The Lion's Little Legion

The objective for the 3rd Company is speed and cohesion rather than high detail. At this scale, consistency across the force matters more than perfect edge highlights or intricate freehand. If the army looks unified on the table, I’ll have achieved what I set out to do.

I began with an airbrush primer of Pro Acryl Dark Camo Green, followed by a basecoat of Pro Acryl Black Green.

For the highlight layer, I tested two approaches:

• Drybrush of Camo Green
• Zenith spray highlight of Camo Green

On the smaller models the zenith effect disappeared almost immediately, while the drybrush retained definition and contrast across the panels. The drybrush won out.

Next came washes. I trialed Army Painter Strong Tone both by brush and airbrush.

• Brushed on, the wash desaturated the green too much and demanded another drybrush to restore contrast.
• Through the airbrush, the wash tied everything together without drowning the drybrush.

Result: airbrush wash wins.

This does mean a choppy airbrush-drybrush-airbrush approach to the basic colour of the chapter but provided the best compromise of speed and contrast.

With the recipe locked in, I pushed it across the entire company.

I probably shouldn’t have started here, but the temptation was strong. The first finished models were the command group:

• Grand Master Gabrael, accompanied by a Watcher in the Dark
• Apothecary Elias Morn
• Company Standard Bearer Brother-Nathaniel Veynar
• Veteran Brother Lucien Haleth
• Interrogator-Chaplain Gideon Rael
• Veteran Brother Malachai Dor
• Veteran Brother Severin Kael
• Librarian Seraphiel Kaedmon 
• Veteran Brother Corvin Than
• Veteran Brother Zaecariah Varrek

I always intended to put a bit more effort into the command units than most units so this was indulging myself a bit.

The Devil

For the robes, I used Pro Acryl Khaki basecoat, Strong Tone wash, then a drybrush of Pro Acryl Ivory. The contrast is heavier than I’d use at 32mm scale, but at this size the folds needed stronger depth to read clearly.

The company banner was finished with a stark gothic numeral ‘3’ to cement its identity.

Lesson learned: I really shouldn’t have based these before painting. It made reaching into the recesses far harder, and I’m not looking forward to tackling the more tightly-packed Devastator bases later