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Greetings all!
I have been working on my army for some time now, with the help of some local friends who actually have artistic talent, and others along the way. I've uploaded some pics of it here

http://imgur.com/a/q6Ie2

Unfortunately I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed, and was curious if any of you vets had any tips on where to go from here. Basically I have purchased some collections from various people, flea markets, etc, and have been trying to mold them into something worthwhile, and have been running into snags. Unfortunately I'm simply missing certain key pieces, the artistic talent to make things work with what I have, etc etc. I have some images here for those who are interested in taking the time to look, and have any pointers for a beginner. First off I basically have my general box here of CSM that I was hoping to put some nurgle twists on, or just generally work on, and Im lacking parts or ideas on what to do with them

http://i.imgur.com/vQZnb.jpg Front Left
http://i.imgur.com/Dbqeu.jpg Front Right
http://i.imgur.com/5DTC9.jpg Back Left
http://i.imgur.com/qb37x.jpg Back Right

As you can see I've got a number of troops here, some of which I've painted some of which (older ones) came painted. There are also 7 more CSM that are primed black, that I had intended to order some plague marine heads and convert into Plague Marines eventually...The sound marines are pretty much all there, but the rest are missing key parts. I have done my best to organize important arm bits here

http://i.imgur.com/yeqCX.jpg

and my generalized bits here

http://i.imgur.com/UgZ3Q.jpg

And there are some I could likely file down arms and sections to put in, but I'm unsure of the rules and regulations surrounding them. These are the troops I've spent the most time on

http://i.imgur.com/qgOzP.jpg

A little bit more polishing and they will be mostly complete. These are the ones that I have been painting and putting together and putting time into, but I seem to still be missing parts (though I could once again, likely force some)

http://i.imgur.com/8s2Ve.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BnqmI.jpg

and finally, the big troops. The rhino came pre-painted, but honestly I don't trust my skills to even start on the rhinos, the daemon prince, etc yet. I am also missing some important bits to complete them

http://i.imgur.com/gke1d.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KFO4o.jpg

--
And finally, this is the dreadnought, I've been working pretty extensively on him in since I had everything for him

http://i.imgur.com/KQ4W9.jpg

As you can see, it is a tad overwhelming. I have been slowly acquiring these pieces over the last few months, but I have really only recently sat down and decided to really get to work, and paint the pieces I felt like I could make some progress on. If anyone wants anymore in depth pictures to get a better feel of what I've got here, let me know. It is my hope to have this entire army have a nurgle "theme" to it, but as you can see there is such a wide variety of troops, varying from so many different locations, I am feeling a tad overwhelmed on where to go from here, what pieces to order, etc (This was just a desire, and really it is not necessary. I have just read so often how "plague marines" were superior to CSM, and that had guided my desire). If anyone has any tips or advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it as I've gone into the late hours of the night painting and glueing these guys, and still feel like I don't have a decent direction to go with them, thanks!

Been making some progress, completed units that we've done are here

http://imgur.com/a/CtfLl

I've got 2 HQs finished..Ahriman and a Chaos Sorcerer. I also have a Chaos Lord with lightning claws that I've been restoring, but as I understand it there is no way to have all 3 of those in an army. The rest of the pictures are of the (mostly) completed Dreadnought and a squad of 10 Alpha Legion with an Aspiring Champion. Are there any recommendations for changes or additions to these guys? I have a boxful of parts to work with, just still floundering on what to paint/do with it all.

As I appear to be missing the right arms and heads of the terminator squad I have, I have been focusing on doing a squad of Plague Marines, a squad of Khorne Berserkers, and a squad of Chaos Chosen Marines. The progress I've made on 4 chosen can be seen here

http://i.imgur.com/tEtBm.jpg

the khorne berserkers are still being painted and in parts though, and I haven't even started on the plague marines. I've been trying to use local paints, and I've come up with a good mixture (folk art) for blacks, but the other colors are lacking, so I am likely going to wait and order from GW for some paints for the plague marines. I'm curious though, what really makes a Chaos Chosen, look like a Chaos Chosen? Same for Khorne Berserkers. I've been focusing on a black design with larger weapons for the chaos chosen, but I'm not really sure what (look wise) separates them from Havocs. Same with Khorne Berserkers, I've been paiting them red and giving them pistols and axes, but what really makes them Khorne Berserkers?

Any recommendations with the parts you see there, or items to order, would be appreciated! Got a little direction now, but there is so much to do to make a worthwhile army with this.

Feeling overwhelmed can definitely demotivate you, work on things in small batches. I usually work on one squad at a time, whether it's building or painting.

Having missing parts can be a real pain in the ***. Especially since GW no longer does the "bitz" service, it's been a few years since they've quit that. You might find them here or there on ebay, or check The War Store, as they have certain bitz clipped to order on a variety of things. The parts your missing for your Terminators, if they're plastic, The War Store has, as I ordered some duplicate weapons I needed not to long ago myself. If they're metal, you can try to use the plastic arms, but at that point i'd just suggest to buy a new box of plastic termies if possible.

As for paints, is there not a hobby shop where you live? I'd recommend Vallejo, P3, or GW paints if you can get access to them. If there isn't a hobby shop near you that carries them, The War Store carries all 3 major brands for a reasonable price.

The models you've recently complete look good keep it up!

If you got any questions, drop me a PM.

Unfortunately the Terminator bits are metal, figures right? I also need to find a Greater Daemon head and left arm, and I suppose if Im going to turn some of these black primed Chaos Space Marines into Plague Marines, ill need some plague marine heads. Im still sort of going through the parts to figure out how to really sell the Chosen Chaos Marines, and the Berserkers, and I'm disappointed I can't use the Sorcerer, Ahr, and the Chaos Lord! (also have a Chaos Terminator Lord that I might try to paint, but as I can only use 2 out of the 4 of these, there is no rush).

Doing some touch up work on these guys, or following a design that's already laid out is pretty easy, but I've already ruined one Chaos Marine attempting to paint it from the ground up using this Folk Art junk, it just looks awful. Same with a winged jet pack that I was going to put on the Chaos Sorcerer, and that came out pretty rough as well. Difficult to learn this art without ruining a few pieces in the process unfortunately....

They look good so far. The CSMs you painted look nice, and working through them is just gonna take time.

Some things I would recommend are to prime them all first, in whichever color you choose. Black seems the most obvious. Another thing i'd recommend is pick one squad or vehicle at a time and finish it out before you move on. You can also factory-line em, Like paint all of the backpacks first, then the guns, then the heads, or however you wanna do it.

Lastly, you can try the dakka swap shop and post a list of some of the bits you need. Might get some responses.

Either way, good luck to ya. DON'T GIVE UP!

Thanks! Yeah I primed a squad of 10 CSM black, and my idea was to order a 10 pack of plague marine heads in since Im running out of heads, and then follow the instructions here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dpqq0p0NwA

Unfortunately I used some local (Folk art) paints that were similar colors rather than the GW colors, the guy looks horrible, absolutely horrible. Touching up and following a pattern is one thing, but I am having issue painting a guy from the ground up, any tips on doing this? I suppose ordering these paints is somewhat of a necessity? I want to get these guys to a point I can be proud of before I even begin to think about doing something like the Greater Daemon, The Terminator Lord, or a vehicle....

This is not a hobby for the artistically challenged, but man, Im still excited about it ;p

I personally prefer the GW paints. If you're matching a chapter from them, its super easy to just go buy a few colors and paint em up pretty quick. Testors is another easy alternative to get a hold of, but I wouldn't reccomend it. It can come on thick, and you need thinner to clean your stuff.

As for painting them from the ground up, I can only tell ya how I do them. First I do the joints, backpack, and gun in boltgun silver, then the eyes, then the main color for the armor. Layering them like this helps you clean up whatever paint you miss by layering on top of it. If they arent light colors it's pretty easy.

Hope that helps.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, vehicles can be easier sometimes. The first thing I painted was an AOBR Dreadnought. There's more open space so it seemed less intimidating... Solid blue for me, then weathering and stuff comes after. But stick with what feels right.

Yeah, I did most of the painting on the Dreadnought

http://i.imgur.com/vk4fg.jpg

He's pretty much ready to go. I've also got a a partially painted Rhino, an unpainted Rhino..and I guess a Vindicator? Those can be seen here

http://i.imgur.com/gke1d.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KFO4o.jpg

I wouldn't mind having them up and running for the army, not sure which troops to put them in or how to paint them. I suppose I should get some GW paints first, in since these paints I have here really are just not doing it for me. Best way is to just order them from GW website I imagine? I figured first goal would be to put together as many squads and units from the already painted/touch ups as I can, and then methodically paint troops as I go.

Do you have any instructional videos you might recommend, to learn good technique? I'm going to get a cleaning chemical to get the paint off the 2 pieces I ruined, but I'm going to have to keep practicing I suppose, and wouldn't mind watching proper methods.

you could get this for your plague marines
http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/DEATH-GUARD-CONVERSION-SET.html

they show up on ebay too from time to time

I take it your not one for uniformity. Do you paint one mini at a time or do the assembly line thing? I find that if I paint five at a time it seems to go smoother and lets you adjust your technique.

I also started recently a CSM army, going the chaos undivided route. What chapter or warband are you going for?

First things first is definitely follow Deathshead's advice and pick out a warband, or some combination.

Are there no stores near you that sell GW stuff? You can go on the website and use the locator, it tells you where GW stores as well as FLGS are near you.

Id also reccomend giving the rhino a shot once you figure out your paint scheme. Once you havea reference you can look back at it to see what should be what color. I don't even use my AOBR dreadnought anymore but it's on my paint table so I can see what should be what. Vehicles are also pretty easy to 'chaos up' as well. Get some spikey bits, chains and the like.

Edit: Also, there's a lot of stuff in the Painting and Tutorials section- http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/forums/show/68.page
Or Youtube, if you don't mind sifting through a dozen teenage girls singing into the camera....

Well I'm going Chaos Undivided. I am keeping each squad in a particular color scheme, but the army as a whole will have separate color schemes. For instance, I've got 10 CSMs that have an Alpha Legion look. Then the Berserkers (being red) are having a World Eater type look. I've got the 2 rhinos and a vindicator, and I wanted to paint them to match the squad they were going with, but Im not particularly familiar which rhinos should go with which troops. I was thinking maybe one with the berserkers? Also, what kind of squad numbers should I be aiming for?

Right now I am focusing on finishing the berserkers, then I am going to see if I can't complete a squad of havocs. What really makes a havoc, a havoc? I've got some of the laying outs done here

http://i.imgur.com/tEtBm.jpg

Not really sure how many I should put it in, or how to do it. Perhaps I should do a black esque theme to one of the rhinos to cart them around? I am also working on ordering the pieces I need to get my terminators up and running. Then I am going to focus on painting the plague marines, do you think a total conversion kit like that is necessary? Seems awfully pricy, I was thinking maybe just finding a set of heads on Ebay or something.

I also have a squad of raptors that I was recommend to work on, they are completely without heads and unpainted though.

No, I live in South carolina, and I have seen little to no decent GW paints, so once I had determined a good plan of attack I was going to order those colors. I have some black primer as well, I had black primed the plague marine, and then done a wash of green snot FOlkart paint, and then a wash of brown folkart paint, and he looks awfuly, simply awful...so that's when I decided to stop and get a better idea.


Soooo much to do

Also! Just to add to things, I got thsee units for about 5 bucks for the entire lot(friend), they are metal, and I have absolutely no idea what kind of troops they are or how to add them to the army, but they were painted and I figured why pass it up...any thoughts?

http://i.imgur.com/9Hbpp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/KKYeg.jpg

The first ones are rubric marines (thousand sons) and the second look like old chaos marines. For 5 bucks you got a good deal.

You might want to buy a csm codex off ebay.

As for paints you can order gw paints online or use P3,reaper, vellejo. I wouldnt use craft paints. Also water them down a bit.

If I were you I would spend some time on youtube and watch some tutorials on basic painting techniques.

Maybe something like this.http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5598FDCB37F821AD&feature=plcp

Man that IS a good deal for 5 bucks... Wish I had friends like that.

The havocs are the equivalent of devastator squads if I'm not mistaken. That said I'd imagine you'd want a captain, at least 4 heavy weapons, and then maybe 5 more bolter marines to fill it out.

So I've completed the thousand suns, with an Aspiring Sorcerer as their lead. I also have 10 terminators coming along nicely, along with 10 Khorne Berserkers with a Skull Champion as their lead. These squads are getting near completion, just need to order some more paint to finish the touch ups. I have a Chaos Lord, Ahrimann, and a Terminator Lord as HQs, but I also have this Daemon Prince, who many people have mentioned is an amazing HQ, along with 2 chaos spawn. Now I would really like to incorporate these guys into my army. Primarily to use the Daemon Prince as a possible HQ, and to have the Chaos Spawn in case I want to use Gift of Chaos, or just to simply have them available. This seems like one heck of an undertaking, and before I ordered my paints I need to finish my touch ups, I wanted to get everything I might need for these guys. Does anyone have any guides that might be useful for painting the Daemon Prince and 2 Chaos Spawn that might be more suited for someone that is a tad new? I've found some good guides for the rhinos, but not really these guys.

http://i.imgur.com/YVFD4.jpg

Is an image of them, thanks much!

If its not to late I would save that demon prince for last , painting wise. Make it a showcase for everything that you have learned painting the rest.

My advice when buying used models its to strip them if you don't like the paint scheme. If you're in the USA, get super clean in the automotive aisle at Walmart (big purple jug). Then pick one unified paint scheme for all of your non cult troops. This will make your force look coherent. Test the look out on a, couple of models and when you find one you like, then replicate it. Uniformity goes a long way in making an army great.