Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello all!

This is my first try painting Space Marines(Second try over all).

I got a bunch of Marines awhile back on ebay real cheap, decided to practice on one of my black reach orcs first. After spending hours getting it to look good, I applied Army painter Spray on Matte varnish, and one hour later my beautiful mini looked like the only thing missing was sprinkles and a cone. This kinda turned me off for almost a year, now i am just starting again(brush on varnish this time!)

Any way the Mini is in my gallery here http://www.dakkadakka.com/core/gallery-user.jsp?u=96814

The colors are:

Liche Purple(Base Color)
Bleached Bone(Trim)
Blackened Steel(Bolter)
Mithril Silver(Bolter Trim)
Burnished Gold(Emblem on Chest and Weapon/Skull on Helm)
Badab Black Wash
Clear Green(Eyes)

Most of the Ebay models came pre primed, and assembled/based. So this guy was already black and on the red stained base.

I painted 3-4 thin coats of Liche Purple, then I painted the bleached Bone Trim, followed by the weapons and emblems. I didn't do any dry brushing, mainly because I wasn't sure how to go about doing it on something with so many wide open curved plates. After all the base colors I gave it a wash of Badab Black, however it made the bleached bone look terrible and dirty, so i redid those trims, along with some of the flat areas on the center of the shoulder pads, and leg plates, trying to keep the dark areas in the recesses. Finally I added a Mithril Silver highlight to top of the gun, and the bottom of the clip.

And i have to say, that this time i am Ecstatic that it actually came out this time, even after applying a thin coat of Satin brush on varnish!

All that being said, seeing the mini, are there any tips you feel would benefit the overall look? Would dry brushing have done alot on a Space marine?

Looks pretty solid.

I would recommend a nice, bright yellow or green for his helmet eye lenses, to make them stand out a bit.

And maybe another coat of black wash over the bolter.


Drybrushing isn't great for marines unless you're really good at it, as when it's rushed or poorly done it just winds up leaving the finish grainy and rough looking. For basic troops, what you have is fine. If you want to lift it a little, try a gentle highlight with a lighter purple on raised edges.

Thank you.

I See what you mean, the model is very dark overall, and the green is only visible up close as a result. Maybe some bright green or yellow would help with that.

Also, yea the gun details didn't seem to darken as much with the wash the first time, maybe because i used such a dark metallic to begin with. Another coat should help it pop a bit more. Can you reapply paint/washes after something is varnished?

I was struggling with whether or not to do bleached bone or metallic gold trim. I have seen Soul Drinker armies favor one or the other, and some used both for Vet and Non-Vet troops. Over all I think I like the bleached bone for regular marines. Maybe I'll do metallic gold for the Chainsword wielding squad leader and see how it looks.

 Hagoroth wrote:
. Can you reapply paint/washes after something is varnished?

Depends on the varnish, but if it was a water-soluble brush-on, it should be fine.

The worst that will happen is that the wash will bead up rather than covering properly, in which case you should be able to just wipe it off (or rinse it off with running water) before it dries.


And yeah, going the bone for regular guys and gold for vets is a handy way of making them stand out.

Finished painting up a squad of 5 Tactical Marines. Tried out the gold trim on the squad leader and it came out pretty nice. Only problem I have with it so far is the Satin varnish came out really glossy this time, I may end up having to go with a Satin/Matte combo.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/729756-Soul%20Drinker%20Captain.html

Maybe use testors dullcote? That may help with the overall shineyness

Yea, I have heard great things about Testor's, so I may end up just going with that, ty!

Quick Update.

Over the weekend I did an Assault Squad!

I now have 10 units painted of an eventual 1k Army.

With the Assault Squad I tried my hand at some OSL on a Plasma Gun/Power Fist/Jump Pack. I am pretty happy with the results!

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-96814-47875_First%20Assault%20Squad%20Osl%20Try.html

I really like the glowing powerfist. I do have to say though the shine coming off the purple is a bit much, but that could be more the camera than the model itself. If you are sealing them, then hit it with testors dull coat as mentioned before, it's worked wonders for me.

Yes, I agree. I had the Satin varnish(I bought a Huge almost 2 liter bottle of Liquitex thinking Satin would be the best of both worlds, and it is just far too glossy.

I saw some testor's today at Michael's but they didn't have any dullcoat, so i may have to just Amazon it.

Try looking for a hobby store in your area that sells military models as well. Hobbytown USA in my area sells testors dullcoat.

Edit: The Army Painter version works well also.