As my name and Avatar might suggestion, my current obession within this love hate hobby are the Sons of the Lion. When 6th edition dropped and the brand new and shiny codex hit the shelves, I saw it as the perfect oppertunity to put down the Magic cards and get back into the Grim Dark World.

I've been playing and collecting 40k since I was introduced to it by my cousins in 2000 and i quickly got a couple of my friends to start playing as well. Over time, going from middle school to high school to college and the military, many of my other friends moved on to other pursuits and hobbies, but I've always had a few of the the power armor clad demi-gods hanging out. As I looked back over the years I realized I never really finished, collected, a complete army, i'd always get to about 1000 points and then life would happen. Well, now that I am older, perhaps a little wiser, and my painting skills are at least adequate, and more importantly have enough disposable income to cover my expensive hobbying, I set the bar at collecting an entire Army and then i ran into the problem of defining what was included in an "entire" army...

For space marines, the answer is a little easier: Collect a Battle Company! That should keep me busy for a good bit and give me enough variety amoung units to at least not go crazy. But as I contemplated what army I wanted to paint, the other realization of "Life Happens" also hit and I needed to make a compromise. Sooo looking through the 40 rule book and Dark Angels Codex, The Angels of Vengeance provided a way for me to field my Sons of the Lion, at least at table top quality, with out having to go through tooo many steps and save some time on each model. The Angels of Vengeance colors also allow me to quickly paint an army but also gives me the ability to easily go back to a unit and clean them up, bring them to the next level, with out having to start from ground zero.

As I've said, I started collecting my Angels of Vengeance in January, but with life, and job changes and military shenanigans, at the start of October, I ended up having a half built and half painted company that was a little embarassing to play with. By chance I ran across a Tale of Four Gamers Thingy and have decided that now is the time to finish what I've started. My first pledge for October was to finish a tactical squad and a devestator five man. I've got a lot of the hard part out of the way (building the units) and am more than half way to my full company, they just need a little love.

Knowing myself I needed a realistic approach to finishing my company, so I'm going to lay out my goals for the company with the intent that eventually each squad can arrive by either drop pod or rhino/razor back but realistically I'd like to get to 3 of each to start :

Company Command:

- Company Master
- Deathwing Knights - The Masters Comrades in arms, they exist outside of the 1st company and have chosen to follow their brother to his new command
- Command Squad

Librarium - Each Company will have Librarians Assigned for the purposes of recording their history, their vast knowledge of the terrible truth of the fallen, counsel to the Company Master as well as psyhic communication
- Librarian Episolary
- 2 Codicers
- 4 Lexicanum initiates - iniates function either within the ranks of the company organization as they have not yet mastered their powers, or as retainers to their masters

Reclusium
- Chaplain Interogater
- Company Chaplain
- 2 Chaplain Initiates - like lexicanum, the either function within the ranks or serving the Company Chaplain

Troops:
- 4 Tactical Squads - Sgts with Storm Bolters and Chainswords, plasma gun and plasma cannon
- 2 Verteran Squads (Last two of the 6 tactical squads are the company verterans)

Fast Attack
- 2 full assault squads
- 2 full ravenwing detachment - while the Angels of Vengance do not have the Deathwing and Ravenwing, the Ravenwing detachment is 10 men = 10 man assault squad mounted, i want to be able ro run both options soo same guys, different load outs, make sense?

Heavy Support:
- 2 Full Devastor Squads - one armed with lascannons and the 2nd with heavy bolters. I will probably end up making another 3 - 5 man squads to include another 4 lascannon/Plasmacannon/missle launcher (ambitious i know i know but the Lascanons and Bolters are up first)

Armory:
- 3 Techmarines
- 2 Predators (Magniatized for all options)
- 1 Vindicator
- 1 Whirlwind
- 3 Nephilim Jet Fighters
- 1 Land Raider

Now I recognize that this will most likely take quiet some time, most likely a year or two to get everything purchased/built/painted/detailed But, i found having a goal, long term or not, definately helps!

So. Where to start? I've already set the goal of 1 tactical sqaud and devastators. But in an evening of hobbying glory I brought my 1st 3 Tactical Squads up to table top standard. They still need to be fully based and transfers added - so fine tuning still need - but I am very happy for a 4 hour session. I know that there are always some sins in painting you don't notice until your 3 inch figure is blown up on your screen, but that's half the motivation of have a plog!

Wow that was Long Winded Comments and Critques are always welcome! I will always consider anything posted to be a WIP until I've gotten it to showcase level, and thats how you get better, and from what I've seen the Dakka Community has such an over exuberance of talent, maybe a little will rub off on me? Thanks for Reading! I hope I don't let you guys down!

So without further Delay, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Tactical Squads of the 3rd Company.

No Forgeworld stuff?

Hey Malika! Thanks for stopping by

No no forgeworld stuff as of yet. I am a huge fan of the contempttors TBH, unfortunately my LFGS and the leagues I play in don't allow forgeworld units or rules.

That and I am only missing the world wind, land raider and a vindicator oh and the tech marines to complete the list.

While I am sure other side projects will spring up from time to time, I want to finish what I have for now, as i have a rather large stack of boxes for the time being.

What models are you planning on using for the Techmarines? How about that Iron Warriors Warpsmith, it would require some conversion work, but he'd look cool.

My thoughts for the techmarines would be one in full servo harness and two of his acolytes / novitiates. I've actually been looking a lot at both the Warp Smith and the tech-marine in full servo harness. maybe a kitbash / conversion of both?

I also intend on going back and painting the coils on the plasma weaponry bright glowing blue. I may attempt so OSL.

I'm really excited to have the first three squads up to table top standards. Fine details and proper basing to come of course. They are by no means finished, but definitely acceptable for now. Next up will be to finish my 1st 5 man Devastator Squad of Lascannons and then to build the 4th tac squad and 2nd dev squad!

That's a good start. What are your thoughts for the bases?

Hey 40kSFU! Thanks for stopping by, I'm honored

For the bases i Was thinking small rubble and static/dried out grass and perhaps weathering the lower portions of the model re-present going througha sparse landscape/mountains us terrain/chem wastes ect ect as most of the boards up are off that nature.

I think i'll add in some trinkets from the armies I play most, I liked the idea of when a unit does really well against an someone, you add something to their base - this is a little further down the line. I'd like to start working on the bases once I get to about 50 marines / half strength. For instance, one of the guys in my league has a warp fiend that went through 4 units like a hot knife through butter before my Knights smacked it with their maces in god mode. Soo the next week it had a "freshly" stomped in Angel of Vengeance on its base haha. Actually the 50 man mark isn't too far off.

*UPDATE*

So no pictures as of right now. but last night I assembled my last regular tactical squad and my 2 - 5 man devs with lascannons. I'm really happy with how the Sgts look now, I hope I can do them justice.

If you haven't noticed - not that there are a lot of pictures to notice from - All of my Sgts are in Mk VIII Errant Armor, minus the shoulder pads. I've tried my hand at casting some myself but I keep getting bubbles on the lower portion of the shoulder pads, very frustrating. While my tac squads have the chest piece from the command squad box, the dev squad sgts have the chest piec from the tac squads and the loin cloths from the command squad frame with the dev sgt heads. I like the look and I think it unifies the units, the red tabard/loin cloth also helps pick out the sgt.

These look great and I love that you want to collect a Battle Company. I still miss my Crimson Fist Battle Company! (Painted by 40kSFU!) Have you considered making the backpacks or boltguns a different color though like red to make the minis have some additional contrast?

Dinamarth thanks for Stopping by!

I am a bit of a traditionalist in the sense that i wanted to stick to the color scheme put out by GW. Which has jet black armor with sgts and vets having gold accents and red cloth/tabards/trappings.

I joined up with a P&M blog group (Which is in my sig block! - its actually around 11 of us now haha) and I've been gettign a lot of great feed back from them as well. I plan on working in OSL on the eyes and plasma weapons and possiblly the lascannons on my devs.

I did try a couple test marines with different variations to inclue more or less red and gold and they did feel.. right? They just seemed odd. And I've seen two other Angels of Vengance army shots floating around on the interwebs with the Bright Red boltgun/weapon casings and they stop out too much and were distracting IMO.

Another suggestion I've got has been to paint the knee pads a solid color, whether it's red or the company coloring for the 3rd (in DA Companies Its a red diagonal stripe) but I agree they do need something added to them.

As I initially mentioned the standard the three squads are at as of now is just table top quality and do plan on going back over the details to bring them up a notch.

I think that the Gold and Black with highlighting the armor edges can provide enough, when done completely. I have a couple other units already at table top quality but haven't posted them yet as they are either not all at a uniform state or need some modeling repairs. After the Devs I plan on finishing my two dreadnoughts, i have two of the venerable kits and I feel the detail really fits with the overall intricate and ornate quality you see on verteran units especially a DA successor chapter.

As always I lvoe the feed back Thanks again for stopping by. And don't worry 40kFSU they will be based!... just not yet

So when I went to prime my marines last night... i realized that my can was empty... truly dissapointing. but, not to be stopped, I went and started to build my 1st squad of Verterans. And then I hit a bit of a problem. While their right shoulders will have the crux terminatus I can't just put regular shoulder pads on the other side... and have realzied I am in fact quite envious of many of the sculptors' skills here on dakka because after a2 hours and a lot of frustration I managed only to ruin 4 pads and my finger tips haha

So I'm going to troll the interwebs for a few days and see if I can't find a suitable shoulder pads for my dark boys.

Anyone know of a scupltor or printer that has / or would be willing to make AoV pads?

Wow, I cannot believe how long it has been since I've posted and updated this blog. As a loyal servant of the Lion, I am ashamed!

A lot has happened in the past two years! Both professionally and personally, but also, and importantly, my company has grown! At last post I had three tactical squads completed, and I've come a long way since then! My Third Company has been rounded out a good deal. As it stands now, I have a much more size able force!

Painted:

4 full Tactical Squads - Sgt w/Storm Bolter and Chainsword, 7 Bolters, Plasma Gun and Plasma Cannon
2 full Devastator Squads - Sgt with Bolter, Chainsword and Signum, 4 Lascannons and 5 Bolters
3 Dreadnoughts! - 2 with Plasma Cannon and Fist, 1 with Twin Linked Lascannon and Missile Launcher
10 Deathwing Knights - 1 Knight Master with Flail, 9 With Mace of Absolution
1 Company Commander - Combiplasma and power sword (Dark Vengeance)
Psyic Choir - Chief Librarian, 2 Codicers, 3 Lexicanum
1 Techmarine with Servo Harness

My goal is too finish my company!

I'll be uploading pictures of what I have done later.

Currently I am working on finishing two las/plas razorbacks using the forgeworld kits. I'll then be going back through and cleaning up the highlights on my tactical and devastator squads and working on the OSL for their helmet lenses. Once upon a time, a fellow dakkaite had linked a tutorial for OSL and I need to find that again!

Stay tuned! I promise the next update wont come two years later

Alright, Now that I've caught up on some last minute Christmas and Boxing Day Shopping, I can finally get back to Dakka and my Angels! First up are two of my Venerable Battle Brothers. Two Dreads! One with a plasma cannon and ccw, and my tank hunter with TL Lascannon and ML. Pardon the poor quality pictures

As each company master is a Master of the Chapter, and come from those aspiring, or in the running for Chapter Master, they are all inducted into the ranks of the Deathwing Knights. So I think it's completely fluffy for 5 - 10 of his former comrades in the Knights to accompany him as he takes over command of an entire Company. So I have a full squad of 10 Knights including a Knight Master with Flail!


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I was original planning on leaving the faces dark, or painting them in shadows. Any thoughts? Or should I color in the skin?

Hey Dakka! So I received some awesome presents in the mail over the weekend: 10 Mark III Iron Armor forgeworld marines. The detail on these guys is astounding!

Along with the 10-man unit came the Dark Angels Helm upgrades. I cannot say enough how cool these things are. I just wish they weren't so damned expensive! Coming from the UK to the states, the conversion from Pounds to USD can be rough.

In my excitement, I didn't take an photos until they were mostly done

I'm also still working with my iphone camera, pics aren't the best quality but I'm going to share them anyways




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I don't know why I can't get the pictures to rotate... but if you click on them, in the link they are upright!

Great looking stuff! I really like those heresy era models.

Thanks! I love the old Mark III iron armor and the Dark Angels Helms. I'm working on gathering pieces for my Company Master. I've been using the Dark Vengeance model, but I want to make one that's a mix of the old heresy era and the newer Mark VIIIs.

The theme in the army so far has been Mark VII, or standard marine now a days in 40k, and then the Mark VIII with the gorget for the Sgts.

I saw a Death Guard unit that used the Iron warrior immortals body with the Mk VIII double shoulders and really liked how it turned out. Thinking of doing something along the same lines eventually. I am hoping Forgeworld releases some more Dark Angel models soon

Long time no post, longer than I wanted it to be.

I've been rounding out my Company, and I've been going through and reading some fluff. So while I've been sprinkling in some Forgeworld bitz, I have some Betrayal at Calth units lying around. I don't feel like the Mark IVs have quite the same feel as the Mark III and and newer marks in 40k, so I thought about adding in a unit of another UnForgiven successor chapter. So I goofed around with my paint supplies and whipped up another Angel of Vengeance from the new Tac Box and my first try at an Angel of Vigilance.

Thoughts and comments are appreciated!

Oh and I did my best at a free hand of their Chapter Symbol.




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On a side note, I initially am leaning more towards Vigilance over some of the other successor chapters as I feel the gold balances well with the black of the Vengeance.

I may paint up an Angel of Absolution to see how the bone color lines up with the Vengeance black

So I decided to stick with the Angels of Vigilance. I really love the way the gold compliments the black. That, and I'm from Pittsburgh, where everything is Black and Gold

So last night I built up 5 more and got the start of paint onto two of them:

Those are really nice, very smooth work!

Thanks Paradigm! Using the new metallic paints that came out with the AoS sets has been fantastically easy. As long as you water down the paint so that it has the same consistency, you get the same shade of gold. And the silvers look awesome over top of it.

I had seen some Angels of Vigilance painted in yellows, but I liked the look of them in gold better.

I wanted the Sgt to stand out a little bit, but not look too far removed from the new marks of armor that my angels of vigilance will be wearing. So I've added one of the Dark Angel's Legion torsos from Forgeworld.

Can't wait to get some paint on him tonight!


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Hey Guys, I want to say thanks to everyone who stops by!

It's not much of a mile stone compared to some of the Veteran Dakkanaughts out there, but 1000 views today!

This is the first time I have seen painted Angels of Vigilance. I absolutely LOVE them. That's just 40k Space Marine subtlety for you

Hmmmm. Hissy see a lot of biomatter in here. Stay away from Hissy or give us dinner.

Thanks DL! I'll post up a picture of the Sargent once he's all done as well. I'll get them up to a full 10 man squad soon, hopefully by the end of the week.

Any thoughts on the heavy weapon? I was thinking just giving them a Grav Cannon as my Vengeance marines are rocking plasma and Lascannons

Oh... Hey Hissy... How bout I point you in the direction of some nice and tasty orks? Easier to digest im sure

Back with a quick update. 5 man squad isn't done quite yet. Still need weapons and powerplants. But they are coming along nicely! Finished up the 4th man and the Sgt!

I really like the way the Forge World Dark Angel Legion Torso turned out on the Sgt! What do you guys think?

Coming along really nicely!

I'm really going to have to get some of these new GW golds at some point...

Nice, always good to see lesser known chapters getting some love. Doing a good job on that symbol too.

Thanks Paradigm! The new golds are absolutely awesome to work with. I hope to finish up the power plants and weapons today or tomorrow.

Sock! Thanks man, that symbol is a little intricate, practice (I'm hoping) will make perfect

I still haven't used the new golds as I prefer a darker, older gold myself, but you sure are selling them well: Those 5 look damn good, the sergeant looks lovely! My only critique is the lack of a "power" colour in that gravity gun. The plasma and gravity guns are great excuses to add a spot color to the miniature

Wow the black and gold marines both looks fantastic.

Excellent work.

EDC

@Draconic Lord - I agree good sir. I'm still debating what spot colors to use though. Suggestions?

@EDC - Thanks EDC! I love your stuff, thank you for stopping by!

And Slight Moment My first page roll over haha been a great week! Thanks everyone for stopping by!

Loving the Angels Of Vigilance, gold Marines really fit the religious overtones of the Space Marines and look really cool to boot. (They really remind me of the dude from the Merlin movie from 30 odd years ago).

Do you hold a Dakka record as the longest ever blog to go from 1 to 2 pages? Congratulations, hope to see more.

Thanks Thraxas! haha i just might i'll have to look into it.

There will be more Black and Gold Marines to come. And perhaps even some Bone Colored ones.

Man, long time since I checked out your blog. Those gold marines are outstanding.

FSU! Thanks for stopping in again Brother! I plan on filling out the full 10 man Tac squad, you'll see more of my Angels of Vigilance.

By the way brother, I'm really impressed with your 30k Ultramarines, well done!

 Master Azalle wrote:
@Draconic Lord - I agree good sir. I'm still debating what spot colors to use though. Suggestions?

Hum, not really sure, but I'd probably go with red, considering your eye lenses already are and they look pretty good with the bright gold.

very nice. golds are working well. keeping some linewrk, the ribbing at the joints and a few other bits in black was a great touch - makes the gold armour pop that much more. sweet stuff

Hello Dakka! I hope everyone enjoyed the super bowl weekend here in the U.S.

I'm working on finishing up the last 5 marines for my Angels of Vigilance Tac Squad. I'll get some photos up of them in the next day or so.

Today, I decide I wanted to replace the Dark Vengeance captain I've been using, so I hit my bits bin.

Love the Mark III iron armor so grabbed legs and started there.
Next I took the Mk II dark angels legion upgrade torso with the winged sword crest, thought it fitting for the Company Master to west a relic of the legion.
Grabbed a left arm from the character upgrade kit to start, and here's were I started to push my modeling skills. Sadly, I didn't take photos of this process. I rotated the arm around the shoulder joint to twist the standard Bolter holding arm so it's more down at its side. The left arm position was easy, but I didn't like any of the standard weapon options.

I started with the Angels of Death sword from the DA upgrade sprue from GW... But it was in the right hand, so I cut off the hand, switch it to the Company champion sword hand from the command squad, pinned the hilt to the sword, then sliced the hand off, and attached it to the right arm in Mark III armor.

To tie it together with the rest of the army, I used the mark VII errant shoulder pads (I've seen a few other arnies use similar conversions) I really like the way it turned out. I've used a DA helm and I have a DA backpack from the GW Vets Upgrade box.

What do you guys think?

Wickedness. Those MkIII legs look great with the iconographic torso.

EDC

Looks pretty badass to me!

@ EDC Thanks Brother! I really like the look of them. I'm really happy with how the model came together! I'm torn between using the 40K DA Veteran back packs, or the FW Iron Armor backpacks at this point. He's getting primed and first couple of colors on him tonight!

@Paradigm - you were soooo close in becoming my Unforgiven Brother! :( Sad day - But your Howling Griffin puts my paint jobs to shame. Well done sir! He looks fantastic

Thanks again for everyone stopping in! I hope to keep this pace with modeling and painting

Damn good looking captain there sir.

 Master Azalle wrote:

@Paradigm - you were soooo close in becoming my Unforgiven Brother! :( Sad day - But your Howling Griffin puts my paint jobs to shame. Well done sir! He looks fantastic

To be fair, with the amount of Marines I paint (lots, for those keeping score ), I'm bound to get back to the Unforgiven at some point. I have a sizeable 3rd Co/Deathwing DA army, but it's from the days when my painting really wasn't up to much, so it needs stripping and starting over. I love the look of DA, and their fluff, so it's only a matter of time...

Don't worry Paradigm, I'll be here waiting for your return to the 1st Legion and their Successors

@FSU I'm glad you like it brother! I've almost always ran him with a combi plasma, and I love the look of the ones in the Calth box set, so I couldn't resist adding it to the mix.

If someone had asked me, do you think gold marines would look cool? i would have put on my Dr Hibbert voice and said, 'Oh my, good heavens no', however yours look smashing Azalle. I think it might be the more brass look i get from them, it actually makes them look all the more rugged and battle-ready.

It might just be the quality of the photos imporoving but it appears you're beginning to master black armour and those tricky edge highlights . Something i avoid because it's so darn hard!

Thanks Perkustin! Truly appreciate the compliment brother.

And thank you for noticing after about 40 + tactical marines, i think I'm getting the hang of the Black Highlighting

And if anyone else hasn't check out his blog, he's got some great work over there, puts my kitbashing to shame

Alright guys, I've put some time in on my Company Master A.K.A. Master Azalle

After Priming Black then going back over the model with a thinned down coat of Abbadon Black, I began picking out the gold details, the robed angel in red on the cross guard and some of the larger areas in boltgun metal

So after applying the gold and highlighting, as I had with my Angel's of Vigilance, his armor was far brighter than the gold I had been using on my Angels of Vengeance. So instead of starting over, i thinned down and applied Balthasar gold directly over top of what i had painted, and I am really pleased with how it darkened the gold, far more in line with the rest of the company. I also then washed the gold with GW's green wash (name is escaping me) as I had down with my previous golds to tie him back in with his company. I then started highlighting the black and picking out details in silver. Unlike the GW and the BaC marines, my Mk III's don't have a ton of smooth lines, so the highlighting is more along the lines of dry brush and picking out the few edges I have, unlike the 40k models with large smooth areas. I like how he turned out, having the 5 previous Mk II marines definitely helped.

After comparing him to the rank and file I didn't think that there was enough there separating him from the normal trooper so I made the under portion of the pauldron's gold as well. I am completely open to suggestions. I like how he's turned out, but I still feel like his missing something to make him stand out as the company commander. My Bitz box runs deeper than most (especially in the DA bits).

Looking at him again now after taking a break, I see that I need to brighten the eye lens some more. I'll work on that

C&C welcome and hoped for!

Very nice. The gold and black really looks excellent.

EDC

Yeah, he's looking very nice! If you're looking to add something to set him out as a commander, how about a back banner (there's a really nice one in the DA Veterans kit you might have spare) or something similar on his backpack? Or maybe a tabard?

He looks mighty good. The Black and Gold really is a wonderful combo.

Well, he's clearly a step above the tacticals because that sword and weapon are clearly ornate and unusual, they do stand out.

Maybe some Free hand on one of his shoulders to make him even more unique? Or painting his sword-arm gold to add an asymmetrical design?

@Paradigm - I have considered adding a back banner, but have been trying to stay away from them with this army. But since I have been staying away... it would definitely make him stand out.

@DraconicLord - I like the idea of a gold arm, I'll keep that in mind. Free hand, free hand i struggle with on such a small scale. I managed to find (and order) the Angels of Vengeance transfer sheet though so he will definitely be getting some of that love.
^ And thank you for the compliment, I love the Black and gold look too! I see a lot of Black Templars with Black and White and Iron Hands with Black and Metalics. But I do like the Black and Gold - That... and I'm from Pittsburgh and everything here is Black and Gold

Loving the gold marines don't see that every day!!

I like how the black and gold works. Which is lucky, as I am eventually planning to paint a load of old rogue trader chaos renegades the same way

Thanks for the love Alaricuk.

@fifty - I'd love to see how those turn out!

So last night started off with a task I've been putting off for far too long.... Organizing my bits

I stopped by a Pat Catans (hobby and craft store) and found a necklace and bead storage kit that is actually perfect for 40k bits, or just bits in general.

Sooo an hour and a half later:

- tray of Calth Bits
- tray of DA bits
- tray of Marine bits
- tray of FW bits
- tray of random bases
- tray of torso / chest peices (individually sorted old chest plates)
- tray of Knight bits

This is what happens when you find bits dealers on Ebay... you dont notice $10-$15 once ever few weeks....

Wow, very organised! I generally keep two bits boxes, one with everything in and the other for parts I've painstakingly pulled out from that which are relevant to my current project!

Soooo there is a silver... nay... golden lining to spending soo much time going through all my Bits!

I have found the power plant suitable for my Company Master! Behold... the double eagle power plant from the SM Commander box... I can't believe I have one of these


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Thanks Paradigm... slightly OCD hahah organizational skills beat into by the military die hard

Love the captain. If you want to make him stand out a bit, but don’t want to do a back banner, there should be some iron halo bits kicking around. Just stick one on top of his backpack.

A well organized bits box is a wonderful thing. I use a larger old tackleboxe, rather then smaller craft ones, but the same basic tray system.

So all of the above (last two posts of pictures) came from last night.

I now have the finished product, and I am super pumped about how he turned out. I decided against gilding one arm, I feel like the power pack from the SM Captain box did the trick

Behold Master Azalle - in all his black and gold awesomess Definitely my favorite mini in my collection at the moment


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@Nevlon - organized bitz box is a beautiful thing Brother! Also, I did check out adding the iron halo on top of the captain backpack, but it looked too busy.

Also, THANKS FOR THE PAGE ROLL OVER

Oh marvellous! That's just perfect for that guy! Karma is already rewarding you for organising your bits!

With there being so many old marks of armour on the model, I was not sure if the modern back pack would work, but it very much does.

Great stuff!

I was afraid of the same thing 50 to be honest. But it all came together really well!

But you're right Fifty he is quite the collection of marks:

Mark II: Dark Legion Torso and Helm
Mark III: Grieves, arm gaurds and gauntlets
Mark IV: Maximus Combi Bolter
Mark VII: Powerplant
Mark VIII: Pauldrons



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@ Paradigm, thanks brother!

Next few Projects on deck! 5 Moar marines incoming! Working on rounding out a command squad. Have the Apothecary built, not sure if i'll keep him with the storm bolter. I like it because I can run it as a bolt gun, bolt pistol or storm bolter and most people are ok with it. have three more marines on deck that ware going to be filling out my Angels of Vigilance - gotta get the gold boys up to 10! - and then some special weapons troopers, one for a Great Marine Swap Project really excited to be able to swap minis!

The combination of that cool looking helm and the heavy Mk. III gauntlets really make him look like one not to be messed with.

The gold detailing has came out super well, particularly on that fancy sword. The squad is coming along nicely, it's going to be a nice looking group of veterans.

EDIT: In light of that new post, i am looking forward to seeing the Apothecary, white scheme?

Hey MA,

Thought I'd stop by and check out your paint thread. I'm glad I did... your marines look great!

I especially like the pure gold marines and the sword and pack on Master Azalle is top notch!

Keep up the great work, I've subscribed to your thread now too

Finished captain is looking great. Great choice for the backpack.

The Heresy era medic looks sweet too.

I wish my bits box was as organised as your, most impressive.

EDC

Hello Dakka,

Sorry for the absence, had a trip down to D.C. this past weekend, took me out of the modeling arena for a bit. Once back, I realized I realllly needed to better organize and store my minis, while I have no pics, I spent Sunday night making foam inserts for my carrying cases that could fit my Dreads and my Knights,

That being said, I started to go back through and touch up my Deathwing Knights. When through and gilded the ornamentation that I had missed / skipped, gone through and made sure I had painted and detailed all the purity seals and then began the time consuming process of edge highlighting / lining grey on the armor. While tedious, it definitely makes a huge difference. 5 Knights down, 5 more to go!

Now those guys are properly badass! Deathwing Knights have to be among the hardest-looking units in the game, but that black and red combo makes them look even meaner! Awesome stuff!

Thanks Paradigm!

There is nothing quite as satisfying as deep striking a full 10 man squad right in the middle of the enemy's army, preferably in front of their warlord, artillery or some form of super heavy.

Keeping with my elites, I completed work on my 3rd Honorable Battle-Brother. My goal is to get to a Hextad of Ancients. I am thinking my 4th will be painted gold as an Angel's of Vigilance

I've also started the process of making my all my plasma coils glow red and work some OSL, still not the greatest at this, but I feel like I am continually getting better. I also tried some OSL from the yellow search light, not 100% thrilled at how it came out.

Those Deathwing Knights and Dreads look great, especially since highlighting black can be such a pain. Certainly a nice elite contingent to the army.

Those knights.... Maces and Shields!!!

They are an awesome model, and you have done them justice with the paint job, nice work!

Nice work on the knights and dreads. The ven dred kit is one of my favorites, always a blast to see how others build them. So many options, no two need to look alike.

Dreads are great!

Love those Dreads. I've got three AoBR Dreads that I've converted to Astral Claws that I'm mid-paint with. I need to get some more Lamenters out of the way before I get back to them. Shame we are on opposite side of the pond, we could have a dreadnought-off!

@Thraxas - Thanks Brother, I feel like i finally have the hang of the black highlighting for now.

@Mad - Thanks for stopping in brother, I love the mace shield combo too, easily one of my favorite GW kits

@Nevelon - I agree completely, I actually don't have any standard dreads, And my goal is to give each of them personality, I think I've done a good job of making them each an individual - Crux, Pillars, and Banners - while sticking with the Angel's of Vengeance fluff of not overdoing it with accolades.

@Ratius - thanks brother - still nothing compared to Stompy, you've done a great job on him

@Fifty - total shame, I'd love a Dread v Dread death match. BTW I have a total soft spot for Lamenters, I have about 20 of them from when the BA codex came out back in the day with the Storm Raven - when it was the only flyer. Get your arse moving and get to those Astral Claw dreads!

When I finished painting my 4th dread, I did a dread focused list. It was a lot of fun, if not the most competitive thing out there. Just finished painting my 5th, I should see about getting them all out again.

Your drop pod dread list looks like a lot of fun Nev!

My goal is to be able to run a hextad of Ancients formation.


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Well, my 1850 point tournament snuck up on me this weekend!

So I've spent my breaks today going through my current force and trying to come up with something playable that might actual do something on the board haha.

Currently, I know that the double demi-company Lion's Blade is rather effective, but I just don't have enough Rhino's and DPs to true utilize that build. So here's What I've Come up With. Keep in mind this is with me using my force that I currently have and keeping my "To Build List" possible between now and Saturday morning

Lion's Blade Strike Force - 1850pts on the nose

Demi Company

HQ - Company Master 115pts
-Iron Halo, Power Armor, Power Sword, Combi-weapon

Command Squad 190pts
- Apothecary, 2 storm bolters, 3 combi-weapons
- Drop Pod

Troops
Tactical Squad x 3 - 630pts
- 9 marines
- Sgt with Stormbolter and Chain Sword
- Plasmagun, Plasmacannon
- Rhino

Fast Attack
Assault Squad - 205
- 9 marines
- Sgt with Lightning Claw and Stormbolter
- 2 flamers
- Drop Pod

Heavy Support
Devastators - 220pts
- 9 marines
- sgt w/signum boltgun and chain sword
- 4 lascannons

Elites
Dreadnought Squadron - 335pts
- 2 x Dreads with Power Fist/ Storm Bolter and Plasma Cannon
- 1 Dread with TwinLinked Lascannons and Missile Launcher

INNER CIRCLE
Librarian 85 pts
- conversion field, bolt pistol, force weapon

10TH COMPANY SUPPORT
Scout Squad - 70 pts
5 x sniper rifles
camo cloaks


Soooo with this list... my "TO BUILD" is:

- The Entire Assault Squad
- 2 drop pods
- 5 scouts
- 1 rhino

So 15 models and 3 Vehicles. Seems a little Daunting but definitely in the realm of Possibility, just wont look super pretty But It means I'll be one more full squad closer to my company! and I'll be able to get into the details at my leisure.

What do you guys think? I don't plan on winning but I feel like it'll present a challenge

Trust you have fun at your tournament! Good luck.

Dude I love what you have going on here. The kit bashes and color schemes all are great. Your army looks very good.

@Mad Tournament ended up not happening, I did play two casual games though. Both a lot of fun and I went 1 and 1.

First game was really close, but I ended up losing in the last turn as I had forgotten about a unit of guardians in my Deployment Zone.

Second game was hilarious versus Tyranids swarm list. Poor guy had a hell of a time dealing with my trio of dreads wrecking his back field. Meanwhile his ripper swarms did a number on an entire tactical squad. Good games both. I will have to be more mindful and take pictures and better notes for the next game i play!

Sadly I had to a run my assault squad unpainted...

That being said, guess who's next on the painting block


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@FSU Thanks so much Brother. I'm glad you like it! I love how much variety you can mixing the kits.

Coming along nicely! Since they're missing JPs, will they have a Rhino/Pod?

I've been running them with a drop pod. They are my anti-infantry unit. Two flamers and a powersword really help level the field. In the second game from this weekend, overwatching with two flamers in a unit was devastating to the gaunts that ran in on them.

The end goal is to have enough to field every unit in either a drop pod or rhino (lofty goals I know). They look much better now that they arent:

A. Unpainted
and
B. Now have Highlights

The plan is to finish the last 5 up to this point, and then go back through the squad for fine tuning.

@paradigm, I wish I could be a fly on the wall and watch you knock out marines brother, your painting level and quality is outstanding

Got a start on the Squad Sergeant as well, Just the golds for now.

Some lovely Dark Angels legi... err I mean... Angels of Vengeance Chapter marines ( No Legion building here, honest! ) here Azalle

Hahaha thanks Vengeance

I think this maybe a record for me, built and painted a full 10 man squad in a week.

Minus the bases, the skull on the sergeant and the candles... and the flamers... well damn ok... but Pretty Close to done!

Here's my first 10 man assault squad!

Looking good! The sarge is awesome!

Bit of a delay in posting here recently

I intend to make up for it now though!

First: I have finished my 1st anti-infantry assault squad and their new ride
Second: I have found one of the most frustrating models to assemble... the DROP POD... Perhaps it's because I've salvaged it from an earlier attempt, and there was too much old glue / paint around the model joins... but this thing was a HUGE PITA to put together. I also hate how crowded and busy the inside of it looks with the harnesses.. that and I had Definitely fubared those pieces, so I left them out, and am relatively happy with how it looks. My list calls for at least two more, hopefully they will go together better.

Without further delay:

Looking good! Pods are a nightmare to build and paint at the best of times, there's a reason I only own 2 and both are grey plastic! Assault Squad looks awesome!

Thanks Paradigm!

And I totally understand why you only have two...


That being said, I also got some work done on my GMS mini for Gits I plan on finish them this week!

Drop pods remain one of my most loathed minis to work with. So much hate. I have 3. I did the harnesses on two, one I just left empty. The last one took me over half a year to get finished. Hate, hate hate.

Love them on the table though.

Nice looking progress!

Thanks Nev! And after looking at Git's blog, the plasma gunner will need some surgery to remove the shoulder pad and place on the correct shoulder

After Seeing Paradigm's Amazing work and competition entries, I couldn't help myself and am getting into the mix as well!

I'll be bringing another Devastator squad to the table (because you always need more Dakka) this time with Missile Launchers!

Nice work Azalle

Thanks AoV!

I've also decided to revisit some of my older models a I feel I have gotten better at highlighting and can constructively add to them. Specifically I have 5 kitbashed librarians I want to touch up, finish their force weapons and add some OSL.

Man, I am loving your black and gold marines. They look great. And the kit bashes are excellent.

Awesome stuff. The Knights and dreads are great. The tac marines splendid and the librarians are out of this world!

Awesome all around.

EDC

@FSU thanks brother! I'm really starting to feel comfortable with my high lights and painting schemes. And I love to kitbash. One of my favorite parts of the hobby to be honest. With so many kits that can be interchanged, I really wanted my marines to have their own feel. I also didn't want to use the standard "librarian" minis out there, same with other ICs. I will eventually make 'counts as' for all the DA heroes lol but today is not that day

@EDC thanks for stopping in brother! The librarians have been a favorite of mine. And if you like dreads... I have 2 more to finish But I think I have enough WIPs at the moment before I start on something new. I want to finish my GMS marines, the librarians and then the Devs.

Thanks to the helpful insight from Paradigm, I hope to start providing better quality and appeal pics and uploads of my work. And to reduce carpet bombing of pics

So, on to my third completed / refinished Librarian!

Nice, both paintwork and presentation. To offer a little more advice on the pics, I wouldn't use a border that thick when doing collages like that, I can see what you were going for but the top pic in particular is getting a little lost and there's a lot more 'blank space'.

Hope that doesn't sound like I'm nitpicking, just trying to help!

Thanks Brother! I'll try that out!

How does it look now?

One last WIP for the day! Devastator Sergeant with armor highlighting and the metallics

Awesome work in here as usual. I especially like the librarian with the hood!

Interesting to read there is so much hate against building and painting drop pods... Glad I don't have to build one, although i have a tyrannocyte I still need to paint up

Loving that Dev sgt - cracking look to him

Had a busy weekend. Hope all the dakkanuaghts out there enjoyed it as well.

Played what was supposed to be a friendly 2000pt game versus Nurgle Deamons... which ended up being absolutely brutal. Had some good learning points though. For instance, adding my company master to my 9 assault marines and droppoding them in the back field is an extremely effective way of getting rid of plaguebearers and nurglings. However, there is almost No way to deal with 4 flying deamon princes... with physic screech and the nurgle flamer of death

But! All is not lost. I finally completed my Rhino/Razorbacks 2 down of a planed 4 more to go.

Picked up one of those Las/plas turrets a while ago. Soo much awesome. (Though I miss the gunner in the turret with the badass gun shield version) Also I dropped you a PM if you're after some decals for your models

That Dev Sergeant is just gorgeous! I'm going to be keeping an eye on this...

So, having picked up a Betrayal at Calth Boxed set when it came out, and a few more tac aquads cheap off ebay ($20 for a 10 man mk 4 squad... yeah... i'll take that) I have been pouring through fluff and play styles and having come up with three Legions to choose from, each is very different in fluff, and from what I can tell, play style as well (with one exception) See if you know who I'm talking about, as this is how I think of them:

Psychopathic Terrorists

Narcissistic Perfectionist

Miss-understood Egyptian Psykers

They each have their own allure to them.

Night Lords - because it's very opposite of how I play my Angels of Vengeance, which are more of a Gunline with some forward elements.
Emperor's Children - I can go to town on details, I love the story line of Saul Tarvits and Ancient Rylanor and the rumor that the Red Scorpions are their successor chapter.
Thousand Sons - because who doesn't want to see the underdog win a little. Aside from the EC, one of the smallest Legions, period. Misunderstood by everyone, ACTUALLY LOYAL until Horus manipulates the Wolves. Great back story, awesomely detailed models. And PSYKERS... who doesn't want to run an entire army of Demi-Gods throwing lightning bolts?

So I'm torn. Thoughts? Suggestions?

I can’t speak for the mechanics between them, but how do you feel about painting the colors of each legion? Because you are going to be doing a lot of that for 30k.

On a personal level, when I put together the BaC terminators as 2xLC myself, they just screamed out to be Night Lords. Vicious looking blenders that they are.

It might be worth looking into how easily you could kitbash some of the special units from each of them as well. This would let you get some more of the fun toys, without breaking the bank on FW resin.

Aesthetically, it's all down to what you want to paint, and really, that should factor into your decision more than rules as for the most part, every Legion can do most jobs to some degree, even if they're not the absolute best at it. For example, Iron Hands that I play probably favour a more shooty approach, but their Legion Tactic that grants -1S on ALL incoming firepower makes their CC units much more survivable in the opening turns (having a Terminator unit that is functionally T5 against small arms is awesome! ). Special units aside, you're building from 90% the same options regardless of Legion, so it's really down to fluff how you play them.

TSons are probably the exception, along with Wolves, as they're structured very differently, but we won't know how differently until the Prospero book comes out (later this year, I believe). For what it's worth, the way you've been painting gold on your 40k Marines would look superb on a nice deep purple Emperor's Children army,

@Nev - The only one that I am hesitant on are the Thousand Sons. I really like the metallic red. And to get that look I'll need to invest in an air gun, which is something that has been on my hobby list for a while now to be honest. Dark Blue and Black I am totally ok with and Purple will be a challenge, but again, working with an airbrush / spray gun, should greatly help in that department. I've had a little bit of practice and I just need more to get comfortable.

About the bits and kit bashing, I have actually been trolling the interwebs / ebay & third party for bits. As far as gear, the Nightlords would be the easiest, In my opinion, and I had already bit the bullet and ordered a range of Bits from Anvil Industries and picked up their chain glaives, battle axes and gladius sets as I've seen them used to killer effect by other hobbyists. The pheonix spears and charnabal / palatine blades for the EC could be a challenge, and a part of me really wants to try converting sonic skriekers

@paradigm - thanks brother, I'd like to try my hand at gold on the EC too. And you're right. I'm torn at the moment as the three I've chosen are three that I've not done (color wise) but would love to take a crack at.

I've always liked the night lords to be honest and them causing fear is a great thing in 30k because there is not any ATSKNF on the table.

@Ustrello - I am leaning more the way of the NL to be honest. I like the idea of being up in your face and Fear is a pretty awesome rule set to play with. That and I think it would be comically to see them break and run if they lose an assault / their leader


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ok, back to my grim dark Dark Angel's Successors.

Plan for the rest of March (Dear god it's half over) In order of priority

5 man missile Dev Squad
- Sgt needs backpack
- 4 devs need their heads / weapons / back packs - they are all at least primed

2nd Assault Squad - this is so i can actually run a Lion's Blade
- Unassembled but planned out
- Anti-Armor / TEQ unit
- Sgt with Power Fist plasma Pistol & melta bombs
- two plasma pistols - no flamer here
I'll build a full 10 man, but will often run it at 9 so I can have the Int Chaplain join them for more destruction

Transports - I'll knock out one of the two options:
- 2 rhinos w/razor back options
- 2 drop pods

And then... Madness!

I completely forgot about an order I placed through Shapeways some time back. Since AoV transfer are hard to come by, but thanks to @AngelOfVengeance I was able to pick up a transfer sheet, which is on its way from the UK to me now.
However, that has nothing to do with the 3D Printed surprise I came home to last night! If you are unfamiliar with shapeways, its a service that will print your 3D designs, and I found an artist that just so happened to have a design for my lonely Sons of the Lion!!

It was like Christmas... and my birthday at the same time. Not my best work, but I'll go in and clean them up tonight

Custom created shoulder pads for your marines.... that is awesome!

They look great.

Very cool custom shoulder pads. I also really like the Libby, especially his sword.

Nice use of gold on the Razorback too, great work.

EDC

Thanks @Mad and @EDC

I'm happy with how they turned out. I'm waiting on Angels of Vengeance transfer I ordered off Ebay. They will go on the regular battle brothers. The Sgts will be getting the Custom Pads for now.

Thanks for the compliment on the razor backs, I love how they turned out. Only... 6 or so more to go haha. I need to pick up assault turrets. I prefer the forgeworld kit to the standard GW stuff

I stumbled upon your thread today, and I am almost through reading Black Library's Descent of Angels and I am absolutely awed and in love with your models!
Looking forward to seeing more.

@Falienia - cheers and welcome to Dakka

Doing my best to stick to my own time frame, I'm starting to plow through the 2nd assault marine squad. I didn't (and should have) take any pictures during the process, but I have my current WIP below. This will be my unit i through at tougher infantry or light armor. I've also started cleaning up the next two (and only ones for a while) of my drop pods. Going to mini batch paint them.

Can't wait to see what these look like with transfers on!

Me too Brother! The plan is to finish the backpacks and edge highlighting tonight, maybe get to the eye lens as well. I'm hoping to start priming the pods as well

Alright Guys, My Angels of Vengeance Transfer came in! So I immidately got them on some minis.

I'm torn at the moment. I love the way to look on the vehicles, but I'm not sold on the shoulder pad for my Company Master.

Thoughts?

Maybe put some lines on for tiny script? Make it a bit more blingy?

The Rhino I'm actually quite happy with. In their fluff they shun awards and laurels. They're very much a slap on the ass, good job Brother, let's kills some more heretics, but perhaps some more iconography? I do have heaps of Dark Angel's upgrade bits (reference previous post with bits box now in containerized form)

@AoV - What about the Company Master? thoughts?

Last Update for today! These guys are done for the most part. Still need to base them, but I am really happy how they turned out, especially for finishing them in two days or so

Awesome stuff, another great squad!

 Master Azalle wrote:
The Rhino I'm actually quite happy with. In their fluff they shun awards and laurels. They're very much a slap on the ass, good job Brother, let's kills some more heretics, but perhaps some more iconography? I do have heaps of Dark Angel's upgrade bits (reference previous post with bits box now in containerized form)

@AoV - What about the Company Master? thoughts?

Sorry, I should've added a bit more context to my reply. I was referring to the Company Master.

While they do shun awards and laurels, they'd almost certainly have some litanies and oaths of dedication/oaths of moment to the Emperor and the Lion on their stuff. So maybe have some blocks of text scrawled on the armour in Celestra Grey or Dawnstone?

@AoV ok ok that makes sense. Sure I can give that a try. I'll have to practice my squiggles

@Paradigm Thanks Brother!

So I sat down last night to get started on a few smaller projects.

Then THIS happened....

That is one BADASS lookin' Deredeo!

Thanks AoV! I still need to add details to the back end of the cannons, but Im pretty happy with how he turned out

So Im sitting here just loving the Deredeo. And it hit me, this army looks menacing. Yeah its cool, and looks good, but the armor style looks menacing. The deep black and gold trim looks bad. I think its why I like it so much. Have you decided how to base the models? Or have I missed it somewhere?

@FSU that means a lot coming from such an accomplished hobbyist, I absolutely love your work. To answer your question, I am still not sure as to how i want to base them. I've thrown some tan/bleached bone down on a few so that they would be tournament legal, but not sold on any ideas. I'd love some suggestions.

That is epic!

That Deredo looks fantastic! Gorgeous grim dark tones with just the right amount of light to really make it work. Beautful stuff

Some great progress here, the assault squad looks excellent for only two days work...highlighting black power armour is a pain. The sergeant is great, love the pose.

The Deredeo looks great as well, the transfers really help make it pop as well.

Oh yes! Check out that Deredeo. Excellent work

EDC

Great work on your AoV here. Kudos.

Cheers everyone thank you all for the encouragement! I've truly enjoyed rounding out my company. I plan on adding two contemptors in the near future. But those will come after I've finished up rounding out my APCs. Still need a few more rhino/razorback chassis (like 4) and I need to finish those two drop pods I've started

@Paradigm - I've also finished up my challenge for March (though unbased as I haven't settled on what I want for my army yet.

Here's my Missile Launcher Dev Squad. Last one I need to do are Heavy Bolters and I'll have all the options I want.

Good stuff!

So I've decided to go head long into 30k for an escalation league. There are about 20 of us between Ohio and the Pittsburgh / Western Pa area, league is called Heretical Ohio and the campaign is Ohio Is Burning.

I'll be running my Angels of Vengeance as their Primogenitors, the 1st Legion, and I'll be using mostly what I have on hand from my growing 3rd Company. My first game is this weekend and here's my 2k list so far. Thought and C&C are always welcome!

HQ - 280 Points

Preator - 185 (Warlord)
- Archaeotech Pistol
- Artificer Armor
- Digital Lasers
- Iron Halo
- Paragon Blade
- Master Of The Legion

Centurion - 95 pts
- Consul: Master of Signal

Troops - 645 pts

Legion Tactical Squad - 220 pts
- Sergeant w/Artificer Armor
- 14 Legion Tactical Marines

Legion Tactical Squad - 220 pts
- Sergeant w/Artificer Armor
- 14 Legion Tactical Marines

Legion Tactical Squad - 205 pts
- Sergeant w/Artificer Armor, Melta Bombs, Power Weapon
- 12 Legion Tactical Marines
- Bolt Pistols and Chain Swords

Elites - 600 pts

Apothecarion Detachment - 165 pts
- 3 Apothecaries w/Artificer Armor

Legion Dreadnought Talon - 435 pts
- 3 Legion Dreadnoughts
- 2 w/Plasma Cannon & Fist
- 1 w/TL Missile Launcher and Lascannon

Heavy Support - 475 pts

Deredeo Dreadnought - 240 pts
- Armored Ceramite, Aiolos Missile Launcher

Legion Heavy Support Squad - 235 pts
- 5 lascannons

GAME PLAN

- Run an Apothecary with each Tac squad for FNP to keep them on the board a little longer
- Preator with the tac squad with Pistols and Swords
- Master of Signal to drop a pie plate then buff the Lascannons
- Deredeo - start sniping critical units w/lascannons focus firing
- Dreads - march down the field with the tac squad providing support until they can close

Nice work on the dakka dread (I'm not sure what it is called exactly, so I'll go with that), and the missile launching squad is great.

Hope your game goes/went well.

Those army group shots highlight how awesome this army must look deployed on a table ready for battle!

Cool. Good luck in the league. Be sure to take some pics!

EDC

hi Dakka

It's been a few weeks and I realized I never posted up how the game went. Well, My Angels Of Vengeance - aka Dark Angels 1st Legion, went to to toe with the sons of Dorn. I ended up losing in the end, but the game was really close up until the last turn. The league is called Heretical Ohio and has a facebook group following our games and posting match up. Here's the link for the pictures of the game between myself and my opponent Rob. Really great guy, had a friendly well played game and look forward to playing him again

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201419238680977&set=gm.971003476270906&type=3&theater

Link not worky.

hmmmm stand by looks like the group is closed, i'll just post the pictures up here then.

Sooo not tooo many pictures, that I own at least. One per turn, each with a little run down!

Alrighty Then

Despite my dive into 30k with my Night Lords, My Angels are my first love. As the post title suggests, I've finally put glue to plastic and have knocked out my last 20 marines. These will form the bases for my two Veteran Squads in my company and will be made using the MkIV marines from the Betrayal Boxed set. So, without further ado, here is my first vet squad:

Sgt and 4 Vets with combi/plasma bolters

Oh and the vet sgt got the kit bash treatment with a Dark Angels Mk II torso and a Power Plant from the Dark Angel's Veteran's upgrade sprue

Two quick WIPs of the first 5 man squad of the last 20.

First up I've detailed the metal bits and the grey edge highlights. I'm debating if i want to add highlights to the pauldrons. I think i'll need to. Thoughts?

Second is my first combi-bolter's gold trim and muzzle gilding. Really happy with how it turned out. Not too bright.

Lovely work so far

Finished the the first 5 man team. Im still debating as to whether or not to go back and add high lights to their shoulder pads or not. I'll wait till all 20 are done.

Emperor Forgive Me! It's been almost 20 days since my last post :(

Believe it or not, I have in fact made some progress. When last we met, I was working on my 1st 10 man vet squad. They will be getting the finishing touches here in the next few days.

But what has had most of my attention (aside from my Night Lords) is this big guy:

Awesome, I cannot wait to see this one done! Definitely my favourite flavour of Dreadnought!

It's a Monster Para!

Primed and given a thin layer of black to smooth it out.

Edge highlights, metallic parts based washed and highlighted

Nothing super fancy yet

That is all kinds of badass Azalle! Love that dreadnought!

Emperor's Throne, I've been gone a long time. I can't believe how long it's been!

Starting Law School didn't help either :(

Well, I see that I need to post a finished picture of the Levi! I'll take one tonight.

So I went and played a 2k game this weekend, rather uneventful, but then I came across my Angels of Vigilance again! And After seeing Pop-Goes-The-Monkey's work on shape ways, I've ordered 20 shoulder pads and started building the rest of the squad and started a second. Same theme as before, they will stand as my Vanilla Marine Allies. So sgt with combi-grav and a grav gun.

I've also started on a vanilla Captain. Got the pose I want down so far, but don't know what gun to give him, he's currently got a power sword, but I am open to feed back and suggestions. Early wips, no paint, missing shoulder pads (Hopefully have them next week)

Nice builds!

I find Swords are good on Captains as a) most of them (and that one in particular) look awesome as hell and it does give you a bit of versatility in list building, as you can easily treat it as a Relic Blade if you have the points. They're probably not the most efficient option, but they're cheap, pretty reliable and paired with a pistol get you enough attacks to chew through a few guys a turn.

Nice looking squad. You might want to go over the sarge’s gun again for mold lines.

Captain looks like a great start. You consider magnetizing him? A decent budget option would be a bolt pistol. No frills, but fills the slot and gets the job done. I think an arm bent, gun pointing up would complement the pose. Although arm straight snapping a shot off could also work.

If you count the sword as a relic blade, a combi weapon or storm shield are not bad picks as well.

If you want to make a budget blender, a power axe in the off hand is another decent pick.

Paradigm! Good to see you again brother.

I did go back over the mold lines after taking the picture, funny how thoses things show up a lot more clearly in pictures.

Nevelon! Thanks for stopping by. I need to find some decent magnets suitable for marine torso's and arms. What I have I've been using for my dreads and tanks. Any suggestions?

I have some different pistols from Anvil industries, I have a double barreled one (like a storm bolter) I think I'll throw that on there so I can treat it like a pistol or a storm bolter if needed.

I do like the ability to be able to upgrade to a relic blade, but I will admit, not the *best* option for certain.

Thanks for the feed back guys! I'm going to prime them and get some gold on them over the weekend, hopefully you'll see some more Angels of Vigilance come Monday!

My go-to magnet for marines is 2mm by 2mm. It’s a little tight for wrist mounts, but doable, and fits well into shoulders/backs.

Welcome back Azalle... time does fly when your having fun doesn't it

Looking forward to seeing what you produce on this latest squad!

Wow it's been forever. Yes life does happen but damn do I miss getting some time in on my army.

Soooo when I initially toyed with the idea of bringing in an allied SM chapter to run as vanilla marines to access the gear the DA list doesnt had, it was mainly around the grav guns and such. Well, I finished my first 5 test marines quite a while ago, and ordered some Angels of Vigilance pads from Pop Goes the Monkey on shapeways, and they look Ace. So the plan became to get a functional Allied Detachment up and going, with the goal of being able to play vanilla marines in a 750 point tourney in the spring. So I have on my desk, another 15 marines, a second sarg and grav-gunner, a company master and i picked up a box of centurions cheap and and got to working on those. I went for a bit of a minimalist view on them, as they are really busy models, not only that, I HATE the babe ruth pointing arm, so I spent a solid chunk of time working on that so it doesn't look that static. Soooo goal is... paint the 15 marines in batches of 5, rock out the company champion, and then polish of the cents. Wish me luck! I'll start posting picturing here shortly!

Happy Hobbying

Quick Update! Finished the 1st 5 Man combat squad last night. Sgt, spec weapons Brother, the two original test models plus a third.

(Yes I know I only painted 3... but 5 feels better to say)

C&C welcome! I think the need a further highlight and maybe a wash to the recesses of the armor

Ok, busy 24 hours. It's nice getting back into the swing of things. 1st 10 man Squad done!

I will mix into the unit some of the marines with the shoulder pads from Pop Goes the Monkey. They needed a little love and dremmeling on the inside to fit properly so only one guy has the insignia.

I'm debating on giving a full sepia wash or just use the nuln oil to pick out the recesses. Any thoughts?

Nice progress, good to see you back in action!

I'd suggest an all-over Sepia wash, that way you won't lose the strength of the gold but will still get sharper detailing and shadows.

Yeah the concept of washing golds with brown washes has transformed how I paint them it's a very nice effect.

I paint the gold, all-over wash with Reikland Fleshshade then a rough highlight on raised areas with the original gold. Works nicely and dead simple

I go over all my golds with a brown wash, but start with a paler base. If I want to brighten things up, I go back over it with the base gold and highlight a little.

Marines look good. Although it’s hard to get a good sense of tone with the red backdrop. Have you tried pics with a white/black back?

Paradigm! thanks for stopping back in brother. Love your work, your painting has improved even further man.

Ynnead, thanks for checking out my marines, I'll definitely have to give it a try on a test marine and see how they come out.

Nev - love checking out your Ultras man, and I'm gonna take your collective advice and give it a shot tonight!

Cheers boys

Shiny gold marines,

They look good, nice work as usual!

Nice. These guys are looking great and very eye catching in the gold too.

EDC

So I took the advice of my fellow Dakkanaughts and went back in and tried washing.

1st up I tried Seraphim Sepia - not enough contrast on the retributor gold base

2nd, went back to Nuln Oil (but i bought a new pot) - definitely helped bring out some more of the details.

Also, went back and gave all my metallics a proper shaking to mix up the pigment and solute - to great effect! the slivers stand out far better now.

While I didnt remember to take pics of the sepia wash... I did do a thing

Shiney!

Any thoughts on baseing?

Not yet Nev. I'm open to suggestions brother.

Had been concentrating on getting the metallics to a point i liked

OK, one more for the day Full force as it stands.

Yes I got the captain finished too

They're looking awesome, a really striking force there!

Thanks Para, have a long way to go to hit your level though. Really impressive work brother.

Few things after a day or so of looking at the gold. I've settled on highlighting the gold armor with silver like I did on the captain, the rest of the force will be highlighted accordingly. I've started that process. But... then I was distracted by this kit that I want to love...

So... I fixed it javascript:emoticon(''); The Centurions!

I Haaaaate the poses that they come modeled in... especially the Babe Ruth finger. So of course thats the one I tackled first. I also didn't like all the extra cabling that came with... that and Im not THAT skilled of a modeler to convert all that wiring, so I nixed it. With a little bit of filing and pose adjustments, I feel like I got a much more dynamic pose.

And of course they'll all have Grav Cannons

That being said, here's my first attempt. He still needs touching up and final highlighting, but not bad for a night's work

Centurion is looking good, solid work on reposing it.

Captain is looking awesome too, especially with the MKIII backpack.

EDC

Some how you've managed to make your marines both gold and grimy at the same time. They look well-weathered and cool.

EDC thanks for the kind words brother. I've got the next two on deck, hopefully ill have my second one up by tomorrow and crank out the third over the weekend.

I didn't like their heads at all so I went with the FW DA upgrade heads to tie them more in with the rest of the force.

Warboss! Glad you like them brother. I didn't want them to look too pristine, they've been guarding the same planet for the past 8k years for no apparent reason, from space...

And then there was two - two Brothers as it were! They're getting there gents! One more Grav armed Centurion to go!

C&C always welcome

And then there was three! Pretty pumped that I got these guys done as quickly as I did. It also gives me a right around 750 pts of Angels of Vigilance.

What do you guys think of my Trio?

Looks great!

I'm really liking the use of silver to highlight the golds. Very cool effect.

Looking awesome dude. The heads you've used look wicked.

EDC

Love them!

My only thought is that they might need an extra accent color. Right now they are very mono-cromatic. Well, two-tone; gold and steel. The red missiles help, but they still feel a bit like a giant block of solid color. It could be as simple as adding the chapter symbol to the shoulder to give it that pop, or a contrasting base.

Mad: Thanks Brother! Took some experimenting to get it to work, you really have to shake up your metallics to get them to the right consistency to go on well over a base layer.

EDC: I absolutely love the Forgeworld Dark Angel upgrade bits, the heads are ace and the torsos give them more of a knightly feel (which I freaking love)

Nev: I was thinking of that too brother. I plan on adding devastator transfers and Icons in red to help add some contrast. I have a bunch of extra bases, I need to sit down and experiment on basing ideas. I am upon to suggestions.
- Love your work on your Ultras brother, your avatar marine is by far my favorite, love the kit bash you have going on there.

So I need to go out and get some basing supplies, as it appears I am woefully under-prepared in that category.

I realized I haven't put together my grav cannon heavy weapon specialist, soooo I fixed that.

And gave them two more Battle Brothers and a Sgt if I want to field them as a bare minimum dev squad.

just some early WIPs - C&C welcome. Again I used the DA torso for my sgt to set him a part.

Got a little bit of time to work on the next 5. The Sgt and the two heavy weapon troopers. Gold and gunmetal done and washed. Hopefully get the next two tonight

Another W.I.P. - Almost all of the gold and gunmetal is done. Need to finish the back of the power packs and then the grav guns and arms. Coming along nicely. Once I'm finished with the metallic base colors, highlighting is quick, and I'll be able to pick out the extra details (purity seals, osl on the grav-cannons, eye lens) ad then I'll be done with my Angels of Vigilance for a little bit

Really like how strong that gold is, these guy are really cool!

Making good progress dude, keep plugging away.

EDC

Looking good.

But if you are going to be done with them for a while, you need to get an army shot!

And what’s next on the to-do list?

Awesome work. Love what you have done on both your Angels themes.

Are you going to Adepticon?

@Paradigm - Thanks Brother, I finally (On the last group of marines) found a way to paint them quickly and still achieve the desire effect. Really like how these last five are looking.

@EDC - Cheers mate, love checking out your stuff too brother

@Nev - Well.... done might be a strong word. A part of me wants to max out the Centurion squad (Because that'd be just intimidating to see i feel) and I do want to pick up two more grav cannons in case I want to run a 4 gun dev squad... and then maybe a librarian in gold... ya know... everyone needs a psyker.

@Solar - Thanks Brother! I really like having two contrasting forces. This way they can each maintain their own feel and identity.

Adepticon... I've been debating about it this year. I've really wanted to go for a couple years now. The tickets are the issues, its whether or not I want to book a room solo at a neighboring hotel. None of my buddies this year were interested in going.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
@Solar Lion - just confirmed, I'll be bringing my Angels to Adepticon this year

Some great work here dude. That captain and those centurions really stand out, and the FW heads were a great shout. Looking forward to seeing more.

Plod! Thanks for checking my boys out, appreciate the love Brother!

Spent sometime away from my studies and knocked out the last 5 Angels of Vigilance until I can get my hands on more grav cannons and the bits for a chaplain and librarian.

After looking at the pictures, I'll need to go back in and add more to the OSL on the cannons and the re-touch their eye lens. What do you guys think?

Totally awesome!

Got any thoughts on basing your models? They looks awesome painted up, but basing really helps frame the mini and give a sense of place.

EDC

EDC, that is the ultimate question brother. I agree, a good base job really brings the model together. Gits' models are perfect example of this. I'm still not sure how I want to go about it. I'll have to mock up some ideas, I have plenty of extra bases to practice on.

Any suggestions? I always appreciate an outside opinion.

 Master Azalle wrote:

@Solar Lion - just confirmed, I'll be bringing my Angels to Adepticon this year

Excellent.. Look us up.. we do a lot of pick up games so keep us in mind if you want to play. Also check out our 'Knight Fight" Saturday night.
You can find us most likely at the 'ModCube' booth .

Are there any actions your chapter is famous for, and where were they fought on?
Do you have a table you regularly play on? What’s it’s theme?

(totally amateur theory here, take with salt)

Your army is primarily a yellow/orange hue, with a splash of red. If we look at a color wheel, the opposite of yellow is violet. Leaning toward the blue side in your case. Hard to think of something that fits that scheme. If you go with a triangle approach, you still end up with an impractical teal/magenta. If you play off the red accents, those are opposed by green, so a grass base might work.

Alternatively, your army is painted in “warm” colors. So you could base it on “cool” ones. Urban rubble? Mostly soft grays, with a touch of blue if you can do it.

 Solar_lion wrote:

 Master Azalle wrote:

@Solar Lion - just confirmed, I'll be bringing my Angels to Adepticon this year

Excellent.. Look us up.. we do a lot of pick up games so keep us in mind if you want to play. Also check out our 'Knight Fight" Saturday night.
You can find us most likely at the 'ModCube' booth .

Awesome, I'll definitely look you guys up. I'll probably be wearing a shirt with the Angels of Vengeance chapter symbol on it (won it in a campaign I played in - probably my favorite gaming shirt).

Knight fight you say? hmm what does this en tale?

Nev - Dropping painting wisdom here. I like the idea of cool urban rubble... maybe with some grass sprinkled in there.

The group we belong to ' Wardens of the Maelstrom' do a group battle most years we do Adepticon. This year is titled ' Knight Fight' We have a general communications blog called Knight Fight'. The rules are there.

We also make plans and inform each other what we are bringing, talk smack and try to prearrange some games.

The group was formed when we played in the Team tournament. We Kept the group going as an Adepticon thing for years though we don't often play the TT anymore.

Our group consists of Gitsplitter ( truly our most famous Celb ) and his posse , Whalemusic, RiTides, Ice Angel, Moonpie, Ramos, CleansingFlame, Yellowbeard. Briancj, Wyomingfox, Thing1, Chaplaingunther and myself. One of them should be able to give you a game as well.

I remember there being a request for a completed army shot

With out further ado, the Angels of Vigilance Strike force as she stands (minus a solid basing job that will happen in the near future)

So, time to change gears to something a little different... a little bigger...

Solar Lion has given a challenge I can't quite refuse

Nice looking force, well done!

Needs transports.

Gota love giant stompy robots.

Did you get to the Knight fight blog?

Yes sir, I found it! I'll post up in it now. Thanks for letting me join in

This is quite possibly the fastest I've completed such a large model. My rhino's / razorbacks took forever and so did the drop pods. But I like how he's shaping up.

I'm making them free blades with a debt of honor to the Angels of Vengeance. They've seen something they shouldn't have or they've recognized the importance of their mission, forsaking their houses and joining with the Emperor's Angels. I picked up some extra Deathwing Knight shields, filed down the arm on the back and am using it as his heraldry, the plan is to have three at some point. What do you guys think so far?

Coming along very nicely indeed, that's a great scheme!

I can't believe Adepticon is Just a week out!

Since I registered late, I didn't get into too many events but I did get into the Combat Patrol yesterday!

Downside: Now I have to try and come up with a relatively decent 400 point force :(

Soo to keep it fluffy and (hopefully) slightly competitive, this is what I cam up with:

Troops: 5-man Tac Squad - bare bones - w/Razorback, Las-Plas armament
Fast Attack: 5 man bike squad - two plasma guns
Heavy Support: Vindicator

This feels like a decent "patrol" to me. 1st obvious weakness, can't deal with flyers and the AV goes from 13 to 12 on the front of the Vindi, but I'm ok with that

What do you guys think?


Ok sooo other todo list:

Base my knight - need to stop avoiding this.
Finish above mentioned vindicator - he's currently built and primed but that's about it
And try to base as much of my marines as I can. I found a method I like, I'll post those pictures next for feedback

Seems doable right?

No sweat. Couple of hours maybe! You got a whole weekend.

Ok, so its not jaw dropping, but it should work out pretty well for basing. Thoughts?

So, sand and crumbled cork, prime black.

Then use agrellean earth, over the sand and rest of the base.

Next I used the grey texture (the name escapes me) on and around the cork to fill in color.

Then I washed agrax earthshade, high lighted up.

In hindsight I think I'll add sand to the entire base.

Moving away from the base examples (of which I finished and didn't take pictures ) I started the final Adepticon count down for finishing miniatures needed for Adepticon.

I'm bringing everything I own just so I can have the ability to have some flexibility for pick up games.

And here's my knight completed - and a W.I.P. of my bikes without their riders.

Good progress.. I'm sure among us you can find some pick up games for sure.

Thanks Solar! I also have the vindicator edge-highlighted and the metals washed and highlighted as well. Just need to go back through and pick out the lights and add some weathering were appropriate. Not a highly detailed job, but It will do for now

I plan on having three total and painting the chapter symbol across all three siege shields, but that's a pipeline project for now.

Well, I'm pretty happy with what I was able to get done in just a few days - law school tends to own my soul when it comes to time management.

The Vindicator is really straight forward, I'll add decals and more detail at a later date, maybe tonight haha just wanted to get it at least table top ready

The bikers were a lot more fun than I thought they'd be. The plasma guns and power fist are magnetized with regular arms (and a chain sword for the sgt) - this was my first time magnetizing arms and the process was very simply if not a bit tedious painting individual arms. Just need to adjust foam and make a case for the Combat Patrol boys and I'll be all set. Ended up changing the list. As it stands (currently):

5 man tac squad:
- Sgt with Storm Bolter
- Plasma Gun
- Razorback transport with Las/Plas turret

3 Man Ravenwing Bikers
- Sgt with Power Fist
- 2 bikers with plasma guns

1 Vindicator

Not sure if this will play well at all haha but I think it's pretty fluffy when it comes to a patrol.

C&C always welcome

Nice little force there! Good choice of basing as well, definitely works with the scheme.

Nice work on the bikes and Vindi, dude.

EDC

Thanks Para and EDC! Im happy with how they turned out for a weekend project. Def room for improvement and embellishments with more DA stuff and my transfer for the Vindi and added details for the bikes.

Thanks for coming out to hang with us at Adepticon. I wish I had more time so we could have gotten together.

Great job on leading your Knights to Victory! Hope you'll join us again next year!

Solar! I had a great time this year, I'll definitely be back next year brother. I may even start a Warder's army so I can officially be a part of the crew.

That Being said, I had an absolute blast at Adepticon. I played in 3 events, and even walked away with some really sick prize support. I'll have to take pictures of all of it and post it up. If anyone on Dakka can get to adepticon, it's totally worth the trip, especially if you pay for a premium badges - the swag bag you get has easily over $150 in value.

I played an epic 30K battle vs Gitsplitta's Emperor's Children. Gits took a bunch of pictures and can't wait to see his battle report. What a game, he had me on my heels from the get go, making both my deredeo and heavy support squad pretty much in effective and then slowly took apart my Contemptors and Tac-Squads while he Bravely RAN AWAY from me the entire game Still a blast to get to play him. Also played against Thing 1, brought a much different list to Gits' same list. I mopped the table with his EC. Great learning game for thing 1, namely, how to use cover to avoid a feth load of Poison heavy bolter shells and missiles - which he did manage to do for most of the game in his defense.

All in all I had a fantastic weekend. I made the decision to commit to making a dedicated 30k DA army in stead of just running my 40k Angels of Vengeance as Legion DA, that being said, I made a few last minute additions to the army before heading out, and, even though I thought I'd need a break from hobbying for a bit, I'm right back at it. Tell me what you think guys!

Excellent.. Though not sure where the DA will fall out in the 30K books. With such a dark history, there is sure to be plenty of opportunity for playing both sides of the fence. I'm sure as we move on in the series we'll start seeing them; We are currently only at the Prospero event in the story.

Continue on and I'll be looking forward to getting a big game against you next year.

Dread look great.. though they all could use a bit more bling! Knees ext.....

It was great to meet and game with you Azalle. I look forward to fighting at your side again. I'll find an Ice Angel to send your way as well.

Sooo manyu heavy bolters!

Excellent work on the Contemptors dude.

EDC

Well, I've been busy. I don't have any WIPs of whats on the work bench at the moment, I'll have to fix that tonight.

BUT

I have completed the first 5 of my Heavy Support Squad Really happy with out the legion symbol turned out too

Let's bring the pain with Ap D6 and Poison shells

Just did a quick read of your Adepticon work, excellent stuff! It's nice to see a 30k DA player every once and a while, as they're few and far between with no special rules (Though Angelus is on the way soon I hope).

HB squad looks great.. and can be a very effective loadout.

Thanks for stopping by Justaerin! Yeah, I hope the release rules for the Dread Wing - the guys who gave Zero feths about anything and nuked/chemed/radded anything in their way.

Thanks SL - planning on making a 10 man squad. Waiting on 5 more HB from Ebay.

As you requested, just this once

The #1 thing I would suggest you work on is your Chiaroscuro -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro

You can 'paint inside the lines' well enough but now it is time to start thinking about how light varies across surfaces, even flat ones. In any given surface, you should be trying quite hard to transition from dark to light, some pros can go black to white on everything, but that is extreme.

In order to get an idea of how to start thinking of this, look up modulation, an airbrush/military technique -

Basically, you want to start giving that depth to the shapes you are painting, and start learning the way to treat both curved and flat surfaces in a reasonably natural, consistent way.

This will help you level up, hope it helps!

ps - adding Chiarascuro to your knight, nothing extreme, but to start getting the shape of it back out, and start giving some depth to the matte black. Edge highlihgting black may cut it ok on a marine sized model, but on something this big, you need a bit of modulation, and be aware of your saturations to make sure you get enough contrast from element to element, color to color -

Wow thank you so much Major Tom! Truly appreciate the tutorial and the suggestions. I'll definitely revisit my big guy.

Back to my norm, and adding some leadership to my foundlings. At first I wasn't really thrilled with the stock FW model, but it's amazing how changing the head and should pad change the look.

CC always welcome

The grey steel face plate is a nice touch. breaks up the black and comes out looking heavy. Great touch.

I assume that's a MK2 or 3 champion converted to a Centurion from the Command squad? Not a fan of how understated he was either, but DA have super cool helmets, so it works out.

thanks SL! I'm going to go back over him for a few high lights, its hard to see in the pictures, but I gave metal face guard a gold edge, looks slick in person. And yes, i like how the helm came out too. He's important, hes a centurion, but he's not a preator, so I wanted something that would stand out but not be too opulent.

Hey Justaerin, yeah, Mk III command squad. Just out of the box he looked far too... vanilla to be a legion commander to me as well

Some nice marines you have produced recently Azalle... always like calling in on this blog to see what you've been up too as I'm never dissapointed

Keep up the great work!

Thanks for Stopping by Mad! Glad you like my on going work

While they are not officially done, as I am waiting on MkII shoulder pads to arrive.... they are at least a week over due...

But I've finished up my first MkII Vet Squad. I was a little hesitant at first, but the MKII's really have some character too them. In game play, I love being able to out flank and give these guys sniper and having an assault heavy bolter I have another 10 to be assembled for the next round of additions. But I'm circling back to my heavy bolters to give them a full 10 man squad next. Anyways, on to pictures Sorry for the quality, I'm using my iphone lol

Moving quickly to a decent size force.

So while I wait for more parts and pads to arrive I turned my attention to my bits pile. I picked up a Dark Vengeance Librarian for about $1.50 on ebay a while back but he did feel like he would fit in 30k. So I went to work on him

I dremmelled out the face so I could fit a DA 30K helmet in there. Switched sword arms, gave him the power sword off the MkIII tac set on the arm from the MkIVs, and the took a MkIV bolter arm and hadded an open hand from the Sternguard kit after cutting back the out stretched hand. My only regret is that his right pauldron looks like it's flapping in the wind a bit. But here's some initial WIP working on his cloak and robe. I went for a tan monk's robe look on the outside and a deep red on the inside will red trim to match the chapter symbol on his chest and the MkIV DA pad I added.

Pardon my bear paws in the picture lol

This is also the first time I've pinned a model to cork instead of a base to paint it. On detailed models like this librarian, I've found it MUCH easier to manipulate and paint.

The photo is a little washed out (Not sure why) But I've finished my Legion Consul Librarian! Really happy with how he turned out. I think I did a decent job of turning a 40k mini into a 30k one

Looks great. though I'd spot a glow on the force sword. something blue that would break up the dark armor colors and show the force sword of a Libby.

I hear ya Solar! Maybe on the riverside of the Red?

Nice work on the Librarian, it looks really good.

EDC

Thanks EDC, I'm going to go back in and add some blue like SL suggested, the more i think about it, the more I like it

Enter the Leviathan! I've tried my hand (without an air brush) at some of the highlighting techniques Major Tom suggested. Downside about blacks and greys, the shading doesnt show up so well in pictures, but I think you can get the idea about my 1st attempt. Thoughts?

Tilt the model towards your light source when photographing it to show off more details. The highlights (my autocorrect is crazy) look good, though.

Thanks Warboss, i'll re-take the picture tonight.

I think when folks ( and myself ) try to do some of the color modulation we don't go far enough. Maybe it's being Ultra careful. I've notice I have to really push it farther to make it rally pop. Ad the farther one takes it the better you have to be to blend it all together. I'm definitely not there yet, painting or comfort.

I think you have to start even lighter and blend into black more. 1.2 cents worth.

Gotya, Thanks Solar!

Leviathan is looking good so far dude. The highlights look smooth.

EDC

Good stuff Azalle, Really liking that dread so far.

Thanks for all the feed back fellas. I'll definitely go back and add lighter color further up the front plate and take some pictures once that's done.

Before I go back to the Levi, I wanted to knock out the next 5 vets I've built so that the pile of plastic shame stays at a tolerable level

Here's the first couple of WIPs for the next 5 vets.

I'll move on to the red details, then paint the 2 bolters and melta guns, and then attach the arms and gins before going to heads and pauldrons and finish with basing

C&C welcome as always

Leviathan is looking so far, interested to see it in it's finished state when you get around to it. I'm guessing you had a look at Gits recent leviathan with the advice Major Tom was giving in there... I learned a bunch that's for sure

Solid start on the vets as well

Mad! Thanks for stop it by. And yes, I did check out the advice Major Tom gave Gits. I'm drawback is that I'm not using an air brush (not quite yet in the budget for a better quality one yet). I like what WhaleNusic said about go brighter and taking it further up the front armor. There was also a display piece on Dakka's home page of Russ and a Levi, I saved the image because who ever made it did a hell of a job and I plan on taking some inspiration from there as well.

- Azalle

Looking good.. you'll get there it just takes time.

Quick Update. Finished the first 5 of my second vet squad. Just need to finish basing them. Went back over the levi working on my highlights a little more. And then started working on some armor, because who doesn't like tanks

That is one mean looking leviathan! It's all looking great so far

Much better on the dread.. nice start on the Sicaran. Both units are very useful in the 30k arena.

Thanks Solar, I found that dry brushing and washing is giving me a decent effect, not the same quality as a air brush, but still getting the job done. I think I'll be going back over the Levi again with a high edge highlight to finish it off.

Nice update dude, things are really ticking over nicely.

EDC

Thanks EDC I'm hoping that my next order of Crusade armor and the new marks of Missle Launchers arrive soon. I'll be leaving Pittsburgh, USA for Ireland, the UK and Germany in two weeks, so i want to get as much done as I can before I roll out.

The To Finish list includes:

5 more Legion Veterans
The Sicaran

Standard Bear (built) and 4 Body Guard (not built, don't know what I want to equip them with... need to figure that out)

I should be getting two of the FW Rhinos for my Vets ride in by Friday, so those.

And I want to include another Consul, I'm torn between a Primus medicade - which I'd have to convert and build - or a Master of the Forge / techmarine - I have a MK III techmarine, but i haven't really seen any MoF's in person or online. Sooo we will see.

This is all subject to me finishing studying for my law school finals... evidently, the law is rather dense

Good stuff, this nice dark scheme is really looking mean!

Next Five Legion Vets to round out Squad 2. Full disclosure, I completed them last night and forgot to take a picture of the fully based 10 man squad

And some More work on the Sicaran's turret. Decided to add some red to the mix. I think I'll do some of the carapace casing on the Autocannons red as well.

I'm really happy with how the red turned out, definitely helps I think. Really helps pull the model together. What do you guys think?

Nice work on the Sicaran. The red does indeed help break up the black. I like it's still quite a dark red,.

EDC

Thanks EDC! I think I'll paint the side coverings on the sponsons red as well. I'm magnetizing them so I don't always have to run it with them. I'm trying to find a suitable gap filler for the holes now that I can magnetize in. Hopefully i'll come across something on the interwebs

I haven't been lost to the warp! Between law school finals and then getting ready and leaving for Europe for a study abroad (I am currently in Northern Ireland!) I didnt have any time to update my blog.

I'll be back state side in July! And by that time I'll have more mkII's and and some bits from shapeways to round out my cataphractii and both a 20 man Breacher and Tactical Squad!

See you all in a month or so! The Emperor Protects

Very cool . Love Ireland. You'll have to get south as well.

Feth, where the hell did the time go? I can't believe it's been so long!

Solar, you were right, All of Ireland was fantastic. A really awesome place to go and study.

Working in Germany was also a great experience as well.

I came home at the end of July and had a mountain of plastic and resin to work through

I've finally gotten into the Dark Imperium and Primaris Marines. I've also been Ebay shopping and picking up extra bits and models here and there as the opportunity presents itself.

I love the new fluff with the Ultima Founding. I'm also quite fond of the new Blades of Vengeance Primaris Chapter, and after some paint testing, I'll be painting my Dark Imperium marines as BoV. While in Europe, and when I pre-ordered Dark Imperium, I also bought a second batch of just the Primaris marines from the box. So i have plenty of minis to get through.

So, without further ado, here are my first 5 Primaris Blades of Vengeance

Looking good, nice to see you back in action!

Thanks Para! I have no idea how you manage to put out the volume and quality you do brother. Always impressive work on your blog brother.

Welcome back. Good to hear you enjoyed Ireland and Germany.

The Primaris looking good, nice and crisp.

Thanks Mad! It was a damn good trip.

I knocked out one of the Lts, really like the power sword model. Started on the hellblasters too

Got some progress on the hellblasters! Hopefully I'll finish these guys up tonight

Well, they took a little longer than expected. Had some mishaps on the bone shoulders I wasn't expecting.

But for now, I'm calling them done.

I'll come back to them when I base the whole Primaris force.

Thoughts?

So far it's 5 intercessors, 5 hellblasters, and now, I've finished the 1st Lt. My favorite is the bolt pistol and power sword mini, because... it's a bolt pistol and power sword. I also REALLY don't like the other Lt mini. 1st, where your damn helmet... the hell is wrong with you. 2nd, I don't like that he doesn't have the leg eagle that both the other Lt and the Captain have. Sooo I'll be converting another bolt pistol, auto boltrifle with some of the bits i've got off ebay. I'm holding off buying any more plastic until I've worked through the mountain of shame I currently have on my bench.

So, up next is my finished Lt.

Next in the build order will be the ancient, captain and the another 10 intercessors. I may build 5 more intercessors to break up the monotony. I did just get 5 more hell blasters in the mail.... Anyways!

C&C Welcome

Nice plasma effect on the Hellblasters weapons.

LT looks good you going to do any power effect on the sword at all?

Keep up the good work

So I got some more work done over the weekend. Don't have any WIPs of the Captain in Gravis or my second, kitbasked LT yet. I'll make sure to take some tonight. But here's my second 5 man intercessor squad, with a simple conversion on the sgt by swapping out his left arm and re-positioning the head. I didn't want several obvious duplicates in the Sgts.

C&C welcome

Wow. You are really blazing through these guys. I like the color scheme. Good job on the Lt, too. He really is a stand out figure.

Thanks for stopping by shock!

Inspite of my initial reaction of not adding any Primaris marines to my Angel's of Vengeance, I may be doing just that in the near future. I want to add a 10 man squad of Intercessors with Auto-Bolt rifles... but I'll hold off for now. Here's a group shot of what I have done so far!

2 x 5 man squads of intercessors with bolt rifle
1 x 5 man squad of hellblasters
1 x Lt

Start to a nice force. Well painted. Particularly like the hell blasters Plasma.

Thanks Solar! I'll be finishing up my concert 2nd LT and the captain in gravis armor today. I'll make sure to post those up. I've primed the next 5 intercession and the Ancient too. Want to keep a decent pace going