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Well first of all I’d like to thank everyone for reading this topic... Right lets get to work shall we..

To begin with, this is a Slaaneshy Army, consisting mostly of Marines and Sonic Weapons.

From the start I wanted to keep away from the typical Pink army scheme used by most Emperors Children since I could not stand to paint that much pink. However this got me thinking...
The worshipers of Slaanesh are those of Excess, dabbling in anything they like until they get bored, then quickly moving onto the next sensation.. So, the Emperors Children have been coloured pink for over 1000's years, surely they would have gotten bored and tired of that colour by now? Even in their description it says they paint their armour in bright vivid colours to stir at least alittle tingle in their almost dead minds....
So, I decided that for this army I was going to try a different type of colour scheme, this is what I would like alittle help with.

I thought I would stick with their normal under-layer of black... but instead of the Pink we shall use lots of other bright colours instead, I was thinking something along the lines of the Harlequins scheme... but only on parts of their armour, leg plate for example.
Could anyone tell me, how to paint this scheme, what the best way to pull it off would be, and how it would look if possible?
My only concern is that it may look abit weird with their gold/brass sonic weaponry...

Anyway onto the second part of my army... Ofcourse this army consists mostly of Sonic Weaponry... So,
In my Army list I have a Vindicator and was thinking about converting the Demolisher Cannon into a giant Amp instead,
I mean it easily makes sense, a huge sonic weapon punching a hole through a barricade, same effect..
So I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how I could convert a large amp/speaker at the front of my Vindicator and what I would need.

Also onto my third concern.. I have a Sorcerer in my army and was wondering if any of you had any ideas on how to model him using "Lash of Submission". Being a mostly ranged army I felt this would come in extremely handy. Whilst on topic I’d like to have a Familiar on his shoulder so could anyone give me any tips on how to paint a purple/pink ethereal scheme?

Finally my last plea, iv been doing alot of research and found alot of the custom made Sonic Blasters very cool.
However my Word document has managed to vanish along with the links to them all, so if anyone has links to all these conversions I would be more than thankful if you could post them all here. I remember the bolter ones, some using Tau weapons, some made purely with plaster-card, would be great if I could find them again.
(for example: http://tiny.cc/6URQU)

So, before I go back to sniffing polycement, -ANY- nice conversion tips or ideas are welcome!
Just be warned this is more of an army of Excess, rather than just the ..."adult" side... ^^

Anyway thanks again all!
I look forwards to your response and once I begin I will be sure to keep you guys updated with pictures.

I thought I might post a reply to your questions.

I'm not sure how much help this will be but it might get you started in a good direction.

From a color standpoint... who doesn't want their EC to stand out and look different from the rest of those warbands out there? I too had that "desire" when I started mine as well. A little internet research will result in a number of images of Emperor's Children armies... some pink, some purple (those being the two dominant colors) and a handful of other color schemes.

Don't lose heart, I think the reason the pink and black looks so good is because of the contrast of the colors and the fact that Marines or any soldier for that matter is NOT and never should be pink. There's just something there.

I would reccomend testing your color scheme and making sure it works for all the models you plan to have in your army (Terminators paint up differently than regular marines for example). You can never go wrong with using Black and white and any ONE other color. This is basic color theory. For example, black, white (you can mix them for any variation of grey) and say... red. The combination of these colors (Black white and one other) will almost always give a certain feel (i.e. Green:Nurgle) and will always look good in the end. Now, this doesn't mean you can't use a bunch of colors. I would caution you on how many you use as it can quickly turn into a clown circus no matter how hard you try to avoid it.
Harlequins will always look like clowns, it's the nature of the colors... it's their fluff and models that make them believeable though. They aren't running around in bulky armour, they have clothes on and carry odd looking weapons... the visual image is continued all the way through and the result is a cool looking model. Harlequins are the one models I would paint in a myriad of colors and patterns. Everything else, I would tend to stick to a limited palette.

Maybe a single color or two, three at most that are used repeated throughout your force would work. Say, an undercoat of black and maybe purple, orange and maybe blue (you can pick whatever colors you like obviously) and only work those colors into your army. Instead of using lots-o-different colors, I would try and vary the patterns you paint on the armour. While EC would seem easy to paint, thinking that no two models are painted the same... it can be much more difficult to pull it off convincingly. Where you add your variety is in the patterns you put on the armour. Maybe striped on one, maybe checkered on another, etc. You could lower the number of colors and increase the variety of patterns to suit your taste.

With my force, I have 9 colors total (10 if you count my squad of Pre-Heresy Terminators, they are the only ones who use purple, it's not anywhere else in the army). That includes everything... I used no black or white at all in my army either. The short of it is a very limited color palette that gives a very unique look in the end (and one of those colors is pink).

Your concern about the gold/brass is a valid one. Let me put your mind to rest though... if you use that (gold) as an accent color for things like trim or decoration on armour, you'll be fine. Gold gives the model a very royal feel where the brass and silvers tend to give a more functional feel and less like an officer.

As for the sonic weaponry, there are a number of ways of going about that. If you stick to the more conventional thoughts, there is a better chance that someone who looks at your force will easily understand what it is you're trying to do. For example, the big speaker on the end of the barrel... it's an EC "icon" if you will and people associate that type of element with EC.

I guess that's it for my help... the lash idea and painting an ethereal is something you might have to work through on your own once you get a good color scheme down. Familiars can be just about anything, The new Chaos Lord has a small one that sits on the base though, not the shoulder. The sonic weaponry I do not have any links for, I've found the simplest conversions to be the best sometimes. Remember, what you do to make one sonic weapon, you will need to do to make the rest of them. If it takes 3 hours to build just one gun... you've got a lot of work ahead of you if you have 30 Marines.

If it helps, here's a link to my force, it's not done yet, but you'll get the idea when you see them.
It's from my blog where I have been updating my EC force as I've been building it.
Link: http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/search/label/Emperor%27s%20Children

Good luck, I hope to see more ideas and pictures of your force here.

What well written reply!
There was alot in there that helped me...

I have however desided on a colour scheme now thanks to a friend helping me...
Alas im sticking with the pink/purple, however i'm currently in search of acrylic iridescent paint...

The shifting in the colour from the iridescent coat will make their colours shift and change constantly whilst keeping the base layer of pink.. So thats basicly exactly what i was looking for.

I'm not sure if i should do the main colour black and the highlights pink or visa versa (e.g. shown below)
http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/smsbeta.php?bpe=D4D2D4&bpj=000000&bp=CC6CCA&bpc=000000&hdt=CC6CCA&hdm=CC6CCA&hdl=000000&ey=F7F42A&er=D4D2D4&pi=D4D2D4&nk=CC6CCA&ch=CC6CCA&eg=CC6CCA&sk=CC6CCA&abs=000000&bt=CC6CCA&cod=CC6CCA&ull=CC6CCA&lk=000000&lll=CC6CCA&lft=CC6CCA&url=CC6CCA&rk=000000&lrl=CC6CCA&rft=CC6CCA&slt=000000&sli=CC6CCA&srt=000000&sri=CC6CCA&ula=CC6CCA&lel=000000&lla=CC6CCA&lw=000000&lh=CC6CCA&ura=CC6CCA&rel=000000&rla=CC6CCA&rw=000000&rh=CC6CCA&bg=FFFFFF&rb=FFFFFF&gr=FFFFFF&wg=true&be=BBBBCC&aq=true&mk7=333333&bs=000000&spr1=261A0D&spr2=362612
Pink being the iridescent and black just being bold.

I was thinking i'll just experiment with the Lash idea with abit of green-stuff on spare arms... and as for the Ethereal paint scheme i'll just mix and blend some stuff so it looks semi-warp-ish.

To help you relax i found all of the convertion ideas now and am planning to begin work on my sonic weapons soon (just need abit of plasti-card).

Those are some lovely Marines by the way, i love the shoulder-pads aswell very sweet..
I have no experience with plasti card before so this will be a new venture for me..

But i'll be sure to keep you updated *smile*

My only problem now is how i will convert the wave-amp cannon on my Vindicator...

Thanks again for the good advice!

@ RonSaikowski -- Beautiful army you have so far, and expect me around your blog in the future. All those conversions are fantastic, great use of the possessed sprue - almost makes me wish I hadn't actually built my 2 boxes to actually be possessed

@ InquisitorDeuce -- Good luck with your Slaanesh Marines, look forward to what you come up with for the massive amp vindi.

- Salvage

Even if I don't dabble with chaos myself, I'm more of a xenos scum, I found this quite interresting.

So, to the topic, glad to hear you have found a colour-scheme. Sounds very, well glary, wich I'm looking forward to see here on this forum.
However, if that shouldn't work out, here is another idea. Personally, I'd think a 'rainbowish' colour-scheme would work quite wild.
Think gradually going from one end of the specter to the other, totally ignoring where one piece of armour stops and another begins.
This would probably look the very best done with an airbrush, but then on larger scale models, since it would be way too fiddly on a regular model.
But with some nice blending, I think it would come out very convincing.
Hope this helps, can't see myself trying this out, but it would be very nice to see it done sometime.


As a sidenote to 'RonSaikowski', military forces have indeed used pink on their uniforms and gear, e.g. the 'Pink Panter' desert jeeps of the SAS-regiment after WW2.
More on the funny side, Syrian so called 'Special Forces' used pink coveralls, printed with small pictures of tanks, fighter jets, soldiers, helicopters and so on in dark green, during the Lebanese civil war in the 70's and 80's. Nothing to do with 40k, but still. Couldn't help myself sharing this...

Well i managed to find some paint today...
"Galeria, Iridescent Acrylic Medium"
And sadly... it turned out to basicly be glitter at an angle, not exactlly the oil'ish rainbow effect i was looking for...
(So that was a waste of £5).

If anyone could advice me as to where i could find something better i would be eternally greatful...

Thanks for the feedback guys.

try some colour schemes and if you dont like it paint over the old paint your new.. colours...
dont say that it looks ugly becausse on my ig you see no difference bitween overpainted dudes and new paitned dudes... so ... ... slaanesh......

slaanesh is pretty dirty ... coolz

dont the eldar have sonic weapondry?

InquisitorDeuce: Good to hear you've found a possible color... maybe some test models will yield a suitable result. I like the B&C color scheme you posted. Even if you don't end up with the exact result you had in mind, the trial process might yield something close enough or start you in a completely new direction. You could always attempt a simple transition from one color to a second across some of the larger plates, nothing fancy, just a nice blend from one to the other.

Outside of using actual automotive paint, I don't know what would reproduce the effect you're going for. I know there are some paints out there that creat a "pearlized" look but that might only be the glitter effect you've already achived. Sounds like the hunt is on for you.

I came across a lash idea once before, if I find it again, I'll post the link. If not, I remember most of the process and could probably duplicate it with similar results. I can post something here if you're interested. Maybe the original creator will stumble on this and chime in.

Grubsnikk: You might be onto something here. Maybe a single armour plate or two on each model that is taken and given the "rainbow" treatment might have quite the effect. I had no idea the military used pink. I suppose it doesn't suprise me... my daughter has pink camo pants.

Boss_Salvage: Thanks for the comments, it's a work in progress right now.


Looking forward to more updates.

Boss_Salvage wrote:@ RonSaikowski -- Beautiful army you have so far, and expect me around your blog in the future. All those conversions are fantastic, great use of the possessed sprue - almost makes me wish I hadn't actually built my 2 boxes to actually be possessed

@ InquisitorDeuce -- Good luck with your Slaanesh Marines, look forward to what you come up with for the massive amp vindi.

- Salvage

I have seen Ron's stuff in person. As good as the pictures look, his stuff looks 100 times better in person. His conversions are amazing, but his freehand painting is jawdropping. He is definately an inspiration to many of us that he his stuff locally.

two_heads_talking: Thank you, you are too kind Sir. I still have that sculpt of the Black Dragon shoulder pad on my desk if you want it.

I've taken an interest in InquisitorDeuce's project he posted here because I stood where he is now just a short 5 months ago and I'm hoping to help him avoid the pitfalls I came across in making my EC army. While there aren't many, there are a few that can cost money and time (which may be a real problem depending on your schedule).

There seems to be some genuine discussion here and that's hard to find these days... maybe more than one of us will come out of this with an extra technique or trick up our sleeve.

Well to keep ya'all happy, today I managed to find a great Iridescent Medium.
(Interference Colour, Shimmering Violet, Daler~Rowney Mediums, Acrylic)

Iv tested it out and the effects are great! Still need to test it with a mix of Pink/Purple but my hopes are high.
At last iv finally got the paint out the way... now I just need to focus on what kind of scheme I’m going to use.. Guess I’ll just play about with this;
http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/smpbeta.php

Also I got all my bits in the post today (Thank you bitzbox!) all I have to get to make my sonic weaponry is the plastic tubes now.

I love converting, using green stuff and making models but ...alas, I’m a terrible painter... kinda sad since I take so much pride in my conversions and then ruin them with dodge free-hand painting *laugh*
Ah well, terrible practice makes eventually perfect I guess!

Anyway as for the Vindy conversion, to save ALOT of hastle I’m simply going to convert the cannon to have this;
http://www.bitzbox.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=21_33_151&products_id=2972
(the model bit looks nicer in person) It looks nice with the teeth (demon possession) and the grill looks alot like something that could be a sonic weapon, plus it's the same size as the cannon so, seems alright!

I think I have everything sorted now I just need to actually get to work (this is my weak point so sorry if I take forever guys ) Thank you all for the great input!

RonSaikowski wrote:two_heads_talking: Thank you, you are too kind Sir. I still have that sculpt of the Black Dragon shoulder pad on my desk if you want it.

I've taken an interest in InquisitorDeuce's project he posted here because I stood where he is now just a short 5 months ago and I'm hoping to help him avoid the pitfalls I came across in making my EC army. While there aren't many, there are a few that can cost money and time (which may be a real problem depending on your schedule).

There seems to be some genuine discussion here and that's hard to find these days... maybe more than one of us will come out of this with an extra technique or trick up our sleeve.

bah, I call them like I see them. And yeah, we definately should take a few minutes and get that shoulder pad to me.

InquisitorDeuce: Let's see those results! Take some pics so we can see.

We haven't seen your painting yet but there are tricks to improve if it's as bad as you claim. I've only been painting for about just over 2 years now myself.

I have to be honest though, after seeing the Ork bit you plan on using in your conversion, I am somewhat unsure. To me, anything "Orky" only has a place only in the Ork world. We will have to trust your opinion on the matter... and of course, it is your conversion. I think "Ork" pieces carry such a strong connection with their background (visually) that it will be difficult to blend the background of the EC with Orks and pass off something that is "Orky" as Emperor's Children.
Again, this is only my opinion, we all see things differently and I would love to be wrong.

I'm waiting for pics!

Naaaah you'd be surprised, it doesnt look that Orky in person and with abit of Greenstuff i can make it work wonders.

You guys will have to excuse me since alot of personal life issues have poped up.
Also ontop of this i still havent got all the paint and models i need yet (I like to make all the models before painting them, sounds weird i know).

But i may get my lord painted up sometime and give you guys a glimps, if i can fing my high-res cam i'll give you a quick shot of his conversion so far.

Thanks for having so much interest in my project!

crosses fingers and toes hoping Deuce can find his camera. (you have to realize how hard the toe crossing thing is for me, I ahve stubby toes.)

I'm not sure if this suggestion is too late but it may help others anyway.

If you're looking for a striking colour scheme, as in EC, a good place for inspiration is concert lighting (inkeeping with EC fluff as well!). There's loads of magazines you can look in as well as the net, but common examples I've come across and use myself in lighting:

green and purple
yellow/purple
purple/light blue
blue/red
yellow/green/red

pink surprisingly doesn't get much use, maybe because it's 'weak' and purple gives a better feel.

Got bored and made this; Iv always loved Neaon Green & Pink.
<_< Looks oddly good... (covenant84's green & purple reminded me of this ^^)

Anyway! Back on topic...
I can't ever seem to get good pictures... any advice on backgrounds, lighting ect?
Thankies

The painting and modeling forum has a good article on photgraphy and lighting near the top.

Basically, i try to use a large sheet of paper that rolls up under the model into the background to avoid any angles/folds/corners in it so it appears smooth. Try to avoid white paper - stick to light grey or the blue backgrounds as cameras will set white as grey automatically. Don't use a flash, try to use natural light (conservatory etc) it gives less harsh and more natural shadows. Also try to stick with a low appature and long exposure time if possible (think thats right) to help increase the depth of field (amount of model in focus).

My pictures were tken in a rush with kids helping, hense they lack focus! Hope that helps.