started on the first razorback by the weekend. My new goal is to have the 1000 point army done by mid-December when I leave for the states. Here's the list...

HQ
Librarian

Troops
3 x Assault Squad (5) + meltagun + powerfist + razorback w/twin linked assault cannon
1 x Assault Squad (5) + meltagun + powerfist + razorback w/lascannon and twin linked plasmagun

Boring list.... but, that's 8th Company for you.


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## jaysen

Here's some more pics of current progress on the 8th squad, 8th Company. I thought I was finished with these three. But, looking at the close up pictures I can see a lot of things that need to be done.


----------



## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

How do you plan on making the banner?


----------



## Dave T Hobbit

Good progress on painting marines.

Overall the company banner looks good. However the half crescent eyes on the goblet make it look as if it is asleep, so I would change that to either straight lines or ovals.


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## jaysen

Yeah, I did those banners up using MS Paint, not the best program for drawing. It'll look much better in paint. I intend to use the command squad company banner, prime it with black, then go at it. I'll paint the boxes of color fields first. Let them completely dry, highlight and shadow the curves, let that dry, then go to work on the details. Hopefully, it'll look like the attachment.


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## jaysen

Here's the update for the 8th squad (-). I might have to redo the banner once I figure out what I want. I haven't been happy with any of the banners so far.


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## Minizke1

Wow. Your freehand work amazes me.


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## jaysen

Here's my first Rhino and the librarian for 8th Company. The terminator librarian from earlier is going to be sent to 1st Company. I need to scrounge up some closed hatches. I have several HK missiles and pintle mounted storm bolters, but want to be able to switch them out with plain hatches for the 1000 pt list.


----------



## Crimson Shadow

I was bored today, and an idea popped into my head. get a rough tally of the points involved, should you ever choose to field the entire blood angels chapter.

Assumptions:
*Zero customization
*10 man squads (except sanguinary guard, in which case 6, 5 man squads were used)
*Every vehicle listed in the Chapter break down is used (43 land raiders, 51 Stormravens, 36 Thunderhawks, etc)
*All Land Raiders priced off default (250), does not account for Redeemer discount.

Total ~ 89880pts

Missing from the total:
*The entire first company, except the captain. I have no reliable way to breakdown the Vanguard/Sternguard/Terminator ratio to do points for it.
*Bikes/Attack bikes/Land Speeders (These are maintained by the individual Companies, so again no way to break down)
*Drop Pods/Razorbacks/Rhinos (no reliable way to break down, estimate follows)

Given that there are 44 tactical squads, 18 assault squads, and 18 Devastator squads in the 2nd-8th companies, we could estimate that 70-80% of the tac squads would have transportation, 30-50% of the assault squads, and probably 20-50% of the Devastator squads would have access to these vehicles. Given those parameters, we average the stock price of the 3 dedicated transports(~47pts), and multiply it out, giving us a transport total of: ~2186

and a new sub total of: 92066

Factoring in the 1st company and the vehicles not included above, you're looking at over 100,000 pts. That would be one hell of a battle.


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## jaysen

Hmm, okay, this is what I have compared to what's listed in the book. Well, this is all estimated since I'm in Afghanistan and the majority of my army is in Virginia.
Commander Dante  1/1
Sanguinor  1/1

------------------------------
Sanguinary Priesthood
Brother Corbulo  1/1
21 Sanguinary Priests :angry: 5/21

------------------------------
Reclusiam
High Chaplain Astorath the Grim  1/1
13 Chaplains k: 8/13
------------------------------
Sanguinary Guard
Brother Sepharan + 29 more guards :victory: 15/30
------------------------------
Armoury
Brother Incarael  1/1
35 Techmarines :angry: 5/35
20 Predators :angry: 3/20
18 Baal Predators :angry: 3/18
5 Vindicators :angry: 2/5
7 Whirlwinds :angry: 1/7
43 Land Raiders :angry: 5/43
51 Stormravens :angry: 3/51
-------------------------------
Fleet Command
Brother Bellerophon :angry: 0/1
7 Strike Cruisers :angry: 3/7
2 Battle Barges k: 1/2
16 Rapid Strike Vessels k: 9/16
36 Thunderhawk gunships :angry: 0/36
3 Thunderhawk transporters :angry: 0/3
--------------------------------
Librarius
Mephiston  1/1
6 Epistolaries k: 3/6
11 Codiciers :angry: 2/11
5 Furioso Librarians :angry: 1/5
--------------------------------
1st Company
101 Veterans :wink: 101/101
5 Furioso Dreadnoughts :victory: 4/5
--------------------------------
2nd Company
Captain Aphael :grin: 1/1
6 Tactical Squads :grin: 6/6
2 Assault Squads :grin: 2/2
2 Devastator Squads :grin: 2/2
3 Dreadnoughts :grin: 3/3
--------------------------------
3rd Company --- :angry: none
--------------------------------
4th Company
Captain Castigan :wink: 1/1
6 Tactical Squads :grin: 6/6
2 Assault Squads :grin: 2/2
2 Devastator Squads :grin: 2/2
4 Dreadnoughts :grin: 3/3
--------------------------------
5th, 6th, 7th :ireful2: none -- I do have about 100 Death Company that could stand in for one of these missing companies. I'd have to wright fluff for it, though.
--------------------------------
8th Company
Captain Zedrenael :wink: 1/1
10 Assault Squads :wink: 10/10
1 Dreadnought :wink: 1/1
--------------------------------
9th Company :angry: none
--------------------------------
10th Company
Captain Borgia :wink: 1/1
10 scout squads :wink: 10/10
56 unasigned neophytes :angry: 0/56

Plus, I have 8 Rhinos, 4 Drop Pods, 7 Razorbacks


----------



## Dave T Hobbit

I think you are being a touch hard on yourself with all those red smilies; it is considerably better than I ever did with my entire Ultramarines Chapter project.


----------



## GrimzagGorwazza

jaysen said:


> 5th, 6th, 7th :ireful2: none -- I do have about 100 Death Company that could stand in for one of these missing companies. I'd have to wright fluff for it, though.



Here's an idea. From what i remember reading the death company members are removed from their squads and taken out of the command structure once they are identified. Hence why Lemartes has been replaced by Astorath as master of the Chaplains since Lemartes has become a raving nutball.

You could keep your death company as a seperate entity but include company markings from across the chapter on them, then when you do your battle companies make them each a couple of squads short. 
That way you can say that the whole company is painted but two of the squads have become Death company for example. 
It would cut down on the number of tac marines you would need to paint for each company and still let you have completed the Chapter whilst taking into account the "outsider" status of the DC as far as organisation goes.


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## jaysen

GrimzagGorwazza said:


> Here's an idea. From what i remember reading the death company members are removed from their squads and taken out of the command structure once they are identified. Hence why Lemartes has been replaced by Astorath as master of the Chaplains since Lemartes has become a raving nutball.
> 
> You could keep your death company as a seperate entity but include company markings from across the chapter on them, then when you do your battle companies make them each a couple of squads short.
> That way you can say that the whole company is painted but two of the squads have become Death company for example.
> It would cut down on the number of tac marines you would need to paint for each company and still let you have completed the Chapter whilst taking into account the "outsider" status of the DC as far as organisation goes.


That's a great idea! I had thought about that for veteran squads, but it makes much more sense for the Death Company.

Here's a few more pictures of the 4 half-squads I've made and the two Razorbacks I'm working on. I should have 4 Razorbacks finished by the end of the month. I've decided to do something a little different with future yellows for assault squads. I tried mixing Iyanden Darksun and Golden Yellow. It works very well. I get the coverage of the base paint, plus the bright color of the Golden Yellow. The only things I've painted with it so far, are the yellow panels on these two tanks.

Then, I think I'm going to paint something else for a while. Maybe some more terminators.


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## jaysen

I've been thinking about good reasons for the Blood Angels to have so many assault squads (taken as troops), fast vehicles, and stormravens.

I think it all stems from the spirit of fighting and agressiveness of the Blood Angels, themselves. Rules wise, in 3rd edition, the BA player had to role a D6 for black rage at the beginning of each turn. On a 1, the unit had to then surge D6 inches forwards towards the enemy. This seemed to always hit my devastators every round. So, I pretty much stopped using them. This made it pretty imperative to close to within bolter/assault range as quickly as possible. If you stayed at long range, you were at a distinct disadvantage. So, in order to balance this we were given overcharged engines for rhinos and razorbacks. The problem is that the power gamers all lashed onto this and had the rhino rush army lists and 1 heavy dice. I can remember tournaments where the outcome of the game almost was decided by who went first.

For fluff, this could be easily explained as the marines themselves are much more willing to close with and destroy their enemies where they can see the destruction, smell the blood, hear the agonies of the enemy. This would put a high priority on their mechanics to find ways to make the vehicles faster. Leave the heavy weapons and long range capabilities to those that are good at it like the Imperial Fists and Iron Hands. All the tanks and heavies should be focused on supporting the bolter and chainsword main force.


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## Prometheus41k

Wonder what the cost of all the vehicles would be. 36 Thunderhawks on its own is like...£15000. Unless you get the epic ones as stand ins


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## jaysen

I was thinking to get BFG thunderhawks, 8*). The problems are many.

1. I don't like the design of the Thunderhawk at all. It doesn't look like it would fly, much less be able to go trans-orbital. Too many sharp corners and flat planes.

2. The price is ridiculous for a forge world Thunderhawk. I might get one just as a show piece, but only if I ran into an extra $1000 that I didn't like.

3. The model is way big, does not have much firepower for its price tag, and doesn't transport enough stuff. Now, if it could transport troops, tanks, dreadnoughts, and have decent firepower, then I might be willing to shell out the cash and buy one. 

As it stands, I could buy like 6-7 baneblades or a warhound titan + a few contemptors for the same price.

So.... the thunderhawks will either be BFG or just notional. I haven't really started on my BFG fleet, although I do have a battlebarge, some strike cruisers, and lots of escorts waiting to be built at home.


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## jaysen

I bought a bunch of space marine legs of various types from a bits store and have been able to build about forty space marines (space wolf and blood angel) from spare parts. I'm going to use fifteen of them to round out my 8th Company assault squads five through ten. 

So, I've got:

the command squad
a captain
a librarian
two priests
two assault squads with jump packs
six squads without jump packs
two land raiders
four razorbacks
two vindicators built so far. 

I've also got two more assault squads, a squad of bikes, and a few land speeders in the box and enough spare parts to build a few more priests and maybe a converted chaplain. So, I'm done buying stuff for 8th company.

Of all that, I've got twenty assault marines, the librarian, a priest, and two razorbacks painted. So, I'll have my work cut out for me this winter. I plan to paint all 80 of the rest in the same manner as I have been using and use dragonforge resin bases on all of them.

Here's a pic of the finished razorback for 6th squad.


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## troybuckle

Nice work on the razor back it looks clean.


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## Dave T Hobbit

Excellent work placing the chapter logo across the side.


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## Hellados

where did you get the logo from or did you make/do it yourself??

PS love it mate, love it all and get the BFG Thunderhawks


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## jaysen

It's free hand.


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## Djinn24

Awesome!


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## jaysen

I've added a third razorback. Just one more to go, then it's just touch ups for the 1000pt army.

Then, the real work begins... painting the other 85 marines.


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## Minizke1

Lovin' the Razorbacks.


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## jaysen

I haven't had too much time to paint this week, but was able to finish the 4th razorback and the 1st vindicator. That just leaves one vindicator and two land raiders left for 8th Company vehicles. I'm missing the hatches for the last two razorbacks and the siege shield for the vindicator. I think I sent those things back home already, so they'll have to wait till I return to Virginia next month.


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## Dave T Hobbit

Very tidy as usual.

My only niggle is the Vindicator commander:










The red of his armour blends into the tank so he looks a little like a helmet glued to the tank hatch. I think he needs a sharper highlight to make him stand out.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

DAMN! Im gone for a bit and you cranck out 5 tanks! Great job Jaysen and the Blood Angel designs on the side looks fantastic bro!

I do second what Dave said about the driver. I also recommend maybe painting the two or three glass look outs on the hatch that he is sitting in...should help with differentiating the two appart.

Keep it up dude!


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## jaysen

Well, I "had a go" (see, I can speak Brittish like), and tried to change the color of the driver some what. I went over his armor with a 50/50 mix of deneb stone and blood red. Then, I went over it with thinned blood red. Well, that started a whole chain reaction of improvements. I would fix one thing, take a picture, see more errors, fix them, take a picture, etc... About an hour later and I'm done for now. I'm still not happy with the viewports. They look okay from a distance, but not blended enough for a close up.


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## Dave T Hobbit

jaysen said:


> Well, I "had a go" (see, I can speak Brittish like), and tried to change the color of the driver some what.


In recognition of your effort to speak our noble tongue I shall attempt to reply in yours: Dawg! dat ride is pimped shizzle!! (all Americans talk like a rapper right?)


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## Djinn24

Like the improvements. What base are you out of normally stateside?


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## Midge913

Dave T Hobbit said:


> In recognition of your effort to speak our noble tongue I shall attempt to reply in yours: Dawg! dat ride is pimped shizzle!! (all Americans talk like a rapper right?)


For Sheezy! We all straight ghetto over here

Just rolled through your whole log here Jaysen and I must say that it is quite an impressive project. The speed at which you crank out good table top quality minis is astounding. Your freehands are excellent! Keep up the good work, I will be following along.


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## jaysen

Thanks for the comments all. I am finally home after a 5 day transit from AFG. I'm currently stationed at MCB Quantico, south of Washington, D.C. I've been looking through some of the other project threads that I couldn't see because of the linked pics. It's amazing what some of you guys have been doing. Really awesome. I'm still catching up.

I should be back to work on my project here this weekend. I've been trying to get my minis somewhat organized. Keeping busy is the most important part of reintegrating after a deployment. I've got a huge stack of model boxes on my desk that my wife received over the last 7 months. I had no idea I had bought this much stuff.

I think my next thing to paint will be the Contemptor Dreadnought that I'm going to convert into a Furioso Librarian.


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## Dave T Hobbit

Glad you are back without problems.



jaysen said:


> I think my next thing to paint will be the Contemptor Dreadnought that I'm going to convert into a Furioso Librarian.


We demand pictures.


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## jaysen

Well, I decided to get cracking today on some space marines. I've had a ton of space marine legs and torsos in my bits box for some time. So, I glued all the legs, bases, and torsos together to see how many marines I can make before I dive into the new boxsets that I haven't opened yet.

Surprisingly, I've got enough for about two battle companies. So, they will be 3rd and 4th Companies. I've still got another 25 assault marines and 10 tactical marines on the sprue, so they will be enough to round out 8th Company and the Death Company Company.

In the first picture, I've got 1st, 2nd, hq, 3rd, 4th, 8th (90 of them), 10th, and the Death Company (89 of them). There's a total of 703 marines on the table. 

All the tanks that I worked on in Afghanistan have not arrived yet. 

The second picture is my work bench from tonight's assembly line. The third picture is the mountain of shame, as my wife calls it. All the models that I should've waited till later to purchase.

P.S. Oh, almost forgot to mention it, but the Warhound Titan "Grumpy" has met with an unfortunate accident or two while I was in Afghanistan and could not make it to the photo shoot, as he is currently in rehabilitation (small pieces). I was really wondering how this sort of thing could have happened and it was vexing me, cause the wife denied any knowledge of or responsibility for it. Fortunately, I was able to witness first hand a re-enactment of the accident as my 2 year old daughter walked into the garage and took "Grumpy" for a walk, slamming him repeatedly on the ground then making kissy faces with Katherine's baby doll.


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## Midge913

jaysen said:


> P.S. Oh, almost forgot to mention it, but the Warhound Titan "Grumpy" has met with an unfortunate accident or two while I was in Afghanistan and could not make it to the photo shoot, as he is currently in rehabilitation (small pieces). I was really wondering how this sort of thing could have happened and it was vexing me, cause the wife denied any knowledge of or responsibility for it. Fortunately, I was able to witness first hand a re-enactment of the accident as my 2 year old daughter walked into the garage and took "Grumpy" for a walk, slamming him repeatedly on the ground then making kissy faces with Katherine's baby doll.


!!!!!!!!!!


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## Dave T Hobbit

Midge913 said:


> !!!!!!!!!!


That was my thought also.


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## Hellados

ROFL @ your girl playing with your toys!! of all the ones to pick she picks the one worth a few hundred bucks.

May I be slightly anal and point out that you attempt at an English idiom is superb however you may find we also spell colour, colour. . . . . not color


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## jaysen

Yeah, and you guys tend to actually pronounce words correctly, too. So annoying.


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## InkedDnA

wow wow wow. That is an insane amount of Blood Angels awesomeness


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## docgeo

Amazing work!! I was excited about finishing 90% of the Ultramarine 3rd Company while in Iraq this year. You put me to shame. I used to live in Dumfries while stationed at Ft. Meyer. The game store outside Potomac Mills is pretty good but his prices are steep. Also is the Quantico Gardens restaurant still in Q-town?

Keep up the great work,

Doc


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## jaysen

*Contemptor Furioso Dreadnought*

Here's my latest build for the BA chapter.... A Contemptor Pattern Furioso Dreadnought. I got the model in the mail over the holiday and decided to put it together tonight. I tried to give it a running pose. The back foot is not touching anything and the front foot is only glued by the toe, so I'm going to have to treat this one very gently.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

SWEET, he does give off that appearance that he is running, good job on the form. As for you having to be really carefully, well I would highly recommend that you use a small pin drill and pin him to the base w/glue. You will get alot warmer inside knowing he wont just SNAP off.

Good looking model bro, time for some paint!

Regards,
DoE


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## Dave T Hobbit

Excellent pose.

Having spent days trying to get a Lord of Change to stay on base with a single foot in contact, I would go further than DoE and suggest using an angled brass rod from the point of contact back through the foot to almost the heel; it might also be cunning to build up the soil a little under the foot to increase the area of contact.


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## Red Corsairs

I'm liking the pose of the contemptor, they're lovely models to build and you did a good job of it. I would second Dave's suggestion of using a brass rod to keep the model attached to the base. The last thing you want with something like this is for it to break and regular pinning might not quite be enough to do the job properly in this case.


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## Skari

Very nice work on the Angels. You have so many marines, have you ever thought of doing another chapter as well?


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## jaysen

I've not only thought about it, but I've actually built and painted quite a few. But, I usually end up either selling them or stripping them and starting back over. I'm sentimental (or mental?) about the Blood Angels and can't bring myself to get rid of them. I've got a ton that I haven't really shown in any of the pictures, to include about a company's worth of original rogue trader plastic marines. Some day I'll get around to painting some of them.

I've based the dreadnought in flat black. This is the el' cheapo Rustoleum "specialty camouflage" ultra flat black. It's about the nicest basing spray that I've found. Notice there are none of the flakes, dust, or rough texture that the armory paint was giving me before.

I was going to paint some more on this guy, but I can't locate my good brushes. I don't remember unpacking them from Afghanistan and have no idea what happened to them. So, rather than rush ahead with my old crummy brushes, I've put in an order with GW for new brushes and some fresh foundation paint just for this project.


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## jaysen

And since I mentioned them, here's a picture of the rogue trader marines that I'm working on stripping. This is after two rounds of Simple Green dipping and brushing. There's still a lot of work to do, that'll probably require scraping.

The other pictures are of the commander that I had from before my deployment to Afghanistan. This one is a modified Forge World Luft Huron model. The cape is from a chaos terminator model I picked up in a trade, the head is from the Death Company boxset and the left hand custom lightning claw is modified from a space wolves pack bit.


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## jaysen

Here's what I've been working on this week. I've built most of the vehicles I had been stockpiling. I think I've still got 3 drop pods somewhere to put together.

I think I'm about burned out on building. Time to start painting again. First up will be the bikes.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Yes, most DEF, you have done enough building :grin: Time for some paint!


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## Scythes

Wow! I can't believe I just found this thread, it's freaking amazing! I wish I'd known earlier about you being in Afghan cuz I'm stuck here too, but you were probably home before I joined. Anyway, never seen a whole chapter painted up, I can't wait to see this massive project completed.

+rep and a big thumbs up.


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## Stuntiesrule

So I just found this Plog and scrolled through all of it. You sir have some amazing minis in your collection, it is all stunning. Also I have found with armory primer that black is the worst they make, I use their grey almost exclusively. I just hope to someday finish painting a 2000 point list let alone a chapter.


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## hocky

On your deathbed Jaysen, you are going to be placed in a contemptor suit just so you can keep churning out beautifully painted mini's for eternity!! You are a machine full of awesome!


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## CLT40k

Nice crisp work.... + rep


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## jaysen

Thanks for all the nice comments. Here's the first installment on my bike squad.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Looking good buddy, I like the little details you did on the digital screen.

My only suggestions are this: The highlighting is a little to thick on some areas of the bike. Try a little bit of badab black or devlan mud around the seems and such on the power armour to add depth and shading, cleaning up any access with the red you used for the armor.

Is that the Contemptor I spy with some paint on it? =)

Keep up the good work.

Regards,
DoE


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## jaysen

Yep, I've done the base colors and red for the contemptor. I experimented a little with him with single source lighting/highlighting. The plan was to use two separate basing colors, one for shaded areas and one for sunny areas. I used regular mechrite for the shaded and a 50/50 mix of mechrite/deneb stone for the highlighted areas. Well, when I put the blood red over this, I honestly can't tell the difference. So, kind of a wasted effort. I think that maybe after a few days curing, there might be some difference.

The big news is that I got a new painting desk lamp and I love it. It's a flourescent lamp made by OttLite. It is simply awesome, very bright, and a cool blue/white light. I can see everything and catch all those things that I used to miss. I'm 1/2 done with the bike squad and about halfway on the contemptor also. I'll post pictures when finished.


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## cirs85

I like the bike, I really like the contemptor hiding in the back =)


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## jaysen

Here's a new group shot of my Blood Angel and Super Heavy vehicles. I would say that this is roughly about 2 company's worth of vehicles, well except for the missing drop pods. I think this is the first vehicle pic I've posted. Here's a run down of what you see:

The legs and shoulder towers of the Emperor Titan I'm building
1 Shadowsword
1 Baneblade
1 Fell Blade
3 Storm Ravens
1 Warhound Titan
5 Land Raiders
2 Drop Pods
6 Predators
3 Vindicators
4 Whirlwinds
8 Razorbacks
17 Dreadnoughts
6 Rhinos
and 2 Land Speeders

The only thing in this picture that I'm proud of, paint wise, is the painted Vindicator and the four painted razorbacks. The rest are works in progress. I've had two of the Land Raiders for several years and they represent some of my first painted vehicles.


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## jaysen

*Contemptor Furioso*

Here's what I've been working on today. I'm about half way done. I've also finished 3 of my bikes with 2 left.


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## jaysen

*Contemptor finished?*

Barring any corrections needed that I haven't spotted, this bad boy is finished.

I decided to freehand the graphics. I've never been able to get transfers to look good.


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## jaysen

Here's a pic that depicts the method used on the bikes. Basically, it's four stages.

1. Ultra flat black spray paint
2. Mechrite Red foundation
3. Blood Red over the mechrite, Iyanden dark sun on the guns, touch up the black
4. add all the touch ups, highlights, mud, and skulls


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## Scythes

Those are lookin great Jaysen, I'm not a big fan of Contemptors but you've done the excellence that is forgeworld justice on that model.


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## Dave T Hobbit

jaysen said:


> I decided to freehand the graphics. I've never been able to get transfers to look good.


It appears to have worked out well, as they look better than transfers to me.


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## cirs85

free hand looks great! I have the same problem with the transfers, they never really go on right, so I gave up on em.


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## jaysen

Think I'm done with bikes for now. Next up will be a scout sniper squad.


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## jaysen

Well, I have some free time today without the kids so decided to get a current status of the project. I love getting the whole army together for a group shot.

Here's the full army shot (troops only).










HQ Company. 15 Sanguinary guard still on sprue, 15 priests on sprue/bitz










1st Company. With only a few squads painted, I'm waiting till I build up some more skill before attempting any more of these.










2nd Company. These are my true veteran models that I play with in almost every battle.










3rd Company.










4th Company.










5th Company.










6th Company (the replacements. Yeah, those are rogue trader models)










7th Company (MIA, due to some terrible losses and rampant black rage, the 7th company was dissolved and replaced with the tethered terror that is the death company)










8th Company (20 painted, 86 to go)










9th Company (lowest priority goes to the Heavies of the Devastator company)










10th Company (I ended up with 6 too many scouts. I guess it's time to start on that flesh tearer army)


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

DAMN! That would be so off-putting if I had to see that that was what I had left to paint...Mmmmm. Good luck with all that =)

As for your bikes, kick ass, they look sweet dude! How many more of those do you have left? =)

Great job on the Dread by the way, he really looks like hes going to charge into something!

+Rep

Regards,
DoE


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## Dave T Hobbit

Excellent deep reds there.


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## jaysen

Here's what I have so far on the new 3rd Company project. I decided to go with banners on sergeants again.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Jaysen, these new BA's look much better mate! They appear much smoother and the yellows look alot more solid, well done! Are those the GW base kits that you are using?


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## jaysen

The bases are resin casts by dragonforge.com.


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## jaysen

So, I went by the GW store to find out what all the hubbub is about the new paints. I tell you, I was floored by the new foundation and dry paints. They're simply amazing. The Mephiston Red foundation paint is going to change everything. I'm a little scared of using it though. I don't know if I can duplicate my current look with it. A lot of the dark reds I get are a product of the black and mechrite red showing through the fairly translucent Blood Red. I won't get that affect with the Mephiston red. I do intend to use the new white and yellow foundations immediately, though. And the Necron dry paint is amazing. So much easier to use than trying to dry brush with boltgun.


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## shiftystylin

Sick! They look really good!


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## jaysen

Well, I'm done with my second unit for the army painting challenge. I'm not very happy with the results, I've still got lots of room for improvement. There's something about the imprecise thickness of paint and how I detect and deal with this problem that just isn't working out. Occasionally, everything works exactly as planned. Most of the time, it's off, though.


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## KjellThorngaard

Its funny how we can't stand our own work, even when it looks pretty darn good. 

These latest additions look great to me. A couple look like they could use a little more shading on the shoulder pads, but that could be the photos.


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## jaysen

I've done some work on the Fell Blade. I based it with flat black krylon spray paint, then went over most of it with mechrite red, then added a coat of Mephiston Red Base, the new red base paint. It is more of a true red than Blood Red, and much brighter than Mechrite. So, I should be able to use various mixes of Blood Red, Blazing Orange, and the new Evil Sunz Scarlet to highlight. First, though, I'll have to wash all the recesses with Devlan Mud and Badab Black.

So here's the plan:

1. Touch up any black parts that I missed.
2. Apply all base metallic colors.
3. Retouch any messed up base red.
4. Wash red recesses.
5. Highlight reds.
6. Touch up metallics.
7. Highlight metallics.
8. Add the finishing touches and detailed work.
9. Paint any remaining iconagraphy and graphics.

Here's a status picture. Notice the difference in the reds on the fellblade and the base coated dreadnought.


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## Scythes

I think the newer red looks better, you've got a great start there, I cna't wait to see further updates.


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## jaysen

The Mephiston Red is definitely an easier paint to use. It covers easily in 1-2 coats and looks very smooth afterwards. Now that I've done some highlighting with Blood Red and yellow, it is looking like it will blend in with the rest of my army.

Here's some more basing and some trial highlighting for the Fellblade. It still has a lot of work to do.


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## jaysen

I've started work on a banner man for 2nd Company. It's just a first draft, what do you think? I haven't really started on the marine, just the banner.


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## Arcticor

I just looked through all of this, and it is really amazing, I love the way you pull off the colors. One question I have is where did you get the model for the fellblade? I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this thread. Keep up the good work!


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## Dave T Hobbit

I like the draft banner.

The only niggle is the script on the scroll looks a little oddly spaced and slightly unclear; however I assume it will be crisper in the final version.


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## jaysen

There's a lot of things I want to do different next time.


First, this really is just a draft. I've never painted a company banner before and just decided to do one tonight.

1. Prep - This banner was sprayed black with the Armory black paint, out in Afghanistan. Yes, it was the same batch that turned out so bad. I put a lot of effort into getting the grittiness off by brushing and scrubbing with a tooth brush and various cloth.

2. The next thing I did was to put about three coats of Iyanden Yellow foundation onto the inner square of the banner. This gave all the colored parts the same background and made the red much easier. I then painted the center section over with the new Mephiston red base paint.

3. Since I've never free handed something this intricate (at least not with citadel paints), I decided to draw out the basic shapes with a black ink pen (not a good idea, btw, should have used pencil). I had to go over all the mistakes with more base paint to cover unwanted ink.

4. I then went over the feathers and banner with deneb stone, the chalice with beastial brown, and the star cross thingus with black. 

5. I wrote the script with an ink pen. I was pretty unsatisfied with how sloppy the pen was. I chose to use a pen, thinking it would be neat and precise. I'll have to find a better pen to use.

Okay, major problems:

1. The blood drops are horrible. They should be placed over the yellow field so they show up, but the drawing was off. I tried to compensate by outlining them with black, but it didn't help much.

2. The claw holding the chalice is undefined and blobby. I couldn't get any sort of precision with the black paint. I'll have to plan this out much better and ensure I leave enough brightly colored space between the talons to give them some definition.

3. The number '2' and skull are too large and a bit lopsided, due in part to the non-straight line of the yellow/red border of the field.

4. The gold star is too large and lacks precision. I'm not sure what to do differently. The gold isn't a precision type of paint.

All in all, I'm pleased with the amount of learning I got from trying this difficult painting task. If you don't take risks and challenge yourself, something inside you sleeps and you never realise your true potential. I intend to try this again and improve.


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## jaysen

The fell blade is a standard baneblade with flamers from a land raider, assault cannon from a resin caster on ebay, and the vulcan megabolter from the same ebay dealer. Also, there's a resin off-set mount right under the main turret that centers the turret. I bought a few replacement turrets also, but decided to stick with the original baneblade one.


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## Scythes

I think that banner looks grea jaysen, though you're always your own biggest critic. The yellow looks like it came out nice and smooth and really breaks up the overall red that is Blood Angels, good work.


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## Midge913

Scythes said:


> I think that banner looks grea jaysen, though you're always your own biggest critic. The yellow looks like it came out nice and smooth and really breaks up the overall red that is Blood Angels, good work.


This. Very nice work on the banner man.


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## jaysen

Yeah, I've decided to keep this figure. I've got enough bits to put together a few more of them when I want to paint another banner. I've still got 9 more companies to do 8*). Thanks for the encouragement. I do want to improve my precision though. There's probably techniques that make it easier.


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## jaysen

I decided to go ahead and finish the standard bearer. I've also built a complete command squad for next month's painting challenge. It will be for 3rd Company. I've also bought a Captain Tycho model and it is on the way.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Did you free hand the banner? If so, well done and if not, it still looks good!

Sorry I havent been around of late, school took priority 1...

Nonetheless, your fellblade is coming along very nicely and your April entry looks great.

Good job Jaysen

+Rep in bound.

Regards,
DoE

EDIT...apparently I STILL have to spread more Rep around...


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## jaysen

Thanks, DoE! Yeah, everything is freehand. I still need to put some final touches on the Fellblade. The thing is so huge, that I have to paint it in sections. I still have to do all the mechanical stuff on it, plus the tracks.


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## jaysen

While I wait for the first of May to start the Command Squad, I decided to finish a Dreadnought.


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## jaysen

Okay, here's my second go at a banner dude. The model is from forge world, mark V. The jump pack is magnetized to allow for switching to foot slogging command squad. The model would not stand up without falling to the side, so I glued a nickel (5 cent piece US) to the bottom. Then, I tried to add a plastic skirt around the bottom of the base to cover the nickel. It didn't work out too well, but I'll fix it later.

I think the banner went some what better this time. If I paint 3 or 4 more, I should get the knack of it!


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## Dave T Hobbit

Your banners are progressing well.

I suggest practising banners on a piece of paper so you can (i) get your eye in and (ii) can create it flat then curve it to match the banner so you have a reference from which to paint.


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## jaysen

That's good advice, especially for the next few I plan to do. They aren't near as easy as these two. As far as I know, the only chapters that have banners in the codex are 2nd and 3rd. I think I remember one for 1st Company from another book. But, 4th through 10th are up to my imagination. I think I might pull from various art work.


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## JAMOB

:shok: OMG SO MANY BLOOD ANGELS   :grin: :grin: :biggrin:

I am happy.

Have some rep good sir


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## jaysen

Well, I couldn't find any official company banners, except 2nd and 3rd, in any of my source books. However, there are several terminator sergeant banners that feature a winged skull. So, I will probably incorporate that into the veteran company banner. Also, on the art for the 2nd edition boxset, there are several blue banners. One shows a grail with three drops of blood and a banner. That might be a good candidate for 9th company (devastators have the blue helmets). In the 2nd edition angels of death codex, there is a company captain's banner that is cream with a checkerboard pattern across the top, three drops of blood, and a skull shaped grail. I'll probably use that for the 9th Company Captain's badge and the blue banner for the company banner.


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## jaysen

Okay, I need some help. I've painted up a Mark III marine as my Company Champion. The armor has given me some hickups. There's so many lapping plates that need to be shaded. I also forgot to shave off some of the molding flash and have to go back.

What do you guys think I should use to shade the underside and recessed armor plates?


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## jaysen

Okay, so I'm doing something unpopular again. I'm going to point out some of my flaws and then talk about how I might try to fix them in a model with demonstrative pictures.

After my last model, I noticed it looked sort of shabby. So, I started another model, then stopped after the first stage to take some close up pics and study. I was startled how many problems showed up in the close ups. Red on black spaces, black on red spaces. These foundational flaws have always been things I don't see till the final going over after I take pictures and see the problems.

So, what I probably need to do is to get a magnifying glass or visor or something so that I see these problems early on and correct them.

Here's an example...


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## jaysen

And here's the same model after a quick round of touch ups. I think getting the borders as crisp as possible in the base will make the final product much better.


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## The Son of Horus

The banner definitely is looking better. The trick I've found to doing freehand banners is to break the heraldry up into basic shapes-- squares, circles, and triangles. And then you can flesh out the details from there. 

The Mk III Marine looks good! I recently started painting some pre-Heresy era models, and I found that the unusual way the leg plates are arranged was a bit odd for shading as well. It really lends itself to edge highlights, I think, rather than really shading the recesses heavily.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

The MarkIII armour is freaking super sweet mate, definitley a cool model. As for shading the other armor segments, maybe a 1:1 mix of badab black and baal red around the area you need a bit darker.


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## jaysen

Another of the 3rd Company Command Squad in Mark V (plastic version). The camera isn't kind, as always and I have gotten a real appreciation for painting primer and base coats in a smooth fashion.


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## JAMOB

So that makes it look bad... huh... well then.
I like it...


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## jaysen

No, I mean I can always tell any roughness or flaws in the undercoats when I see the big pictures. And, I can really appreciate the skill of some of the painters on this site because I don't see those things in some of their models.

I don't know how, but no matter how hard I try, I always miss some flash. On this one, I missed the flash on the pistol. I guess I just get in a hurry once the models are built and want to get right into paint and miss some of the flash.

Still, I do like how this 5 man squad is going. Just two more models and I'll be ready for the next unit.


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## jaysen

Here's the finished 3rd Company Honour Guard. Each model has both a jump pack and regular backpack.


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## Midge913

Nice work on the banner mate.


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## Dave T Hobbit

Excellent work on the red.

The yellow looks a little thick in places.



jaysen said:


> Each model has both a jump pack and regular backpack.


I looks like they have neither at the moment. The blessed spirit of the magnetic clamp is angered men and we must advance without backpacks :rofl:


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Good call on the swapable backpacks, I may steal that idea. As Midge said, the banner looks good buddy, I think a little bit of shadowing on the feathers would help them pop more and give better definition. Well done on the squad mate.

+Rep

I saw what you posted at the end of May...Im so jealous, I will get one, one of these days. Good luck with that pup and make sure to take your time.

Regards,
DoE


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## jaysen

Thanks, DOE! I've got two ongoing side projects: the Fellblade and the Storm Eagle. I'll be working on both now and again when I am in the mood. I've got the Storm Eagle to the point where I'm ready to paint the interior before continuing with the build. I plan to go with black w/ boltgun dry brushing as a base, then add details with some bright colors for wires and cables.

Here's the squad I'll be painting for the June challenge.


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## nsr250repsol

Looking good! I can't wait to see that Storm Eagle.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Sweet, should be another sharp looking unit.

What are you using for basing? Are they pre-made or created on your on? If so, well done mate!

Your keyboard looks like it belongs out in space with all the specs of different paint on it...lol.

Looking forwards to your next update.

Regards,
DoE


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## jaysen

I'm using bases from a variety of vendors on Ebay. I think these are from Dragonforge.com.

This keyboard has seen some rough use. Between my model airplanes, WH40k armies, painting two custom guitars, and my on-off oil painting obsession, lots of stray paint has been around.


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## jaysen

I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to paint up a few test models of different chapters, just for fun. I did all of these in a few hours, so they aren't exactly top notch. I think I'll make them a "liaison platoon".


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## jaysen

Okay, time for another dose of self-deprecating ugly truth.

After I finished the Sergeant and had patted myself on the back for a good job, I happened to take a few pictures and saw the ugly thing up close. OMG, did it look pitiful blown up. I put on my magnifying hobby hood just to check. So, I took Dave T Hobbit's suggestion and looked into how to thin paint. I mean, I've done this before, of course. But, I guess I get lazy and forget the basics some times. I've painted in oils for years, so I have to wonder how I could forget about consistency, surface tension, uneven drying, and glazing. I guess maybe I'm getting early senility?

Anyway, I started thinning my paint, especially the yellows, in the next model and using more coats instead of globbing it on. Here's the results.

If you have a hear condition or weak constitution, don't click on the larger versions...


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## KjellThorngaard

We all get lazy sometimes. Your example is a nice reminder to all of us: Never look at your models under magnification!! :laugh:

Kidding. The differance is noticable and so much better.


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## wolflordthor

I love your project!!!
k:k:k:k:
Damn good work


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

KjellThorngaard said:


> We all get lazy sometimes. Your example is a nice reminder to all of us: Never look at your models under magnification!! :laugh:
> 
> Kidding. The differance is noticable and so much better.


LOL...SO TRUE! It's like night and day. And I do feel your pain as I have been guilty of that myself...once or twice :grin:


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## JAMOB

I should probably thin paints... thanks for the additional motivation...


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## jaysen

So, I got into an argument with a few other enthusiasts about the relative sizes of the different flyers. The guy was saying that a SM thunderhawk's front end was the same size as a Land Raider. I didn't think it was that big. Then, the discussion went to the relative sizes of the storm eagle, storm raven, storm talon, and thunderhawk. 

Well, I've never actually seen a FW thunderhawk in real life, which got me thinking....

$450 later....

Now I know.

The good part is I got it cheaper than a new one. The bad part is that it has already been put together and not very well. The former owner had already started painting it, which makes it a little more difficult for me to paint. But, all things considered, I am a happy hobbyist today.

Now, what should I work on? I've got a half painted assault squad, a Fell Blade, a land raider, a storm eagle, and now a thunderhawk. I want to paint them all! 8*)


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

DAHHHHHH! I feel your pain on the Thunderhawk...I bought my Marauder destroyer second hand and it looks like someone...ya you get the idea.

It's funny, I never figured the thunderhawk to be so large, then a friend of mine pulled his out and I was like "DAMN!"

Seeing as your Raider has more paint on it then anything else, I recommend you finish painting that first. Ive made a new rule for myself, not to put anything else together until the rest of my shit thats already put together gets painted first.

Now...go finish that land raider! :biggrin:


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## Hellados

I agree with DoE however I rarely practice what I (we) preach, I think the Thunderhawk is epic and I'm so happy it's so big! I wonder how big the Thunderhawk transporter is. . . . . I think it's just a bit longer then the Thunderhawk.

Keep up the work though dude, it's really impressive


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## jaysen

Yeah, I think I'll finish the Land Raider. Then, I can paint the Thunderhawk to match it, so they go together.


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## jaysen

Here's the Land Raider. It's the same one that I built last year in Afghanistan with FW doors.


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## jaysen

Here's the problem with freehanding your chapter badges... they never come out the same.


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## jaysen

Here's the whole finished 7th squad, 3rd Company.


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## Dave T Hobbit

jaysen said:


> Here's the problem with freehanding your chapter badges... they never come out the same.


They are not vastly different.


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## Minizke1

I went on a 2 month hobby hiatus and came back just tonight. I'm really glad that this project is still going, man.


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## jaysen

Yeah, I want to finish 3rd Company and that takes dedication. Hopefully, I'll have it done by the end of the Painting Challenge, along with enough transports, and possibly some dreadnoughts.


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## jaysen

Well, I don't want to do a whole squad before the next monthly painting challenge. So, here's a few more 'optional' models.


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## jaysen

Since I don't currently have a Veteran Assault squad painted up, I've decided to break from 3rd Company and paint one up real quick. The 1st Company squads that I painted last year just don't measure up to my more recent paint jobs. So, I took 5 of my primed Death Company models and am going to paint them up. 

Here's the first. Sorry about the poor photo. I'm in a hotel room with limited resources. Also, I'll have to wait till I finish my move to get my good bases on these guys.


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## RedThirstWill Destroy

Nice work Jaysen


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## Tawa

Nice!
+rep for the original post! :biggrin:

I'd love to get my marines up to that scale, but I'm always chopping and changing between different projects.... :blush:


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Well this new guy sure looks great, hard to really get a good look as you mentioned, but from what I can see he looks good. Def an improvement from before. Keep up the great work and look forward to seeing some better pics.

Regards,
DoE


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## Grins1878

Not sure if I've commented before or missed this thread, but a superb project! Amazing to see dedication to the whole chapter not just a company of it! Most impressive!

+Repatitis!


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## Vereor

Awesome work on the Mephiston! Love the bone parts of the armor.


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## jaysen

Here's what I painted today. I couldn't get this phone to rotate the pictures.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Your work is looking super Jaysen, however, FIX YOUR PICS! =)

It's difficult and deterring when people have to look at upside down or sideways pics. Just some friendly advice that might get you more comments and advice.

Regards,
DoE


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## jaysen

I tried. But the always puts the pics back. Ill be getting my computer tomorrow and can fix it then.


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## jaysen

I decided to make some allies because of the superb 25th anniversary model. I'm going to make Pedro Kantor and a tactical squad of Crimson Fists. The story will be that Pedro needs help rescuing a lost group of CR so BA to the rescue.

I painted up three casualties to act as objectives.


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## Hellados

still an epic log and I'm still following along!

keep it up mate


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## jaysen

*recent work*

I've finished the Devastator squad and my Captain of 1st Company.


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

LOL...nice picture orientation. =) I like the added FW claw to your Captain, gives the model a little more individuality, the base looks great as well. Still a little hard to see the pictures close up (Devastators), but having seen your other work I am sure they look super!


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## Dave T Hobbit

Great work on the captain.

My niggle with the Devastators is that the green glow on the plasma is submerged by the bright yellow casing; i feel it would pop more if the glow was next to metal or a darker colour to add contrast.


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## jaysen

I will do another Dec squad before the end of the year. I think I might do it similar to the dark look of the sanguinor and Mephiston I finished last week. I think I'm also going to make them rough and tumble with battle damage and no helmets. I might use a few more space wolf heads also. 

The house internet should be working by next week and I can use my good camera again.


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## RedThirstWill Destroy

This is some realy nice work jaysen. I've finaly picked my brushes up again and hopefully it won't take to long to get rid of the rust


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## jaysen

The captain is the FW Luft Huron model with a converted right lightning claw and a BA death company head.


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## jaysen

My first painted Land Raider Redeamer. I really like how the huge side flamers look.


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## Dave T Hobbit

Good work getting a smooth red on large flat areas.

However the yellow looks patchy in places.


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## Lethiathan

So. Much. Red. These look great... But an entire chapter? Has the army not checked your sanity?


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## ntaw

This is absolutely amazing man. Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see it all done. It might just have to become my computer desktop to inspire me to finish my measly (by comparison) 4.5k of Blood Angels.


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## jaysen

Lethiathan said:


> So. Much. Red. These look great... But an entire chapter? Has the army not checked your sanity?


Well, I guess I just like red space marines, 8*). I've never really been a fanatic about anything. I don't have a favourite football team or rock band or anything. So, with 40K I decided to stick with one army.

Here's two more Vindicators, by the way. I've decided to field a 3 vindicator list in this month's tournament, so I needed these painted up.


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## jaysen

ntaw said:


> This is absolutely amazing man. Keep up the good work, I can't wait to see it all done. It might just have to become my computer desktop to inspire me to finish my measly (by comparison) 4.5k of Blood Angels.


 
I've been thinking about how I could pose the entire chapter. It's pretty hard just setting up a few companies.


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## ntaw

Jeeze, yeah. Over 1000 marines if you get get past the 10 companies. The sheer number of vehicles is insane too....51 Storm Ravens?! Maybe a collage of all the companies?


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## Regnear67

very nice looking army keep it up heres some +rep for your awesome BA army


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## Disciple_of_Ezekiel

Looking good Jaysen. Where is the dozer blade? =)

The Blood Angels emblem looks great, your starting to pump out some models dude!

Looking forward to seeing it finished!

Regards,
DoE


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## Dave T Hobbit

Good work sticking with this project.

I agree with DoE that the Vindicators are well painted but look a little odd without dozer blades.


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## jaysen

I've been gone a while but I'm ba
ck. Here's the latest project.


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## Tawa

jaysen said:


> I've been gone a while but I'm back.


Aah, hell. There goes the neighbourhood. :laugh:


That's a real nice looking SG there Jaysen :so_happy:


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## jaysen

Here's a better pick of the SG, the rhino that I just painted today (re-painted after buying second hand), and my next project, 3 furioso dreadnoughts.


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