Blood Angels Legion Moritat - Part II (Showcase)

 

Eye see you.

For various reasons I was motivated to keep going on this particular model, and have now completed it to a level I'm happy with. I can always do more of course, but half the point was to adapt the "Trovarion Grimdark" style and make the model look they've been through some rough battles.

How much the particular model helps I'm not sure, but the results are incredibly well worth it. I've generally been following box art these days just for the sake of not having to worry about colour schemes, but in this case many of the panels I kept as red rather than mixing it up between red, black, and dirty white. The rugged appearance outlined everything perfectly well, despite red being the dominating colour, and trying to mix in colour variation for what I can only presume to be ablative armour panels would ruin the look. In other words, the rugged look was not only faster, but looks far superior to the "clean" approach for this particular model.

I've often said that single miniatures like this lend themselves well to experimentation, and this made painting details much easier on account of just using whatever was on the wet palette to come up with something interesting. The Volkite Serpenta (fancy name, but the weapons) are:

• Incubi Darkness mixed with a little Corvus Black for shading
• Incubi Darkness for the mid-tone.
• Incubi Darkness and Dawnstone for highlighting.

The Dawnstone, being a grey rather than a white, I've used in various places as I find it useful for brightening a colour without desaturating it overly much like a white would. The weapon muzzle is:

• Balthasar Gold around the outer edging.
• White Scar thinned to wash and pooled in the muzzle.
• Fuegan Orange shaded over the previous step.

The undersuit ribbing is a little different to normal:

• Mechanicus Standard Grey over the appropriate areas.
• Mix in a little Corvus Black for darkened areas.
• Mix in Dawnstone instead for highlights.
• Nuln Oil to add some definition. In places where this didn't work, a few careful strokes of Corvus Black to replicate this (particularly the right armpit area).

At this point I didn't really want the normal black trim colours, but instead switched them out for the insignia colours I normally use. This gives the trim a slight blue shift rather than being purely grey, and I chose this for the simple reason of the power cable sheaths going to the weapons are already giving a lot of grey, and I intended to give a little hint of blue on the base that the trim would keep balance with.

• Abaddon Black over all the trim.
• Dark Reaper dabbed as a highlight, in keeping with the overall highlighting approach on this model.
• Russ Grey dabbed or used as edge highlighting as desired.

There was quite a bit of back & forth with the colours on the trim (wet palette is a must for doing this) just to try get a balance of definition without going too bright. The model is quite dark in general and anything bright would be likely to stand out too much. I also took the opportunity to use the black and outline some areas where I felt it was required. This is quite subtle and doesn't show up greatly in the photo, but the subtle things often make the largest difference.

Grenades are nice and simple:

• Iron Warrior
• Athonian Camoshade
• Leadbelcher highlight
  

The leather pouches I tried to give some scratches on, even if they are quite small details. The trick is really to give uneven edge highlighting and give the appearance of worn leather.

• Rhinox Hide
• Gorthor Brown to edge highlight most areas, in a fairly clean manner.
• Baneblade Brown to add scratches or uneven edge highlights.
• Agrax Earthshade to tie it all together.

I could have made those pouches stand out ever so slightly more, possibly by thinning the Agrax a little bit, but didn't want to risk ruining it completely and so tagged them as "good enough for now".

The base was a bit interesting in that I wasn't entirely sure what to do, but then decided that perhaps I could use the opportunity to give all the 30k models from Blood Angels and Sons of Horus a similar theme. This would effectively have them all fighting in the same ruins, very likely during the Siege of Terra. The common element is the marbling effect first done the steps for the model of Horus, and the slab of stone seemed a good fit. It's lighter too, which contrasts to the darkness of the model (generally good, it's a colour theory thing). I also still wanted blue in places, which was one of the drybrush paints to make it seem though this slab of marble has crashed down into the rubble of ruined asphalt perhaps. I generally just played around until something looked vaguely appealing. Also, that's a Sons of Horus helmet on the ground: this Moritat is obviously good at their job.

Terminatus Stone was lightly drybrushed around the feet. I ordinarily don't do such things, but this particular Moritat has been fighting a while and some dust would gather.

The eye lens is a glowing eye lens - apart from being much easier to paint this way, I also figured there would be a lot of battlefield information overlaid inside the helmet, more so than standard marines, and this might give a slight glow effect. It also looks cool.

Same jump pack formula from a while back, just painted better.

Actually the jump pack glow did have one difference from the original formula: I used Blue Horror instead of Ulthuan Grey. Not much difference in the end, but I wanted the excuse to use an edge paint.

A couple of transfers from the Thunderhawk sheet (they just happened to be an appropriate size) and another model finished! I hadn't really intended to divert attention from Project 20, but when inspired it's sometimes best to just go for it. I'm really pleased both with how well this model turned out, and with forcing myself to try a different painting style. I'll admit that I'm not currently a patreon of Trovarion, but in a couple of months when finances are back in order then I might well be.

-- silly painter.

Blood Angels Legion Moritat - Part I

 

Zapp. Zapp zapp. Zapzapzapzapzapzap.

After watching the Blood Angels Grimdark video from Trovarion (link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlf_j8CB-3k) I was motivated to give it a go. It needed the right model however - adapting that approach to just any Blood Angels model wouldn't work for me because it would stand out too much from the rest of the army.

I originally had considered painting up a Death Guard marine in that fashion (and I still intend to at some point) but recently I was looking through the backlog and noticed a Legion Moritat. Of any model, this one just spoke to me as being a Blood Angel that would have far more wear and tear on their armour than normal. Here is a warrior that isn't part of the usual formation, and is basically geared and let loose to do their own thing, returning to resupply before going back out again. The armour is expected to have seen more action between repairs than most.

I tried to follow the video without changing things up too much, but one of the obvious differences was the model itself: the armour plates here don't provide for as many larger surfaces to play with. The key to the scheme is that the edges aren't highlighted normally, but instead are kept darkened. Directed dabbing motions with a brush give that level of control easily enough, just have to focus on the middle of panel areas, leaving edges and recesses to naturally be darker. Bonus is that no wash is required.

Seen above is the following steps:

• Black primer. This still shows through in small areas, but I didn't bother applying another base coat of black - there's essentially no need if the primer's coverage is good enough.
• Rhinox hide dabbed around all the armour. An old and definitely well used brush was great for this - it's completely frayed, giving a bit of random patterning, large enough to be quick with the application, but still allows for fairly good control over which areas are covered.
• Mephiston Red dabbed around most areas, focusing more on the inner areas of armour panels. I also used a smaller, less destroyed, brush in some places where I wanted more control. Two or three passes were used, giving surfaces facing upwards more attention to start on highlighting.
• Evil Sunz Scarlet dabbed around next, using on the smaller brush. I wanted much more control here, and focused only on the surfaces facing upward. I also tried to use slightly more on the upper parts of the body, which would not be self-shadowed quite so much. The head is perhaps a little brighter than I originally intended, but don't see any reason to tone it back yet; there's still more to be done that might change the look quite a lot.
• Iron Warrior applied lightly to various edges. This is where the paint has fully worn away, and actually highlights otherwise dark edges while giving some contrast to the surrounding red. This helps define the shape more, but it's worth noting that the shine will disappear when varnish is applied. I can always go back over some places if I necessary.

The "red" armour itself is mostly done at this stage, but I might well poke it at with a brush occasionally as more is done, depending on how I feel.

I'm really enjoying this approach to painting. It gives a worn and used look, like this particular Marine is in the middle of a drawn out battle, in a drawn out war. It's also very quick to do - highlighting and battle damage are all done naturally as part of the process. The odd thing about it though, is that it's not fast and effective purely because of the method, but also because I'm well familiar with how the paints work, how they'll look, and how comfortable I am with the brush. If I were to have tried this when I first (re)started painting, it would look nowhere near as good, take twice as long, and I might have abandoned the idea entirely. Picking the right model also helps too. So anyone trying this should keep all that in mind - experiment, have fun, enjoy, and practice!

Also I highly recommend following along with Trovarion. I find his videos excellent in describing not only how to paint, but also provide a lot of insight into many other aspects behind the hobby. In particular I find his views on what to try outside of "use this paint with this brush" very encouraging; basically, watch the whole video linked above.

I admit that I now even more want to try this approach on a (30k) Death Guard. Getting the off-white right would definitely be a challenge, but would look really amazing if it works out.

-- silly painter.

Project 20 Marines - Part VI

 

I've heard of turtling, but this is ridiculous.

The project to get twenty marines continues. Slowly, so very slowly, but it continues. I'll be honest, not going to be doing this again - it's progressing far too slowly, and that alone is demotivating. Demotivating makes it go even slower, and so a vicious circle forms. It's a learning experience still, and that alone is worth the effort to push on through.

And pushing on through, thinking of clearing twenty models off the backlog, is what keeps me going. I have just reached the stage on some models where the backpacks can be attached, and some of the Primaris can have the guns and arms glued proper into place. It was wanting to get that far that used up a lot of time over the last day or so - really just want these models to be done with! Sadly, there remains much to be done, and the helmets have only just been started.

Not a great fan of the Primaris in this case. Their arms don't fit as cleanly as other models I've dealt with before. Push fit models don't have this problem, and I'm again frustrated by a lack of guide point on the torso and arms. Just a small bump and corresponding indentation is all it would take, and would make alignment so much easier.

One of the reasons of sub-assemblies of this nature are for easier access to certain places, but having components lined up during airbrushing keeps highlights coherent. This has generally been worth it, and for all the difficulty in getting the arms positioned correct I will likely continue this approach in the future.

Some areas have been adjust slightly with Carroburg Crimson. The oil wash step at first had an improper colour, which ended up just looking strange. Using a black directly might be worth experimentation with later on, particularly because if it's thinned then it can be slightly translucent. Fortunately only a very few areas had the wash applied - the time saving from the oil wash was well and truly worth it, even with needing to go back over it again.

If the photo above looks a little strange (other than the missing helmet), it's because the backpack was done before I had a gloss varnish and oil paints to play with. Once more is done (e.g helmet and decals), the matt varnish will be applied and tie everything together properly.

Tip of the day: makeup brushes, long said to be good for drybrushing, are also good at removing dust.

-- silly painter.

Thunderhawk Gunship - Part III

 

Warhammer 40k physics: "I believe I can fly..."

After a short break for the beginning of the year, there is once again not too much done. I'm still working through multiple projects, still just doing little bits at a time. And possibly playing too much Space Marine. Still, there's enough progress to at least mention a few things.

First off is something a little unusual: how to hold the Aeronautica Imperialis models while painting. I like painting handles, specifically the older Citadel handles which fit my use better than others. The grip shape is effective, the spring-loaded base clamp is sturdy and convenient for swapping models about, and it's fairly solid. Unfortunately there exists nothing to hold the bases for Aeronautica. It then occurred to me that I was using a clear plastic rod to hold it while painting, so all it needed was for that to be attached to a spare base and I could then use the Citadel handles. A spare 32mm base, a large clump of green-stuff to hold it in place, a generous amount of superglue to make sure it won't detach, and done. I'm also using the handy hands version to help give some more stability and now no longer to touch the model when handling it for painting.

The most obvious changes for painting recently are the black trimming and green cockpit windows. The latter will be tinted darker, similar to how the other aircraft were done except green rather than red. Not much to say there: just like the lenses on helmets, the green here is contrasting to red and creates a focal point.

The black trim was difficult to get right. I'm following the Forgeworld painted Thunderhawk (why not, it looks amazing) and so had to get lines running where there are no convenient panel edges. Fortunately there aren't many places that need doing this (most are along convenient panel edges), but it turns out that I bought specialised masking tape for just this kind of purpose long ago. I could have used any old masking tape if a gloss varnish were applied first, but I'm still leaving that to a much later step. Determine a line, lay down the tape, paint over it, done. The black is a fairly simple combination, but slightly different to my normal armour go-to:

• Corvus Black base coat. This will need 2, 3, or even 4 coats for good coverage. That stuff is not a base paint, it should be labelled as a layer paint.
• Eshin Grey along edges or areas that I would like highlighted.
• Black Templar Contrast next, applied without letting it pool too much. The intention for this step is really just to make the black deeper, and help get it into recesses better.
• Eshin Grey to re-highlight edges.

I might also use Dawnstone for really sharp edges or points, but I'll see how I feel on that later. I've not finished doing all these steps everywhere, so what's in the photo might well give a different impression afterwards. I'm also likely to put a black oil wash around panels at that stage, which should help give some more depth.

Still much to go on this one. The details are just insane, and once again I'm rather thankful for having a good reference to work from. I won't do the canopy frame in gold, it will remain in red, but I am considering going through my stash of decals to see if I can put some gold filigree in places.

-- silly painter.

Avatar of Khaine - Part II

 

That was a very spicy curry.

The Avatar of Khaine's molten body effect is now more or less done, or at least enough that I can move on with other areas. I had initially planned on keeping the "shins" white, but ultimately decided that more black was required and so continued to keep the molten look there as well. There's still a white loincloth to be done, the head will be darkened, the hair will be smoke, and the base I've yet to decide on.

I tried Dark Reaper on some blackened areas, but ultimately it didn't do much for the effect. I wanted the black areas dark, and the Black Templar Contrast paint works well enough that I will very likely just leave it as is now. By keeping those areas black, it helps make the "lava" glow appear much brighter in comparison.

Right now the lava effect is a little too much, and draws the eye to the crotch. Not a good look really. I'm hoping that will change once more of the face is done, but the next steps are very likely going to be painting in all of the metal clasps holding spirit stones. I'm leaning towards a bronze appearance there, rather than gold, wanting a slightly darker tone that's more harmonious with the model rather than trying to stand out too much.

The white of the armour will be more of a beige, or cream, but I'm not yet certain how to paint that. I could lean towards bone colours, but I want something a little brighter than the usual paints used there. There's also the texture of the areas to consider - there's a very good chance that too many layers of paint will simply do away with it, and I would like to use the airbrush on some of those places, but that's now tricky with the molten effect now done. I could varnish and mask off the relevant areas, which is something I'm considering, but need more time to think on the matter.

-- silly painter.

Thunderhawk Gunship - Part II

 

Na nana na na-na, Thunder(hawk).

While working on the multiple marines I've also been keeping the Thunderhawk nearby for some airbrushing work. This might have at first seemed something straight forward to get done, but actually it subtly trickier. I wanted to use the same basic colours for everything else Blood Angels, but the shading wouldn't quite match due to the scale difference. I've also been leaning towards highlighting panel surfaces rather than edges, so again needed to approach the airbrushing differently there.

The end result is giving edges of panels a darker shade to help outline the general shape of the vehicle, and I'll go back in later to apply either a directed shade, or oil wash and pin shading. I've not yet decided which I'll go with, but I can make the oil wash thinner and much darker, which might suit the scale better. No reason I can't do bother either.

I think so far the airbrushing has turned out well. It will serve as a good base to work from, helping give depth to the model while also presenting an obvious Blood Angels colour scheme. In a stroke of good fortune (for me), the Forgeworld resin 40k Thunderhawk is painted up for the 9th Legion, and so I'm going to essentially copy that colour scheme. On the one hand it's always nice to come up with your own twist, but on the other hand there's enough of a challenge in painting a scaled down version and I don't want to be spending weeks or months figuring out the colours and making no progress.

Weathering will be done on this model. I don't ordinarily do such things, but a Thunderhawk would benefit from a little bit to further sell the impression of a machine of war. Most of the weathering is very likely going to be simple streaks of black on leading edges, which can be drybrushed on easily enough.

-- silly painter.

Retrospective - 2021

 Going to take a moment out of the normal posts and write a bit of a retrospective about just what I managed to do painting-wise for 2021.

I started the year with a sort-of goal of one miniature per week. I didn't reach that (at the time of writing). Am I sad about this? Not at all. I've had far less painting time this year than last, I still managed a good number done (for me), and I also painted quite a variety. From Sons of Horus, to Allarus Custodians, various planes for Aeronautica Imperialis, a Lamenter, the Sanguinor, Assault Intercessors, and of course finishing Horus.

All of these models offered different colours to work with, different textures to explore, and allowed more practice with the airbrush. Then there's Project 20 Marines, which is still ongoing. While that project was originally just intended to get numbers done, it's become an exploration of batch painting, efficiency in painting, and how well my formula of painting Blood Angels holds up. Fairly well, fortunately, which makes them much easier to progress with - I'm not constantly thinking of how to paint something, instead just getting something done. On those areas where I need to consider it a bit more, I can just keep going with something else while mulling over the options. After all the fun of the other models during the year, it's actually relaxing now to just painting something familiar for a little while. Maybe I can always have about 10 in the background on the go in future - painting I can get done without constantly considering.

And this leads into perhaps the most important thing at the end of the year: am I still as motivated to paint now, as when I was at the start of the year? Yes. Absolutely. I might have been less so if I'd forced myself to get models done just for some arbitrary "one model per week" idea - that helped keep me going as a great-if-I-could goal, but it should never come at the cost of actually enjoying the hobby.

It has now come to a point of next year. I would like to try for one model a week again, if only to help clear the backlog. I would however also like to explore different styles of painting, different approaches to textures, and maybe pushing myself a little on things I've not done much of before, e.g object source lighting, more NMM, that sort of thing. There's also the recent grimdark style from Trovarion that would look great on Death Guard, or some other models I have in mind. Just to mix it up a little.

Some discipline in only buying one new model for every two painted has been a good choice. I've curbed my hoarding, and started to really think about whether I really want those certain models or not. The main benefit behind all of this is again related to motivation: seeing piles of miniatures in boxes is actually a little disheartening, where as seeing a shelf of painted models just wants me to get more done.

There are some side projects that I've started and made some progress on, but haven't mentioned on this blog at all. There are reasons for this, but they're very slow moving because I've been wanting to do other things instead. They'll appear here eventually.

And the Thunderhawk isn't paused either. Actually that's something I'm thinking about the next steps for, but with a bit of luck won't be too far out.

Highlight of the year has to be getting Horus finished, and not just finished but actually looking as well as I wanted him to turn out. Very pleased with that, made the long time spent on him well worth it.

-- silly painter.