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

I'm going to start up a BA army just as I'm finishing up my current Ultramarine Army. I found that I really like the way the White Primer looks on my models when they get painted up - at least for my Ultras. I was going to follow the same formula when painting my BA but wanted to see if anyone had some advice to really make the red pop on these models.

I started priming with black as that seems to be the standard advice going around but did not like how the black and blue on my Ultras mixed - it tended to make me think I wasn't putting on enough coats and I ended up drowning my initial squads in blue paint and they just look awful. I had some really nice sucess with grey primer and aside from my Ultras I have used grey on vehicles, Orcs, and other models I paint. The Grey Primer gives me a very good idea on how well the paint is looking from the very first base coat.

I was thinking the White would still work with the BA because it would make the red pop a little more than the grey primer but then I saw a Beast of War video from their "Seven Days of Sanguinius" event where they primed all their models red and just highlighted their models without doing any other base coats. I confess I did not like it because for me priming your models and not painting them is up there with dipping - I'm not saying dipping is awful but if you're into this hobby for the painting then dipping is defeating the purpose. However, the idea did stick that with red primer wouldn't painting it over with red paint make things a little easier? But the contra question is how the hell would I be able to tell I was painting it well if I am painting red on red - similar to my dilemma with the black primer/blue paint.

So what are your suggestions for primer on a BA army and as an additional note I was planning a Machrite Red base coat followed by Blood Red. Does anyone want to share their own combination of painting for red? I know it depends on the shade of red you want them to be and I settled on the red that is most like the one on the cover to the codex itself.

Using black primer usually means more coats, and I feel like it also leaves the original colour darker. By that I mean that the way you paint you'r Ultras with a white primer will feel a lot darker when you do them the same way only with black primer.

Also, for the BA part, I'd reccomend priming them white, washing the whole thing with Baal Red wash, then scab red with a blood red highlight. I'm probably going to be shat on for saying this, but I reallt dislike using Blazing Orange as a highlight for red ARMOUR. It can be good for flame effects, lava things etc. but for armour it looks silly IMO.

Anyways.. Good luck and please post pictures once you get painting

You could try terracotta primer (from a automotive hardware store).
This gives a great base to start red from.

Skip white and black primer and go straight for Dragon red primer from Army Painter, it gives a beautifully even and crisp red that is a fantastic base.
>Spray miniature
>Wash with Ogryn flesh (it has a red hue that creates good shadow)
>Blood Red highlights
>Blazing orange highlight
>Wash with Baal red (removes the orange hue from both the blood red and the blazing orange)

I get great results by starting with a foundation paint -- preferably Mechrite Red. Once you apply this, it really negates the decision of what primer to use, because white or black, it will ultimately give you the same foundation hue. I choose to begine with black primer, because it seems to go on more smoothly. In my early BA days (8 yrs ago), long before foundation paints, I was easily discouraged because my army with black primer always seemed to come out looking like a dark orange. Foundation paints rectify that problem. This is my red receipe for BA:

- Black Primer; Mechrite Red under coat ( usually 2 applications, the first very watered down, the second as more of a dry brush, this retains all of your detail well)
- Black Ink (paint all the recesses and add depth to the model in a ver carful fashion), clena up any mistakes with mechrite red
- Red Gore (this should be watered down to a wash consistency, then applied all over the model)
- 1:1 Red Gore/Blood Red Applied carefully to the model, avoid painting over previous black detail
- 2:1 Blood Red/ Red Gore apply again in a careful fashion, work up towards your lightsource, leaving the last color in darker hidden areas
- Blood Red; add final highlight along lines and also where light would reflect the most off of the armor.

This look works great for me. I have never liked the idea of highlighting with orange...especially on a chapter called the Blood Angels, so I omit any orange from the highlighting process. This looks great to me! Good Luck

I agree that sometimes an orange highlight can sometimes lead to the overall look of a miniature being orange. However I've found that the final wash stage really does take the edge of the result.
I would also say that foundation paints certainly make it easier to paint certain colours over the undercoat however they do not negate the decision entirely, a miniature undercoated in black will always appear slightly darker than an identical mini undercoated in white.

Dragon Red primer by army painter is another possible solution.

Personally I start with black though.

MajorTom11 wrote:Dragon Red primer by army painter is another possible solution.

Ive heard nothing but great things about this primer. Though I have not used it or seen it finished product in person, online comparisons look fantastic. The only problem ive heard about it is that Army Painter provides no touch up bottle for the paint....that could create a problem.

I would still like to use it though, kinda wish I wasnt already 2500 points into my BA army before I saw it online

I use the Army Painter Red for vehicles but have found it can be a little thick for some of the details on the new BA infantry plastics.

So I'm sticking with White as the base color. I then go with Blood Red -> Magenta Ink -> Chestnut Ink -> and then a weak Baal Red wash to flatten the shine. I used to like the shine but it became too hard to maintain if I had to do any touch up work.

Sanguinary Dan wrote:I then go with Blood Red -> Magenta Ink -> Chestnut Ink -> and then a weak Baal Red wash to flatten the shine.

Trouble with that though is two out of the four you've mentioned for him are oop these days. You gotta love the inks though

White. Always white.

You could just get red primer from Krylon if you really wanted to skip the middleman here. Or prime white and get a decent airbrush.

@Curis - Damn fine looking model you have there. Loving the flames for added variation, may have to borrow that one...

Curis

That's just beautiful and its work like that which inspires me because I'm no where near that level but I know with enough practice and experience I can try and get there. Awesome work.