Project 20 Marines - Part I

 

Mr Grey

This post is a little bit different and is the start of a log of an attempt at assembly line painting. I'm horribly slow at painting models, but do finally have a solid formula for painting Blood Angels. This helps speed along individual models because I have plenty of references to fall back on when knowing what to do next.

The problem is the backlog of models that need painting. There are a lot. It's enough to keep me painting for a long time, and from a collecting perspective I have some models that are not really available anymore, so I am ok with having collected them. But I still want to do something about the backlog.

Blood Angels, perhaps more than any other army, have models that are all just about unique. Every marine looks quite different, with the multiple combinations options available. Within that, however, there are some similarities I can deal with: rope will all be the same, cloth, icons, blood vials, shoulder pad trim, etc. I don't need to batch paint every detail of every model at the same time, but I can do groups. With a wet palette, I don't even need to sit for long sessions - just a little bit each day will suffice. I'm also improving a lot with the airbrush - painting the basic coat and highlights of red armour isn't such a problem anymore.

Another demotivational point however, is sub-assemblies. I far more enjoy painting fully assembled models, and dislike doing them in parts with assembly only possible at the end. There's no way around that sometimes, so this experiment is as much about figuring out the most I can assemble a model as much as anything else.

And the experiment is: a production line of twenty tactical marines, mixing ten older models with ten Primaris. For me, that's quite a lot, and it will take time - but I'm hoping less than an average of one week per model!

To start with, the above photo is what I think I can get away with for basic assembly. The arms are posed, which was a bit fiddly to work with, but generally gluing the right arm first, then holding the gun in place while gluing and positioning the left arm seems to work best. The glue will take a moment to properly cure, but holds the position and allows for some adjustment so that I can be certain it will be ok when the gun is attached later.

The backpacks are being done entirely separate. Actually they're already a couple of airbrush coats in, and won't be long before they're onto the next steps. Backpacks generally don't get the focus of attention, so they're good to use as a bit of testing.

The bases are all done as well, just because it was easy enough to do. Once the airbrushing is done I can probably start to glue models to bases.

Back to the main model, leaving the guns off allows for easy painting of the chest, not to mention both sides of the gun. I'm sure some areas will be a pain still, but at this point the enticement of knocking 20 models off the backlog is too great.

PVA glue will be used on any area that should be glued later on. This generally means the attachment point for the right hand, backpack, and helmet or head. Using a dot of PVA glue before priming, it can be peeled off later to allow plastic glue to properly bond the surfaces.

Several Primaris still remain to be assembled, and they are a different challenge to the older models. The new designs don't allow the weapons to be so easily separated from the arms, so I'm undecided on if that means using a blade to force it, or to leave the arms off until the main body is painted. This is all exploration and experimentation, and I'm hoping the experience will make the next round of model assembly much quicker, allowing me to start making inroads into my backlog.

-- silly painter.