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So, as a quick back ground, I use to play most GW games, but haven't for a decade, but 8th edition somehow pulled me back in.

I was never even a half decent painter, but I have been trying to use things like WarhammerTV youtube for ideas on how to paint, but I am still struggling, I have one Marine mostly finished, but I do need advice on what I am doing right/wrong, and what I could do to improve, as I am about to start on the rest of the squad, but I have been trying to get a handle on things first. Anyway, thank you for any help in advance

https://www.dakkadakka.com/core/gallery-search.jsp?u=114716

Welcome to the forum!

My first recommendation will be to use the image links from the gallery, so that the pictures appear in the thread, like this:



You'll get a lot better response if people can immediately see your work.

I also think you're being very hard on yourself, that's definitely better than "not even half-decent"; your golds are good and you've got some nice detail on the purity seal.

There's a couple of areas where it looks like the blue is a little thick, but it could just be that you've taken very close-up photos, which make everything look worse than it is! There's definitely a few mould lines on there, which can distract from the paint job, so you might want to spend a little more time on prep.

I think the main thing "wrong", for want of a better word, is that some of your edge highlights are a little scruffy, which messes up the lines of the model. Should be easy to fix, just go back over with the base colour and use it to neaten up the edges of the highlight. I'd also look at washes (or whatever the current GW term is) to give more texture to some areas (e.g. The wax bit of the purity seal.

To be honest you're at a good starting point, so if you've only just restarted the hobby you probably just need a bit of practice. Hope that helps!

I agree, the edge highlights are not very good. But don't be disheartened, edge highlighting is one of the trickier techniques in painting. You need a lot of patience and a very steady hand to pull it off successfully. I have neither so I've never bothered with it too much.

Instead I would advice skipping edge highlighting and just lightly drybrush the model to bring out the edges and sharper detail. Maybe a very subtle edge highlight only in select places like the helmet (the face is the first thing you look at in a model).

Duncan does good tutorials on WarhammerTV so you're on a good track if you're following those. Didn't have those (or any guides at all) when I started the hobby.