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Hey guys so I'm almost done with a squad of marines but they need something and I'm not real sure where to go from here. I still have to drill the gun barrels so havnt forgotten about it.

Send me your comments, suggestions, and critiques!

I like em! Looks good to me!

Looking good. To bring them up a level I'd add shading in the recesses and an edge highlight on the armour edges (although it does kind of look like you did a bit .. it's just very faint).

Maybe paint the mouth grills (black with a med-light gray or silver highlight on the ridges) and put a small (very small) white dot in the back corners of the eyes for some depth there.

Those little hoses and bits on the backpack (behind the head) could use some colour too (most people ignore them but I think they just scream for attention).

Could be just the picture that feels a bit blurry but I might go with a shade of lighter green for the red helmet's lenses, they are hard to see from a distance. Make em pop a bit more.

Aside from that little nitpick they look very good.

So did a little more to me as per suggestion. Brought the highlights out a bit more though I think I over did it on the Sgt. Helm. Added a lighter green to his eyes and brought in some depth with a white dot in the eyes. They were both pre shaded when I did them originally just hard to tell in the pics. Overall I think I'm fairly happy with the end result but still as always open to suggestions to take them up a level!

Simply Smurfy!

maybe sponge on some chipped paint around their feet or add a light drybrushing on mud or ash to their boots to tie them to the base?

that said you have them looking very clean at the moment which is a nice look

Thanks for the feedback guys, Adding some dirt and grime might end up being a good way to go. One quick question to see what everyone thinks or if anyone has tried it before. I'm use to painting IG mainly which are usually dull looking in there finish. I normally use a matte varnish over them just to seal the paints in. For Space Marines and I would suppose Eldar and anyone wearing armor (except maybe Chaos) would a Gloss varnish work better to get that polished look?

 CoyoteCasket wrote:
Thanks for the feedback guys, Adding some dirt and grime might end up being a good way to go. One quick question to see what everyone thinks or if anyone has tried it before. I'm use to painting IG mainly which are usually dull looking in there finish. I normally use a matte varnish over them just to seal the paints in. For Space Marines and I would suppose Eldar and anyone wearing armor (except maybe Chaos) would a Gloss varnish work better to get that polished look?

It's a matter of personal taste I would say. I prefer the matte varnish look (testors dullcoat all the way). Then I will put a brush on gloss on anything that really should be shiney (gems, lights, things like that).

They're looking pretty darn good to me.

Other possible suggestions to bring it up another level :
- Drill out the barrels (or at least use a black circle to make it look like there's a hole in the end)
- Get a micron pen (very VERY fine black ink pen) and put some "lettering" on the purity seals (just little lines/squiggles works)
- Use the same micron pen to get into the little panel grooves/lines on the armour (personal taste really .. I like the well defined armour panel lines)
- Try and paint those hoses inside the packs (behind their heads .. this one screams at me every time I see it, especially when I forget them myself)

So I think I finally have a finished product I am completely happy with. Though I still have to finish them in a matte to protect them I have the color scheme and all down pat. Rorschach your tips and ideas worked perfectly! And I know where to clean up a few places for the next batch. So without further ado!


Remember comments and suggestions still always welcome.

looking fantastic! Whats up next?

I'd suggest a bit of paint to turn your base rims a darker grey then the base itself. black rims on your bases is for many people one of the small not-done things in painting.

The improvements are really noticeable! Well done. I had suggestions myself, but they were done by the last photo

 CoyoteCasket wrote:
So I think I finally have a finished product I am completely happy with. Though I still have to finish them in a matte to protect them I have the color scheme and all down pat. Rorschach your tips and ideas worked perfectly! And I know where to clean up a few places for the next batch. So without further ado!


Remember comments and suggestions still always welcome.

Glad I could be helpful.

Finish off those base rims (tidy them up - black, grey, whatever colour you fancy really .. unlike many I like my base rims a nice clean black) and get that matte varnish on them and call it a day.
Of course there is ALWAYS room for improvement, but that just comes with practice. These look great!

A vast improvement, they look brilliant - very ultramarine-y! I would say that at least in the photos the gold seems to lack depth (may be an effect of bright light), but metallic gold loves a brown wash followed by a re-highlight

Man I totally spaced lining the bases lol. Oh well that's a quick fix. Thanks for pointing it out will make sure to go back and touch them up. Also thinking about a itty bitty highlight on the bolters.

Million- your right the gold has been washed for depth, i think its using the ipad camera and all that. Though I used a tiny bit watered down black on just the crevices.

Thanks Tigurius. Make it a point to sneak peaks at your blog to see what great marines you put out next lol

Up Next on the chopping block are Assault Troops, Venerable Dreadnaught, and I know they only come from First Company but Everyone loves Terminators.

Check out my Blog to see how I ended up with the color blue i chose and all the WIP pics.!

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/572379.page <-------- Im so not computer savvy so there is the link or look for "XIII Legion building the Ultramarines"