WIP: Horus Heresy Dark Angels Characters - Part 3

Today I share progress on the Legion Praetor.  With the holidays fast approaching, many other family activities have borrowed much of my evening hobby time.  So I set to working on this Praetor with the time I had available.  I started by moving the progress on the left side and shield to a point that would allow me to finally attach the shield permanently.

Enough detail has been painted in to allow the shield to be attached without spoiling the paint job.  Sharp highlights and other finishing touches will not matter so much to the areas that the shield covers up in darkness.  Where light does fall with the shield in place, highlights will be painted in carefully. To that end, the rope belt has been painted and shaded, rivets/bolts, trim painted, etc.

The straps are painted at the backside of the shield.  I'll highlight the armor in one go after the shield is attached to be sure the highlights are true(ish) to the light that reaches various surfaces.

I had fun with the front of the shield.  Those following this blog will know that I resist painted checkers to a fault - generally making custom decals to get around it where ever possible.  This time, I decided to go freehand and be damned. The results, so far, are not terrible, but generally show why I avoid hand painting checkers. :)  I kind of like the result though and will use this as part of the model's story - where he no doubt painted his own heraldry. I'll do some clean up here and there, but otherwise this is likely how things will wrap up for the shield, minus more highlights.

And so this character progresses.  The shield has now been attached with 5-minute two-part epoxy.  The rest of the model can now be completed as one piece - well, all expect for the backpack that needs to be re-attached.  I will put some time into the back and cloak so that can happen next. This is so far my favorite of the character models I have assembled.

I'll hopefully use some holiday downtime to make more progress on the other characters too.  While I started batch painting them, the need to focus on various details causes me to break out and do them one-at-a-time now.  I'll probably continue to batch paint the command squad, but otherwise treat the individual characters separately.

Until next time,

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Horus Heresy Dark Angels Characters - Part 2

More work on the First Legion characters this week.  Not a lot of visual progress since Tuesday, but still, work was done. I started to bring in some Vallejo Oily Steel for armor trim and bolt weapons while using Vallejo Steel on the swords.  Then white was brought in for cloaks and some wings. As shown below, I popped the backpack off the Praetor to better get to the cloak.  Several thin layers of GW White Scar later and things aren't looking too bad.

A quick post today, showing where the group of characters stand at this point. I'm firmly in the "looks like crap" portion of the project where the base colors are starting to lay down but things appear pretty dismal.  It's my belief that most projects pass through this phase - at least mine certainly do!  As some point, cleanup, shading, and highlights bring the wow factor out.

I'm starting to puzzle through the banner.  Part of me wants to hold off until the next Black Book describing the Thramis Crusade is published to see if anything changes materially around First Legion iconography and color schemes. At the moment, I'm keeping to past canon and the recent Forge World model paint jobs to avoid too much regret once the new book drops.

More progress will be on display next week.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Horus Heresy Dark Angels Characters

Today, I unveil my next project: Dark Angels characters for the Horus Heresy Age of Darkness. 

Between assembling the recent Praetors released by Forge World and seeing new material on the next book (including the awesome Dark Angles paint jobs on the recent new vehicles), I realized I had to put more time in on my Dark Angels.  I had a bunch of HQ models build and primed, so I primed up the two new Praetors and set to work.

The straight up Chaplain from the Burning of Prospero  box set should look great painted up in First Legion colors. I kicked off the project painting in the red details with GW Mephiston Red.

The Forge World Master of Signals model has a lot of great detail and I look forward to painting it.

I'm going to have fun with the command squad.  We have two Terran veterans and a more recent Caliban recruit who has distinguished himself enough to bear the honor of a legion banner. One veteran has a bionic leg, perhaps a souvenir from fighting along side the Emperor on Terra, or perhaps a recent addition earned fighting in the Great Crusade.

The command squad will support this new Praetor recently released from Forge World. What a great model for the Dark Angels.  I'm very much enjoying the winged helm and shield.  I'm going to try out white wings on the helm to match the Legion Champion I painted back along.

And last but not least, we have the recently released Praetor in Cataphractii pattern terminator armor. There is a lot of great detail on this model as well.  I hope to paint both Praetors to a high standard so they stand out among the force. This character project should take me into January but will complete in plenty of time for Squaduary 2020. I'd be very happy if I complete this before the new year and fit in one more project before Squaduary, but we'll see how it goes.  Lots to do this holiday season.

How are your projects coming?

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

On the Workbench [December] - First Legion Characters

On the workbench this December, I took some time to assemble and base the two new(ish) Forge World characters for the Dark Angels.  The sculpts are very detailed and will be loads of fun to paint.  Everything went together very smoothly and all the parts fit as expected.  Some minor heating was required to straighten the swords, but this is nothing unusual for working with resin models.  I detected no other warping in the other parts..

Forge World painted their model with the bare head, but I can't imagine why any Dark Angels player would forgo this amazing winged helm. Maybe because it's a bit too much with the wings given the shoulder pad and the shield??  The helm looks fierce, and very Dark Angels, so I'm keeping it.

All angles of this model are well detailed and in keeping with the Forge World Horus Heresy aesthetics we've come to know and love.

My Dark Angels characters are all mounted on custom cork bases so I did the same here. Vallejo Black Lava was used to texture the flat areas of cork to hide its inherent "corkiness".

I'd have loved another weapon option for the Terminator's left hand.  Both the model and armor design for the hand holding the weapons makes a weapon swap with anther cataphractii terminator model unlikely. I'm not hating on the Volkite Charger (a fitting relic for the First Legion), but I might have chosen something more effective in game terms. but then who am I kidding.  I barely play so this is a display army in any case. :)

The attention to detail continues with this model.  Almost too much to paint...almost. I welcome the challenge. So many little details here.

I need this sword in my life.  I could use a whole pack of swords like this for the army, in fact. This is a true paragon blade for sure.

With so much back detail, I'm compelled to paint it and the inside of the cape, before assembling the model in total. I also like that one could leave the cloak off with no noticeable effect.  The cloak attaches to the normal armor and there are no modeled attachment points at all.

And of course, another signature cork base, with skull...because, Grim Dark.

That closes out what I'm building this month.  With the Christmas holidays rapidly approaching, I don't expect to make a lot of time available to hobby.  I'm leaning on painting some Blackstone Fortress models...but damn, these Dark Angels are so sweet I may need to get paint on them sooner rather than later. Time will tell.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Sisters of Silence Vigilator Squad - TO DONE

So at last the Sisters of Silence have been completed.  I was not able to make the time to squeeze in a post before the US Thanksgiving holiday but here is where I ended up.  After a great idea from Siph, I went scrounging through my decal collection for something suitable for a Silent Sister and came up with a Custodes icon which hopefully is subtle and obscure enough not to break canon.

With that little detail attended to (that cloak just has way too much open blue...), I set to the final armor highlights, some minor touch up to the hair, and some script on the scrolls and purity seals. That pretty much wrapped things up for me and after a coat of Model Masters Lusterless Flat lacquer, the ladies went for a photo shoot in the light box.  Probably shouldn't have used the brown background with the gold armor as things are fairly yellow...but there it is.

 

The Oblivion Knight came out well with all of the writing on the scrolls.  I used a black .005 Micron pen and then added some color with a red .005 Micron pen. Might need to click through to the full size image to make that out.

 

I think the dynamic pose on this sister is my favorite.  She is definitely ready to spring into action. Vallejo Silver was used as a final edge highlight on the sharpest lines of the armor and the blade edges.

 

Posting these pics, I realize I didn't manage great focus.  Sorry for that.  I need to stop shooting models at the end of the evening when I'm ready for bed.

 

Still waiting for the final decal for this lady's tattoo, but it's on its way.  I'm really loving the cloak.

 

This Sister is certainly dressed to be the squad leader.  haven't decided though since I like the commanding pose of the first sister above.  After much thought, I decided to leave the fur cloaks alone in the simple shaggy grey.  I've dragged on these models and it was time to call it done and move on.  Perhaps in the future I'll try some spots or stripes.

 

And last but not least we have the fifth sister.  I was going back to brighten the gold details on the cloaks, but then realized they work as is.  I wanted a sense of subtle thread work that might fade or fray with time.  So the gold is there, but not looking too painted on I hope.

And finally, as promised i a prior post, below is a picture with the ladies accompanied by a few Custodes for scale.  I hope you'll agree that I managed to make the Sisters fit in well with the Custodes while still remaining a distinct force of their own.

Fun stuff! Now perhaps I'll get them on the table top some day to prove their mettle.  One of my gaming buddies plays Thousand Sons, so maybe some Burning of Prospero action - minus the Wolves of Fenris unless I start a new project...

So that's it for the sisters.  They get a big ol' seal of DONE for this hobby season.

Not sure where the winds of Hobby Fate blow next...might be Knights for Adeptus Titanicus, might be time to get some Blackstone Fortress models on the table.  Or I might dive back in to either the First Legion or the Blades of Vengeance.  So many cool projects to work on at the moment!

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Sisters of Silence Vigilator Squad - Part 4

More work on the ladies to share today. The eyes really took a lot of my hobby time this week.  Each pair have been painted and repainted several times to get them to where they are.  I'm generally pleased with them now, but I don't promise not to retouch one or too before the project is done. So... tiny...

The Oblivion Knight was a particular challenge around the eyes and I'm not sure I'm done.  Enough of the face is exposed in the helmet's eye slits that one really must paint the eyes in there.  No cheating!  Her scrolls have been shaded and highlighted now.  The sword grip was painted and shaded, but not highlighted. Ropes and tassels were painted and shaded. Purity seals were completed.

Lot's of little detail work goes into painting these ladies. And I continue to find the odd purity seal or other detail forgotten under a section armor or behind the folks of a cloak, etc.

The forehead tattoo decals have been added to four of the five ladies with bare heads.  Not sure why the decal sheet came with only four decals when you can have five models with bare heads...?  A quick stop by eBay has another sheet on the way so I'll get the last one completed at some point when they arrive by mail.

As with the Oblivion Knight, many details have been completed now, including ropes, sword hilts, etc. And those many eyes...

This sisters awaits her tattoo while I work on shading and highlighting her flesh.

This cloak cries out for freehand, but the pleas fall on deaf ears for now.

I like this sister a lot.  A certain fierceness and conviction came out of my ham-handed attempts to paint the eyes - at least at a distance. I rewarded her with a skull tucked away in a crack on her base. Just a little splash of the grim dark.

As I work through the finished details the squad is coming together nicely.

The tattoos solidify the Silent Sisters look for sure.  More shading of the face/head will soften them somewhat without blurring or obscuring them I hope.  Still working through what I want to do in my head. As shown here, the tattoo decals have simply been applied and then covered over with GW Lahmian Medium to protect and fade them into the head a bit.

I haven't worked up to courage to got into this cloak with some freehand spots or stripes.  I feel a pelt like this deserves some extra attention. Unusual for an animal not to have some variation in its coat. The Oblivion Knight at least has the scroll papers down the back to break things up a bit.

Another fierce warrior stepping in to deliver the Emperor's justice. Not sure how they will play in either 30k or 40k games, but they look damn nice on the table. :)

And that's where I'm at so far.  I had optimistically planned to be at a completion point by the end of this week, but there is more work to do.  With luck I can tie this project off before I head out with the family on Turkey Day. It would feel good to go into December with something new. I like the results here though, so I'm not going to force or rush them.

I'll fit one more post in before Thanksgiving arrives here in the US, with luck.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!