Warhammer 40K: Dark Vengeance Part 1

I finally decided on starting with the Dark Angel chapter for my first 1.5k army. To start it off, I got myself the Dark Vengeance starter set to kick things off. Some of the terminators in this box will be used for my Space Hulk Blood Angels card game.

I began working on the tactical squad, just to find that I did not have all the necessary paint needed for them (only Caliban Green is in my kit). With that, I proceeded with the Deathwing Terminators (since the 5th Company which the units here are from, does not have any termies in the roster. I base this from wh40k.lexicanum.com)

Next Step:
- More paints
- Continue painting termies

Warhammer 40K Paint Set Part 2

Got myself this box when I picked up Jokaero Orange in my last run. Certainly a good box to get if you want to fiddle around with painting techniques. I do not really have any techniques to test in mind when I got this except to test out the effectiveness of the recently purchased Bosny White paint which I intend to use as a primer for my Robotech Tactics. The spray does give the units a slight shine after the paint job, for some reason. However, it seems that the paint may be a little too thick. Some minor details seems missing if compared to the older models.

The other method I tested was painting yellow by layering Lamenters Yellow over white surface. This certainly gives an interesting result as seen in Blue team with the grey base below. I ended up using this method, followed by a Nuln Oil wash, to paint all the emblems including the purity seals.

Shoulder pads were lined with Abbadon Black

 

Next Step:
- Faction insignia of the new units. Not sure if I can try stenciling it.

Warhammer 40K Paint Set Part 1

I chose this set to start with for the following key reasons:

- It is space marines! It would be cool if it were Terminators XD (to get soon)

- Almost all flat surface with no major layering/texturing required (compared with The Hobbit Starter set)

In the box, you will find  8 Citadel paint pots, 5 space marines with base, a Citadel Starter brush and a painting guide. One key note about the paints supplied and the guide is that 3 of the paint does not match the content of the box, which would confuse beginners. To simplify things, you can try the alternatives that are available in the box based on the guide below

Abaddon Black - supposedly used as primer here. You can ignore this step. Or try coating plenty of Imperial Primer. If you are already priming the miniature on your own, just skip it.

Ironbreaker -  Use Leadbelcher. Both are silver paint. Ironbreaker is a layer type paint while Leadbelcher is a base paint. The difference between layer and base, from what I have heard, is just the thickness. You could dilute Leadbelcher to get the same effect.

White Scar - This is probably the hardest to replace. You could try Ushbati Bone. I purchased Ceramite White instead for this purpose. White Scar and Ceramite White, like the silver paint above are just layer and base to each other.

Now, with 5 units available, I took this opportunity to test different methods (which is the whole idea of a starter kit) 

Unit 1 - Painting by number

For this unit, I paint strictly following the guide using only the starter brush. Some notes on the deviation done from the guide:

- I was having problem with the Imperial Primer supplied as I find that it does does not stick well and it is watery. I ended up using a spray primer (Bosny Blackboard Black) to simplify my work. Also, I tested both the Imperial Primer and spray against the leftover spruce. Yes. Keep those spruce especially when you want to test paint. Testing on minis is a waste in my opinion.

- Colors missing from the guide is substituted as above.

- Agrax Earthshade was used to wash the entire unit.

Unit 2 - Painting by number part 2

This unit is exactly the same as the above with the exception of the wash. The wash was only used on the cst, medal, skulls and gun.

Unit 3 - White base

I am often told that using black and white primer creates a different result. Since I already primed all my units with Bosny Blackboard Black, I decided to paint Ceramite White to emulate white primer. Although it is not a good simulation, but that should have to do for now. The rest is as exactly as Unit 2.

From Left: MagaCon, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3

Unit 4 and 5 - Red vs Blue

The cool thing about miniature painting is that there is no hard and fast rule. While starting off, you will probably want to follow the original scheme and replicate the results, you will probably want to start working and customizing your color scheme away from the norm.

In this case, I have painted 1 unit in Macragge Blue to reflect the Ultra Marines which I grew up with. The other was painted in Mephiston Red to reflect the Blood Angels which a friend of mind highlighted. The original was painted in Caliban Green to reflect the Dark Angel faction. The black in on the gun of the red unit is Abaddon Black.

Red vs Blue

A note on the parts here is that only Unit 1 was assembled completely prior to painting. The rest had their gun glued after the painting.

Next step:
- Adding some layers and lining shoulder pads.