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Starting a Blood Angels army, but with a catch. The units can only be Firstborn, this doesn’t count newer HH models, they all have to be the older, pre-primaris era models. This is different from my other blog, as all posts here will be BA related only. I’m working on building some tactical marines right now, and will update more on my plans for this army when I’m done. Wish me luck, brothers!


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Been working on the squad some more. I have 3 marines built, and I have 2 of those firstborn Space Marine Heroes blind buy bois that I can use in the squad, giving me 2 bodies to convey to a captain and lieutenant.
Anyway, they have a pretty subpar paint job, and I painted the plasma gunner and the running guy with the knife (who has a boltgun on his back, so that should let me use him as a normal marine) as a crimson fist and black templar respectively. That gives me a 5 man squad, consisting of a sergeant with combi weapon, 1 plasma gunner, and 3 boltgun marines. I have the legs for the next 5 marines built. I tried to give all the marines a skull on their base, as im sure it will look cool with the Baal desert basing scheme I have planned for these boys. I already have a missile launcher marine built, I just need to glue him on to his legs.

Tac boys are all built, I’m in a GW store right now as I post this. I finished assembling the last two battle brothers and learnt some stuff.
Here they are

I see one is already death company, what is the other running in the back coloured as?

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
I see one is already death company, what is the other running in the back coloured as?

Oh, no those are single marines from some line of blind buy single miniatures GW did some time. I think they were called 'space marine heroes' or something like that. The running pose one with the knife was painted as a Black Templar, and the Plasma Gunner was a Crimson Fist, I painted them a while ago but I don't like them that much, and I can probably repurpose them to be part of the TAC squad. I'm doing this so I have 2 extra bodies to make a captain and a lieutenant. They were just one off models I bought to try out different schemes a while ago. the red patches are paint that has been scraped off, as I don't have access to Isopropyl yet, so I have to make do with what I have until I can acquire some.

I have a basing scheme for these blood boys planned. I'll use some sand, stick it on with PVA glue, use watered down PVA glue to seal it in, then prime it with the miniature and paint it in a dark beige-y sand scheme. (might try some designed for basing miniatures. I have no sand from Bettystown beach in my home country of Ireland as i mixed it with some sand pit sand I scavenged. Needless to say, sand with loads of small weeds and random bits of dried up plants from an empty children's play box which in all likelihood, some child might have urinated in is not a good basing material for miniatures. Had to go at my Bolt Action Soviet bases with a knife after using that.) the skulls on the bases will be painted lighter to create visual interest and just because it'll look cool.

My custom Blood Angels Lieutenant I kitbashed out of the tactical squad and the Blood angels upgrade sprue. I have also been doing some basing with Bird sand from my 'somewhat-local' pet shop. Will be uploading the images tomorrow, and hopefully painting a couple of marines in my 'not-so-local' GW store.

Nice, that raised power fist screams "come and get me xenos scum"

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
Nice, that raised power fist screams "come and get me xenos scum"

Why thank you, battle brother! I had to use one of the boltgun arms to hold his pistol, I actually think it looks pretty good. I’m holding out on building my captain, as I want him to be special so I will wait until I improve at building these guys.

All models have been based so far.



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I bought this huge 5kg bag of bird sand yesterday. Lugging it home in my heavy bag was a challenge. If anyone wants a basing tutorial, ask and I’ll reveal how I make it. It’s pretty common knowledge.

I waited a whole night, but I guess the sand didn’t dry because when I applied the pva mix some of the sand got damp and dislodged when I touched it. Ah gak. Anyone have any tips to solve this? Should I wait until it dries fully and try again, or scrape it all off?

What I did to really seal in my sand on a few models, is I glued it on with Mod-Podge (any PVA glue that isn't school glue will work fine),
and waited for it to dry fully. Then, I took a dropper with isopropyl, dropped it on the dried sand and then dripped watered down Mod-Podge (again, any PVA will work that isn't school glue) to seal it in. The isopropyl will help the glue really get in there for a nice secure seal.

 ShadowsAndDust wrote:
What I did to really seal in my sand on a few models, is I glued it on with Mod-Podge (any PVA glue that isn't school glue will work fine),
and waited for it to dry fully. Then, I took a dropper with isopropyl, dropped it on the dried sand and then dripped watered down Mod-Podge (again, any PVA will work that isn't school glue) to seal it in. The isopropyl will help the glue really get in there for a nice secure seal.

Thank you for the tips! It's interesting to have a Leclerc Tank Commander AND a Baal Predator pilot commenting on my thread.
The Emperor must have truly blessed me. How do you know if its school glue, by the way, and what is the difference? Mine is just craft store PVA glue, and the funny thing is I HAVE used this exact same glue before on a DKOK base, with the water-PVA mix, and it's as hard as rock after being primed. You can sort of see it on the flamer guy, reloading lasgun guy, and chainsword sergeant guy in these WIP cultists( if the base is painted a very dark brown, that's the sand). The sand was from a nice beach in Ireland, though. Maybe it's the material I'm using that's the problem. Who knows? Certainly not me.





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Went to my not-so-local GW store and ordered 5 BA assault termies to pick up in store. It'll take a while, but I can't wait to build and paint them! Actually, on that note, what if i set a challenge. An 'Oath' if you will, finish the tactical squad and attached Lieutenant before they get delivered at the store! Email said 17 business days, which the 'business' part implies it'll probably be more than only 17 days, at least I expect. Why do GW's Astropaths have to be so confusing? Who knows?!

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
Nice, that raised power fist screams "come and get me xenos scum"

I also realised that his power fist pose is unintentionally similar to the captain in John Blanche's classic Blood Angels artwork used for the 2nd edition boxset cover.

Alright, it's not THAT similar, but it is somewhat evocative of this boltgun wielding ponytailed rebel.

Well, you're left with green stuffing him a ponytail

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
Well, you're left with green stuffing him a ponytail

I can't get over the idea of my helmeted lieutenant having a hole in the back of his helmet so his awful rat-tail haircut can have room to look cool,
I won't be greenstuffing a ponytail on him, but it might be a good idea on scouts. As far as I know, all of my marines will have helmeted heads, but some scouts with ponytails might be a good idea! I am thinking of painting a Sniper Scout Squad (you can find SO many of them poorly painted or unbuilt on german ebay, it's surprising how many people are selling)But if i ever add a squad of vanilla, normal scouts, it might work.

After all, ponytails look pretty cool.
If anyone reading this has ever played the 1998 game 'Half-Life' you might not know that the player character, Gordon Freeman had a ponytail in that game, but it was removed in the sequels. The greatest trick Freeman's ponytail pulled was convincing the world it didn't exist.

Even the mod’s trying to cover up his ponytail! It can’t catch a break.
Mod edit: non-wargaming image removed.

Now that you say it, better do it on a character without an helmet yes, that might look less off.

Not a fan of poneytails for men overall but I suppose I bear the scars of having been in the military

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
Now that you say it, better do it on a character without an helmet yes, that might look less off.

Not a fan of poneytails for men overall but I suppose I bear the scars of having been in the military

I had a ponytail once...
I am male...


we can't be pals anymore, stop reading my blogs NOW!11!!!!!!1!1!

what a plot twist

 bullisariuscowl wrote:


I had a ponytail once...
I am male...


we can't be pals anymore, stop reading my blogs NOW!11!!!!!!1!1!

I used to have a ponytail too, and I'm also a man.

 ShadowsAndDust wrote:

 bullisariuscowl wrote:


I had a ponytail once...
I am male...


we can't be pals anymore, stop reading my blogs NOW!11!!!!!!1!1!

I used to have a ponytail too, and I'm also a man.

Then let us defeat this evil military man, ponytail brother.

Hold on til I have refined my villainous speech enough

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
Hold on til I have refined my villainous speech enough

some mod took down the image of the Half Life protagonist's glorious ponytail. He needs to pay for his crimes against endangered hairstyles. Truce?

Truce. For the honour of halflife

I made a test base again. I decided to wait for a day and a half, and it was most certainly dry. I got curious, though. Too curious. I picked at it with my nail and with enough effort peeled the sand off the base. It was pretty strong though, and I hadn't used the PVA mix yet. I'm going to try again though and troubleshoot it enough til I'm satisfied. After all, I have no other use for 5kg of sand. Maybe the sand is too thin? I don't know, but what I do know is that I sure as hell don't want my sand flaking off after being painted. I also tried to go at the base of one of my WIP leftover cultists
and the sand didn't budge, but that was from a beach so I don't even know anymore, I can't find enough details on using bird sand for basing.
All I found were some (as expected) vapid reddit comments that weren't helpful in the slightest, and an article that was describing mixing sand with paint and painting over a finished model's blank base, which doesn't really sound like my kind of style. Ridiculous ask, but would anybody know what to do? I asked some guys in my not-so-local GW store if they used sand but it was only a couple people who said they used it a while ago and couldn't remember much on using it, and most said they used texture paints.

Painting with sand to texture paint might actually work. Just make sure to use an already dead brush.

Have you tried by any chance other sorts of glue?

And thirdly, maybe it was too thick a layer of sand. Never forget, before going to the next step, to gently tap the mini and let all sand that wouldn't hold fall.

I also remember from using sand for my terrain that using varnish actually helped it hold together.

I based the test base again, using wood glue this time. I didn't thin the glue at all (I figured that might have been prt of the problem which made the sand peel off the other base so easily) and it feels quite solid. The sand ended up looking transparent in places, but it's not that bad of a look. the real question is, should i seal the base in with my other PVA (of which I had good results with beach sand, but not the bird sand I'm using), or the wood glue I used already?
I have genuinely no idea, and I'm scared I'll mess up again and have to use texture paste, something I REALLLY DON''T want to do

Well, looks better already.

Trial and error is part of the fun

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
Well, looks better already.

Trial and error is part of the fun

You’re right there, it can just be disheartening when your basing scheme keeps failing

I talked with a relative of mine who uses the same brand of wood glue for woodworking purposes, and he said the glue is quite thick already so I would just smooth out the sand and obscure the rough texture, so while he has never used it for basing I’ll take his word for it. Unsure of using the ‘craft PVA glue’ I had mixed results with using (if you remember my sand getting all mushy and falling off from before) but I might use it sparingly to seal in the sand.

Also, ShadowsAndDust, if you’re reading this, I believe you mentioned this before, but why is using ‘school glue’ bad for basing, and how do you tell if it’s school glue or not? Mine just says ‘bastelleim’ (German for craft glue) and the label says it can stick paper, wood, cork, leather, etc.

 bullisariuscowl wrote:

 Maréchal des Logis Walter wrote:
Well, looks better already.

Trial and error is part of the fun

You’re right there, it can just be disheartening when your basing scheme keeps failing

.

I for one like somehow enjoy the hardship of something going wrong and trying to correct it, even if I sometimes never achieve it.

 bullisariuscowl wrote:

Also, ShadowsAndDust, if you’re reading this, I believe you mentioned this before, but why is using ‘school glue’ bad for basing, and how do you tell if it’s school glue or not? Mine just says ‘bastelleim’ (German for craft glue) and the label says it can stick paper, wood, cork, leather, etc.

I didn't realize you were in Germany. In the US the most common type of PVA glue that you can find in the store is what's referred to as "school glue". It's bad for basing because it's weaker than regular PVA and is made so that it can be washed out of clothing with a little soap and water. Bottles of school glue are marked "school glue". I use Elmer's Glue-All for sand, but wood glue also works.