Blood Angels: Baal Predator

Here she is, the last of the Blood Angels project. It wasn't finished in time for the complete army picture you saw last week, but its done none the less. This model turned out really nice. There could have been more time dedicated to shadowing and damage and dust, but this was done on a bit of a deadline. As it is, it looks great on the table.

I tried a new way to do metal/silver- base coat of black and then applied graphite shavings with my finger. It gives it a very unique and realistic look. Its very muted, unlike the usual silver effects you usually see. This in particular was Metallic Iron from Secret Weapon Miniatures. 

The Mettalic Iron was used again to start the weathering effect on the bottom of the tank. 

Painted on weathered paint chips are a great way to break up the large flat areas on your tank. Start with dabbing flat black in a random pattern, near areas of wear and tear or areas you think shells/bolts/lasers will will the hull. Paint the inside with Boltgun Silver, leaving some black on the edges. 

Lastly, on a sad note- the army was sent off already on EBay to the 'highest bidder.'  I am a bit sad that I wont be able to play against/with this army anymore. But I understand why my friend decided to sell the models. But don't fear, I've already been contacted to paint another army and I have more than enough to do for Adepticon. Expect to see more from project Imperial Guard!

Complete Blood Angels Army

A couple of models are missing from the picture, but basically here is the Blood Angels army all done and ready to be shipped off to the owner. Everyone has been happy with the army and its progression, and I must say it was fun to do. For the record, this was the fastest that I've ever painted an army this (or) size!  Its a good thing the elite army costs so much per  model and kept my paint count down!  

It looks like another 1,500 points or so are on their way to my paint desk once Adepticon is over. Speaking of Adepticon, its less than two months away!  Later this week, I'll talk more about what I have planned. 

Blood Angels: Mephiston

Mephiston is a beast on the table, and despite not being an Independent Character (and thus can't join other units) he still a viable choice in lots of (non-competitive) lists.  Getting this model all painted up was fun, the level of detail in the metal model was fun. My friend loved the vials of the 'blood' and other stuff that Mephiston keeps. There are lots of little things like that. 

Blood Angels: Honor Guard

The best part of the Honor Guard squad is that I didn't have to paint both gold (black primer base) and wings (white primer base) on models that were already assembled. Its a bitch to live in my world sometimes (just teasing). The other great thing about the Honor Guard is the nice banner that comes sculpted in the box. The jump pack models for the Blood Angels are fun to put on my custom bases as it allows the models to be dynamic without a lot of cutting and mod'ing plastic. 

I also enjoyed playing with the 'white' purity strips and banners with a Micron pen. Its easy to make some squiggly marks and something that looks like the Inquisitor "I" to add some character to the models. It adds a nice finishing touch without taking too long to complete. 

Blood Angels: Lemartes

Lemartes provided me with an opportunity to use some new toys. The model comes with a partial base, leaving the hobbist to complete the rest of the base. I wanted the base to fit somewhat with the rest of the bases I made for the army and turned to the craft section of my local Hobby Lobby. Looking below, you can see the 'white' Liquitex Resin Sand applied to the base. At first, this is a bit of pain to get on the base. Once you get the hang of using your modeling spatular and press it into the base, it goes quickly. The best part of this textured gel is that it dries firm but flexible allowing it to be filed or sculpted to meet your needs. Once you but some primer on this, it looks great. I look forward to using some of the other Resin's for other quick effects.

The rest of Lemartes was pretty straight forward except the vents on the jump pack which are possible the worst sculpt/casting job I've ever seen. In the future I'd try using some steel wool to clean the vents better. But for now, its going to have be this way. I try to ignore it and focus on the fancy resin gel base!

If you made it this far in the post, then you get a little treat: my final production picture of the Death Company marines. These models are still my most favorite models to paint for the whole Blood Angels line. Its a shame that these troops, can't claim objectives or else I think you'd see a lot more Death Company armies (perhaps that is the point). Elite armies are always a challenge and the Blood Angels already have a capable elite list (Sanguinary Guard), so I don't think the game designers wanted to put another one in the codex. But that is just my speculation. 

Blood Angels: Captain

One of the nicest miniatures in this project is a specially converted Blood Angels Captain with twin-lightening claws. My friend absolutely loves characters with TLCs, and I must say he makes great use of the abilities. With that being said, he purchased this models already converted from ebay. It was well put together and fun to paint. I was requested to paint the model so that he can be added to the Honor Guard Squad if need be. So, more gold (yeah!), but I got to add some red (blood) on the base.

Blood Angels Assault Marines

Finally, I have images of the completed Blood Angel Assault Marines (these are for you Ron!). The final details were completed, the bases done, and the models are in the hands of their owner (who is, by the way, very happy with the models!).  In fact, he is trying to get me to do more Blood Angels for him (despite my slowness!).

Anyway, I like these models a lot. In fact, if one were to *have* to paint more models for a Blood Angels army, I'd choose these. :) Sadly, there are only 5 of the dudes to paint.

As of this writing, I am actually done with the Blood Angels and have sifted my attention fully to preparing for Adepticon. Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting images of the completed Blood Angels as well as sprinkle in some of the Adepticon hobby goodness that is on my plate. 

Blood Angels: Assault Marines

The Blood Angel project is a bit weird in that these are the only standard marines in the list. Here are some WiP pictures of the marines, before they got their squad markings and a few details done. 

Blood Angels: Death Company

Happy Holidays to all of my gaming friends. Its been a bit quite around here but that is because I've spent a lot of time with the family and doing non-hobby stuff. However, my project with the Blood Angels is nearly complete and my friend is very happy with the results. During the holidays we actually got a few games in, and the models look great on the table. Expect a lot of pictures in the coming week and hopefully a few army shot! Below are the Death Company and I must say that these are the best models from the new BA range. They have the proper amount of detail and the color combination looks the most sharp. I just don't want to face too many of them across the table.

Sanguinary Guard are Done

As the Blood Angels army that I am doing for a friend nears an end, I wanted to share with everyone the completed Sanguinary Guard. WiP models have been posted earlier, but finally all 18 models are done- complete with custom made resin bases for the army. The owner also converted Sanguinary Priest using the Apothocary bits from the command squad box.

As scary as these models are, this the only tank busting ability in the army, two melta guns, one plasma gun. So hide in your metal boxes people if you play against them... because once they get their chops on you it will be all over with those power weapons.

I painted the bases with a blue hued stone to help tie in the blue from the power weapons with a sharp black border.

All of the models are pinned to the resin bases in hopes they will stay attached. These bases are a bit 'rocky' by design and the pose of the models are definitely dynamic.

Blood Angels: Dante

 I was hoping to talk today about a tournament over the weekend with my Imperial Guard, but at the last minute things fell apart and I couldn't make it. :(  Instead I continued to work in the Blood Angles... and play WoW. Let me tell you WoW is of the devil.  The sweet and lovely devil!

Here is Dante- a converted version that was handed to me to paint. Not caring much for the original metal version, my friend constructed one out of plastic. He goes with the rest of the Sanguinary guard very well and was fun to pain. In the games we've played with him, he is a bit of a mystery. He had moderate durability and kill-ability. His ability not to deviate on deep strike is awesome and is probably what makes him pure gold in a  deep striking army.

Blood Angels: Honor Guard

Finally, I am nearly done painting little gold armored guys!  At least there are no white wings to work around. The Honor Guard came together pretty quickly as my gold armor it getting faster with all of the work it is getting. :) 

You can also see my custom made resin bases that I made for the army. I'll show off more of then later on, but we like how they came out. Making resin bases is pretty easy (even I can do it) and it ties the army together very nicely. Since the models are in dynamic poses everyone is pinned on the bases.  The camera angle makes one dude look like he is falling over, but he doesn't have that look on the table. 

There are 5 different bases and once you spin them around a bit each one looks a bit unique. 

The banner is the last piece to finish for this squad and needs to really stand out... I hope that I am up for the task!

Blood Angels: Dante

Dante is done. D-U-N .
Its a counts-as model that my friend assembled, but it works very well. Again, the gold is fun to paint, but I like how it turned out for the time that was spent.
I was asked to do the blue-white-lightening scheme as you see on the axe. It looks good, but not great. Any ideas on how to make that transition to great?  To be honest, I've not seen too many of the blue lightening power weapons that I love. Its probably just personal taste.

The bases will begin production this week... stay tuned!

I was informed this weekend that the models will be making their first tournament appearance in a couple of weeks. 15 Sanguinary Guard, Dante, and 3 Sanguinary Priest. Yikes 19 models with power weapons or better! Just sick, I say. Well its a good thing that I am going to be him team mate with Imperial Guard.  Hah!  Now, where did those pie plate templates go....

WIP: Blood Angel Death Company

The Death Company squad for the commission army that I am painting is nearly done. All that is left is a few detail pieces and another wash for the metal. These models are really nice- full of detail and capture the spirit of the Blood Angles very well. In fact, I like these models much more than the Sanguinary Guard, who lack a lot of detail on the those models. There is a lot of plain gold on those models, which is just a pain.

Here are the Sanguinary Guard that I have painted at the moment. There are another 4 that I have started on to bring the total up to 19! I thought I was done with painting gold, until I realized that there is an honor guard squad as well!  More gold!!  At least they don't have big white wings as well. :)  

WiP: Sanguinary Guard

Its been a blast to paint these Sanguinary Guard and the new Blood Angles for a commission project. These are amazing plastic sculpts. My client (i.e. gaming buddy) wanted them painted according to the codex, and he doesn't like NMM. So pretty basic colors on the SG's. Oh yeah, there are 20 of them total, and they are going to be a pain in the butt to deal with on the battle field!

My painting table is bombarded by flying Angels of Death. 

A couple of things on painting these models- the camera doesn't reflect the shade and highlights of the gold real well, but it is hard to get good highlights with gold. Adding silver to your gold mix tends to desaturate the color a lot which I personally don't like on models that have tons of gold (like these models). I'll add more washes before I'm done to give the models more depth and create some false highlights to it. Also the wings were a bit of a pain. My client assembled the models and attached the wings prior to delivering them to me. It would have been so much easier to prime them white and go from there. But the gold needs a black primer... and thus the white needs lots of layers of white.

Small tip:  use a dowel for painting, you won't rub the paint off of your minis. 

All that is left is the second half of the S. Guards, and then go back and paint the power weapons. I am working on some custom bases for the army, more on that later.