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So, I wargamed pretty heavily from 96 to 2007. I tripped, fell, landed on my DA army and crushed it flat (it wasn't in a hard case at the time), and tore my ACL and MCL at the same time. Six months of therapy later, I didn't want anything to do with the ruins of my army (or any of the undamaged ones) and everything got packed and my painting supplies were thrown out as they went bad. This was on top of a really bad experience in nearby gaming group (I just didn't want the same things they did and it wasn't anyone's fault, just didn't work out).

Long story shorter; I got involved in the Mantic KoW kickstarter and that got me to decide to get back into gaming. So... while I wait on my horde of fantasy figures (mostly requested the new Celestial Humans, not gonna see them until 2013)... I decided the right way to get back on the horse is to take my destroyed, boxed up Dark Angels army and rebuild it. Nearly every model was damaged (arms off, swords snapped, etc) except for my dreads and Whirlwind (praise be the Emperor).

I spent three days reassembling marines then bought the Dark Vengeance box set to add to them (I wasn't finished collecting at the time). The goal of my painting is always servicable, good looking tabletop quality minis. I've painted what I've considered show quality a couple times, but I'm ultra slow when it's anything beyond Base, Shade, Highlight.

Anyways, I was hoping the Dakka community could give me some basic thoughts on how I'm doing. I don't have a gaming group to ask for feedback currently.

Without further ado, the DA successor chapter the 'Angels of Desolation' (AoAbsolution schema, but with the standard DA iconography, for laziness sake).

Dark Vengeance Tactical veteran sergeant:


Dark Vengeance standard tactical marine:


Just for fun -- my painting station. The repaired AoD armor can be seen on the table and I was partway done with the DV tacticals when this was taken.


[UPDATE]

Seeing as how I've resorted my Photobucket account for my own sake, it killed the image links in most of the older posts. Just going to put pics of finished items here to show what I've finished in the course of this thread:

The first completed item -- Dark Vengeance Tactical Squad


The Dark Vengeance Deathwing Squad with some closeups


Dark Vengeance Librarian:


Predator restored from an eBay purchase:


"Old Ironsides" the Rhino restored from a hellish original condition from eBay:

Just bumping this real quick to see if I can get any feedback.

 Fallen_Veteran wrote:
That bone armor needs a wash and the bone built back up. Did you base coat with that brown?

Yes, it's based with Linoleum Deck Brown from Tamiya. Quickly wetbrushed the whole model, then applied a second layer for smoothing on the armor plates. Thick highlight of 1:1 white/bone and then thinner highlight of white.

After reviewing my options, I decided to try a second armor test and changed up how I was painting my Deathwing termies. Please review and let me know what you think of how it looks. I have it side by side with the original (they're both the same pose from the DV box set).

I went with a Rakarth Flesh base over the brown primer. This completely covered the brown. I was going for the effect that Astelan has posted previously, but Rakarth Flesh just isn't the same as Dheneb Stone (though all the converters say it is and several sites said it is the same color - not really). After a Seraphim Sepia wash, I realised I was getting too dark, but tested on one leg with a drybrush of Rakarth Flesh. It was waaaaaay too dark.

I switched to Ushabti Bone after that for the drybrush. I did a 1:1 White:Bone mix for a highlight, then added more white for a further highlight. Touch of white at the corners.

How is it? Better, IMO, but I'm hoping for some feedback. The new one is the one on the right.



Another angle:

 AG. wrote:
The new version is much better.

The problem with the first model is the highlight colour is too harsh, with too many tonal steps between the base and the line.

Now that you've added a couple more layers in, it blends much easier on the eye.

There is nothing wrong with the original colour, you can still use it as a highlight - just on the corners/light flares.

I'm in agreement. I think, after such a long time away, I had lost the critical eye I used to have and couldn't figure out what was wrong with it without some feedback. It's much appreciated.

Been so busy this week I've barely been able to touch the minis. Really want to get this Deathwing squad done by next week.

I started the Ushabti Bone drybrush stage on the remaining three terminators. I thinned the paint from the second terminator with some water (been reading up on that via Dakka). Here are the results of one at step 3 (stage 1 is Rakarth flesh, stage 2 is Seraphim Sepia wash)

No highlights have been done yet:

Well, after a lot of work, I've completed the Deathwing Terminator squad from the Dark Vengeance boxed set to my satisfaction.

Here's the group, set up in order that I worked on their armor. The first test is the leftmost, the next test model is the one directly to the right of that, and the final three were done assembly line style together. I also tried to work on new techniques I've not used before as I tested things out. New things tried during the painting of this squad:

Thinning paint -- oh dear god, I will never not do this again. I love this.
Blending -- on the power sword; failure
Mixing metallics/non-metallics -- The basecoat for gold items was gehenna's gold/iyanden darksun 1:1 mix. In the end it felt like an unnecessary step. OTOH, mixing Brass Scorpion/Mournfang Brown worked well as a basecoat for the Sgt's incense and I only needed to highlight it.
Progressive Highlighting -- I had done it once before, several years ago (see the results here: back front), and was pleased with the results but I was so out of practice (having only done it once!) I was a touch daunted. The robes of the sergeant and the Crux Terminatus on each shoulder are three layers of highlight minimum. I think they turned out ok. The Commissar I did for my Steel Legion turned out well, imo. And, of course, the armor is many, many layers. The final three terminators are done as:
1) Rakarth Flesh
2) Seraphim Sepia wash
3) Ushabti Bone drybrush
4) Ushabti Bone highlight
5) Mix 3:2 Ushabti Bone/Ceramite White highlight
6) 1:1 Bone/White thinner highlight on key places

Wet Brush - if just needing a little, instead of working off a palette, just using a damp brush to pick up some paint out of the pot and do the fast detail/highlight. Worked fairly well.




Here are the closeups of the two test models fully painted up. I did what I could to get them in line with the rest of the unit:



Closeup of the terminator sergeant and the assault cannon. This is the final armor method I decided on. I rather liked how it turned out. The sergeant's power sword? I'm very meh on it:



Well, throw me any feedback you can, I'd love it.

For fun, I'm posting a pic of my full workspace. Just got some new rubbermaid shelves and that helped to get stuff off the table and the stack of boxes off the floor. I need to get some organization going for all my paints and then get a case/transport for the Space Marine army that is sitting on the table currently.

Predator reclamation on the way from eBay. $26 with shipping for this:



It has a broken off pintle mounted storm bolter that was attached to the body instead of the turret. Once I receive it, it's getting a bath in Super Clean to clean off the paint job and break down the glue. I'll then be cleaning it with an old toothbrush and then washing it with water. Then the long road back to being a nicely painted medium tank.

While waiting for shipping (the seller was at the edge of Hurricane Sandy's zone), I'm starting to paint the Dark Vengeance librarian. WIP pics up as soon as I get the armor done.

 M4cr0Dutch wrote:
Hi Clsaac,

I have been painting Deathwing for a while now ( '94ish) and I have tried many many techniques. I have a feeling that the sepia wash is just too brown and dark for the Deathwing scheme. I can see that you have drybrushed over the top of it to knock it back, but there is another way if you are willing to try. I use a careful Kommando Khaki wash (it has a new name now, not sure which what it is ) to add the darker tones. Depending on how much time I want to put into it, I will add a second Kommando Khaki wash in places to achieve an even darker colour, but it still blends into the bone tones in a much smoother manner. A bone glaze over the top blurs the interface between the colours quite nicely, or you can blend them when wet.

Good luck with your army, I look forward to seeing more!

Thanks for the info. I may try that on a test model and see how it works out.

The predator annihilator arrived from my eBay seller today. It is missing one hatch and the pintle mounted storm bolter, as listed on the eBay auction (I'll get those from a bitz seller). The tank is ill-used and needing some real love. Here's what we have to start.

First, the overall tank:

As you can see, one sponson is off (from shipping, though it was bubble wrapped) and the guns are fairly immobile. The remaining sponson goes up and down. The turret is glued to two layers of back armoring (the original rhino double roof doors) and the pintle mount is on the body and not the turret. The paint job is poor, but at least it is not thick.

The underside:

As you can see, there are some bad gaps here and there, with the sponson guns being some of the worst.

The turret:

The turret just looks bad. There's lots and lots of glue all over the bottom of it and there are gaps in the guns. The guns still move up and down, but are very, very loose. Depending on how it feels during reconstruction I may glue them in place. As it is, they droop.

The body:

It appears to have been spraypainted Dark Angels Green and then not touched up. I can still see the sprue marks on the body. There's no structural damage, which is good.The flap over the front glacis still moves up and down, which is also good.

Where is it now? The entire tank is currently submerged in a tupperware container FULL of Castrol Super Clean. I have an old toothbrush waiting and tomorrow I'll 'decant' it and find out how well it's cleaned off.

EDIT: Spent the morning painting working on my Dark Vengeance Librarian. Armor and base coat on the robes are done. I've also done his face, which I'm particularly proud of. See the current pics here:

Front:


Back:


The armor is based Macragge Blue with a Nuln Oil wash. Followed that with a drybrush of original Macragge Blue followed by a much lighter drybrush of Altdorf Blue. Highlights are 1:1 Altdorf:Calgar blue mix. The base layer of the robes are a 1:1 of Rakarth Flesh:Ushabti Bone. I'm still trying to decide between leaving them as is and building up the highlights or running a Seraphim Sepia wash over it.

The face is done by mixing Ungor Flesh 2:1 with a craft store 'Antique White' (lighter version of Ushabti Bone) color to get a nice pallor. Angrax Earthshade wash, then highlights were a 1:1 Flesh:White mix to make him paler.

And after 24 hours in a Super Clean bath, the tank now looks like the following:



It's currently sitting on paper towels drying.
That was the first time I've stripped something that large. Cleaning that off with an old toothbrush was one of the most exhausting things I've done while modelling. Holy hell.

Worst part is discovering the sheer amount of superglue that was allowed to drip down into the model. I'll have to sand down, trim parts of it. Even the superclean couldn't get it all. One of the sponsons was so heavily glued together that when trying to gently peel it apart, the piece that acts as the hinge/hanging support snapped clean in half. There was no reason for it to be glued like that, just poor model work.

So, that'll get pinned when the time comes and I have clean out the joint with a hobby knife. But here it is; ready for a new life.

PS: Funny side story -- why there's a flashlight in the picture and why you should always, always, always put a catch/strainer over the disposal. Little pieces and tracks like to go flying! Duct tape on the end of a long rod got me my missing piece, but I immediately set up a catch for future drops. It saved my fingers.

Librarian completed!

Here is is, folks. Rather proud of him. Feedback is very, very welcome.

Front:


Rear:

Another tank from eBay has arrived. Received a Rhino APC for $15, but DAMN is that thing messed up. Get what you pay for and all. I only have pictures I took from the eBay auction as that thing went STRAIGHT into the Super Clean tub for stripping after I looked at it.

Here it is, as originally received:


Not seen is the 'overbite' that the front glacis has over the bottom part of the hull. The assembly and paint job are both poor. The paint is also so thick that as of this writing, with about 16 hours in the Super Clean, the paint is just barely starting to come off. The blue moreso than the white. The white is applied so thickly that even heavy brush strokes with the toothbrush only removes a bit of the paint. The last tank, when scrubbing it, the paint just slid right off. There's a chance that whatever this guy used it might not be acrylic as it has a strange luster to it that acrylics usually don't have.

Ugh. So the Rhino isn't stripping very well. It takes scrubbing after scrubbing and still isn't letting me peel the paint off completely. massive white blotches from the white underbelly coating all over. That and whatever glue was used is obviously plastic glue and I'm not sure how I'm going to peel the incorrect roof section off to replace it with the standard double doors. If anyone reading this has any ideas beyond what I've done, let me know. So far the Rhino has spent about three days submerged in Super Clean and most of the paint has come off, but it's very, very blotchy. It has a much different luster/consistency than normal acrylic paint. It might be enamel? I dunno. The superglue is also not breaking apart or becoming brittle. It might be a plastic glue and I already know debonder will eat the plastic. Is there a way to pull it apart without tearing up the model? I've popped the sides off the main body already and there's some slight breaking already (nothing that some putty won't clear up).

On a more positive note: The Predator Annihilator has been reassembled and the primer coat is currently curing on it. I need to set the roof of it on and then assemble the guns and painting can begin. What was a tank so badly glued and assembled together that the guns couldn't/wouldn't move now looks like all three guns will be moving again, even when one of the sponson struts snapped in half.

I successfully pinned it down the middle and glued it back together. I was very, very nervous drilling down through that.

 hdbbstephen wrote:
I like where this is going. I am re-learning how to paint, also, after 9 years away from the hobby. Currently I am working on Death Guard - building up a bone-color over red primer



Subscribed!

Thanks. Also really liking how the armor is turning out on that Plague Marine.

And now an update on the first tank I received and stripped down, the Predator Annihilator. The stripping on this was rather straight forward, but there was a lot of leftover superglue on the track wheels that had to just be sanded down with a file. Still, I think I did a reasonably good job, reassembled the tank and primed it.

I greenstuffed the huuuge gap between the glacis and the roof as cleaning the glue from the original assembly in that area had left a sizable gap between the two pieces.

I've added base colors. There are no highlights or washes to this. This is just the first pass on the major colors:

.... and done! Finished the Predator Annihilator today. Here's the shots for it:

Next up on the painting carousel is my newly restored/reclaimed Rhino tank. After a lot of work, I've put it back together (it was a hellishly bad paint/assembly off eBay) and here's what I'll be painting over the next week.





Putty still needs to cure. I'll sand it flat once it does.

 TheGunslinger wrote:
The predator has a really nice, clean feel to it. The original Rhino makes me shudder though....can't wait to see it completed!

Thanks for the feedback. I'll be going for a much rougher appearance for the Rhino. In honor of its origins.

The Rhino reclamation is complete! Really pic heavy, so spoilered.

 giovanz81 wrote:
Well done!!! I like your work!!! A little question: have you a foto of the Super Clean? The bottle or box 'cause i not know this product ! thank you!!!

I don't have my own photo of it, but here's a link to the US Amazon.com site and it has a picture of the product.

http://www.amazon.com/SUPER-CLEAN-DEGREASER----GALLON/dp/B000CCM63K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354195326&sr=8-2&keywords=super+clean

Woo! Just received my Cataphractii Terminators and my Forgeworld Mk2/4 Apothecaries. I LOVE the sculpts of these models and plan on adding the apothecary in MK4 armor to my PA command group and the Cataphractii will form the command squad for Belial. I love the idea of veterans of the chapter in truly ancient relics on the battlefield.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
... and as I inspect them, one of the lightning claws as a snapped claw. Damn it!

Ok, started working on the next model in my painting carousel. This is Interrogator Chaplain Seraphicus from the LE Dark Vengeance boxed set.

Primered with standard Krylon black. Set with pins for assembly later (though I'm already sorry that I put the front/back halves of the torso together). I'm still considering dumping the base he came with as it is just... bad.

I've finished the green on the back of the coat. It's a four stage highlight gradulally moving up to a very light green mix. The front of the robe/cloak are going to be a standard deathwing bone color. Changing up my coloring again (I was really, really happy with the bone color I got on the Rhino fixerupper) and I'm going with a Zandri Dust base, a Serpia wash, then layering highlights of Ushabti Bone, Screaming Skull, and then a touch of white mixed in. The pictures below were taking just as the Sepia wash finished drying.

I'll be doing a 3 stage highlight on the black armor. (1:1 Black/Macragge Blue, Altdorf Blue, then Calgar Blue final)

My GF just gave me Winsor and Newton sable brushes for my birthday. Hopefully this does nothing but add to the quality of what I've been posting. The Chaplain is nearly done, but I've been sick as a dog all week so that's really slowed me down.

I completed my Seraphicus mini, the LE Chaplain from Dark Vengeance. I think I've done a better job on the robing this time around and made much more subtle highlighting for the black armor.

The reason that there are three black rosary beads on his Crozius are to represent Fallen that he's "redeemed".

 Sir Samuel Buca wrote:
That Chaplain is sweet, really well done, and you did a sterling job on that Rhino, reclamation. I'm subscribing to this thread, can't wait to see how the rest come out, keep up the good work.

Thanks. I'm hoping that I don't disappoint. Next up on the painting carousel is my Ravenwing bike squadron. I've got the three from Dark Vengeance which will be my sergeant, a plasma gunner, and a normal biker. I've also purchased a 3 man boxed Ravenwing bike squadron and I'll be making the rest of the six man squadron with that. I'll be making a second plasma gunner and I have a ooooooooooooooooooooooooooold 2nd edition attack bike (the sidecar and gunner are white metal!). I've got some extra Ravenwing bits (gunshield, back mounted feather thing, etc) and I'll be gussying it up.

With two plasma gunners in the squad I'm thinking Multi-melta over Heavy Bolter.

Time for a quick update:

Moving on to my next project which is a Ravenwing bike squadron. I have the three bikes from Dark Vengeance (and I very, very much regret pre assembling them now), and they're going to be the toughest to paint. The next is a Ravenwing 3 bike boxed set. Finally I have two older assault bikes from the original 1996-2000 lifespan of the old 40K blue boxes. Sidecars are metal and I plan on make one a Multi-Melta and the other a Heavy Bolter so I can swap between them. I need to dig up bases for them as they used to come without them.

Here's a pic of model prep. Still partway through cleaning the older models.



As of this writing I've also completed cleaning and filing down the metal bits.

I also really, really need to find a place to store my completed minis. Time to figure out the going rate on Battle Foam.

As an aside I got a Land Raider for my birthday. That'll go with my Cataphractii Terminators as their battle taxi. I'm thinking Deathwing Bone for the Land Raider.

Long time since my last update. Here's what I've been up to aside from being swamped by RL due to the Holidays.

I broke my Dec '12 vow to complete my bike squadron. It's due to vastly underestimating how much time it would take to complete it due to how i had it set up. A couple lessons learned and I'll go into what I've got, initially planned, and where I'm at now.

1) I made the mistake of pre-assembling the foundation of the squadron, the three Dark Vengeance bikers. HUGE mistake due to all the hidden details. This was when I was just trying to get the set together so I could play quickie games. These may be my worst models in the entire squadron. It also made priming a bitch as I had to touch up numerous bare plastic spots. I still find a little periodically. There's going to be a massive black cleanup in one of my upcoming stages.

2) I had two 2nd Edition Attack bikes (metal sidecars!) and cleanup/prep on them was just a pain in the butt. I have not modeled metal in several years and this was a harsh wakeup call to why I prefer plastic. They're heavy, not so well cast, and generally took up a lot of time.
2a) As an aside it was a nice comparison on the quality of GW plastic. The newer bikes (brand new Ravenwing bike squad box set to fill out the squadron) compared to the 2nd Edition bikes was like a vast gulf. The details are much sharper and the plastic pieces fit together much more smoothly.

3) I am now sick of Leadbelcher. Dear Christ, if I never see that color again... but I will, because it's the Boltgun Metal of the current line.

4) Anyways... This is eight total bikes i'm painting. Two of them are attack bikes. It's the equivalent of about 20-25 foot troops. There is a LOT of plastic and metal to cover. The two attack bikes will have different weapons so I can switch them out. The squadron itself will have two plasma guns as their special weapons (to match the one that came with the DV box set).

Here are current in progress pictures:

The full squadron in my workspace:


The current state of the individual bikes. Coming alone nicely, IMO. I need to highlight armor and the chrome. Seats are completely done.


Color test on the shields for the front of the bikes. Still not sure which.


Closeup of the (metal) Heavy Bolter for the attack bike. Drilling out the barrel was very painful with just a pin vise and a cheap Ryobi drill bit. I don't own a dremel. The multimelta behind it was also drilled out.

Finally. Finally. Finally. Finally done.

Ravenwing squadron is complete. After a brief scare with the varnish turning white, the Ravenwing squadron is completed and looking pretty good for tabletop quality.

There are two attack bikes so I can switch out when I want. I had two old plastic/metal hybrid bikes that were from 1996-98 and decided to go ahead and assemble and build them as part of the squad. The rider of the heavy bolter bike is TERRIBLY cast. I put the better one on the multi melta bike as that is likely the one to be on the table most of the time. I did a mild conversion on the extra plasma gunner, plus the obligatory wheelie.

Here are the shots of it:

New project is now in progress. Currently working on a Rhino with swappable hatch/turret that allows me to turn it into a Twin-Linked Lascannon Razorback. This will largely be used for command squads so I want it to look nice. I've completed the interior and just need to close the hull up so that it is all one model. Here's what I've painted so far: