Lemartes Shoulder Pad

Although this article applies to Lemarte's right shoulder pad (a large skull icon), it can equally apply to his helmet, or any skull iconography in general. It's a fairly involved process, so probably best suited to those particularly special models.

Up until now, I've been mostly starting skull icons with a fairly light base colour, typically Rakarth Flesh. I am starting to appreciate building up from a darker base however, as it seems easier to blend up to a lighter tone than down to a darker one. So with that in mind, Rhinox Hide was used to give the shoulder pad its base coat. Do note that the model, as usual now, was given a coat of Chaos Black spray first.

Rhinox Hide base coat.

I should point out that I'd already painted some of the helmet by now, but the photos didn't turn out quite as nice as I wanted. Wanting to use a few layers to gradually build up, but I next used Baneblade Brown as a first stage highlight.

Baneblade Brown layer.

Due to the poor lighting (as anyone reading any of my posts will know, I don't have the greatest camera or lighting conditions for taking these sorts of photos) it appears here a little lighter than it should. I was a little concerned about Baneblade Brown being too light actually, but as the next step are some washes, they tend to darken it back a little, so the layer I feel was a good choice.
Next up, the washes. I actually used two this time around, based on a small excerpt from here. The idea is not to use only brown colours - blue, purple, red, something else for the shaded areas. I've toyed with something similar before when using different layer colours on purity seals than the base colour. It just gives everything a whole different texture, and I recommend people to experiment for themselves just to see what effects they can achieve. Back on track, I used first a wash of Drakenhof Nightshade, and then Druchii Violet. I ended up with two because the first made it dark, and then I realised I wanted a hint of red or purple in there, just to make it more menacing and less cold.

Drakenhof Nightshade and Druchii Violet washes.

I think most people would agree that it does look more impressive than with just using simple earth tones. The next step I messed up a little, and had to go back into the shaded areas with very, very thin layers of purple and blue, which I mention as something else that can be done. One doesn't always paint it exactly right on the first go, so often touch ups must be done along the way. If a layer becomes too light, go back and use a (very) thin layer to darken it again. Just remember that very thin layers is the key - it really allows you to work the highlighting, fixing, changing, adjusting as you go. Don't be afraid darken and re-highlight as needed.
At any rate, the next step was further highlighting with Ushabti Bone. The helmet used Karak Stone instead, but I just wanted to see the difference. I think I personally prefer Karak Stone, but either can be worked with. Unfortunately, the photo really didn't show up properly at all, so the next image combines also the following step of Screaming Skull highlights along select edges.

Ushabti Bone and Screaming Skull highlights.

I've also done some additional layering of White Scar to again really make it stand out as a skull, though I can't remember if the photo above included that or not. It doesn't really look like it, but that could just be the lighting, so I'll say it's not. Either way, the above looks how it did without the final layer of white, so I'll just leave it at that.

I'm happy with how the pieces of Lemartes are turning out so far. I'm not painting this model all in one go, but rather little details one at a time. So I won't be finished for quite a while, but the model is such a great looking one that it deserves no less than my best effort for every part of it.

To wrap up this post, I'll mention a little about painting styles. The final layers of the shoulder pad started to look a little rough, and it's something I've mostly kept with. Photos from Games Workshop normally show a nice, smooth finish to the painting, which most people try to emulate. It looks better in photography. They also typically use hard edges to various highlighting stages - something I've actively tried to avoid in this case, preferring to try blend everything together. I decided that the rougher appearance had a more used feel to it, grittier, and more in line with who Lemartes is. The point I'm trying to make is: don't simply copy from photos of how a model "should" look (and I don't just mean the colours). Develop your own style as you improve your painting skills, and don't be afraid to experiment. It's more fun that way.

-- silly painter.

Tactical Squad Finished (mostly)

Well, strictly speaking, it's a 5-man combat squad, but they're still tactical marines. Mostly finished, they only require some lettering where appropriate. Still thinking of what to write there.

They also require the company markings on the right shoulder pad. That will most likely be decals.

I'm still deciding about the insignia. Blood Angels have black primarily - it's part of the Chapter's colours - but adorning with artwork and intricate details is also very much part of them. So I don't want them all to be the same. I will try paint some in black later, just to break it up a bit. This particular combat squad took part in some notable actions and are allowed something more inspirational for the duration of the campaign.

The bases have some tuft on them. Not much to say there - just pva glue and that's that. I will try something else later, whenever I next drop by a hobby shop.

The boltguns all have a little bit of Wild Rider Red on the boltgun targeters, just because, and I ended up using a metallic gold colour scheme on the boltgun adornments. This was partially laziness, but also because I didn't want all skulls and wings to always look the same.

Anyway, I'm rather pleased with the end result. The next combat squad will need preparing now, and I'm also going to start on Terminators. I had thought tactical marines might be more stock standard, simpler, and faster painted. It turns out, they're not - every Blood Angel will likely be painted to at least the same standard. Not sure I know how to do anything different now.

-- silly painter

Tactical Squad Continued

Despite busy schedules, I've still been finding small amounts of time for more painting, and taking a couple of really bad photos. As usual, they don't do the actual model justice, but they do give a sense of how things are shaping up.

Since the last post, the backpacks have been sprayed and highlighted and just need some final detail work to polish them off. They didn't require any shading steps in the end, but I was very careful with the layering stages. So the next batch of models will most likely use less of the Carroburg Crimson wash: it will be used more selectively in future, and not applied quite so liberally.

I ended up continuing on through one model to get him mostly assembled, just to serve as inspiration for getting the others done too. Small items such as grenades, pouches, combat knives, or purity seals may be added later. In particular, the left pauldron needs something to cover up a defect (it was one of the original ones made).

There's not too much to say on the current state of the model that hasn't been covered before. A couple of things to mention however are that the Agrax over the cord on right vambrace provides kind of "self shadowing" and edge definition that makes it stand out against the armour quite well. The other note is on the boltgun strap.

The boltgun strap I didn't want to be just brown, although that should definitely be its base colour. The problem with using only brown shades though is that I didn't think it would fit the type of material a strap should be. So in the end:

• Rhinox Hide (base)
• Screamer Pink (layer) (just to give that hint of shiny leather look)
• Agrax Earthshade (wash)
• Gorthor Brown (layer highlight - very fine lines along the edges)
• Lamentor's Yellow (glaze)

The final glaze is only a very subtle effect, barely noticeable, and was only done for an experiment, but the end result is good enough that I'll probably stick to it in future.

The next post, whenever it may be, will probably feature the finished 5-man squad. So it could be a little while.

-- silly painter.

Base Painting 01

Painting the base colour of any Space Marine force is critical to a visually cohesive army, and just as critical to individual models. While power armour is perhaps considered an easy option to paint, there is a surprising amount of detail and painting options there, and the rounded greaves and pauldrons offer challenges not seen with other armies.

With the experience of some special models and Death Company under my belt, it's time to start with the core of any Space Marine army: tactical squads. It's also time to start with the base colour of red, and applying lessons learned from working with other models to hopefully reduce the time required to paint a model without sacrificing quality.

The format for this post is to describe the approach used on three different models, and then wrap up with what will likely be used going forward.

Spray gun (left), hand painted (centre), spray can (right).

Model #1
The first model, actually in the centre of the image above, was painted with Mephiston Red by hand. The full list is:

• Black primer (spray)
• Mephiston Red (base)
• Evil Sunz Scarlet (highlight) 
• Mephiston Red (thin base)
• Carroburg Crimson (wash)
• Mephiston Red (thin base)

The thin base is, as usual, used to blend everything together where necessary, and to fix any mistakes. This order of painting worked out quite well, with the highlighting and shading blending together very well. Using the wash after the highlight did dampen the highlighting a little too much for my liking however, and the two coats of this base felt like a waste.

Model #2
The second model attempted to fix some of the areas that were either slow, or lacking with the first model.

• Black primer (spray)
• Mephiston Red (spray base)
• Carroburg Crimson (wash)
• Evil Sunz Scarlet (highlight) 
• Mephiston Red (thin base)

Here the spray gun was used to apply Mephiston Red after the black primer, so the results were a little different to the spray can. The wash was applied second, and then highlighting, with a final thin base to blend it all together. This generally worked better, but it does require knowing how much to build the highlight up. It could have used a little more here - the wash made it looker lighter by comparison, but the final thin base pulled it back a fair amount.

Model #3
The third model had further changes done.

• Black primer (spray)
• Mephiston Red (spray base, x2)
• Carroburg Crimson (wash)
• Mephiston Red (thin base)
• Evil Sunz Scarlet (highlight) [to be done] 
• Mephiston Red (thin base) [to be done]

2 coats of Mephiston Red from the spray can were used to ensure everything was evenly covered. This ended up a mistake - it was applied too thickly and some detail has been lost, although careful painting will hide that. It's also worth noting that the Mephiston Red spray, and the base paint from the bottle, will appear subtly different when dry (the spray appears more dull), so a thing base over large areas is recommended at any rate.
The wash was done before the highlight, but a thin base in between just ensures that highlights will be better compared to the base colour as they're applied.

Going Forward
The real benefit from the spray gun test has turned out to be a bottle of Mephiston Red that is watered down evenly throughout the bottle. It can be used almost as a layer paint, or a wash, and really helps to fix mistakes, and blend highlighting and shading together. So I definitely recommend this: buy two bottles of base colour paint, and mix one evenly with water. It really has saved a lot of hassle trying to mix with a brush on a palette every time.

Other than that, the wash step may not actually be required. Next time, I will instead only use one coat of the Mephiston Red spray, and then use the thin-base over larger areas as a kind of first stage highlight. I'm mostly doing this anyway, and the wash can be added to specific areas later, if required (the helmet and shoulder pads come to mind).
Doing things this way means one less step, or least performing it much faster, fewer layers of paint (meaning less chance of obscuring detail), and should give the same result in the end. It will likely be attempted on the backpacks, which so far have only been given a single black spray coat.

Another post will cover how that gets on later, but that's it for now.

-- silly painter.

Spray Gun

All I have to say here is: if you're a Blood Angel, just buy the new can of spray paint available. You'll save a lot of trouble, and paint.

The little spray gun can probably do just as good a job, but it takes some getting used to, in order to know the right mix of paint, water, nozzle adjustment, etc. Quite simply, it's not worth it for me to get used to that when the spray paint can is already there.

On a brighter note, the custom made shoulder pads look quite good once painted. Only a very close inspection will pick them out from the plastic ones.

-- silly painter

Tactical Squad 001

Things have been a little slow of late, again, due to the annoyance of multiple colds (no, really, just one after another), work, and a bit of travel. However, a tactical squad has been started .The first spray coat is currently drying, although it wasn't really applied properly.

This time, I'm painting the arms first and gluing them on later. At the very least they'll get a base coat first - it's easier to spray them this way, given the limitations of where I can do this. Mounting them on a length of wood and being somewhere more open would be a better choice, however there's nowhere suitable for that right now. So it may take several attempts to get an even coat over the models.

The Death Company are finished now, at least to an extent I'm comfortable with. They were sure a learning experience, and are well worth the effort put into them. Hopefully there will be an image attached to this post.

-- silly painter

Painting Jump Packs

The first finished Death Company model.

Writing has been done on various areas (e.g the right pauldron) which required a very small brush and wash-consistency paint. The writing is not dark - I used Rhinox Hide (base) instead of black, but it could probably do with two coats. Watering the paint down I find easier for writing words, with the tradeoff being that it's very light when it dries. Might do a second coat, or just use black next time.


The jump pack exhaust area was originally going to be quite a plain, stock standard, metallic appearance. Deciding that this was too boring, I contemplated some kind of scorched effect surrounding it, but in the end went with the glow of idle thruster exhausts. Blue was the choice of base colour for this, simply because I thought it would look better than red/orange/yellow, and offset the large amount of red already on the model (the weapons, purity seals, and gems).

The exhaust glow was painted in the following manner:

• Kantor Blue (base) around the entire exhaust area.
• Alaitoc Blue (layer) as a "thick" highlight around the nozzles.
• Teclis Blue (layer) highlight, thinner than the previous layer, and leaving some of it showing.
• Lothern Blue (layer) highlight, again slightly thinner along the edges. It was given some more emphasis in the middle.
• Ulthuan Grey (layer) fine edge highlight, and "core" area of the nozzles.
• White Scar (layer) very fine edge highlight, just to really make the edges shine. It was also watered down for the "core" areas as well.

Quite a pleasing effect overall, although the final white highlight could have been thinner. Note that while quite a few blue paints were used, this is mostly for convenience - the same could just as easily have been achieved with mixing white into the base blue, and building up the layers with more white added each time.

-- silly painter