Tag: Chaplain

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Blood Angels Space Marines Kill Team Miniature painting Miniatures Warhammer 40k

The paint-play-paint motivation cycle (and a Chaplain color guide)

“I’ll get to play with these” has been a powerful motivator since I got rolling in 2020, and I’ve always speculated that “I played and I like/didn’t like X, I need to paint some Y for my next game” would be similarly powerful.

Kill Team has produced that cycle for me, except instead of X being my team and Y being something new for my team, Y is just more teams. Every time I play, especially when I’m “curating” the whole experience in home games (providing the board, terrain, minis, rules, etc.), I want more options available.

That cycle has now kicked into gear with my Blood Angels, my largest and oldest 40k army. I’ve played two short games, enough to get an idea of what I like in play and what I wish I could field, and now that I’ve got a larger game — 1,000 points! — on the calendar for this week, I’m scrambling to paint three minis so I can field them right away.

Helix gauntlet and comms array Infiltrators on the left, Chaplain on the right

I want a sixth Infiltrator to form a complete kill team (joining the five I already have painted), and he and a seventh have the wargear I didn’t model on my Infiltrator squad because it wasn’t free in 8th or 9th and I needed the points. Now that it’s free, and I’ve seen that Infiltrators are fun to play, the helix gauntlet and comms array should come in handy.

I had to kitbash the helix gauntlet, which doesn’t come in the kit. Google turned up a great idea on Funnyjunk, of all places: use the comms array guy’s arm, shave down a couple of grenades for the medical lights, and add a needle. I had an extra comms arm; I trimmed off an Infiltrator backpack antenna for the needle.

I’ve also shied away from fielding my Death Company lads because of their mechanics: They’re not as good without a Chaplain, but they have jump packs and my Chaplain, Arrius, does not. So it’s time to paint a jump-chap, and hey I have this resin guy just hanging around…

Hello, resin, my old “friend”

Chaplain with jump pack color guide

Same base as my other Blood Angels, of course, and as always these recipes are based on the GW studio recipes with some tweaks. Nothing is drybrushed unless noted.

  • Armor: Abaddon Black > Eshin Grey > Dawnstone
  • Metal: Leadbelcher > Nuln Oil all-over wash> Stormhost Silver
  • Armor gaskets and helmet tubing: Mechanicus Standard Grey > Nuln Oil all-over wash > Dawnstone
  • Gold: Retributor Armour > Reikland Fleshshade all-over wash > Auric Armour Gold > Liberator Gold
  • Skull mask: Celestra Grey > Drakenhof Nightshade all-over wash > Ulthuan Grey > White Scar
  • Eyes: Moot Green > Agrax Earthshade pin wash > Moot Green
  • Purity seal wax: Screamer Pink > Carroburg Crimson all-over wash > Pink Horror > Emperor’s Children
  • Parchment: Rakarth Flesh > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Pallid Wych Flesh > White Scar
    • Then scribble on it freehand in very fine Abaddon Black
  • Crozius handle: Khorne Red > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Wazdakka Red > 50/50 blend of Wazdakka Red/Kislev Flesh
  • Knee pad, shoulder pad, bolt pistol housing: Mephiston Red > Agrax Earthshade pin wash > Evil Sunz Scarlet > Fire Dragon Bright
  • Jump pack jets: Caledor Sky > Drakenhof Nightshade all-over wash > Temple Guard Blue > Baharroth Blue

It’s been ages since I painted a purity seal, and I’ve forgotten what color I used to scribble the freehand “writing” on the parchments. This time I wrote it down!

Out now: The Unlucky Isles

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is now on DriveThruRPG.
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Blood Angels Space Marines Finished miniatures Lightbox photos Miniature painting Miniatures Warhammer 40k

Crossing the 50% mark with my Blood Angels army

I’ve been watching the race between my two most-used paint pots, Mephiston Red and Astrogranite Debris, to see which one would have the honor of being the first one to expire in service of Sanguinius…and it was the texture paint!

My first dead soldier

Battle-brother Astrogranite Debris’s loyal service provided terrain for 33 Space Marines, 1 Dreadnought, and 1 little teleport homer — over half of my current army. That seems like a pretty solid performance.

Squad Amedeo and Chaplain Arrius

In the course of using up that texture paint, I finished my Sternguard Veterans, Squad Amedeo, and my Chaplain, Arrius, on June 12th.

Sergeant Amedeo, Chaplain Arrius, and my favorite battle-brother from the squad
Rear view of those three
The remaining three brothers of Squad Amedeo
Space Marine booty

I have some WIP photos for these guys, but I’m going to forego them. It’s already been some time since I posted, and WIP when it’s really “work in progress, like, weeks ago” doesn’t hold the same appeal.

Wrapping up these lads brings me to 884/2,000 points — although given my current painting pace, point values may all change due to 9th Edition before I finish!

My Sanguinary Guard and Commander Dante are up next.

Out now: The Unlucky Isles

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is now on DriveThruRPG.
Categories
Blood Angels Space Marines Miniature painting Miniatures Warhammer 40k WIP it good

Painting the weekend away

On Saturday, I wanted to work on another character. As chance would have it I was just about to paint the black elements on my Sternguard, so I fired up my Chaplain, Arrius, and figured I’d paint everything but black — his dominant color — so he’d be in sync with the veterans.

Chaplain Arrius

I love this mini, and while I found resin to be a pain in the ass my guess during the assembly process was correct: That pain faded once I started painting him. It’s such a great sculpt!

I was feeling a bit down, and also a bit out of it, on Saturday — so much so that I completely forgot I always paint bases first. Nothing on his legs would make it risky to drybrush around them, so I wrapped up his non-black colors and switched gears.

Closing in on a finished base — and base coat

As I gain confidence as a painter, I’m also going off-book more often. I love his studio paint scheme, but that’s not a Blood Angel. (I mean, intentionally so; he’s a “generic Chaplain” by design.) I gave him a Blood Angels backpack, but he needed a bit more to tie him into the chapter; I figured a red knee pad with a chapter symbol would do the trick. He also has black armor, which means black suit gaskets aren’t going to read well — not to mention a mix of red elements that need definition and separation.

Which means it’s color guide time!

Chaplain color guide

  • Black: Abaddon Black > Eshin Grey > Dawnstone
  • Bone and parchment: Rakarth Flesh > Agrax Earthshade > Pallid Wych Flesh > White Scar
  • Metal and piping: Leadbelcher > Nuln Oil > Stormhost Silver
  • Armor gaskets: Mechanicus Standard Grey > Nuln Oil > Dawnstone
  • Leather and piping: Screamer Pink > Carroburg Crimson (skipped on gems) > Pink Horror > Emperor’s Children
  • Gold: Retributor Armour > Reikland Fleshshade > Auric Armour Gold > Liberator Gold
  • Eyes and tubing: Moot Green > Agrax Earthshade > Moot Green
  • Book cover: Khorne Red > Agrax Earthshade > Wazdakka Red > 50/50 blend of Wazdakka Red/Kislev Flesh
  • Knee pad, gems, purity seal wax: Mephiston Red > Agrax Earthshade > Evil Sunz Scarlet > Fire Dragon Bright

Other hobby work swirling about

I also looked at my painting queue for May and decided I wanted to make my stretch goal the Sanguinary Guard — as planned — but that doing Dante and the Sanguinary Ancient (with his massive banner) might be too much of a stretch. Still, having primed Dante, I figured I’d take him through basing.

Commander Dante

…And get the Guard and Abaoz through basing as well, so I’d be covered no matter what.

Squad Remiel and Sanguinary Ancient Abaoz, curing overnight
The state of my painting area this weekend
Squads Remiel and Adamo

I put in less hobby time than I thought I would this weekend, doing more other stuff instead, but kept my hobby streak up — Monday was day 93! — and laid the groundwork for what comes after my Sternguard.

Wrapping up the Chaplain and Squad Amedeo should definitely be doable before the end of May, and really going beyond that — 1x Rhino, 11x Marines — was a stretch anyway. But I won’t discount the possibility that a couple of banner painting nights sneak in, say, all of Squad Remiel by May 31, either. It happened last month, after all!

Out now: The Unlucky Isles

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is now on DriveThruRPG.