My DA Successor

[LidlessPraetor]

I said I would, and here they are: Pics of my Dark Angels successor chapter, 4th Company. This is not the entire collection, mind you, but the pics do give the general feel of my army. I plan on getting more pics taken of the remainder of the force, and use this thread as a place to showcase my models. :)

I have to say that I've been working on this army for about 3 years. It's mostly a project that I work on in-between other armies. I am a very slow painter as I just cannot batch paint: it's against my nature. :)

Tactical Squad #1, Company Master, & Pod

Tactical Squad #2

Assault Squad #8

Devastator Squad #9

Close Combat Terminators & Ezekiel

Land Speeders & Attack Bike

[Rafen_2]

Their very good! I like the opposite of Dark Angel paint scheme you got going on. Hope to see more soon.

[wheelballer]

Wow, I love the paint job. So crisp. I wish I could paint half as well as this. I can never post models on here, for fear that my painting is so terrible... But props to you man. Great job on the army so far.

[Chaplain Lucifer]

Looking very good. Its rare to see that DA sucessor chapter represented, so Kudos to you.

[WatchCaptainAzrael]

So, what do you call these fine gents?

[LidlessPraetor]

So, what do you call these fine gents?

 

 

I've always referred to them as the 'Praetorian de Angeli', but I'm thinking I might have to come up with a different chapter name. Totally open to suggestions. :P

[Captain Semper]

Very nice! And 4th Company no less! :P

 

I like your clean painting and I have to admire your skill with white & bone! My only comment would be that the Speeders beg for some color distraction.the painting quality is great and consistent with the rest of the force but the larger white(ish) surfaces could do with some contrast... Maybe the anti grav "bumpers" could be metal? I don't know...

 

Love the Drop Pod!

 

Keep it up! What should we expect next?

[Interrogator Stobz]

So, what do you call these fine gents?

 

 

I've always referred to them as the 'Praetorian de Angeli', but I'm thinking I might have to come up with a different chapter name. Totally open to suggestions. :P

Apart from shoulder markings (and other icons) you have painted Angels of Absolution.

And done it VERY well, cudos to you brother.

 

Stobz

[LidlessPraetor]

My only comment would be that the Speeders beg for some color distraction.the painting quality is great and consistent with the rest of the force but the larger white(ish) surfaces could do with some contrast... Maybe the anti grav "bumpers" could be metal? I don't know...

 

Honestly, I couldn't agree more, and it's something that I struggle with finding an answer for. I think the drop pod could use something to break up the bone as well. I've thought about painting some of the panels Dark Angel green, or even checkered to match, but since they are not 4th company, I don't think that's what I'll end up doing. None of my second company attachment have green with the exception of robes. One of the things that I'd like to do eventually is get some of the Dark Eldar Razorwing and glue them to the bases of my Land Speeders. I really like that artists picture in the 4th edition codex with the speeders and bikes surrounded by a flock of black Ravens :P

 

I'll post a pic of it, but I took one of my bikers and glued a Coteaz(SP?) arm with the two headed bird and painted it black to look like a double headed raven that he is tossing into the sky.

[Millicant]

I love this paint scheme. Excellent work.

 

I hate to say it, but Stobz is right - those are (paint scheme-wise at least) the Angels of Absolution.

 

This is good enough that I'm considering copying you and abandoning my own lame paint scheme.

[Isiah]

Whatever they're called they look awesome so good work B).

 

Cheers

I

[LidlessPraetor]

Here's the second batch of photos that I have for my army. First up:

Tactical Squad #3

Tactical Squad #4(First Half)

My HQs and Techmarine

My 2nd Company Detachment

Belial and Ranged Terminators #1

Last and Certainly not least:

My Whirlwind

And That's it for my army thus far. I am currently working on the second half to 4th tactial. I'll get a pic of them once I'm finished and post it up here. Afterwards, I am looking to do a step-by-step of my painting style/technique with a scout squad as the subject. For now though: :D

[WatchCaptainAzrael]

The whirlwind looks sweet. :D

[Chaplain Lucifer]

Everything is looking ace!

 

My only comment is about the bikers.. IMHO there's too much bone colour going on.. I would suggest breaking it up with some mud on tires + fenders or add more green or a third colour.

[Captain Semper]

Everything is looking ace!

 

My only comment is about the bikers.. IMHO there's too much bone colour going on.. I would suggest breaking it up with some mud on tires + fenders or add more green or a third colour.

 

...or red! White, green & red as a combo is very DA and since this is a DYI successor the less it looks like Angels of Absolution the better. I like your work a lot - very clean! Keep them coming!

[Millicant]

Amazing! I'm a huge fan - great work.

 

I'm officially abandoning my own homebrew Successor paint scheme in favor of the Angels of Absolution after seeing your work. I know yours aren't the AoA but the scheme has inspired me.

 

And I would love to see a walkthrough of your method for painting this scheme. Any chance of a quick preview (sans pictures, of course) so I can begin work on my own? :ph34r:

[LidlessPraetor]

And I would love to see a walkthrough of your method for painting this scheme. Any chance of a quick preview (sans pictures, of course) so I can begin work on my own? ;)

 

 

I'll get one of these scouts done tomorrow, so I can do it with pics. It's *so* much easier that way.

 

The biggest trick to the white is to mix matte medium in with the paint. I use Vallejo Game Color, but even with GW paints: this is critical with lighter shades. It thins the paint quite a bit, and makes it go on smooth. The problem with it, is that it takes at least 2-3 coats to go on fully, hence why it takes me so long to paint... :ph34r:

[LidlessPraetor]

Here is part 1 of a 2 part step-by-step of how I paint my models. I decided to do a regular marine with bolter as the subject because that is more common in my army, and is a better way to show how I paint the Bleached Bone the way I do. A scout just doesn't have as much surface area to showcase that aspect of my painting.

One thing that I want to express is that I am very Obsessive Compulsive, even more so about my painting. There is a certain 'look' that I shoot for with my models. It has to be clean, otherwise I work over it until it does look clean. The reason I'm saying that is because it explains why I do NOT use washes on the bone color. In my experiences, lighter colors get dimmed by a wash and it makes the models look almost 'dirty'. Even an extremely thin Sepia will discolor the white to the point that it isn't as crisp as if you just line the shadows.

Also, I paint the models in pieces so that I am able to reach all of the robe and crest eagle details easier. I glue the arms together at the bolter while dry-fitting them to the torso, but I wait until after I'm done painting them before gluing them to the body. My crest eagles are done black, so avoiding getting black on the bone is a top priority. I guess to save myself a step I could prime the backpack in black, but I don't even own black primer, and to me, it's not worth investing money in a product that I'd hardly use.

Having said all of that, I know that there are probably quicker ways to paint the white, but I don't do 'quick and easy'. I do detailed. Without further ado:

Step #1: White primer. If you use grey or black, it just makes more work later as you have to cover it with more coats of the bleached bone. After the primer, I apply my basing material, which is just modeling sand and really small gravel. I prime the white before the basing b/c in my past experiences, primer put over the textured sand obscures some of the details of the sand. Again -> OCD :lol:

Step #2: I do the base as the first thing. Most people do the bases last, but again, to protect the quality of bone, I do the base first. I start with Bestial Brown, then apply two drybrushes of bleached bone, then skull white. It gives my bases kind of a 'muddy sand' effect.

Step #3: The next step is to paint the robes. I cover them with Dark Angels green (surprise). I use a really thin coating, so it usually takes one or two coats to get it to look covered right. While I'm waiting for that coat to dry, I paint the backpack and the bolter's top half in Chaos Black. Once the green base is dry, I do a heavy drybrush of Snot Green (Almost an overbrush, but I take care not to overdo it). Then a really light drybrush of Goblin Green is applied to the most raised surfaces of the robe.

Step #4: This is the tricky step. I apply Bleached bone to the armor plating of the model, including the arms and helmet. At this point, the robes and the base are completely done, so I have to be very careful with the coat to make sure that I don't accidentally get white on the green robe.

Like I said earlier in the posts, I use Liquitex matte medium as a way to thin the bone white down to where it coats extremely thin, but it ensures that it doesn't clump or distort the details such as the armor plates. Doing this usually takes 2-3 coats, but sometimes more to make the finished product look correct. This particular model took me 5-6 coats, mainly because I was not as diligent as I should have been with the primer: It was too grey and not white enough. :wacko:

And that's it for part 1. Tomorrow, I'll be lining the shadows and painting the raised areas in a white highlight. Seriously though, that's most of the model, and once I'm at this stage, I know I'm just about finished! :lol:

[LidlessPraetor]

Part 2:

Step #5:I apply a thin line of Bubonic Brown in the recesses of the armor. Thin is the key word there. Everything from the arms, helmet, and leg armor is done with the shading. Afterwards, I paint the rope with Snakebite Leather, the bolter and backpack with Boltgun Metal, and then the eyes, arm badge, and bolter face with Dark Angels Green, then Snot Green and Goblin Green built up.

Step #6: Finishing touches: The last step is to paint a thin line of Codex Grey as a highlight to the black on the bolter and backpack. Once this is done, I paint the thinnest line of white that I can as a highlight to the Bleached Bone armor. I don't highlight every plate, just the parts that are the most raised: the shoulder and elbow pads, the wrists and hands, the helmet, the top and bottom of the calf plate, and the tip of the boot. Only then do I glue the model together in the battle-ready pose. Once that's done, I do a very selective drybrush of Mithril Silver on the Bolter, because I like a polished look to my bolters.

This model is still not 100% done, as I still have the squad and company markings, which I hand paint on. Also, depending on how over-zealous I was with the Snot Green on the robe, I usually apply a very thin coat of thrakka green wash. Also, if I am adding censors or little statue things to the tops of their backpacks, I usually do that squad-wide so I do those after the main part of the model is done. Once I do that, I repaint the rim of the base, and use matte varnish to keep it all from just rubbing off.

This is generally the technique that I use across the board with my army. Obviously a step is skipped if they don't have a robe on, but more is added because I paint the areas of under-mesh black with codex grey highlights. That and there's more shading to do if they aren't wearing robes, and also an aquila to paint.

:cuss for reading and I hope this gives you some new insight to miniature painting or inspires some great works in you!

[Millicant]

Fantastic. Thank you so much for doing that - I really appreciate it.

 

I will be doing my army very similarly in the near future. I may experiment with light washes to replace your thin lines of bubonic brown as I am not steady-handed (and slightly impatient...) but I imagine I'll end up doing it this way in the long run. Very well done sir and thank you for sharing! :devil: