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Hey Guys!

My name's Matt, and I have decided to run a blog showing all the updates, progression, and painting of my current Ultramarines force, I hope you enjoy looking at this stuff as much as I enjoy creating it!

I figured i'd start with some photographs of recent miniatures for comparative purposes and to give a taste of how my skills develop over the course of the blog's 50+ pages After that it goes right back to the old stuff *shudders*. To me, the paintwork becomes respectable around page 27.

Lipsdapips

P.S. Please excuse the immature nature of most of my early commentary...I was thirteen when I started up this blog :( It gets ironed out as I grow up, grow some sense and grow an appreciation for constructive criticism

Very nice work, great freehand. I like the small details you've added such as the kill marks on the heavy bolter.

More stuff! I'll do some work tomorrow and post on the scout WIPs


LDP
(Matthew)


Automatically Appended Next Post:
@Grass4hopper
thanks for the feedback!
more coming soon

Lipsdapips

Hey guys
Jawaballs test painted some Imperial Fists for me! this was just for a test I did a while ago, I think they look great! tell me what you think.
Scout updates tomorrow.

LDP
(Matthew)

Scout update

Ok guys, today I basecoated everything else, including the helmetless scouts hair black (dont worry, they're not going to be emos!) more to come, sorry I couldn't get too much done today, I had a painful dental appointment :\

Matthew
(pics below)

Well, lipsanpips, nice stuff, jawa's fists are looking good and your lightning effect on captain number 1 is executed well, I also like your kneeling libby. great work so far you obviously have a passion for the space marines...keep going


Nerdfest09

@nerdfest09 Thanks alot! I certainly love SMs, and am planning on making a command squad through kit-bashing tons of different sets (i'll obtain the parts required through bits sites).
You see it's been my ambition to have a command squad with sanguinary guard 'chesty' torsos and SM commander capes, and cool combinations of BA & GK legs, and assorted helms.
I can just picture them now, it'd be sweet. But it'll be a while before I can get this because I'm short on money at the mo'

thanks for the feedback,

LDP
(Matthew)

Yo dude looks good. With the Imperial Fists i think the white extreme highlighting is a bit strong tho, i think it should be little thinner or use a lighter yellow instead of straight to white.

I liked the style that Jawaballs put on those fists, different and cartoony, thanks for the tip though!

ldp
[matthew]

UPDATE:

If any of you have read my command squad loadout thread, you'd know that i'm going to try and make an 'aesthetically superior' command squad, which was successfully ordered today!
Since the bits site was in america, and im in NZ, it'll probably be anywhere between 1-2 weeks, maybe even a month! But when it arrives, i'll be sure to update you all on anything that happens.
In the meantime, though, I modelled another plastic libby and a plastic chaplain (whom i need to paint over) and started work on 2 veteran sgts for my 'list' and will update you on these until my command squad arrives.

I also modelled some placeholders for my command squad (they're just dry fitted with the shields and helmets im using so I know where they are when the squad arrives ) and I modelled on that looking cool, sort of a 'landing' pose, and thought I'd show you.
Lastly, I made an Iron halo for my RB/SS Captain from chopping the top off a Nemisis Warding Staff and snipping here and there, and i'll show you what he looks like in the next update (if I remember )

pics below, enjoy.
LDP
(Matthew)

UPDATE

I've painted 3 of the 4 veteran helmets i'll be using today.
I had 3 GK helmets left from a box set i bought you see, so this explains why I have them now, as oppose to the rest of the command squad. Im using the 3 GK helmets and the BA death company helmet that looks similar.

Also included are the captain with iron halo pics.

Matthew

Command squad update:

I finished the last of the veterans helmets today. Sorry I couldn't do much, i basecoated the 2 tac squad sgts, but theres not much point posting pics of that

nonetheless, I just need to wait for the parts to arrive before full operations can commence on this Command squad

Till then!

LDP

Someone's painting's getting better! :-) I can actually see your progress as you paint more! really liking the vet helmets and the lenses you did are great too! the chaplain you kit bashed is really cool! have you been on the combat company for the bits you're after? I only buy my stuff from them now!

@nerdfest I was checking out the combat company, and they had the majority of the bits I needed, for a great price, but they didn't some some crucial bits I needed at the time like the apothecary parts, and some of the torsos, but when they have stock, ill sure a heck be there, way cheaper then the warstore!

P.S thanks for the compliments about my painting. It was a real challenge painting the eyes on all four of those veterans because the grate-things cut off some of the angles that I normally paint eyes from, leading me to have to do several minor touch ups, which surprising turned out to be almost invisible, much to my delight

Thanks again
LDP

Small update for today,
I based everything not blue with black on both the sergeants today, and finished their helmets.
Sorry for not doing to much today, i'll try to get more work done tomorrow.

LDP
(Matthew)

Can't say i'm a fan of the liberal sprinkling of other Chapter's iconography throughout. By all means use the BA and SW bits etc. but remove the blood drops and stuff, it just detracts from the integrity of the army IMO.

It is, the one turd in the candy basket however as on the whole they look very nice.

@Grimtuff as true as what your saying is, I generally have 2 issues with removing iconography from other chapters
which are
1. I struggle when it comes for filing/removing icons, as I always tend to leave small marks, making the model look worse then before
and 2. I find the fact that the kits come with these parts nice, and what's so different if an ultramarine has a blood drop on his backpack or arm? I think it makes an army stand out. But after all it all burns down to opinion.

But thanks for your comments. I appreciate it


LDP
(Matthew)

Update
I did some more work one the Sergeants today, they'll be done soon.
Also note the detalil on the power fist, and note that I did all the little plasma gun lines individually and higthlighted them

I also did another Catattafish styled power weapon in preparation for my incoming command squad. (im going to do all my power weapons like this from now on)

Enjoy!

LDP

Hey all

Did more work on the sgts, just need to do gold on the shoulder pads, and their backpacks. This is where I have a problem. I don't like painting gold, the method I use is Scorched Brwon, Dwarf Bronze then Shining Gold. This can be extremely tedious and can take a long time, especially when doing shoulder pads, and it usually ends up coming out uneven and blochy. do you guys have any advice? im not sure what to do about it, I can't water the paint down, it comes out even worse. (and before you ask, i'm rubbish at nmm )

i've been doing some work on terrain recently, I have an imperial strongpoint that needs working on. I don't have any airbrushes though, so I can't paint anything major without using lots of GW paints :\. Ah well. (pics below)

I did some work on 4 winged shoulder pads in anticipation for the command squad, but they didnt fit on the minis, and they didn't look to good. I'll use 'em for something else. They took alot of time so I have to use them somewhere! (pics below)

anyway, the pics include the sgts, some examples of my gold, and my next project: (probably, or atleast until the command squad comes) and termie squad!

pics below

LDP

Lookin good

Where did you get the Ultramarines shoulder pad on your plastic veteran sergeant (http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/downloadAttach/77028.page) from?

@xXH0LYCRUSAD3Xx Thanks alot!

@d.fear that shoulder pad is from the SM captain sprue, i'd like to get more, but they're always out of stock on bits websites.

Thanks sooo much for clearing that up.

Hey matthew, nice stuff, liking that gold you did, nice rich colour and the catachan style powerfist= cool as! :-) they're starting to really take shape now, you should get a group shot of all the ones you've completed fully and let us have a look!

@Nerdfest09 i'm going to try get some picture organised somewhere . Problem is, my display board is nowhere to be found since I moved house. I'll try find it somewhere.

anyway, on to the big update.

THE COMMAND SQUAD ARRIVED TODAY! I was delighted when I checked my mailbox and saw the package in there, about 1 week earlier then I had expected. So predictably, after some non-40k stuff, I got straight into it. So far what i've got are basecoats / foundations of the 1st veteran, who has a power axe and a SS. He's going to look great! I also modelled a body with the sanguinary guard torso and fitted the apothecary vials and puches onto the side. Came out quite nicely for an amatuer modeller like me

but without further ado,
the pics

LDP

Nice Ultramarines. Keep up the good work.

Thanks!
I'll do some more work on the squad later on today.

LDP

More paint please LDP! and if you're painting right now you are certainly up early and keen to get them done!

Off to paint now - expect an update in a few hours!

As promised - heres a command squad update!
Did more work on the first veteran, and dry fitted 2 more vets and the apothecary. I just need to do the SS, shoulders, backpack and base of the first vet, then i'll be 1/5th of the way there already . Anyways, i'm proud of what I achieved today, and hope you all are too

Pics below,
LDP