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Do you think Marines should be painted with battle damage and wear, or pristine n' clean? Also give your reason- whether it be fluff or personal preference?

Depends on the chapter. For two reasons:
1. Some for fluff
2. Some for aesthetics
Some meet both sides of the argument like Imperial Fists. Looks GREAT pristine, but they're siege warriors very likely to be dirty right? Trenches?
Ultramarines, I think take much pride (fluff) in keeping clean and regal.
Crimson fists, I think embody the dirty feel. Their color scheme looks decent either way, but feel more gritty when weathered.

Anyway, long story short, really depends on the army.

Damage, wear and dirt.

Ancient armour? I mean, no matter how much effort you put into cleaning and polishing the armour, it's still going to have a lot of small scratches and dings. Sure, they might wash the armour and give it a coat of paint once in a while, but I highly doubt that is done every day.

I personally paint my Marines dirty because it gives a nice contrast to the white and metal. They look more awesome too.

I painted my Dark Angels pristine - including vehicles and dreads. It seems to me that when wargear is treated as having religious significance it will be very well cared for. I think of my army as being battle ready- ie about to be deployed. I think it is a personal preference to have em dirty or clean. I have seen some great models here and elsewhere that were painted dirty, but for me, my army is pristine and polished and ready for battle!

Imperial Guard are covered in dirt, space marines are not. I don't imagine space marines go around cleaning their predators after every battle but I do imagine they have the funding not to go into already damage armor. Just my personal feeling (plus, I suck at painting on good looking dirt)

Zain60 wrote:Depends on the chapter. For two reasons:
1. Some for fluff
2. Some for aesthetics
Some meet both sides of the argument like Imperial Fists. Looks GREAT pristine, but they're siege warriors very likely to be dirty right? Trenches?
Ultramarines, I think take much pride (fluff) in keeping clean and regal.
Crimson fists, I think embody the dirty feel. Their color scheme looks decent either way, but feel more gritty when weathered.

Anyway, long story short, really depends on the army.

Agreed. Mine are pretty gritty though.

I would advise looking at some of the recent videos from Blue Table Painting, in particular of the "rust" marines. Though a little unfluffy, they might serve as an interesting source of inspiration.

Pristine 'n clean

Damaged, i mean if your 500 years old your armour is not going to be clean, its not like as humans we was our clothes every other minute is it

For me, i think Dirty is the way to go for some chapters and others Clean like others have said. For footslogging chapters make em dirty, along with Siege and assault units. Others like BT's and UM's i think they would be more of the Holy zealot faith and have there armor cleaned and polished and repaired after every battle. Im currently working on an Aurora chapter which will be dirty and some mud covering because its a siege chapter

I personally go for the dirty look. Mainly because I like my army to have the feel that they have been in the field for at least a little while and have not have time to clean their battle plate.

Depends on your painting skills. A bad painter trying to do "dirty" will usually look worse than if he/she tried to do "clean".

Also it depends on your chapter's scheme too, a white or yellow suit is virtually impossible to keep clean, whereas a darker color makes the dirt and dust less visible, hence making them look more clean. It all depends on how you want the to appear, but if you have any special characters you should definitely make them weathered.

I can't decide- I'm thinking about either doing Lamenters marines, or a Bone colored chapter called the Samaritans, and I think I would put wear and tear on the samaritans, but I would keep the nice yellow lamenters clean... I think it might depend on the color. A dark color looks good with wear, while a bright vibrant color looks better clean.

Personally I prefer a "lived in universe" approach with both terrain and models.

That term first came about as far as I know to describe the look of the Star Wars universe. Equipment, vehicles, etc. showing wear and grime rather then the sterile plastic sci-fi look that most sci-fi films had and often still do exhibit...

I think grime and wear on models adds depth an believability (in the same way that good shading/washes/highlighting do) and makes them look less like toys.

That's a good point- I'll take that into consideration when I'm painting.

Lionshammer wrote:I painted my Dark Angels pristine - including vehicles and dreads. It seems to me that when wargear is treated as having religious significance it will be very well cared for. I think of my army as being battle ready- ie about to be deployed. I think it is a personal preference to have em dirty or clean. I have seen some great models here and elsewhere that were painted dirty, but for me, my army is pristine and polished and ready for battle!

I go the same route for the same reasons.

I feel the decision has less to do with the chapter and more with the vibe you want your army to have.

A clean pristine army, no matter what chapter, makes one think of glorious knights on a crusade, due to it's bright armor and regal colors. Whereas a weathered army makes them look more like hardened veterans during a siege or stuck in enemy territory. I personally prefer the second, but frankly it really comes down to what sort of feel you want your army to have, not matter which chapter you picked, as I've seen weathered and worn ultramarines and pristine crimson fists, even though the typical armies are the opposite.

When I finally finish painting everything, my Blood Angels will look a little weathered. Vehicles are covered with a light dusting of dirt, and eventually I'll apply a similar method to my infantry (I just want them tabletop ready first).

My reasoning for the weathered look is because my Blood Angels are meant to be fighting a war of attrition on a dusty wasteland. Extended periods in those conditions will eventually start to show wear on wargear/vehicles, so I thought it was a good idea. Also, like smeezilla said, it makes my Marines look like toughened veterans which I think gives them a little character.

Funny, considering BA are usually considered the 'bling' Chapter.

Clean. Super Clean.

Black Templars are monk-like in the care of their equipment.

Cleanliness is next to godliness, and what not.

1. Depends on chapter. I always imagine my favourite chapter, The Mentor Legion, to be incredibly clean, on the other hand, the seige specialist chapters always look great with some weathering.
2. Depends on the feel you want to achieve, deep into a campaign or striking furious and fresh from the skies.

I like the idea of mixed. The "new recruits" would still be polished but the battle hardened veterans would be dirty.

Not to take away from what anyone has said here but, when it comes to painting battle damage and dirt, you need to be VERY good at it.

Paint your marines clean, UNLESS your painting skills are very high, THEN you might be able to pull off the "dirt and battle damage" look. If your painting skills are not high enough then your models will simply come out looking messy and not very impressive.

Clean Marines always have totally bald sergeants wielding power mops, or sponge fists. They are often as sparkly as Pretty Marines. Chapter colors- white and light blue with sparkles. They are generally granted the furious charge universal rule for the simple fact that their armor is so well lubricated and maintained that it moves easier and faster than most marine chapters. Sadly, they must take difficult terrain tests on 1d6 because of a mutation in their geneseed which causes them to view being dirty as equivalent to being tainted with chaos.

Dirty Marines are often confused with Slaaneshi marines, and are known for their filthy hygiene and uncomfortably perverted habits. Their chapter colors are hard to identify, as their armor is generally discolored by the dust and mold of their current world. It is widely believed that rust is one of the most prominent colors. Their current Chapter Master, Porcine Pen, possesses the ancestral relic the Dust Cloud of Filthicussing, an object composed of equal parts profanity and roiling dirt.

I generally give chips to mine and dirty up there legs but i dont go make look like they have just fallen in a huge vat of mud

Deadshane1 wrote:Not to take away from what anyone has said here but, when it comes to painting battle damage and dirt, you need to be VERY good at it.

Paint your marines clean, UNLESS your painting skills are very high, THEN you might be able to pull off the "dirt and battle damage" look. If your painting skills are not high enough then your models will simply come out looking messy and not very impressive.

I think I agree- It'll just look like you drybrushed some brown on. But, if you do it well, I think it can pull the army together, even if the overall paintjob is not spectacular. It definitely depends on the painter.

Dirty = more work. Make sure you have a good system for doing "dirty".

What sort of dirty? Most go for the dusty look. You can also have muddy (darker brown, thicker) and even snow.

Maybe think of what to put on your bases first then go from there?

i usually like to just drybrush just a little of the colour of the base ( i do snow bases, so grey and white ) and put a very small ammount of snow in places where sludge and what not would build up, like the feet and a little higher up on their legs. i think it looks good, why would the ground be freshly snowy but their armour wouldnt be? doesnt make sense you know ... unless they just magically fell from the sky and... oh.