Had a few days off and got some hobby time in over the long weekend. I was starting to feel army painter's fatigue coming on with the guard (having painted quite a few of late), and was casting about for something to paint when my eye fell on the Dark Angels that came with the Dark Vengeance set. With the release of the new rumor pics out there, my interest was piqued - not enough to want to kick off a whole new army, but enough to prompt me to try my hand at a marine chapter I've never painted before using minis I happened to already have on-hand...
Of course I had to start off with the Deathwing terminators! I was impressed with the models from the DV set (though I think the Blood Angel terminators from the Space Hulk set are superior), and I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the upcoming Knights and terminator command squads. From what I understand there's supposed to be a plasma cannon option in the upcoming codex, which I rather like the sound of!
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My buddy Dave got me a new camera for Christmas (the old digital camera I'd been using was shockingly mediocre by today's standards, thanks Dave!) so I decided to give the macro settings a go and shot some individual pics of each of the models. I'm not totally sold on the aesthetics of the terminator sergeant, but it's growing on me...
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Only one model with my favorite terminator upgrade, the terrifying chainfist. I like all the fine details on the models, but I'd hoped they would have pushed the native american-esqe vibe a bit more than they did.
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I really do like this model's pose. It's a nice change from the "blasting away" poses most of the multi-pose kits are restricted to unless you do some serious re-modeling.
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There were two of the same pose, so I just snipped off the pegs and altered the angle of the storm bolters which changes the silhouette enough that they're not clones on the tabletop. So far so good! The plan is not to do a full-blown Dark Angels army, but rather just do a compact little allied force to complement the guard (we'll see how that works out). I'm thinking I might even try a plasma-themed Mordian 7th/Dark Angel army at Adepticon!
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These look great! It almost makes me want to pull mine out and get to work. But I have a full DW army and I'm working on Chaos Terminators right now (and I'm jealous of this squad!)...
ReplyDeleteBut I am inspired. :-) Great work!
Nice work. I like your choice of white, it goes more towards a greyish tone rather than yellowish. I am not a fan of the blue eyes though, I am not sure why but it could be the contrast with the white tone. I will look forward to see how the rest turn out.
ReplyDeleteI like the use of blue as a spot colour. Not something you see much of on dark angels apart from plasma coils. but for me it works really well on your terminators.
ReplyDeleteThanks folks!
ReplyDelete@agemmanjw: I have a hankering to get back to the chaos stuff as well, that might be next up on the painting table!
@Agis: I'm not totally sold on the blue eyes either. The other options were red and green and with those being the other main colors on the model I was afraid they'd just get lost on the color scheme. A different shade of blue may have worked better...
@Phil Morris: Thanks! The models needed a little something extra to break up the predominantly red and green details.
Love the color of the armour and the blue works otherwise they'd look too christmas-y.
ReplyDeleteThey look great, my friend! And yes, the new camera helps show your skill much better.
ReplyDeleteHowever, with the enthusiasm for DA, what's the likelihood of you still bringing guard to Adepticon? :)
I like the scheme you have here and also miss the old school native american indian theme that the Deathwing used to have. you should adorn your armour with similar symbols that the old Deathwing suppliment for the original Space Hulk had to compensate.
ReplyDelete*oo er... what a long sentence - apologies!*
Wow, that's some immense painting, and the new camera looks great, I think it's about time I invested in one too. As ever that's a great choice of colours.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the kind words, everyone!
ReplyDelete@Zab: Hah! I painted these during the christmas break so it would have been appropriate had they ended up all red and green I suppose. :)
@Miniature Tim: New camera is terrifying. It definitely gets in there and shows up all the things I messed up! On the up side that should push me to be a better, more careful painter. Still planning guard for Adepticon, just dabbling in DA allies to fill in some holes. Get a few 3+ and 2+/5++ saves in there for some staying power. Going heavy on the plasma theme too, since the DA Tac squad is plasma gun/plasma cannon, I figure adding an Executioner and a pair of plasma cannon-toting sentinels to the guard list could make for a fun army (and dangerous to my own guys just as much as it is to the enemy, given my predilection for rolling 1's to hit)!
@Dai: Totally - I need to poke around and see if I can dig up the old supplement. The only name I remember off the top of my head is "Lame Bear" but I know there were a bunch more.
@Colonel Scipio: The new camera makes a world of difference. They're surprisingly affordable these days too, just make sure you get one with a good macro/supermacro setting for miniature picture taking. That setting is something my old camera lacked and I was blown away with how close I could get to the model and have it still focus!
Nice! The Terminators have always been my favorite models, and the Space Hulk set is a cut above the rest. Excellent work here, man.
ReplyDeleteWhen I upgraded from my older digital camera, the new macro lens revealed all the tiny flaws and missteps in my own work, and I've been working all the harder to make up for my own shortcomings. Anything to be better modelers, eh?
These look absolutely fantastic!
ReplyDelete@#2501: Definitely, the new camera is great, but man it definitely makes me look at my painting and go "Aiee!" We're always our own harshest critics, but I'm trying to look at it as a way to force myself to improve!
ReplyDelete@Sir Tainly: I appreciate it!