WIP: Horus Heresy Dark Angels Command Squad Veterans - Part 2

The Command veterans are getting close to done.  Black armor highlights are on, along with the metal trim highlights.  Decals are next for the armor. Not too much new progress from the last post, but some progress all the same.

I highlighted the bolters and the bases as well.

Probably a big ol' #1 on these blank shoulders.  I think a line of checks will be called for as well. I haven't really settled on any particular heraldry for veterans.

I'm considering a decal or some checkers for the broad back of the power fist.

Here's the second veteran. I finally got him caught up with the first warrior in terms of highlights.

I need to spruce up the power sword here.  Pretty plain at this point.

I made sure to dry brush a bit of the earth on the feet and legs of these models to place them in their element on the base.

Another shoulder needing decals and heraldry.

So that's where they stand so far this week.  On more session for sure before the month ends.  Then we're on to Squaduary where I will either paint a first legion squad, or something for the 40K Dark Angels or Blades of Vengeance successors. Lots of choices, no decision yet.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Horus Heresy Dark Angels Command Squad Veterans

Back in December, I began work on a set of Dark Angels characters for my heresy-era project.  Today I'm sharing progress on two members of the Command Squad.  Both veterans of the Unification Wars who likely fought in the armies led by the Emperor of Mankind before such forces took to the stars as part of the Great Crusade. They will accompany my recently completed Praetor in power armor.

I chose a theme for sergeants and veterans in my force using helmet crests.  One veteran in this squad uses the newer (in my mind) transverse crest sported by my sergeants while the other uses a much older longitudinal crest, possibly indicating long years of service to emperor's legions. A bionic leg was also chosen to indicate wounds from past battles. It's my own fluff loosely melded with what we have for existing background canon.

I'm batch painting these two warriors, however this one is further ahead with the black armor highlights in place. I continue to enjoy the red on black color scheme.

Steel highlights are still needed, but many details are starting to pop, such as the articulations of the power fist and the highlighted legion crests.

I continue to follow my painting recipe which can be seen on the pre-heresy tab above.

Not sure what to put on the Command Squad right shoulder pads.  Probably a stylized number 1 for the first legion along with some livery, such as a couple rows of checkers or something.

Next we move on to the second warrior.  I wanted some individuality between the veterans and I like how they are coming together as a pair. The warrior below is meant to look older and slightly apart from most of the rest of my force.  This approach hopefully sets this warrior apart as a seasoned veteran in the First Legion. Having a story for the models adds some inspiration for my paintwork.

No armor highlights yet, but this model has fully highlighted legion reds.

The bionic leg has received a simple base coat of Vallejo Oily Steel with a heavy shade of GW Nuln Oil. It will be highlighted with some additional shading with Agrax Earthshade to give the leg an oily well used look.

The bases of both models have been painted and shaded but still require highlights. In these photos, the shade can be seen still drying.

This will be one gnarly looking Terran veteran in my force. Older battle worn armor, missing limb but still capable of delivering the Emperor's justice to His enemies.

So that's what I have been working on this week. I did skip a post earlier this week when it was clear I hadn't made significant enough progress to show much. I'm glad I continued on with these characters rather than move on to other projects.  It can be important to maintain momentum when working on larger projects and I'd really like to see this First Legion force complete.

With Squaduary fast approaching, I'm pretty confident I'll complete these two warriors in plenty of time to task switch to something new for the challenge.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Horus Heresy Dark Angels Praetor in Cataphractii Armor - TO DONE

So, after a few finishing details the Cataphractii Praetor has been completed. It started with additional highlights, like the leather seen peeking from beneath the chain-mail on the shoulders and wrapped around the great sword's hilt.

Then the pistol had to be completed, of course.  Still not sure why I waited until the end to paint this.

Not the most glorious of First Legion relics, but functional and ready to put paid to the enemies of the Emperor of Mankind.

And at last, I took to heart suggestions from Castigator and shaded the censor hanging from his belt with GW Seraphim Sepia. I also painted in some lettering on the oath of moment scraps hanging from the right pauldron.

A stylized number one decal was added to the right shoulder as well, matching the Forge World paint job, taken from a Dark Angels decal sheet.  And with that, the the good ol' Model Masters Lusterless Flat lacquer was sprayed over all and the model was moved to the DONE pile.

What follows is a customary photo shoot in the light box.  Please enjoy, or pass as you wish.  I'm now torn on whether to try and complete the remaining characters I started in December of 2019, or move on and get into some Blackstone Fortress minis.  I wanted to use Squaduary to complete another unit for the First Legion so it probably makes sense to stay focused on that paint scheme for the remainder of January.  Check back next week to find out more.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Completed Characters

WIP: Horus Heresy Dark Angels Praetor in Cataphractii Armor - Part 2

Just a short post today to share some small progress on the Cataphractii Praetor.  The black armor has been highlighted, which give some definition to the baroque details.

I think I'm finally falling into a groove with the edge highlighting. Practice makes perfect as they say - though I'm far from perfect at this point, and still quite slow at it.

The chainmail and other metal bits have been highlighted as well using Vallejo Steel. Still gotta paint that pistol though. Not sure why I'm holding off on that honestly.  It has sort of become a thing at this point.

He's a fierce looking dude, no doubt.  I'll get that pistol done over the next session.  In fact, I hope to post this guy as DONE by the end of the week.  Check back later to see if I do.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Horus Heresy Dark Angels Praetor in Cataphractii Armor

Greetings,

Today, I'm sharing progress on my next Heresy-era Dark Angels character; the recent Forge World Praetor in Cataphractii Terminator Armor.  This model is another great sculpt from the Forge World team and has been every bit a pleasure to paint.  Back in December, he looked like this when I shared him along with the other characters I had on deck at the time.

After a couple more sessions, the model has really come to life.  After some simple paintwork on the base, I attached the model and continued on with the project. This model is based to match the prior Praetor in power armor as well as the rest of my growing First Legion force.

The whites were painted in using GW White Scar while the trim and other metal details were given a coat of Vallejo Oily Steel.  For reasons, I have not yet put much effort into the pistol, other than painting and highlighting the wing icon.  Vallejo Brass was used for the sword hilt and spike crown.  P3 Menoth White was used on the shin scroll work. Reds, Golds, and scrolls got a pin wash of GW Agrax Earthshade.  The white is shaded with thinned Nuln Oil (aprox. 3:1 Lamiam Medium to Nuln Oil) while the metals got straight Nuln Oil.

I decided to paint brown leather under the chainmail hanging below the shoulder armor, using the same formula as pistol holsters and other equipment in the army.  The sword hilt was painted with P3 Sanguine Base and GW Spiritstone Red technical paint was painted over Vallejo Steel for the gems in the sword hilt.

Here's a quick look at the back of the model prior to final assembly.  Enough detail has been painted to allow the cape to be attached without hindering future painting of anything that can still be seen under it.

Here the model can be seen with head and cape attached.  The head was painted separately while glued to a wire as shown a couple pics above. This approach allows you to get good coverage and detail on it before cementing into the armor where it would otherwise be hard to reach in spots.  I opted for a black and white quartering of the shield hanging from the left pauldron. I also brought in the same red stripe I used on the other Praetor for the loin cloth. To be fair, this stripe comes from the Forge World example and is also featured in relief on the back of the cape, shown below. SO I'll take no artistic credit for the choice. :)

Some odd highlights have been picked out here and there, but there is much left to do.  He's already a pretty crazy looking dude.  The sword is such a great feature for a Dark Angels character.  Other characters bearing swords are going to envy this blade.

So, a little over a week into the new year and I have close to two completed characters for my Dark Angels Horus Heresy force. I hope to move onto the Blackstone Fortress models soon, but I dunno.  Squaduary will most certainly see a 10 string Breacher Seige squad painted....then either a Legio Tempestus Warlord titan for AT or a Dark Angels Leviathan Dreadnought for #MonsterMarch4.

Might has well use the remainder of January to finish this model and get as much progress as possible on the remaining characters I started in December. Time will tell.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Horus Heresy Dark Angels Praetor - TO DONE

Greetings and welcome back to 262Krieg.  In and around assembling mini Warlord titan weapons, I managed to complete the Dark Angels Praetor that had been started among other characters in December of last year. Looking at what is coming up this year for the 1st Legion, it couldn't come at a better time. This post is perhaps a bit heavy on pics so scroll to the end if you want to skip to the finished photo shoot.

Since I last shared this project, the sword hilt was painted and additional highlights were painted in here and there.  I'll admit to being a bit scattered with this project.  I did not follow any strict painting methodology or process but rather hopped about a bit from area to area has inspiration moved me.

The base received some additional spot shading with GW Athonian Camoshade and Biel-Tan Green to add an organic look and break up the browns.  The white areas on the model got additional highlights to clean them up a bit from the initial shading as well.

The highlights cleaned up the cape a bit.  I want the material a bit dingy here.  This fella isn't fresh from the parade ground after all.  He's been serving faithfully on the front lines.  Metal areas have been highlighted using Vallejo steel, picking out rivets and edges alike.

After some thought, I decided to freehand some red trim around the back of the cape. Some additional ham-fisted glazing and shading went into cleaning up the cape further aiming for a dingy-bit-not-too-crappy look. Also, the black armor has been highlighted here.

I have named this Terran, Praetor Mihr.  His great-sword has been given red jewels in the hilt, which has been highlighted as well.  The power blade rests in his grip inactive, so no blue shading or other power blade techniques have been used here.  At this point the project was complete and so received it's ceremonial coat of Model Masters Lusterless Flat Lacquer.

A big seal-o-done and we're off to the next project.   This model was a real pleasure to paint, and now with the Inner Circle Knights Cenobium announced, I'll move on to complete the Praetor in cataphractii war plate, I think.  Here are the final photo booth shots.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!