Beautiful Sternguard Sgt.

@Paradigm Thanks man, I feel the green is working quite nicely.

@LBM Cheers bud!

@pupitbackster My tabards are actually one of very few things that I dont wash. I only use Calthan brown and Dheneb Stone. I blend the colours from pure Calthan to Pure Dheneb over about 4-5 mixes, painting the surfaces higher and higher with each progressively light coloured coat.

@bebop mate. I don't mind at all. I'm honoured!

@Feasible thanks man!

So far, he looks freakin' excellent. And I hope you don't mind, but I'm hoping to switch to C:SM soon and when I do, I'm so gonna steal your Thunderhammer idea It looks beautiful!

Hey guys!
Lots of updates to come over the next couple of weeks, because being in school, I have school holidays, and being 16 and lazy, I currently have no job. However, I have a bunch of 6th Ed SMs and ALOT of free time!! So here's a teaser of what's to come. Since my last update, 5 more sternguard and a captain have been added to the collection, because, LDP's not LDP without an oversized collection of captains!
Here's some of what I got: (I currently have a total of 26 6th edition Space Marines.)

LDP

I love the pose on that first model, I'm assuming he's the captain. (and I agree entirely on the 'never to many captains' theory, I have about 15 across my various SM armies.)

And I know exactly what you mean about time off school being great for painting. For me, the teacher's strike in the UK today = time to paint the deathwing squad I've had lying around for months. Looking forward to the progress on those sternguard and vanguard.

I love the 6th ed SM kits. Looking forward to seeing paint on yours.

Any one of the new sternguard could stand in for a captain. They are just that awesome.

 lipsdapips wrote:
Hey guys!
Lots of updates to come over the next couple of weeks, because being in school, I have school holidays, and being 16 and lazy, I currently have no job. However, I have a bunch of 6th Ed SMs and ALOT of free time!! So here's a teaser of what's to come. Since my last update, 5 more sternguard and a captain have been added to the collection, because, LDP's not LDP without an oversized collection of captains!
Here's some of what I got: (I currently have a total of 26 6th edition Space Marines.)

LDP

consider that p-axe pose stolen.

@Paradigm Yeah! Captains all the way. Hope you got lots done on your day off

@Nevelon Couldn't agree more man, the sternguard kits are amazing!

@LBM Haha by all means take it

I'm loving the work in this log!
That Sergeant looks great!

 Largeblastmarker wrote:

 lipsdapips wrote:
Hey guys!
Lots of updates to come over the next couple of weeks, because being in school, I have school holidays, and being 16 and lazy, I currently have no job. However, I have a bunch of 6th Ed SMs and ALOT of free time!! So here's a teaser of what's to come. Since my last update, 5 more sternguard and a captain have been added to the collection, because, LDP's not LDP without an oversized collection of captains!
Here's some of what I got: (I currently have a total of 26 6th edition Space Marines.)

LDP

consider that p-axe pose stolen.

I have to agree with LBM. That guy IMHO is the coolest looking one of the lot. I'm probably stealing that one too

Hey fellas! Blitzed through about 4 hours of painting today (with accompaniment from Lord of the Rings audiobooks, ah they're the best things ever), and the captain is nearing completion! Just need to tone up on the golds, wash areas, do some reds, greens, and highlight some stuff. Also, it was a lovely day today and I just realised I never got proper shots of the Sternguard sgt, so here he is!

LDP

I love that sword. It actually looks like there is a sword under the energy field. Most power weapons people paint you only get the "power" part of the power sword, more like lightsabers then swords with an enhancement.

 Nevelon wrote:
I love that sword. It actually looks like there is a sword under the energy field. Most power weapons people paint you only get the "power" part of the power sword, more like lightsabers then swords with an enhancement.

I agree with Nev.
I've never seen a power weapon done like that before, and i like it

Zambro wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
I love that sword. It actually looks like there is a sword under the energy field. Most power weapons people paint you only get the "power" part of the power sword, more like lightsabers then swords with an enhancement.

I agree with Nev.
I've never seen a power weapon done like that before, and i like it

Damn, so many good ideas to take. great job!

Whole set looks great! I hope I get this good as I keep practicing!

Ta-da! Painting this guy was such a joy, and i'm pleased with the result because he fits in well with the rest of the force, which is slowly growing larger and larger

Tell me what you think guys!

LDP

line highlights one the bolt pistol are a bit too over the top, but the rest of the mini is swagalicious. (yeah that's right, I used that word.)

Nice work, I particularly like the 1st company markings and the helmet crest is neat. Cool model, great paint.

Cheers fellas. Yea Para Knightley gave me 10 deathwatch heads (I think they're deathwatch?) and i've really put them to use They have a small ridge under the eye that pertrudes more than on normal helmets and i'm really fond of the overall look, with the marking and bionics etc

Is the shadow on the knee skull intentional? It's just that you don't seem to be doing any OSL or painted shadows. It looks like some black wash that pooled and wasn't cleaned up. Not sure if it's an artifact of the lighting, intentional (the glow from the sword would cast a shadow there) or just a slip.

Overall the mini is spectacular, that's just one thing that I noticed.

(I always feel like a heel, criticizing paint jobs that are way better then I could do. But the whole point of having a blog like this to to get feedback, so I try to toss in my own observations; semi-skilled as they are)

The skull on the plastic is actually stretched so that the left side warps a little and I based it all black but only painted the part of the skull that was meant to be there. Im not aure what to do with that area :/

 lipsdapips wrote:
The skull on the plastic is actually stretched so that the left side warps a little and I based it all black but only painted the part of the skull that was meant to be there. Im not aure what to do with that area :/

Sand it?

I actually took another look and its not as bad as the picture makes out, still i may do some touch ups


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I actually took another look and its not as bad as the picture makes out, still i may do some touch ups

I just had to add my voice to the chorus of "wow" going on with this plog. Can't wait to see more!

Actually painting shadows can be dangerous (haha) unless you commit to it across the entire miniature. In the case of the knee pad, id paint it your nuetral blue base all around the detail of the embossed skull. (leaving of course the edge darker as to pick it out from the carapace), and let natural light do the trick. As it stands now, it looks like you missed a spot and thats only because the rest of the mini is so well done. The better you paint the easier it is to see "mistakes" or things that dont belong

Aww shucks man, oh a bebop that seems to be the best advice, i'll have to do that.

Progress has been made on the sternguard, i'd say atleast 7-8 hours so far, they're around halfwayish, maybe more.
I'll finish as soon as people!

LDP

Wow... the whites look so smooth especially over the black

You just have to love the sternguard. I like what you've done so far.

I don't recall a left handed bolter on the sprue. Did I miss it, or did you do a little chop job?

It's from one of the masters of the chapter models

excellent looking stern guard.

A little off topic, but I painted Theoden today. I love LOTR incase people haven't noticed

Wow, just wow that's cool LDP! freakin' great paint man!

Cheers Damo If I did him earlier I might've entered him in your comp instead
Yea I have a different painting style for LOTR, I dont line highlight it's more 'realistic'

Gorgeous work LDP! Id love to see more of this stuff from you
Everytime i pop in im treated to such eye candy

Arise now, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Dire deeds awake, dark is it eastward.
Let horse be bridled, horn be sounded!
Forth Eorlingas!

Looking sharp. I find it's helpful to mix up what I'm painting from time to time. All that blue wears me down after a while.

Nice Theoden, I've always loved that model (and most of the Rohan characters for that matter) and that's a nice, neat and realistic paintjob. I agree that painting LOTR like 40k stuff doesn't work, you do need a totally different style.

Theoden looks great!

_e

Hey guys!
What's this? ANOTHER CAPTAIN? How non steriotypical of me.
Behold, tremble in fear from Hephaestion, the Lord Executioner of the Ultramarines! I'm going to run him with my vanguard, hence the jump pack.
Also, thanks for the comments regarding Theoden, I painted the mounted version today so here's a little more eye candy.

Cheers!
LDP

Will you paint the squarshed by the wraith lord version next?

I like the head swap, looks much better.

Hahaha I doubt it
The witch king is an awesome miniature and character though, his helmet design is boss! Yeah, HELMETS>BARE HEAD ANY DAYYYY

Nice work on Theoden (again), and the executioner looks great with that head swap, and more imposing.

Great stuff LDP. Your painting is getting even better. The Theoden is really good.

Vwala!
It's been a month, and god knows why people. I apologise, I have neglected the lovely ultramarines in favour of my LOTR collection (whose progress is not shown wholly on this blog), but the last few days I have rediscovered my passion for 40k and I painted up Hephaestion
Here he is! Hope you like him guys,

Cheers,
LDP

"I will kill you...to death."
-Hephaestion

That's a fantastically converted and painted model. He looks awesome.

Love that Hephaestion dude!! Looking sweet :3

looks awesome mate! love the use of the helm and the angle you have it on.

Very nice looking. That guy is my favorite of the new captains, and the head swap makes him even better.

Something about the angle of his head radiates "distain" to me. Like he's walking across the battlefield, and sees a grot. But he's got bigger fish to fry, so keeps on walking. The problem is he's a space marine captain, one of the finest warriors in the galaxy; even the warboss is just a grot to him...

Awesome stuff, very imposing. The axe is great.

Any chance of pics of the LOTR models you've been working on?

Awesome job on Hephaestion, great posing of the axe head and I think I prefer that model with a helmet now!

Cheers guys. I will post some LOTR pics tomorrow, and also pictures of the kitbashed master of the marches and master of the rites models I got, to bolster my super badass command squad.

Thanks again!
LDP

Hey! Here are some WIP shots of my 2 new captains
Also as requested, some of my LOTR stuff. I have a unit of warriors of minas tirith near completion but I dont want to show them until they're done.

LDP

Again, those captain conversions are cool(how many caps do you have now?), the pose on the PF one just screams badassery. The LOTR stuff is great as well, the rohan royal guard is very nicely done.

Cheers Paradigm. I feel I need to get a shot of the captain from a different angle so you can see how lucky I was with converting in onto the half-finecast arm this guy came with. It looks almost seamless when I initially thought it'd suck
And yeah, im losing count of my captains. Much more than 10 at any rate. It's gotten to the point that veterans in my command squads are just captains.

The new Captains are looking good buddy. Can't wait to see them once the paints finished.

A little something that's brewing

You've been hanging out at the GW website too long haven't you? What you need to do for a proper teaser is cue up some dramatic. canned music, and do a lot of slow fades. Mostly logos and dates. THEN the quick flash of a shadowy image. You also need a short, vague catch phrase. "A little something that's brewing" is pretty good for that. Then we all speculate for a few weeks as to what you are doing.

I'm guessing a Lysander counts-as. Or some other TH/SS terminator captain/chapter master. Looking forward to seeing what you come out with.

I'm seeing Terminator Armour, a Storm Shield, a Thunder Hammer, and possibly a cape...

This is going to be good...

Your guesses were quite accurate lads! Behold, my latest invention! A kitbash of many boxes to represent HAMMERNATOR THE LEGEND (For those of you who dont remember, the grunt terminator who Killed a dreadnight, locked Kaldor Draigo down for 5 turns in 1v1 combat and didn't die when I played against Knightleys accursed GK >:O) in his promoted captain form. Tell me what you think, painting is still in its early stages.

Hahaha those GW trailers. Always the same, lame but trying to be 'epic' if anything I find them tragic, though the technical paint videos are quite good

LDP

EPIC!!! Love it mate, the Centurioun head looks good on the DW body. What colour will you be painting the robes?

That's looking great, very nicely posed and the head actually works better on there than on the cents.

Does this mean you have some centurions in the pipe or did you just get the head in a trade/online?

OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL
BUT THE FIIIIRE IS SOOOO DELIGHTFUL
Hey guys, I have some photos of a fella I finished last week and never chucked up on the blog, so here you go! Happy December everyone!

LDP

Thats a seriously nice paint job and model! How can i get this model? i dont think ive seen it before

Love the pose! He looks awesome mate.

Very cool. I must admit I wasn't sold on that one from the WIP on the last page, but seeing the finished thing, it actually works really well. The more passive 'surveying the battlefield' pose is a nice contrast to the 'action pose' captains.

Great stuff.

 SargentWhiskey wrote:
Thats a seriously nice paint job and model! How can i get this model? i dont think ive seen it before

He looks like the Master of Rites with a head swap and new arm/plasma pistol from the sternguard box. Which completely changes the model. I'm not a fan of the stock rites/marches captains they made, but I do like what's been done here.

Good job, as always LDP.

Thanks guys.
@SargentWhiskey and Nevelon Yes, it's the master of the rights, but I swapped this Head from the Sternguard kit and the arm is from the BA Death Company box I think actually.

Glad I brought you round Paradigm

@San76 thanks a ton man! Glad you like it

Great job LDP, looks fab
BB

I've only just stumbled accross the P&M blogs, and I've jumped on the bandwagon with a brand new one of my own, so I'm pretty late on the scene.

This blog is really awesome stuff, but the most inspiring thing is how much your painting and building skills have improved since your first page. Your kitbashing skills are awesome, and manage to transform stock models to something rather impressive. Consider me subbed!

I feel compelled to join the chorus. Epic work but you have got to start clearing those mole lines off the damn minis! Haha it's ruining a damn fine paint job. Also, how many captains?!

Very Awesome Thread Subbed! Like Smithy12262 said its very cool to see how your ability has progressed so much from the beginning.

Hey guys,
Just a couple WIP pics of the first member of a killteam that i'm working on
Basically my kill team is a 1st company tactical squad that i'm going to try and paint up to the best of my ability and make out of sternguard bits and special kits etc
Hope you like it so far!

LDP

HE'S BACK!

Nice work on that vet, a whole squad painted to your best level should be quite something. Looking forward to more.

 Paradigm wrote:
HE'S BACK!

Nice work on that vet, a whole squad painted to your best level should be quite something. Looking forward to more.

My thoughts exactly. Nice to see you working on your Ultras.

A kill team vet squad? Sounds awesome. And looks awesome

Thanks for the warm welcome guys

Keep it up lips, I almost gave up on you!
Also what is that vets torso from? It's awesome
BT

BrotherTitus wrote:
Keep it up lips, I almost gave up on you!
Also what is that vets torso from? It's awesome
BT

Not to speak for LDP (he can correct me if I’m wrong), but that’s a tyranic war vet with a head swap. The stock model is helmet-less and screaming. Unless he did something subtle, I think the swap might be the only change. I’m not sure about the finecast ones, but I have those boys in metal, and they are a very nice addition to any Ultramarine army.

Yes I'm afraid my good friend Nevelon is correct Brothertitus, the torso is a sculpted finecast torso of the tyrannic war veterans kit. It's all one piece save for the backpack so i'm afraid it'd be a struggle to get it seperate :\

Ahh thanks guys, now that you said it I can see it. Well still an awesome mini

Moar Ultras please!

Jeez...4 months since i last posted here :0 sorry for neglecting you all
Hey guys, just wanted to slap up a couple pics. I painted a plasma veteran for fun the other day, and did up a crimson fists test model also. Tell me what y'all think!

LDP

I normally envision Crimson Fists as a deeper shade of blue. This guy looks like an Ultramarine that just ripped someone’s heart out. He looks great, but the shade doesn’t say “CF” to me.

Of course, I paint my Ultras a bit darker then most, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Regardless of my quibbles with shades of paint, both marines are you normal well executed work. Glad to see you back on them.

Both are very nice indeed, LDP, but I agree with Nev that the Crimson Fist needs to be either darker or have a little more red on him. Maybe the kneepads?

Cheers for the feedback lads, I see what you mean in a way, I think it may be to do with the finecasty nature of that model and how its very detailed? I dont know, sounds strange but I did up the tactical marine test model and its near-perfect to what I was hoping for, and (in person anyway) looks much more 'fisty' than the sergeant.

Input appreciated as always

LDP

It could just be the picture then. That tac marine looks spot on.

Yeah, the Tac looks a lot better, maybe it was just the pic/angle.

That test model is looking good man! keep it up.. If you still want to consider a deeper shade, have you considered using (providing you have the old paints-I'm not sure what the new ones are called) necron abbis then regal blue then the ultra blue. that may work well too.

Woooooooah
Progress!?

Hehehe

Looking good so far. It's a lovely model, too, and I plan to get it myself... one day!

He's Back! And he's got Forge World minis... this is going to be good!

That banner model is sweet dude, hows the IG coming along? got many more tanks?

Cheers guys, yea Knightley I have a hellhound and Leman Russ in box that ive had a while, but nice shiny forge world is distracting me
Exams are on the approach, so work may slow im afraid :\

Ahh, may have forgotten to post a pic with the last update heheh...here it is

Excellent freehand!

Wow.

Alway love seeing your work, very impressive. Especially the Ultramarines. Not enough of us out there.

Sorry for the questionable photo, i'll post better ones tomorrow when I have more time

LDP

EDIT - Looking at it, i'm wondering if i should chuck something above the eagle? The spacing just seems a little odd to me. Any thoughts as to what though guys? Then again maybe its fine

I'd leave the space, as whatever I could suggest to fill it (II, the skull or the arrow) already feature elsewhere on the banner. I think it looks great as is.

Wait a minute...... that model looks .... *gasp!*.... PRIMED? don't tell me you're now priming before you make us feel crap about our paint? either way...... good job!

Ooohoohoo you know it Nerdfest, welcome back
Rumour's even circulating that I drill barrels now
@Paradigm yea I agree with you there, I dont want to potentially ruin something thats pretty much fine

Nice freehand,

I also may have started the rumours of the barrel drilling

 lipsdapips wrote:
Ooohoohoo you know it Nerdfest, welcome back
Rumour's even circulating that I drill barrels now
@Paradigm yea I agree with you there, I dont want to potentially ruin something thats pretty much fine

Wait. Priming. Drilling?

NO. YOU WILL NOT TAKE ME ALIVE.

*Dons tinfoil hat*

YO
I have returned. The Ultramarines require my aid again, and i've answered the call
Painted this sergeant to mark my return. Gunna work on a squad of 5 termies next because I need some done.
Tell me what you think guys! Thanks for tuning in.

LDP

edit sorry about the pics, I cant seem to locate my camera at the moment...so i've used my phone instead.

Looks good, I like the green sword effect and freehand laurels.

Love your Ultras. Simply amazing.

Yay, looking amazing, hope to see more soon

Hey guys,
Started painting up a forge world captain I got a couple weeks back, did a head swap and modelled a cloak onto him, so he has a more sweeping, badass stance
Very early stages, and again, sorry for the terrible quality images, I will improve them once I find my blasted camera

LDP

All looking good buddy. Great to see you back at it.

After skimming through this blog for a while, I must say, you have some pretty darned cool models on here. I love your use of different plastic kits to get a lot of mileage out of your poses

How many captains does he bring you up to? Nice looking mini.

Ow nice! Those are some pretty smurfs. That red laurel wreath works particularly wekk.

Dude looking good with the hammer! something a little different to see a marine rocking a power ball pean hammer :-)

Woohoo! Good afternoon all.
Finished the Champion a couple days back and used him in a game against Knightley yesterday. What a blast So i'll posting the pictures of him, I was pleased with how he came out . Also I've revisited the finecast sicarius model I got a long while ago but discarded and neglected because it was missing the plasma pistol hand and had a horrible warp on the helmer, and therefore meant I couldn't assemble the model how I wanted, but now I've taken him back and Assembled and primed him how I liked using the plume from the helmet in his hand, and new tactical squad helmet, and the commander plasma pistol from a web exclusive captain. I'm very excited to paint him stay tuned!

LDP

Excellent work! That champion turned out amazing!

Very nice work as ever! Subtle but striking.

And now you're doing another Captain!

What a mighty champion, he certainly did smash some terminator faces.

Do you do battle reports? Seeing these guys one at a time as they get paint is impressive, seeing them on the battlefield would be amazing. Even if you don’t do a full write up, snapping a few pics next time would be appreciated.

I'm fairly sure a bet rep will be going up on Knightley's blog soon, so you can check that out. I've done a bat rep on this blog before a while back, also against Knightley, but yea man, i'm keen to do more!

Yep, will post the Batrep once I get through remembering everything that happened, hopefully tomorrow.

Hey hey hey!
Work is well underway on Sicarius, and I'm getting quite excited now because I can get onto the fun stuff

Stay tuned,
LDP

Good job, man! That's a pretty blue.

Still love your blue work dude!

Cato is looking sweet brother. The Hammer Capt looks awesome as well now he's done.

Seeing as the entirety of my blog is 2nd company ultras (With a smidge of 1st and 3rd thrown in ) I figured I owed it to Cato to paint him up, and boy am I glad I did! What fun I had! Real pleased, the model is surprisingly more intricate than I thought after having him sit alone, unpainted for so long.
Without further adieu, here he is in all his glory!

LDP

Now that's a model you can be proud of! Watching this blog makes me want to get back into space marines myself. (looks at wallet. sighs)

Very nice work indeed- crisp and clean, no caffeine!

Great work on a great mini!

Yo Yo! So I was really rockin, and I busted out this Apothecary in 2 days , first time i've done a full white apothecary instead of just the white helmet and shoulder pad

Tell me what you think!
LDP

The red is the only thing that lacks any oomph, thoughts on edge highlighting the medical sign on his shoulder?

Apart from that the white is very good

White turned out very smooth and nice! All the blue/red vials on his belt look like a bunch of health and mana pots lol

Love the captain model as well!

Hey all, made some progress on my latest veteran, I like the look on him Fluffwise i'm making him Cato's bodyguard, hence the special backpack and helmet laurels. Meaning my customised Sicarius and command squad will have (fluffwise) Sicarius, his most experienced apothecary, his personal bodyguard (Thinking of calling him Damaratus, or something of a similar ancient greek ilk), the 2nd company's most elite swordsman, the 2nd company champion (the TH marine I painted before) and the 2nd company ancient, bearing the company standard.
Tell me what you think! More to come

LDP

Awesome looking marines LDP.
Keep up the good work!
Regards
Mark

What is the highlight color your are using? Teclis blue or Lothern blue? It looks great, and I would love to adopt some of these techniques.

@ayoku Cheers Mark! Thanks for checking in, means a ton
and Firehead, I actually use neither. the entirety of my blue process is very complex, I might have to do an updated tutorial. Anyway, as far as the highlighting goes I apply Altdorf guard blue over the macragge base, the 2nd layer up to the 5th are gradual blends of altdorf guard and space wolves grey, until i apply pure dots of SW grey on the edges
Hope this helps! LDP

 lipsdapips wrote:
@ayoku Cheers Mark! Thanks for checking in, means a ton

Glad to join the painting fun ^^

 lipsdapips wrote:
Hey all, made some progress on my latest veteran, I like the look on him Fluffwise i'm making him Cato's bodyguard, hence the special backpack and helmet laurels. Meaning my customised Sicarius and command squad will have (fluffwise) Sicarius, his most experienced apothecary, his personal bodyguard (Thinking of calling him Damaratus, or something of a similar ancient greek ilk), the 2nd company's most elite swordsman, the 2nd company champion (the TH marine I painted before) and the 2nd company ancient, bearing the company standard.
Tell me what you think! More to come

LDP

So your command squad is going to be:

(Sicarius)
Apothocary, BP/CCW
Ancient, Standard, power sword (BP?)
Champion: (not built?) power weapon combat shield is basic gear
Veteran (bodyguard), Plasma pistol/power sword
Veteran, Thunderhammer

While the chapter champion has the option to swap for a thunder hammer in an honor guard squad, I don’t think company champions have the choice. Of course, you don’t need to formally buy the champion upgrade, but for the price of a power sword you get a free point of WS and a combat shield. Overall the squad is very expensive, but should kill any MEQ unit it touches. And the thunderhammer should put a dent in anything bigger.

And knowing you, it will look awesome

Yea, nah the champion is not formally a champion, say its the chapter champ going on an adventure with 2nd company or something and getting nerfed stats as a result, so there isnt actually a champ, so it'd be (gamewise):
Sicarius
Apothecary BP CCW
Ancient, BP PW
Veteran BP TH
Veteran PP PW
Veteran BP PW

Looking good dude, that pose is sick!

Hey all.
Finished up the latest vet yesterday, and got the pics this morning. This guy is sort of an assistant and bodyguard to Sicarius, and is his right hand man.
Not all please with the ultra symbols, but I don't want to mess with them more than I have out of fear of making them worse. Note to self, Its bloody hard painting inside that circle in his chestpiece!
Regardless, here he is. Happy with him for the most part, and would appreciate some feedback as always

LDP

Looks more than decent enough to me! Good work!

Really nice. Don't see much in the way of anything to point out. Liking the look of him a lot. Might have to snag the pose one day.

Wow, looks great!
The ultra symbols looks good, considering their size and awkward locations - I cant imagine trying to put one in the chest piece, I'd lose my mind!

Great work LDP
Like the little freehand tekst on the shoulderpad and on the rest of the marine.
Keep those updates comming
Regards
Mark

That dude is awesome LDP. Your painting skills continue to impress. It's always great to check in on your thread and see what you're working on.

@Paradigm thanks a bunch mate, and thanks for checking in so often, you are my impetus to keep posting dear friend! (Same applies to Nevelon, you guys are great )

@Deadmeat85 Hehe thanks buddy, take the pose by all means!

@Zambro thanks mate, I suppose you're right, and if anything it can still serve as good practice for when I want to try similar icons later

@Ayoku Thanks a ton Mark, i'll be sure to Summer holidays coming up for me so the posts'll only speed up from here, once I finish exams of course

@Radiation Dude, thanks a ton. Means a bunch mate. Thanks for checking in

Hey hey! Since this guy was already have done, I gathered the momentum off from my last mini and finished him off , only 1 veteran left now and then Sicarius and his command squad are done The only thing that makes me sad about the mini is the miscast on the helmet, but to be honest, I feel as though it doesn't take away from the mini much at all, as always, feedback would be much appreciated, thanks for all of it on the last post!
LDP

EDIT The Banner close ups made me realise that I forgot to rub the pencil out :(

The Ancient is looking awesome!

Yes I have to agree. The Ancient is looking awesome.

It looks awesome!

Do you have any WIP shots of the banner? I’ve got one on my to-do list, and am quite daunted by it. Freehand is not my forte, and it’s a huge, blank, canvas.

Marines are looking great as always.

I'm afraid I don't, however this is the reference i've used for my past 2 banners, and it's extremely helpful. http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?163718-Ultramarines-2nd-Company-Banner-Tutorial-(lots-of-images)

And again great work LDP!
Grtz
Mark

 lipsdapips wrote:
I'm afraid I don't, however this is the reference i've used for my past 2 banners, and it's extremely helpful. http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?163718-Ultramarines-2nd-Company-Banner-Tutorial-(lots-of-images)

Nice link, thanks for that.

Afternoon all! Delighted to bring you pics of the swordsman of the command squad, the final member to be completed
Woohoo! So pleased. That's the first full unit i've painted in a VERY long time, i'm using the momentum to tackle a full tactical squad (maybe with a sgt, maybe without, I have alot of substitutes ;P)
Anyway, here are pics! Feel free to leave your thoughts

LDP

Wow. Truly amazing. While the frugal penny-pincher in me thinks they might have trouble making their points back on the table, the modeler is picking his jaw up off the floor. Bravo, job well done!

My experience from playing ridiculously expensive but badass HQ choices has honed my ability of the making the points at least somewhat worthwile, and even if not, i'd willingly put myself at the deficit to field a bunch of superdudes Hehe thanks for the feedback Nevelon

Really nice. Lots of character in all the models. I think the Veteran drawing the sword is my favorite. Where did you get that bit?

Really a rather exceptional unit, they should make a great centrepiece... Now do them a Land Raider to ride in!

@Deadmeat The entire model is actually the mk 3 captain from forge world, awesome piece in my opinion
@Paradigm Heh, soon

Wow, that's an amazing looking unit. Good job, man!

Great job LDP
Marines are looking aweome!
Grtz
Mark

Yo yo! Being on 'exam leave' as I am, my blitz engine of boredom has kicked in to maximum effect and I blasted out this tactical squad! And had a great time, so much fun! The sergeant is a model you've seen before, but the rest are all new
Leave your thoughts guys, would love to hear from you!

LDP

Looking sweet Lips! :-) liking the tac guys a lot mate! nice to see some more 'basic' painting from you that still looks amazing! :-)

Agreed. As nice as it is to see cool captains, seeing solid units like this is just as cool.

The Tac squad is beautiful mate. No other word to describe it. Great work

Awesome squad! You've really got the most out of the options in that kit in terms of posing ect! Like the guy in almost all MkVI armour a lot!

Love the kill marks on the ML.

Everything looks sharp, as normal. How long did they take from start to finish?

Also: “exam leave?” Should you be studying?

Crisp paint job mate!

Well done LDP
Keep those updates comming
Grtz
Mark

Yo! Started painting these 5 shooty termies and 5 hammernators (including the legend) to try continue pumping out the numbers. Having a blast with this! Here's where they are at present:

I'm looking forward to seeing your termies.

Always wanted to paint some, but never got around to them. They're not fantastic game wise..

The fact that you can do both super detailed HQs, and then switch to banging out a quality squad in no time flat make me extremely jealous. Being able to do both quality and quantity is unfair.

Hey all. Sorry for the halt in progress and lack of updates, I have done some work. Got sidetracked from the termies and did alot of work of a razorback for sicarius and his squad. Ill show pics when done but for now here's an army shot of everything thats finished

 lipsdapips wrote:
Hey all. Sorry for the halt in progress and lack of updates, I have done some work. Got sidetracked from the termies and did alot of work of a razorback for sicarius and his squad. Ill show pics when done but for now here's an army shot of everything thats finished

Nice army you have there. Tell that rhino sulking in the cubby to come out; it’s beautiful, no reason to hide.

For some reason I thought you had a larger force. Go out and buy some more marines!

Very nice army! How many points painted do you have?

Nice looking army LDP
Grtz
Mark

Great looking army LDP. As always looking forward to the next update.

Nice work! I really like your freehand! Really impressive stuff you have here

Hello all,
So, staying true to the BA theme following the release of the new miniatures that I can't help but gawp over, I painted my BS chapter master whom some of you should remember from my temporary Blood Siphons incursion that I delved into for a short time. It is very convenient because now I can practice my BS painting (Im never going to get over that acronym) before I get any new miniatures
Anyway, here are the pics you're all waiting for

LDP

Awesome, really nice reds and golds, and the scripting/scrolls is great!

Awesome looking BA LDP
Keep up the great work!
Grtz
Mark

Looks great buddy. I really like the effect on the fist and the writing on the chest.

Bad LDP! Ultramarines, you are supposed to be painting mind-blowing ULTRAMARINES!

The only minor quibble I can find with your winged god there is the tabard. The transitions between shades seem a little stark. But the pose/freehand/everything else is your normal exceptional work.

(which should be blue)

Thanks for all the feedback regarding the BS chapter master. I've decided to change the scheme a little and darken the grey to a black which follows closer to my scheme from armypainter, I thought i'd suss this before I move on with more because I've just bought the new BA tac squad kit, and love it! I feel the new base size makes each SM more heroic feeling (like they should be), so included in the post is me sgt just to tease you
Feel free to share your thoughts on the colour change because i'm interested to see what you guys think Also i've decided to change the helmet colour on normal troops to red.
Thanks,

LDP

Awesome work here, I can't stop looking at that chapter master.

Subscribed so I have a chance to read the whole lot

Looks like I missed this update. Good stuff, the scheme looks even better now and the new BA plastic looks impressive. I have one coming at some point in the new year so I shall be pilfering inspiration by the bucketful when you get going on them!

Cool beans, mate!

Wow, you got some great looking Marines here. Mind if I ask what colors and process you use for the blues? They're so vivid.

No problem Sir Bubbles, i start the process with a macragge blue base, followed by a drakenhof nightshade wash. I then brush over with macragge blue again, leaving the wash only in deep recesses. Next step is a weak altdorf guard blue highlight, followed by a stronger mix of aldtdorf guard blue and space wolf grey and a final highlight of a great part space wolf grey to altdorf guard blue. The final stage is to place small dots of pure space wolf grey in corners and on edges, followed by a Guilliman blue glaze to tie it all in
Now i just have a few early stage shots for you guys as im working on the sgt

LDP

Looking great LDP
Keep up those updates comming
Grtz
Mark

Hey hey! I'm afraid this will be my last update for a few days because i'm going away for the New Year
But i've completed highlights on the Veteran Sergeants armour, and this update comes full with an upright photograph! (sorry about the last ones)
I am taking my sweet time with this guy, and i'm glad for doing so, in my opinion these are some of the neatest highlights i've ever done (doesn't mean they look nicer than some of my recent smurfs, don't think i'll ever be able to paint anything as well as I can paint those guys )
regardless, here is the progress, see you guys in the new year!

LDP

That is some super-smooth highlighting! Great stuff, and enjoy your break!

Hey all, sorry progress is slow. I am trucking through, but a combination of not getting much painting time in and being extremely careful when painting are resulting in a sloooow production of this paintjob D:
Regardless, some work has been done, trialing a new PW design for the BS, tell me what you think!
More to come soon, and quicker, I promise

LDP

The power weapon looks great.

More proof, as if we needed it, that you can make any kind of power weapon effect awesome! Great stuff!

That power armour is looking superb- clean done well.

Great work LDP
Like the blue of the power weapon in combination with the red armor
Keep up the great work!
Grtz
Mark

Loving all the blue details, pretttyyyyy xxx

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/30/519537.page#7520904
go have a geeze all is explained over there

It’s good to paint xenos armies from time to time. Gives you the skills to do it right for when you use them as basing material for your loyalist armies, the only thing they are good for.

You’ll be back. The Emperor protects.

No, you can't be Matthew! I am Matthew! NO!

Hello all
It saddens me to announce that since my move to a hall of residence to attend University in Wellington, I longer have the the space to continue to painting and modelling aspect of the hobby :( I have however brought my army case with my Ultramarines inside and will try to squeeze some batreps in here and there, but I can't guarantee much. My painting and modelling will continue towards the end of the year. Thank you all for loyally following my blog and keeping me motivated, all the best for your painting endeavours

LDP

You’d be surprised what you can do with a tiny amount of space in a dorm room. Hopefully you will find a way to keep the paint flowing. But getting out and crushing the enemies of mankind is also good. Plus studying too, I guess.

A shame to hear it, but hopefully gaming will be enough to keep your hobbying going, enough to keep you motivated to bring us new awesomeness when you can!

I too will be facing the space restrictions of uni halls later this year, but I'm determined to keep going with the hobby, even if it's just a dozen paints and a lap tray!

Hopefully you find some time buddy as your latest updates have been epic. Love the pose on the Vet Sgt

You, my friend, are a horrible tease. Good to have you back.

I can never resist heheh looking forward to it, cheers Nevelon.

This makes me excited!

Much like the Starwars trailer!

YASSS! Welcome back!!

Shall we take bets on what you have ordered?
Veterans, of some sort?

With what FW has been up to while he’s been away, I know what I’m hoping for!

(but will be wowed with whatever shows up, I’m sure)

 Nevelon wrote:
With what FW has been up to while he’s been away, I know what I’m hoping for!

Gulliman? Agreed if that's the case!

 Paradigm wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
With what FW has been up to while he’s been away, I know what I’m hoping for!

Gulliman? Agreed if that's the case!

I’d settle for the Invictarus Suzerain Squad. But yah, hoping for the big guy.

But frankly, LDP could make Cents look good, so I’m OK for whatever.

I'm going to hazzard a guess and go Guilliman

I'm starting to develop a love-hate relationship with my love for veterans and its predictability I can't deny that i'm a painter more so than a gamer, as much as I love the game, I live for the lovely detail and badass kitbashing potential

Ahhh, hey all. It's good to be home
I returned yesterday from my hall of residence in Wellington back to my home in Auckland, and arrived to the boxes of goodies I ordered a couple weeks back
I'm back here for roughly three months before I head to uni again, however next year I shall be Deputy Warden at the hall, which in terms of relevance for you guys means that I shall have a larger room this time and I plan on bringing the hobby with me. So hopefully this year was my last hiatus for a good while.

After arriving home, greeting the family and doing the pleasantries, I ravaged me way in to it, and went about reestablishing my workbench. It was a mission, but it's all up and running now and I spent all of today churning out some assembly. So excited to progress through all of my acquisitions, and I shall now announce my latest project, but prior, a wee disclaimer:
I feel almost bad now the extent to which I keep doing this, but alas I can only satiate my desires to have beautiful and intricate units for so long and every time I do so the longing grows stronger - so you'll NEVER believe this...but the first project I shall be working on is...
...a captain...and a command squad...
I can never deny that i'm more of a painter/modeller at heart than a gamer, though the game is a blast, and thus the miniatures always come first for me. Nothing gives me greature pleasure than creating units that are unique, detailed and characteristic, and that's the best reason I can see for constantly making captains and bloody command squads

Anyway, in response to the speculations from you guys earlier, I couldn't bring myself to fork up the some $150 NZD for Guilliman, but ended up scooping up the Invictarus Suzerians, the MK.4 Captain and Standard, aswell as the new (to me atleast) SM kits (Devs, Assault as well as a new tac squad) alongside the ultramarines upgrade sprue and some new paints and brushes. Let me tell you, the Suzerians are ultramarines kitbashing HEAVEN, this claim I shall hopefully vindicate with the photos. I've had a ton of fun making this new bunch of lads and think they may turn out to be my best yet.

I think by simply scrolling through my blog one could assume that I prefer my marines helmeted, but this newest captain is bare headed, and he may be my favourite. Used a ton of different kits on him, and he's come out the perfect level of daunting/badass/regal for my tastes. Used the astonishing suzerian body/legs and power axe to pose him stepping off some rubble in a fashion that looks a lovely balance of intimidating and pissed off. I'm chuffed with the assembly personally because I think he's sufficiently beefed out with the colossal Suzerian eagle shoulder, mk4 cloak arm with shield, and the slight elevation given to him by modelling him slightly elevated and stepping off a taller piece of ground. This is all topped off for me by his experienced, grizzled looking head and those beautiful laurels. All of these unique aspects contributing to his size make him in some senses (to me) seem almost truescale. He's remarkably taller than other marines, as I shall illustrate in future posts.

Doubtless, soon enough I shall have developed thick lore for this captain and his lads. Especially since expanding my pool of Roman Historical knowledge at university this year. Only seems fitting in my opinion since the ultras were modelled around the Ancient Romans. Can't wait to develop these guys!

I shall call it there, since I want to go back to throw some paint on the captain, look forward to more updates with better photos, and best of all, PAINT

Thanks guys, its great to be home.
Looking forward to bustin' out a ton more ultras for the glory of Macragge!

LDP.

Fantastic kit bashing, they all look brilliant, bjt the captain is especially grand. I see what you're saying about him being both badass and regal. Can't wait to see the rest, and some paint

EDC

That's one badass captain. And excellent kitbashing all around.

Looking forward to paint

Welcome back! Super way to start off, with some really nice kitbashes! Do you have any plans to add the upcoming Horus Heresy plastics to your collection at any point? Can't fault you on just doing Caps and Command Squads, I can't remember the last time I actually painted a 40k unit that could even be used in a game!

I'm going to have to bite the bullet on that MkIV command set at some point, the prices are actually reasonable compared to the GW plastic characters these days and the models are fantastic!

Out of interest, what are you studying? I'm guessing history since you mention Romans, but anything more specific than that?

Good to have you back dude, will look at scheduling a game with you soon

That first one is the bomb! love the image and subtle conversion it works man, it works!

@evildrcheese Thanks a lot mate, hopefully the progress from today will satiate your desires for more

@Zambro Cheers, i'm glad that people see what I mean!

@Paradigm hmm, can't say that I plan on acquiring the betrayal at Calth set, but i'll be eagerly following the horus heresy releases if they plan on more, it seems that i'm falling into the category of
those who prefer 30k over 40k at an astonishing rate, a fact that scares my wallet even more than the hobby does usually. I'm doing a double major in Classics and History, but consider the Classical side far more the serious and main element of my BA. Taking four Classical language papers next year amongst other things which should be fun

@Knightley game on! Will be a blast i'm sure. Would love to bust out some new minis for it.

@nerdfest ahh, glad you approve
_____________________________

Yes, so it seems the captain has developed a bunch since yesterday. I painted practically not stop (save for a walk with the dogs) from about 9:30am-8:00pm and this is where he's at as a result. Eager to continue, but I figured I should stop because my hand is a little sore and i'm scared I may have started rushing parts. Let me say that that cloak behind his arm was fething difficult to get at! After the basecoat blue and blacks, I did that first because I figured it'd be messy, and heck it sure was. Anyway, looking forward to tomorrows progress, he seems near completion, four outstanding points being the red of his cloak, his leathery tabard, the powery blade of his axe and his face being the highlights to look forward to. Catch you tomorrow with hopefully the finished product - having a blast being back

LDP

EDIT I've been having trouble since coming back taking photos of the quality that I normally have. Hopefully it'll be restored by the time the mini is done. The colour in these 2 pictures is a little off.
EDIT 2 I've decided to name him Titus Aurelius
(The last image is of where he's at presently)

Amazing bunch of guys you have built there. Nice mix of parts.

Holy smokes, thats one heck of a painting session! at this rate you'll have nothing to paint in a month

So what exactly are the bits used on that guy Lips? I'd love to paint a version of it myself, the body/pose and that head are screaming to me PAINT MEEEEEE

So I blasted out the last few hours today and finished off Titus Aurelius. Still haven't sussed out my camera issues, the contrast keeps jumping between high and low so this is the best picture I could get, but regardless i'm pleased with the result. I'm glad that the year more or less that i've taken off hasn't ravished my painting ability
Would love to hear feedback! Thanks for checking in.
LDP

Very nice indeed, he is every inch the badass! I'd like to see some other angles, as I can't really see the axe or cloak there.

Fair enough, here are a couple more shots. I'll have to wait until tomorrow if these aren't satisfactory, its dark now :(
Threw in the WIP of the axe because its a good angle of it and i'm not all sure how I feel about the lightning to be honest, though without it it would look incomplete.

Good stuff! I think the axe looks great, the contrast between the green and gold is very nice! Lightning definitely works!

I think this guy is your best model to date by far. A great character

Great to see you back and Titus is looking awesome, brilliant work buddy.

The face is awesome. Well, the whole thing is, but the face leapt out at me. He’s glaring at someone, and they should not be happy about that

Yeah buddy! that face, you could add some silver to the campaign dots on his head to give it a little bit more (no need because hes a champ)

I'm going to have to agree with Knightley on this one, those studs need some paint. The model looks otherwise stunning. I recommend also a green wash to smooth the ax blade and homogenize the energy bolts on it.

@Knightley/Warboss_Waaazag there is silver on the service studs, it just hasn't come out very distinguished in the image. Good call with the wash there, maybe that's what the axe needs to neutralise everything into uniform.

Changed the command squad into a sternguard squad that can still function as 4x vets with combi-plas, but this way there's a spare vet with a HB for sternies and they look nice and uniform, plus I got to make use of the badass helmets More to come, this is a pic from this morning and painting has been underway since. Stay tuned

/drools

Good call going for Sterngaurd!

Awesome work on Titus, I love the green lightning running down the axe, and the face and beard detail is great. Along with the rest of the model of course.

Titus is an perfect name as well, the model suits it.

looking forward to seeing what you do with these Sternguard.

Got his armour finished, and the basecoats down, bout to keep trucking but thought i'd fill you guys in nonetheless

That Captain looks really fantastic. You've done a really great job on him.

The sternies are coming along nicely too, they're going to make a great looking squad.

EDC

Thats fantastic, LDP!

Heyo! So the HB sternguard is complete. Also, I spent a good number of hours yesterday assembling the Veteran Sergeants for all the new squads I got when I came back from Uni. There's a dev sgt, vanguard sgt, sternguard sgt, tactical sgt, assault sgt and I threw in a spare captain/alt sternguard sgt for fun
Will get to work on the rest of the squad once I finish the tactical sergeant and maybe a couple more.
Lemme know what you think friends
LDP

Great poses on the Sergeants! HB guy looks very, very nice!

Cheers Paradigm Appreciate yer loyalty.

So work continues! This guy has been a blast to paint so far, reeeally tedious, but a blast nonetheless. Trying to paint as clean highlights as I possibly can, and i'm liking how it's coming so far. I like to try and pride myself on the aesthetic of the rich blue that adorns my ultramarines. I'm hoping, and it seems as though this guy is on track to becoming the poster boy for this Also a refreshing change to paint some red, but boy, that takes even longer than the blue, so i'm glad I only have to do it on sergeant's helmets
Also a question, what do you guys think I should do with the black plate on the powerfist? I initially planned on leaving it black and highlighting the same way I do bolter casings, but i'm open to other ideas, and they'd be much appreciated

Anyway, I'll keep you all posted
LDP

Note - ahhh I love and hate photos when they expose mold lines that i've missed. :( Will have to address that.

Sternies are looking great. Really cool poses.

The red helm is especially well done.

EDC

Hazard stripes? There are not a lot of things I’ve seen done with the back of fists. Painting like the rest of the arm is by far the most common. Bright red like a retro bolter shows up occasionally, and last but not least is the hazard stripe. Which to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen on an Ultra.

It’s also a large flat space you could use as a canvas for freehand work.

I see you are enjoying the Ultramarine upgrade sprue. But then, how could you not? So much awesome packed on that thing. I think the head with both the crest and laurels is my favorite bit, love your use of it on the captain.

I second the idea of freehand! A nice big Ultramarine symbol, laurels, skulls, an Aquila or a combination thereof would be awesome. Treat it like a mini-banner and really show off the freehand work!

Ah, good call lads. I'll give it a try Should I leave it black for this then? In hindsight i'd probably have painted it blue like the rest and freehanded on that, but the armour's already done, but it's not the end of the world. The freehand colour would be the same anyway, just white on black instead of blue I suppose. I'll see what I can come up with, maybe even try to throw some hazard stripes in AS WELL heheh, if it's possible.
Ah Nevelon, yeah man. The joys of that sprue. That torso bit is up there for me, also big on the simple helmet with just the U on the top and no crest with the studs. Also note that the finished captain has the Ultra bare head a lovely bit that is.

Wow! beautiful model, LDP.
It makes me want to paint something!

Hello folks,
Well. Here he is, completed. In my opinion the cleanest, and probably best minature i've ever painted. Not my favourite, but my best. That's my opinion anyway, very pleased with how he came out, looking forward to the next project, would love to hear you guys' 2 cents - also Neve, Paradigm: This is what I ended up putting on the fist, it was meant to be the first stage of the freehand project, but I tried a couple things above and nothing really looked right, so I painted over the rest. PVA is still wet as I was eager to get photos whilst the sunlight was still adequate so sorry about that.

That Sergeant is simply gorgeous. Wish my Ultras looked that good.....

Awesome work, the epitome of your style of painting!

Fantastic work, LDP!! That freehand is great!

Freehand came out nice. Marine is crisp and smooth, very clean work.

That looks flipping brilliant.

Well done.

EDC

Got to agree with all the posters before me. That is an excellent model, and the heavy bolter guy before hand looked very good too. Loving your work.

Thanks for all of your kind works everyone

Started work on Tacitus, and thought i'd get all the lads out and try get some cool pics because it's a lovely day outside
Also threw in a scale comparison of Titus Aurelius to show his curiously large stature.

Those army shots are fantastic. Look like they came straight out of the fluff paintings!

So many wonderfully painted models....... why do I bother painting, hopefully someday mine will look that good.

Those army shots are brilliant.

EDC

Gorgeous work as always mate and seriously love those army shots

Wow, what a spectacular array! And the build of that WiP dude is awesome too!

Love those army shots, mate!

 lipsdapips wrote:
Changed the command squad into a sternguard squad that can still function as 4x vets with combi-plas, but this way there's a spare vet with a HB for sternies and they look nice and uniform, plus I got to make use of the badass helmets More to come, this is a pic from this morning and painting has been underway since. Stay tuned

I'm looking to start up and army and it's possibly going to be a SM one, and I was wondering where you got these sweet helmets from?

@brushcommando too kind of you mate That was the kind of thing that inspired the pictures.

@War Kitten hey man, practice makes perfect. The miniatures I painted early in this blog and especially before even starting it were atrocious! Haha, just stick with it buddy.

@EDC Cheers mate

@Biohazard Thanks for yer kind words, good to hear from you

@Paradigm yeah I always felt that that captain model had crazy potential but something was a little off. Not perfect but in my opinion a bit better.

@Zambro Thanks bud, glad you approve

@simplycj They're the heads from the UM Invictarus Suzerian squad, same kit as the bodies of those minis used Beautiful stuff I agree, forge world does some miracles. I just wanna see more Ultramarines stuff because I love them so

Wow. Love the army shots.

Awww yes! that sea of blue is awesome!

Cheers Neve and K-man

Now, I don't hide the fact that, though I love having painted squads of the core gribbly backbone lads in my armies, the task of painting them is, to me, very strenuous. However, I need more tactical marines. I enjoy the process don't get me wrong, but I paint very carefully and slowly and it takes fethin' ages. Hence why I like sticking to veteran units and characters. I also thoroughly prefer painting one by one, as opposed to more efficient factory lining. Regardless, I will be painting a tactical squad, factory lined, and will also try to keep their paint standard up to that of my usual. I did need to spice things up however, so's not to perish from the strain.

So I built these guys today, and they're looking like they've a right job needs doing. I've roughly assembled them in such a manner that it looks as though they're all frozen in the midst of initialising a split into combat squads, the sergeant pointing in a direction and half the squad running that way, the rest remaining with the sergeant. Let me tell you though, what a bloody rigamarole to even acquire 10 running legs to go with a tac squad. But i'm chuffed, they're all new assault legs, they're looking rather badass, and it's giving me inspiration to get them painted up and thus, I will. So it beginssss

Better pics will come with WIPs. Also...i've lost my blue primer which is a real pain in the ane...fret not, i'll track it down.

LDP
(Tacitus will get loving during the periods where I need a break from the factory line )

Full grav squad? Looking good. They going to get a personalized transport?

You can never have enough running legs in your army. Who wants to be standing around? Do we look like guardsmen? Places to go, people to kill. You know the routine!

Tac Squad is looking great so far. Keep it up!

Can't wait to see what you do with these. Will these be from the 2nd company as well with gold trim or a different company?

I will be nipping that beaky marine's pose on the right for my Blood Angels Tactical Squad in the near future. Love it!

Great work sir. I'm debating doing something similar for my Tactical Squads but using running legs for half the squad, and standing legs for the other half so that if they pile out of a drop pod & combat squad split into two squads I'll be able to tell at a glance which members of the squad go in which demi-squad.

Great work so far. Hopefully in time my Blood Angels will look this good.

Keep sharing your stuff and take it easy for now LDP

-Red__Thirst-

Nice idea giving the whole squad a thematic pose.

I find batch painting less tedious in batches of 3 or 4. For a 10 man squad I usually do 3,3,4 then you at least get small doses of completed models to keep you motivated.

EDC

Really nice posing there! I'm always impressed when people go the extra mile on Tactical Marines, and this certainly qualifies.

That posing is great. Really good stuff. Did you buy the legs on their own, or do you have a few boxes of Assault marines who are going to get static legs now?

Patience is a virtue, and a who squad at the same standard as your characters would look great. Just hang in there!

Great squad man! Batch painting, great to see you getting into painting more of the meat to your army, I'm doing a 3,3,3,2 for my henchmen groups as I couldn't stomach a 11, 11, 11

I'll be watching with great interest

The models you make/paint look so cool :O the power fist sergeant's pose looks so very badass *o*

Thanks everybody for your words and the overwhelming feedback

I finally have an update on the tactical squad, albeit a boring one. I finally completed the mundane phases of painting on all of them, and it took so much longer than I thought it would. Base blue colour is done, details based black and model washed with blue. Was a very repetitive and boring process, but thankfully, it only gets better from here.



Now, over the past week i've been formulating plans for my next captain and command squad. The inspiration is very much derived from a sort of cities of death, raven guardy/crimson fist style conflict, meaning the aesthetic would be gritty, would include cloaks, and would include a bunch of lads all posed as if they're planning to get the job done. I'm not sure about their weapons loadouts and am open to ideas from others. I went on a colossal inspiration spree as far as bits are concerned, but kept hitting multiple minor walls that left me annoyed as the realism of creating this project to a detail level that I desire was beginning to wane. Hence is why i've decided to share a phase of my P&M that I don't usually with you guys - the planning. I'm not sure what my intention is with this, perhaps getting it out to you guys will help inspire me to address these walls or get ideas and inspirations to overcome the problems that this project would entail.

The parts I planned to use for the bodies mostly centres around the Mor Deythan bodies, with Recon squad bodies as backups if certain ones are too difficult to incorporate as Ultramarines and not be too 'Raven Guardy'.





The first problem with this is the fact that attached to the bodies is that right arm bit, more specifically the Raven Guard-ass shoulder pad. Now, looking at the 360 degree images of the Mor Deythan on FW, it looks easy enough to cut off and tidy, but it may ruin some of the minor details such as the grenades and that. Next is the fact that the torso bit is a very plain and unappealing design to me. That bit has 3 copies on even the SM Tactical sprue, and I don't want my Finest 2nd Company Veterans having that rubbish adorning their torsos. The perfect bits would be these UM torsos from FW:



This however is overly ambitious, as this, with my modelling experience, which goes very little beyond simple kitbashing, is almost impossible to incorporate into the Deythan body pieces, which apart from the aforementioned problems are perfect for the job.

Next is an element that is problem free, and relatively simple. I'd want them to have these shoulders, as they're so bulky and cool, and simply gorgeous . The other side would have some form of Ultramarines inconography.



As far as helmets are concerned, they are also problem free, but i'm having trouble going about deciding what to do. I love this mk. III Iron command helmet so it'll definately feature (if only once, then probably on the captain, or his praetor [Roman Historian meddling with 40k company structure :p]):



Question is though, do I use these helmets for every member of the squad, and then a unique one for the captain? Or this one only on the captain, and then mundane regular Mk. III helmets on the others? Or do I embark on a quest to find the 6 coolest, unique helmets from across the 30 and 40k galaxy?

As far as the captain goes, I'm looking at Shadow Captain Solaq. I'd almost certainly do a helmet swap, because I like his one, but something about just isn't quiiiiite right there. In all honesty, again, Solaq is just another case of having the near perfect legs/body specifications for my project. Dynamic, unique and has a cloak moulded cloak



The last, and furthest from least speed bump, is cost. I'd have to independently acquire the bits from various ebay sources, which is fine, but Solaq costs no less than $85NZD on his own on ebay because of the stupid way GW decided to sell him and try to boost their land speeder sales. I don't have a problem with the costs of bits, but shipping to New Zealand effectively doubles and occasionally triples costs, which is unacceptable.

Sorry that this post is coated in a musk of frustrated annoyance, but just know that its for an ambitious and badass cause. If I could find a way to overcome all the problems associated in a satisfactory manner, I would deliver what would hopefully be the best looking miniatures that I have ever made. And I need you guys' brainpower to help me find ways to overcome the problems/decision make with me

Thanks for taking the time to see me situation, and thanks for checking in as always peoples!
Promise the next update will have more paint!


LDP

Interesting seeing your planning side. Ambiguous indeed!

EDC

Yeah, I sort of had an epiphany about how much goes into that process and thought people may be interested in it.

Heyo
So i've decided to take Knightley's advice and split the painting from here, im going to finish these 3 first, then 4, and then the final 3 which includes the grav cannon guy. To paint them all at once beyond the point i'd gotten them to would be to send myself into a spiralling vortex of unending agony! Ahahaha not sure what I have against batch painting so much, but I just need a little variety, so that's what i've decided. The armour is fully finished now on these boys, just have to do the details and bases, and then i'll be moving on to the next batch.

Also, for those following Paradigm's 10th painting comp, you may/may not have noticed that I'll be painting some DKOK for it. I want them to look withered and gritty, which goes against every learned painting fibre in my body. Suffice to say, its not exactly my style, but i'd love for it to be on my palette, because that, realistic and battle hardened aesthetic is one of my favourites, but I just find clean and crisp paint jobs easier to perfect So any general advice on painting gritty would be much appreciated

LDP

Wrong as it seems to be giving advice to a painter of your calibre, but as gritty is kind of my 'thing' I figured I ought to share some advice.

Highlighting, or lack of it, is the key. You don't really want to be going higher than a mid-tone, and use washes to tie everything together. In general, you want to be using a wash as the last layer on any given surface.

As for adding weathering, sponge weathering is worth looking up for chipped armour panels and such, and for mud and such, there's plenty of good tutorials out there that are all slightly different. Just experiment on space parts before you commit to a method on a mini, as weathering should be the last thing you do.

Look good, man! Out of curiousity, what colors do you use for the armor? Macragge blue highlighted with calgar blue?

Love the fact you compiled a rough draft like concept artists due except instead of thumbnails and reference you used bits.

I am excited for your conversions.

Those Tactical Marines are gorgeous! I'm jealous.

@Paradigm cheers for the tips buddy. Yeah, i've watched a tutorial or two, and will be doing some chipping and will have to highlight more subtly with realistic blends instead of the edge majority that I do on the SMs. The mud bases are daunting me most. I want it to look gruelling and effective but not OTT, you know? Going to be tough to perfect, as I'm not sure how to amass a good amount of volume on a base. Also the question of whether to put basing material on their clothing - will have to decide on the night I suppose :0

@TheCustomLine Thanks mate. For armour I base with Macragge blue, and wash with drakenhoff nightshade. Following this, I layer Macragge blue again, leaving the recesses showing. The armour is then highlighted with altdorf guard blue, a 50/50 mix of altdorf guard and space wolves grey, 25/75 mix of the same and finally a pure space wolves grey dot in corners and certain edges. Sometimes I glaze Guilliman over it all to bring it together, but it depends.

@Stormwall Ah yes, that's a good way of looking at it. I've actually done some concept sketches :0. Haha, here's to hoping they happen

@War Kitten Thanks bud, hope this next update maintains the standards for you

Made progress today. Put in quite a bit of time, but the progress looks little. However, i'm quite chuffed with it if I don't say so myself
Will do more tonight, more to look forward to for the next update I suppose - these 3 will likely be finished by then. Stay tuned! More on the way.

Excellent progress on the Ultras.

I really like the way your red helmets turn out.

EDC

Great progress, LDP!

Looking SWEET! I love the VI on that one guy's helmet. Also the writing looks amazing as well. Keep up the great work!

Squiggles, This makes me happy to no end!

@Knightley I'm glad you showed me ways of the squiggle and I get to experience them first hand my minis wouldn't be the same without your influence

The first bunch is finished. Pleased with the result but god does it take a long time for me to paint these days.

Very nice tacticals you've got going there... and the army shots earlier were awesome.

great work.

Super work! I wouldn't worry about the speed, it's the quality that matters!

I suppose so, Paradigm. Thanks a bunch Mad Appreciate your kind words.

Fantastic. Although you say it takes along time you've churned this out is a couple of days. Which is a much faster pace than me!

EDC

Very Nice!

Looks great!
A squad of them will be excellent!

Cheers guys

What’s on the back of the sarge’s pointing hand? Or is it just a built up gauntlet?

Excellent work as always. And you might be slower then you used to be, but you are still faster then me. And better. So keep on keeping on, you’ve got the rest of the squad to finish!

Good evening all
Made good progress today. Not a lot of interesting or cool looking progress, but blasted out a lot of the mundane stuff, like the macragge blue layer on all of their armour, as well as the initial highlight on two. Also set up a shelf, and put the finished models that I feel proud of up there. Completely finished the highlights of Tacitus between groups of the tactical marines as well. Assembled a praetor as well, and am looking forward to painting him up. He's going to serve as a championesque marine - I'm not familiar with praetor rules in FW but I just call him a praetor and part of my Roman-ass hierarchy that i've interwoven into the chapter. OOI if anyone knows praetor rules i'd love to know them

Nice builds as usual!

Praetors are basically 30k version of Chapter Masters stat-wise, the major difference being that they also unlock Rites of War which open up new options for the list at the expense of others, meaning you can tailor the force. For example, one allows you Drop Pods as DTs (30k Marines don't normally get that) and grants DS to Terminators (again, that doesn't come as standard) on the condition that everything in your army deploys via deep strike in one way or another. There's similar ones for tanks and for flyers, as well as several Legion-specific ones.

In 40k, though, I'd just run him with cap/CM stats.