[Miami]

My Army/Project Log – Chaos Space Marines

So I’ve decided to start this fantastic hobby again. I first got into it in sixth (2000-2001) grade when a friend of mine talked to me about it, I specifically remember him hyping the Dreadnought to oblivion. It got me totally pumped so I begged my mom to drive me to the local GW, and I bought one of those starting sets and starting paint sets. Unfortunately a sixth grader shouldn’t get involved in this hobby; it will rob you of all your allowance! So I ended up quitting the hobby in like 2003.

So now with a larger monthly allowance I decided to start getting into it again. I know there’s a little gaming community and my town and I’m gonna look into joining them. But first I want to get an army painted fully and based and all that. Even if my army crashes and burns facing opponents, It’s gonna look damn good while doing it at least.

So here’s my army/project log. I’ve chosen Chaos Space Marines. When I started out playing I played Space Marines, and then switched to Tyranids. I enjoyed both armies a lot (Tyranids slightly favored) and their different play styles. Chaos Space Marines feels like a good option, as it seems they have a good mixture of play style/aesthetics of those aforementioned armies. I’m starting out with a flat out Black Legion army. I love the dark, ancient look of the scheme and the shame the army bears on its shoulders.

I plan on making installments of 250 points to my army as I start out. Right now I’m looking at assembling and painting my 500 point army consisting of:

• Terminator Lord with a retinue of Terminators
• 2 squads of cultists, resulting in 1 squad of 10 and another of 15, so 25 models in total
• A Maulerfiend

I am not completely new to painting, having painted models some ten years ago. However the most technical painting I did then was drybrushing and some very squiggly highlights. I didn’t even know what washes were. So I’ve done a lot of googling for nice tutorials and guides on how to paint and I’ve found a few that I really like. So my style and scheme will incorporate a few elements of those tutorials/guides and a little of my own interpretation. So this is my fourth week of painting anew. These are the models I’ve painted so far (excuse the poor quality of the photos):

Cultists



Really enjoyed painting these cannon fodder models... which I guess is a good thing cause I've got about 20 more to be painted!

Terminators


These are fun models to paint aswell. I do feel if I were to put in an extra hour or so on each model to fit in some more highlights they would look better however. Still have one more to paint as well as my Lord in Terminator armor.

Chosen

Front



Back



This model was an experiment following this magnificent guide (credit given where credit is due):
http://www.taleofpainters.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/tutorial-how-to-paint-dark-vengeance.html
I think it turned out pretty well, but my hand is still a bit shaky and my knowledge of painting isn't that great.

So Currently I’m painting another set of 5 cultists. After those are complete I’m going to give my Lord a shot. After he’s complete I got 15 more cultists to go. I’m gonna put in an order tonight for a Maulerfiend and some additional paints, as well as some basing material. I’ll try to get some photos of the Cultists up and keep this plog alive!

Of course, any comments and suggestions/constructive critique is always warmly welcomed!

 

[neferhet]

That's an impressive display of paintink skills! Well done Miami!!
Black highliting is a quality one. If i might, however, i'd say that the left terminator's tusks and the skulls on the rack on the 2nd on the right are a bit lacking.
I'm curios about the Maulerfiend!

 

[Varakir]

Looking good so far mate, you can never stay away from 40k for too long...always end up coming back :grin:

Have to agree with Nef, your black is really good. What's the plan for basing?

 

[Miami]

@Neferhet Thanks! The army I’m building is after a list you gave me in the Chaos Space Marines Army List section. I know there are quite a few things that I could add to the Terminators to make them much more appealing, I’ll see if I get to it once the rest of my army is painted…

@Varakir Thank you! I’m gonna try out a new technique for the black when I do my lord, hopefully it will look even better. My plan for the basing is having a brown, deserty kind of base. I plan on painting them with Mournfang Brown IIRC, then gluing sand to be drybrushed with Rakarth Flesh and then I’ve also bought some “Burnt grass” from the Citadel collection to add a feeling of the earth corrupting with every chaos-y step.

I placed a new order yesterday evening. I ordered a Maulerfiend and a few more paints to add some variety. As it is at the moment I’ve basically only got red paints for painting details, now I’ve added some blues and greens as well.

Here’s some pics of the progress I’ve made so far (after about four weeks):

Cultists:



Here are the five cultists I’m working on at the moment. I’ve applied all the base colors so far. The paints I use are:

• Doombull Brown for the leathery and red-colored clothes
• Rakarth Flesh for wool/twill clothes
• Eshin Grey/Lahmium Medium for the black clothes.
• Warplock Bronze for gun casings
• Leadbelcher for metal parts of the guns as well as details
• 3:2 mix of Xereus Purple and Rakarth Flesh for the skin.
• Gehennas Gold and a Brass color (can’t remember the name, sitting on a bus…) for some other details.

The plan is now to basically wash leather, wool/twill, guns and metal details with Agrax Earthshade. The black and red cloth with Nuln Oil and the skin with Druchii Violet. I’ll upload pics when that’s complete.

Terminator:

Front:


Right:


Left:


Here’s a Terminator I did in much the same manner as my chosen. I say he looks better than the four other Terminators. Takes forever to paint though… I made a pathetic attempt at painting the axe too look like a glowing/crackling power weapon, but I’m not too pleased about it. Anyone have any tips on how to make things like that look good?

I’ll be gone for the weekend so won’t get much painting done, you’ll have to wait until next week for an update!

/Miami

 

[neferhet]

Thanks! The army I’m building is after a list you gave me in the Chaos Space Marines Army List section.

I'm flattered! :blush:
This is a very good paintjob! Black legion to the bones!
The power axe: i like the result of your painting there. but if you want the crackling lightning effect i'll point you here:
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=6438
and here:
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=83872

BTW this pics you uploaded are a little bit too foggy..can we have the original version?
I'm looking forward to the next update! Have a nice weekend, man!

 

[Kreuger]

These guys are looking pretty good, but @neferhet has it on the nose. Your photos are pretty washed out, and I'm guessing don't accurately represent your work.

I'd recommend you try out GiMP (which is free!) or photoshop if you have it to try and clean the photos up before posting them. I took a shot at your cultist photo, and did my best to bring the color and contrast back, but it isn't perfect.

I think the color scheme works, and looks pretty close to how they were painted on the box. it looks like your paint is a bit too thick though. The skin and cloth in particular have a rubbery look to them. You should probably thin out your paints on a palette before working with them on the models.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Miami]

@neferhet & @Kreuger
Thanks for the feedback and those tips for the painting! I am testing out thinning my paints more often now and it does feel like the models better, it’s just tedious and time consuming having to apply 3-4 layers to get a good finish…

I agree that the photos aren’t optimal, but it’s the best I can do with my scrappy phone camera. I won’t be taking anymore photos inside a box with that background, not until I can get some proper lighting at least.

So now I’m back with an update! Last time I left you with my cultists who had base colors applied to them but not much else. Now they’re finished (took me about two evenings more than I anticipated at first) but I think the results speak for themselves.

Group picture, say cheese!


Champion, front

There are a few more things to be done such as the shoulder puffs and his sword, but I’m waiting for some paints that I ordered to arrive so I can continue.

Champion, back

I actually really like the result of this guy’s trench coat; the lighting and shading are pretty good. Your thoughts & comments are most appreciated!

”The other guys”




Cute cannon fodder!

BONUS: FIRST MODEL I EVER PAINTED

So. Last weekend I was at my dad’s house and went digging through my closet. Lo and behold, there I found all my old Warhammer stuff from like 10 years ago lying there. I even managed to find the first model I ever painted! Showed great promise, dontcha think?

Now I plan on getting my Terminator Lord painted. I guess I’ll try to do some progress updates, as I have a feeling I will be spending quite a lot of time on him. Until next time!

 

[Saintspirit]

I do like how the Term. Lord is looking so far, with the converted axe and that. Certainly looking forward to see him finished, with a base (mostly because I prefer having finished models based). Keep it up.

Oh, and one other thing - I understand you are planning on using a Black Legion theme, but what Mark will you be using mainly?

 

[Nordicus]

Just stumbled across this - Excellent work so far! It's nice to see another Black Legion painter

In regards to the terminators, my one tip would be to lighten the bone bits a tad. They look quite yellow in the pictures (though that could be the photo quality as well) and could use a drybrushing of Bleached Bone or the like. Just to take the yellow down a bit.

As for the cultists, I would maybe do another highlighting of a more pale ski mixture of some kind. The shading looks awesome, but they are VERY purple in their nuances. I think that if you put small highlight on them with a very pale skin, thats thinned down like 50/50 then it could get a feel that they're just very pale - Instead of alien purple.

Other than that, it looks great. Your grey highlights on the armor is excellent and that is a hard thing to pull off. Keep up the good work!

 

[Miami]

I do like how the Term. Lord is looking so far, with the converted axe and that. Certainly looking forward to see him finished, with a base (mostly because I prefer having finished models based). Keep it up.

Oh, and one other thing - I understand you are planning on using a Black Legion theme, but what Mark will you be using mainly?

Thanks. However the Terminator model there is just another Terminator, not my Lord. He's only basecoated this far with no other paint. Gonna start working on him this weekend.

I'm waiting for a shipment from Wayland Games that I ordered last thursday to arrive with some paints and supplies for the bases, unfortunately there's something that's not in stock. If I had ordered from GW I'd have to pay a little more, but at least all my stuff would've been here by now...

As for what mark I'm planning on using, I honestly don't know. I haven't even played a single game yet so haven't gotten a chance to really try it out! Did you have something in mind painting-wise regarding the marks? Do you have any experience as to which mark is the "best"?

Thanks for your feedback anyways!

 

[Nordicus]

Do you have any experience as to which mark is the "best"?

The favored mark (by far) is currently the Mark of Nurgle, which gives +1 toughness. It's a foolproof mark that gives you a little advantage over basically all armies and setups you meet out there.

That's not to say the others are bad though. I am unaware of how much you know of the gamerules at this stage as you haven't played the game yet - Have you studied the gamerules and your codex, as in you units capabilities?

 

[Miami]

The favored mark (by far) is currently the Mark of Nurgle, which gives +1 toughness. It's a foolproof mark that gives you a little advantage over basically all armies and setups you meet out there.

That's not to say the others are bad though. I am unaware of how much you know of the gamerules at this stage as you haven't played the game yet - Have you studied the gamerules and your codex, as in you units capabilities?

Thanks, I'll keep MoN in mind

I've read through the rulebook once, and I played the game some 10 years ago so I know the general flow of a game. I know there's been rule changes and all that but I grasp the general concept well.

I've read up on the codex as well, at least all the fluffy stuff. I haven't had a chance to sit down and delve into the unit stats and wargear options etc. yet.

 

[Nordicus]

Allright, do let us know if you have anything you need to know. But that's a topic for another thread

In terms of the painting I would advise against painting them to suit a specific mark, specially when playing Black Legion. Black Legion is a all-rounder in terms of both fluff and playstyle, so it will probably hinder you more than anything to paint them to suit a specific mark. It would suck to paint them to fit MoN and then finding out htat you enjoy Slaanesh more for example.

Again, keep up the good work - Can't wait to see the forgefiend!

 

[Saintspirit]

Oh, sorry. That termie looked like a lord, with that head.

I frankly finds all the marks quite useful in various ways; for example, the mark of tzeentch can be interesting mainly on terminators since it gives them a 4+ invo. I personally use the MoK most often, though, since I like to be pretty agressive with my units and I also finds the Icon of Wrath really useful. I also like to paint red.

 

[neferhet]

it’s just tedious and time consuming having to apply 3-4 layers to get a good finish…

Amen for that, man. But the results are really good, don't you think? I've found that with some more "bitchy" colours like pink, yellow and white you can do good with just 2 layers, but you should need some practice in finding out the right amount of watering down.

I think the cultists are very good as they are. The purple skin tone make them very "mutant-scum-ish" I like that

About the marks and the general uses of chaos units i'll point out Mossy Toes tactica:
http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=121542
It is pure gold.

The first model: eh, you were daring indeed, starting with white models! I've stripped and repainted my first two models sadly.

 

[Miami]

So a quick update!

My Lord is well under way. ”Unfortunately” I had some visitors this weekend which hindered my painting. But I was able to sit down on Sunday for a good 5-6 hours at least. I managed to snap some photos of my progress after (almost) every step.

I’ve practiced doing multiple thin layers on this model. The results are smooth and nice, but it takes sooo much time! And getting good results on black armor is hard…

A quick question to anyone reading: how do you transfer paints from the pots to your palette? I just load up a brush with paint and transfer it a couple times, then dip it in water and mix the water with the paint. Is there a better way to transfer and thin your paints?

Chaos Lord step-by-almost-step




1. Eshin Grey + Lahmium Medium, painting top 2/3 of black armor
2. Dawnstone + Lahmium Medium, painting top ½ of black armor
3. Administratum Grey + Lahmium medium, painting top ¼ of black armor
4. Doombull Brown on the cloth parts





5. I skip a few steps here, because I forgot to take pictures. Anyways I’ve painted the Bolter with Warplock Bronze. Then I washed the black armor, Warplock Bronze and Doombull Brown parts with Nuln Oil. I then painted Leadbelcher on to the parts I want to be metal, and then washed them with Agrax Earthshade.
6. Brass Scorpion was painted on to armor trims etc
7. Brass Scorpion is washed with Warplock Bronze mixed with Lahmium Medium. This tones down the shininess a lot and gives the armor a very ancient look to it. However I think in the future I may want it just a little bit brighter, and I believe I might be able to achieve that effect by using more Lahmium Medium in this shade. I used 1:1 here; I think 1:2 or maybe even 1:3 will make it look better.


So yeah, I’ll be continuing on this guy when I get home.

Anyone have any tips/ideas for how I should paint the fur on his cloak? I’m not even sure what color I want yet, grey or brown? Or try something more drastic to make the model stick out?! Oh and I haven’t painted the claws on the power fist yet. Not sure if I want them metal or have a similar effect to the axe of the other Terminator. Any suggestions there?

Miami out.

 

[neferhet]

Neat and precise work. Very good! The fur could be white to give the model a point of light. Other colours from grey, white or brown might seem too garish. he's not a slaanesh lord, after all
About the claws: the "axe effect" would be very good. you can use those as a way to give some colour contrast to the lord.
About paint transferring and thinning: it's the way i do it. You can better control the quantity of colour and water, that way.
Keep it comin'!

 

[Nordicus]

Other colours from grey, white or brown might seem too garish. he's not a slaanesh lord, after all

I would actually argue that a grey fur would look ace with that color theme. Something along the lines of a cape that he took from a slain Spacewolf Champion or the like - I did so on my Lord and it looks ace with the dark red cape

Similarly, I also do the way you described in terms of transfering and thinning. There are alot of ways to do it, and I think nearly every player has their own way to do it

 

[Miami]

Update again!

Progress is slow; I have only had one or two hours the past evenings to paint. I’ve managed to do all the highlighting of the armor trims and metal parts of his armor. I haven’t however gotten around to doing the spikes on his back, those will probably be done last.

So what I plan on doing until my next update is paint the red cloth, the “claws” on the PF and the fur. I think I’m going to go with grey fur. I’m thinking of basing with Eshin Grey, then Nuln Oil wash. Then a heavy drybrush of Dawnstone Grey, then a light drybrush with Administratum Grey. Then doing extreme highlights with either Russ Grey (for a blue-ish tone) or a white (for a more white-ish tone, duh). Any thoughts on how that would look?

Anyway, here are some photos of the latest progress. The first picture is after highlights with Runelord Brass on the Scorpion Brass trims, and the second picture is after the highlights with Runefang Steel on the metal parts and armor trims.





Miami out.

 

[Saintspirit]

I think it is looking good so far, the metal highlighting in particular. While I am not very fond of what head you have chosen for him, I believe that is more of a quite personal view.