Skip to toolbar
Finally Finishing an Army

Finally Finishing an Army

Supported by (Turn Off)

Project Blog by crazyredcoat

Recommendations: 337

About the Project

I've been part of this glorious hobby for a rather long time, and I've never really gotten an army painted...until now! I have been working on this for a while, so there is plenty of stuff already done, but there is still a lot of bare plastic on my display shelves that needs finishing! For now, it's focused on my Ultramarines, but a few other Imperium goodies may be splashed in from time to time. I'm working on getting some better pictures here and there, but I'm relying on my phone camera, so bear with me.

This Project is Completed

Where we are so far!

Tutoring 7
Skill 15
Idea 9
1 Comment

So here is where my army has gotten thus far! I have gotten the basics of the army done, so I’ll post some pictures of what I have done. Let’s start with my characters. From the top down we have Captain Aurelius Caesterlus (they are Ultramarines, so prepare for some terrible faux Latin!), a Fleet Officer attached to the 3rd Company. Chaplain Quintus Antonius, Lieutenant Caius Lucius, Company Ancient Marcus Signus, and finally Apothecary Galen Aelius.

Where we are so far! cont...

Tutoring 9
Skill 12
Idea 8
No Comments

Next up we have a few troop options, just some basic Intercessor Squads, so nothing really fancy here. The blue on my armour is actually very quick and simple. Spray the minis with the Macragge Blue spray from GW, then wash the whole thing with Nuln Oil, then heavy drybrush with Macragge Blue again, then lightly drybrush with Calgar Blue. Very quick and very simple!

Where we are so far! cont...again...

Tutoring 8
Skill 11
Idea 7
No Comments

Next up is some Veteran Inceptors, because no one said I couldn’t! Top tip for anyone else thinking about painting these chaps: sub-assemblies! The jetpacks can get in the way of some of the details at the back of the minis, for sure, and I found having the arms attached a bit tricky to work around too. From a tabletop perspective, I’m never sure what to do with this unit, but it needed painting all the same!

Where we are so far! cont...again...

I also hate flying stands…

Finally some new stuff!

Tutoring 6
Skill 10
Idea 7
No Comments

TANKS!

Well, tank. This Predator I built and painted to fit in with both 40k and 30k (though my 30k is even less complete than my 40k pile of plastic…). Another tip here is beware of Contrast over large areas. For ease of painting, I’ve started using Contrast for weapon casings and ‘soft parts’ of armour because it really is great for that sort of stuff, but on the casings for the Predator I needed a couple of coats to get it to look good. I am rather happy with how she turned out, though.

Finally some new stuff!

Another simple paintjob here was the tracks. Paint them silver (I use Leadbelcher) then wash them Nuln Oil, then Agrax Earthshade, then maybe a second coat of Agrax if you want them to look more worn.

The Marksmen join the fray!

Tutoring 6
Skill 10
Idea 7
No Comments

My latest unit that I just got finished. Veteran Intercessors with Stalker Bolt Rifles. I don’t have any Eliminators just yet, so these lads will have to do! Contrast for skin is definitely your friend when you’re trying to get things done. I used Darkoath here, and it is so simple. For big characters I might do a bit of layering on top to really make it pop, but for these chaps it looks fine.

The Marksmen join the fray!

The Eyes of the Imperium.

Tutoring 6
Skill 9
Idea 8
No Comments

There’s also a few ‘Agents’ that I have lying around that fit in with the army. These are my Inquisitor, Freyja Nattdatter, conversion and my Vindicare Assasin. As you can probably work out, Freyja is based upon Greyfax but as I wanted an Alien Hunter, I got rid of the crossbow gun VERY carefully and replaced it with a Plasma Pistol from the Mk IV Marine kit. A simple headswap with an Escher and BOOM! almost-instant Inquisitor! The Vindicare is a little more boring, but both have some little Blue markers to show their allegiance.

The System.

Tutoring 7
Skill 7
Idea 8
No Comments

As I said, it’s taken me a while to get this far with an army, and this is the furthest in over 10 years in the hobby… I’m sure I’m not alone in having that problem, so I thought I’d go over my system. It’s actually really simple, but it helps you to get an army rather than a few bits and bobs finished.

First things first, work out what is a ‘unit’ and what is a ‘big thing’ in the system in which your playing. In this case (40k) I counted characters and vehicles as ‘big things’ and any multi model group as a ‘unit’. However, for Bolt Action, for example, you may want to count your support teams and command teams as ‘big things’ alongside your Big Cats and Tommy Cookers (I may start another project about getting my Germans for Bolt Action done later on).

So now that you have everything split into the groups, you need to get started. Start with something you’d like to paint, but make sure to keep something nice back to reward yourself when you’re just sick of painting the same thing (Goblin players will understand). So let’s say we start with a Marine Lieutenant. A good choice, all games need an HQ, after all. For Bolt Action, maybe start with a Junior Officer and his bullet shields friends. Once that’s done, move onto a ‘unit’. Deff start with a ‘necessary’ unit like a troop choice for 40k, Battleline for AoS, Infantry Section for Bolt Action, ect. then once they are done, back to a ‘big thing’ then rinse and repeat.

It’s a simple system, but before you know it you’ll have what looks like an army getting painted and, even better, what PLAYS as an army painted. No longer the set-up of shame as you place ranks and ranks of grey plastic at the gaming club. Hope this helps someone out there, and happy painting!

Painting a Big Blue Meanie (Part 1).

Tutoring 9
Skill 10
Idea 9
No Comments

This is the first mini I’ve started after this project started, and I thought I’d take the opportunity to go through some various steps I took to get my Redemptor Dreadnought (currently operating under the name ‘Jeffrey’) ready. So let’s get started with the skeleton of the mini!

So, as I said before, I have a thing for sub-assemblies. Here are mine for this mini, the top glacis plate was seperate in order to get paint onto most of the Sarcophagus. I primed the legs and torso with GW's Leadbelcher Spray and the glacis plate in Macragge Blue. More on the blue bits later though!So, as I said before, I have a thing for sub-assemblies. Here are mine for this mini, the top glacis plate was seperate in order to get paint onto most of the Sarcophagus. I primed the legs and torso with GW's Leadbelcher Spray and the glacis plate in Macragge Blue. More on the blue bits later though!
So the basic system here is one I borrowed from the GW painting videos for the Imperial Knights they did some years ago. First up wash all over anything that will be metal with Nuln Oil. This will take a while to dry, so be patient.So the basic system here is one I borrowed from the GW painting videos for the Imperial Knights they did some years ago. First up wash all over anything that will be metal with Nuln Oil. This will take a while to dry, so be patient.
Next pick out some details with Balthasar Gold. This part is optional, really, and the mini would still look great without it, but it helps to break up the metal parts a bit. Get a nice solid base before moving to the next step. You'll notice only the torso here, because I am a dingus who jumped ahead on the legs before taking a picture...Next pick out some details with Balthasar Gold. This part is optional, really, and the mini would still look great without it, but it helps to break up the metal parts a bit. Get a nice solid base before moving to the next step. You'll notice only the torso here, because I am a dingus who jumped ahead on the legs before taking a picture...
Next we want to apply a nice all over shade of Agrax Earthshade. This gives a bit of a grimier appearance to the machinery, and for that reason I avoided the weapon parts to help them stand out a bit more. You will need to shade all parts painted in Balthasar Gold if they are on the weapons, though, so switch to a smaller brush to shade these.Next we want to apply a nice all over shade of Agrax Earthshade. This gives a bit of a grimier appearance to the machinery, and for that reason I avoided the weapon parts to help them stand out a bit more. You will need to shade all parts painted in Balthasar Gold if they are on the weapons, though, so switch to a smaller brush to shade these.
Then the fun part; drybrushing! I used Runefang Steel here, but any bright silver will do. Necron Compound would be a very good option if you have some, but, alas, I did not.Then the fun part; drybrushing! I used Runefang Steel here, but any bright silver will do. Necron Compound would be a very good option if you have some, but, alas, I did not.

And that’s the basic skeleton! At this point if you want to show some more ‘polished’ zones such as pistons, go ahead and paint some bright silvers in there, but remember to leave some shading in the recesses! Next up we’ll be moving onto the armour plates. The brilliant thing about this skeleton, though, is that is works regardless of the chapter you’ve picked, or created, to paint! After this things will be more Ultramarine focused, but you can always switch out some colours.

Painting a Big Blue Meanie (Part 2).

Tutoring 10
Skill 9
Idea 9
No Comments

Hopefully this uploads this time round, but here is the sequel to the Big Blue Meanie (still currently called Jeffrey)! Now with more blue! The painting method I use for vehicles is a little different from that of my infantry, particularly here where we have some already painted stuff that can get in the way of a drybrush.

The first stage is to get the basecoat on. As a famous man once said; 'two thin coats'. A smooth, solid colour is what you want here. In a few places I put it on a bit thick, but the overall look works for me. Obviously, I used Macragge Blue here, but you can choose different colours for different chapters.The first stage is to get the basecoat on. As a famous man once said; 'two thin coats'. A smooth, solid colour is what you want here. In a few places I put it on a bit thick, but the overall look works for me. Obviously, I used Macragge Blue here, but you can choose different colours for different chapters.
Next a recess shade of Nuln Oil. This will take longer than an all over, but the large flat panels will pool the shade much more, so in the long run this is just a bit easier.Next a recess shade of Nuln Oil. This will take longer than an all over, but the large flat panels will pool the shade much more, so in the long run this is just a bit easier.
Then a final VERY careful drybrush of Calgar Blue. This really adds that edge to the model with little effort, though edge highlighting is always an option, but will take a bit more time.Then a final VERY careful drybrush of Calgar Blue. This really adds that edge to the model with little effort, though edge highlighting is always an option, but will take a bit more time.

And there is the blue part done! Just a few other details like gun casings and gold details left to do!

Painting a Big Blue Meanie (Part 3).

Tutoring 7
Skill 7
Idea 5
No Comments

Painting black is very simple with Contrast. Duncan Rhodes’ latest video on using it was a very helpful (even if I didn’t get it 100% right first time).

First a basecoat of Grey Seer is applied. As with all basecoats, a solid colour is important here. Two thin coats, and all that (though I may have had to do three; metals are difficult to colour over).First a basecoat of Grey Seer is applied. As with all basecoats, a solid colour is important here. Two thin coats, and all that (though I may have had to do three; metals are difficult to colour over).
Then the Contrast! As you'll notice in later pictures, I was initially a bit patchy with this coat, but that was fixed later. Contrast really is a great tool.Then the Contrast! As you'll notice in later pictures, I was initially a bit patchy with this coat, but that was fixed later. Contrast really is a great tool.

Painting a Big Blue Meanie (Part 4).

Tutoring 8
Skill 8
Idea 7
1 Comment

Plasma Coils! Always a fun task to pick what colour you want, but the Ultramarines are pretty standard, so I went with traditional blue. This did turn out a little more dull than intended, but I like to imagine this is after the weapon has just fired and is on ‘cooldown’.

As I was applying the basecoat of Grey Seer, I also basecoated the coils, then a wash of Drakenhof Nightshade was applied all over. Just ignore the patchy paint on the gun casing.As I was applying the basecoat of Grey Seer, I also basecoated the coils, then a wash of Drakenhof Nightshade was applied all over. Just ignore the patchy paint on the gun casing.
Next a drybrush of Ulthan Grey was added across all of the coils.Next a drybrush of Ulthan Grey was added across all of the coils.
Then another lighter drybrush of White Scar along the top edges of the coils.Then another lighter drybrush of White Scar along the top edges of the coils.
Then a glaze of Guillaman Blue across the whole thing. I think I did two coats. Then, just to add that little extra I gave the coils a coat of 'Ardcoat gloss varnish.Then a glaze of Guillaman Blue across the whole thing. I think I did two coats. Then, just to add that little extra I gave the coils a coat of 'Ardcoat gloss varnish.

Painting a Big Blue Meanie (Part 5).

Tutoring 8
Skill 8
Idea 6
1 Comment

I thought I’d briefly go over my basing technique before showing off the finished product. I did skip a few details, but they were mostly simple base/shade/highlight stages.

First a cover of Armageddon Dunes across the whole base (this was also the last of my Armageddon Dunes...).First a cover of Armageddon Dunes across the whole base (this was also the last of my Armageddon Dunes...).
Then an all over shade of Agrax Earthshade (this is pretty much the last of my Agrax...)Then an all over shade of Agrax Earthshade (this is pretty much the last of my Agrax...)
Then a drybrush of Ushabti Bone with some grass tuft added to the base.Then a drybrush of Ushabti Bone with some grass tuft added to the base.
Then the edge of the base was painted in Abbadon Black (two thin coats).Then the edge of the base was painted in Abbadon Black (two thin coats).
And here he is all finished! A coat of 'Ardcoat was added to the base for that last little shine.And here he is all finished! A coat of 'Ardcoat was added to the base for that last little shine.

The Great Aggressor Oddesey

Tutoring 8
Skill 8
Idea 7
No Comments

This update has taken a little longer than anticipated, but my Aggressors are finally done (minus bases but more on that later). I thought I’d do a full step-by-step guide for these guys, so here we go! I started from a Macragge Blue spray undercoat and used the GW range of paints to paint these guys up.

First the model wash shaded with an all-over coat of Nuln Oil, followed by a heavy drybrush of Macragge Blue, then finally a drybrush of Calgar blue to define the edges.First the model wash shaded with an all-over coat of Nuln Oil, followed by a heavy drybrush of Macragge Blue, then finally a drybrush of Calgar blue to define the edges.
Next, the red details. These were also applied to the shoulder trims (I'm painting 3rd Coy.) and were started with a nice solid basecoat of Mephiston Red. This was followed by a recess shade of Agrax Earthshade (mainly to save paint) and then edge highlighted with Evil Sun's Scarlet.Next, the red details. These were also applied to the shoulder trims (I'm painting 3rd Coy.) and were started with a nice solid basecoat of Mephiston Red. This was followed by a recess shade of Agrax Earthshade (mainly to save paint) and then edge highlighted with Evil Sun's Scarlet.
The black details dotted around the mini were probably the simplest to do. CONTRAST! Grey Seer base (make sure it's a good solid colour) then Black Templar Contrast over top of it. On larger, flatter surfaces it could be a bit patchy, do a second coat if this happens.The black details dotted around the mini were probably the simplest to do. CONTRAST! Grey Seer base (make sure it's a good solid colour) then Black Templar Contrast over top of it. On larger, flatter surfaces it could be a bit patchy, do a second coat if this happens.
Metal. I think we can all do this in our sleep by now, but it's the simple recipe of Leadbelcher (I believe the similar paint in the Army Painter range is Gun Metal) shaded with Nuln Oil, then drybrushed (carefully in this case) with Runefang Steel, though any bright silver would suffice.Metal. I think we can all do this in our sleep by now, but it's the simple recipe of Leadbelcher (I believe the similar paint in the Army Painter range is Gun Metal) shaded with Nuln Oil, then drybrushed (carefully in this case) with Runefang Steel, though any bright silver would suffice.
Next up are gold details. Start with a basecoat of Retributor Armour, followed by a shade of Reikland Fleshshade. Some people recommend mixing 50/50 with the glass version of the paint, but I prefer the slightly muted regular shade. After that is an edge highlight of Liberator Gold. I also have no idea how I managed to perfectly set up these images to be bigger and bigger. Magic, I guess.Next up are gold details. Start with a basecoat of Retributor Armour, followed by a shade of Reikland Fleshshade. Some people recommend mixing 50/50 with the glass version of the paint, but I prefer the slightly muted regular shade. After that is an edge highlight of Liberator Gold. I also have no idea how I managed to perfectly set up these images to be bigger and bigger. Magic, I guess.
So all minis need a bit of a spot colour. It can be anything. Someting simple. Something bright. Or yellow. Yellow is a pain in the proverbials to paint, but I am rather proud of how this turned out. Basecoat is Averland Sunset. Use. Thin. Coats. This needs to be a nice solid colour without clogging details. After you have that, recess shade with Reikland Fleshshade where necessary. After that edge highlight with Yriel Yellow to really bring it out. This worked rather well for me. Also, I seem to have done the zoom thing again...So all minis need a bit of a spot colour. It can be anything. Someting simple. Something bright. Or yellow. Yellow is a pain in the proverbials to paint, but I am rather proud of how this turned out. Basecoat is Averland Sunset. Use. Thin. Coats. This needs to be a nice solid colour without clogging details. After you have that, recess shade with Reikland Fleshshade where necessary. After that edge highlight with Yriel Yellow to really bring it out. This worked rather well for me. Also, I seem to have done the zoom thing again...
For simplicity, I used the same colours for parchment and bone on these minis, but if you have overlap of the two different things you might want to mix it up a bit (I'm just really low on Zandri Dust that I usually use for bone). Basecoat is a nice solid coat of Rakarth Flesh, shaded with Agrax Earthshade before being followed by and edge highlight of Screaming Skull.For simplicity, I used the same colours for parchment and bone on these minis, but if you have overlap of the two different things you might want to mix it up a bit (I'm just really low on Zandri Dust that I usually use for bone). Basecoat is a nice solid coat of Rakarth Flesh, shaded with Agrax Earthshade before being followed by and edge highlight of Screaming Skull.
Rope details and Purity Seals were all done in a nice burgandy colour that I am rather fond of. Starting with a basecoat of Screamer Pink, the areas were then shaded with Nuln Oil and edge highlighted with Pink Horror. Simple, but really adds a bit of regal flair to the minis.Rope details and Purity Seals were all done in a nice burgandy colour that I am rather fond of. Starting with a basecoat of Screamer Pink, the areas were then shaded with Nuln Oil and edge highlighted with Pink Horror. Simple, but really adds a bit of regal flair to the minis.
The eyes really bring out a mini, as we all know, but can often by a pain to do. This is a trick I learned a while ago for Marine eye lenses. Simply paint a line as best you can in the eye with white, then add a glaze colour over the top of it. Add some extra coats once it's dry if you want a more vibrant colour. Here I used Waywatcher Green for my Sergeant, but the regular Marines were given a coat of Bloodletter.The eyes really bring out a mini, as we all know, but can often by a pain to do. This is a trick I learned a while ago for Marine eye lenses. Simply paint a line as best you can in the eye with white, then add a glaze colour over the top of it. Add some extra coats once it's dry if you want a more vibrant colour. Here I used Waywatcher Green for my Sergeant, but the regular Marines were given a coat of Bloodletter.
Then with the decals added (though he did get an extra one on his knee after taking this picture) he's all done!Then with the decals added (though he did get an extra one on his knee after taking this picture) he's all done!

That's all folks! (For now)

Tutoring 4
Skill 6
Idea 7
4 Comments

Well I finally reached beyond 1000pts. painted. A bit of a first for me, but painting blue gets a bit old after a while so I’m putting this project on hold for now. I’ll be starting up a more general project for the time being that will cover a wider range of minis. So I think I’ll change the status of this one for now.