I’m gradually getting through my Dark Vengeance models. Here is my version of Azrael converted from Master Balthazar from the set. This was a very simple head swap as Balthazar has the same equipment as Azrael. I chose the bare head from the Devastator box as it looks very similar to Azrael. Although I like the original Azrael model it is now looking a bit dated and doesn’t really fit in with the current look of the Dark Angels chapter which has become more ornate over the years.
I’ve finished Squad Barachiel from Dark Vengeance. For more information on the painting process see this post.
I have finished the first model of my Ravenwing squad. As with my Deathwing terminators, I took special care with the Ravenwing to make sure that they are consistent with the rest of the army. Details such as the gold, eye lenses, scroll work and purity seals are painted the same way as on all of my other Dark Angels and the gun casings are painted in green to tie in with the tactical marines. In addition to this, the ‘feathers’ on the back of the bike are painted using the same palette as on the Deathwing armour.
I only have two more bikers and Master Balthazar to paint and I have finished the Dark Angels army from Dark Vengeance. Here is a shot of my little army all together (click for a bigger image):
All the best,
Andy.
Another Dark Vengeance miniature is finished. I am really enjoying painting this set, the models are all fantastic. My one criticism of Turmiel is that he is perhaps a little too detailed. This made painting the model a bit of a challenge as there are a lot of different bits to paint and I wanted to avoid using too many colours as I didn’t want the model to become a confusing mess or look like an explosion in a paint factory. For this reason I used a lot of neutral colours for the details in order to allow the blue to really stand out.
My other concern when painting this model was that he fit in with the look of the rest of the force despite wearing the livery of a librarian rather than the dark green armour of his brethren. In order to achieve this I used a very dark blue (Regal Blue) as the basecoat and used the same edge highlighting technique I used on the tactical squad. In addition to this the robes are painted to match Raphael and the Deathwing terminators and details such as the shoulder pads and embroidery on the robes are picked out in green. Hopefully he will fit in with the rest of the army while still remaining unique.
The force sword was another area that gave me a bit of trouble. Initially I painted the pattern on it blue but this ended up too similar to the rest of the model. Instead I opted to go for an ‘old school’ look and paint the sword with a red pattern. I think there is enough red elsewhere in the army that this works.
I game terms I’m not sure which psychic discipline to give him. I may opt for ‘Divination’ or ‘Biomancy’ as I like the idea of psychic powers that can enhance other units in the army or debilitate the enemy rather than simply destructive ones. I’ll give this a bit more though once I’ve read through Codex: Dark Angels which I plan on purchasing at the weekend.
-Andy
I’ve finally put the finishing touches to Sergeant Raphael from Dark Vengeance. Here he is in all his glory.
For more insight into the painting process check out my earlier work-in-progress post.
All the best,
Andy.
Happy New Year everyone! December was a fairly slow month for me hobby-wise with Christmas, New Year and family visits occupying much of my time. However, I am now getting back into the swing of things and have completed my first two Deathwing terminators from Dark Vengeance.
The colour scheme is essentially the same as I used on my Saruman model, showing the different results that can be achieved using the same colours. As with my other Dark Angel models I used hard edge highlighting (rather than the gradual blending on Saruman) which I think works really well on power armour. The sharp highlights also help to tie them in visually with the green tactical marines.
For the bone armour I wanted a paler off-white look rather than the cream/bone of the ‘Eavy Metal scheme. This was painted as follows:
1) Over a white undercoat apply a basecoat of Dheneb Stone.
2) Shade using Vallejo German Camo Pale Brown (a great colour that could have been invented for shading Dheneb Stone).
3) After tidying up the Dheneb Stone highlight with Pallid Wych Flesh.
4) Apply a final edge highlight of White Scar.
The model with the chainfist was actually painted before buying Pallid Wych Flesh using a 50/50 mix of Dheneb Stone and White Scar for stage 3. However, Pallid Wych Flesh is more or less the same. It is slightly paler but this is hardly noticeable. The advantage of using Wych Flesh is that I don’t have to mix paints anymore allowing me to get a more consistent finish across the squad.
One of my fears when it came to painting a Dark Angels army was the different colours used by the units in the army. I was initially worried that this would end up resulting in a lack of consistency across the army and this was something I thought long and hard about trying to avoid. In the end I decided to use the same dark green as my tactical marines for the weapon casing to tie them together. I also painted details such as the eye lenses, purity seals and chest eagles exactly the same was as on my marines to further reinforce this sense of coherency. The chapter icons and robes on my other models are painted Dheneb Stone and highlighted up to White Scar to match the terminator armour.
Hopefully this photo of a terminator side-by-side with a tactical marine illustrates what I’m talking about:
Just a quick update to show my progress on the Dark Vengeance set. When I showed these photos on Twitter I got an overwhelming response so I thought it was worth posting them here with a slightly more detailed write up.
Painting Dark Angels
A lot of people have asked me how I painted my Dark Angels so here is a break down of the paints I used. In order to maintain a dark look overall I kept the majority of the armour dark green and applied extreme highlights only to the very edges of the armour (in a similar way to the ‘Eavy Metal team’s Dark Eldar).
All of the Tactical Marines started with a black undercoat.
1) Basecoat Dark Angels Green (it took about 3 coats to get a smooth, even finish).
2) Highlight Snot Green.
3) Highlight 50/50 mix Snot Green and Goblin Green.
4) Highlight Goblin Green.
5)Apply very tiny highlights to the helmets/face using Rotting Flesh.
The idea behind the final highlights of Rotting Flesh is to subtly draw the eye to the model’s face and make it stand out more. This gives the Dark Angels a focal point which they would otherwise lack as the helmets are the same colour as the rest of the armour.
Painting Faces
The part of the Sergeant Raphael model that got the most comment was his face, particularly his stubble, and a number of people have asked me about how I achieved this. The face was painted following my usual method:
1) Basecoat Tallarn Flesh.
2) Shade with thinned Dark Flesh followed by Scorched Brown in the deepest recesses.
3) Highlight with Tallarn Flesh with increasing amounts of Elf Flesh added.
4) Apply a final highlight by adding Bleached Bone into the previous flesh mix.
5) Paint the lips Tanned Flesh.
The stubble technique was taken from the excellent ‘Painting Faces Redux’ article from White Dwarf 356 which can also be found on the White Dwarf archive (see link). One thing I would recommend is adding some Lahmia Medium to the wash in order to give you more control over the flow. You want the wash to be translucent so that the flesh colour still shows though and the medium is great for this.
Hopefully more Dark Vengeance goodness to follow later in the week.
All the best,
Andy.
If you follow me on Twitter you will know that recently I was lucky enough to win a copy of the Dark Vengeance set. Here are the first models I painted from the set, a Dark Angel tactical squad. I batch painted these models following an ‘ Ask ‘Eavy Metal’ article from White Dwarf 369 (it’s actually a guide for Disciples of Caliban but the colours are more or less the same).
I wanted to put the ‘dark’ into Dark Angels avoid the ‘Christmas tree’ colour palette that you often see used for the chapter. To that end I only made very limited use of red and cream on the models in order to keep the overall look darker. For this reason I painted the tactical markings in black rather than red or white (both of which I tried but looked too bright). I’m aiming for a high tabletop standard with these as they will be for playing and not just for display. At the moment I consider them finished but I may go back and add some 5th company markings and squad numbers once I have some more of the set painted.
As you may have noticed, sergeant Raphael is missing from the photo. I batch painted him along with the rest of the squad but, because of the extra details not present on the other models, I put him to one side after painting the green armour and will finish him at a later date.
Miniature Miscellany 