Limited Edition Space Marine Captain

I must be on a 7th Company kick right now, as I have painted my centurions and the last two company captains as 7th Company.  This model is the limited edition one offered by Games Workshop in May.  While the pose is interesting, I am not a huge fan of the equipment.  Still, it is a  nice sculpt.

I used my normal painting color pallet for this model, so for the blue is Kantor Blue, Altdorf Guard Blue then a highlight of Calgar Blue.  The silver is Leadbelcher, Argax Earthshade, then Ironbreaker.  The gold is Hashut Copper, Argax Earthshade, Gehenna's Gold and then Burnished Gold (I use so little I will have this paint pot for a long time).  The red is Khorne Red, Wazdakka Red and then Troll Slayer Orange.  The green is Warpstone Green, Loren Forest and Moot Green.  I use Stirland Mud for the base, with layers of Skag Brown and Tallarn Sand.

The model is sealed with Testor's Dullcote, and the I applied the Ultramarine decal and sealed it a second time.  While I seem to have overlooked it, a Micron pen will let you print nice lettering on any scrolls on the model.  Looks like I will be going back to finish up.

Mantis Warriors Vanguard Marines

When i first got this vanguard squad boxed set, I really wasn't sure what army I was going to build these models for, or how I wanted to use them.  I eventually decided on the Mantis Warriors, just because I enjoyed painting them before, despite how annoying their chapter insignia is to free hand.

I have a somewhat predictable mix when i do build the Vanguard squads, I like to have two Storm Shields, and at least one plasma pistol.  With the new codex, I've added a grav pistol as well, just for the novelty of it.  I also like to have one thunder hammer, and one relic blade, with the other weapons being power weapons.  This time I chose to add in a pair of lightning claws as well.  While it's not an overwhelming mix, I think it provides a nice mix that isn't high points on a unit that can be pretty heavy in points already.

The biggest problem I had with these Mantis Warriors was replicating the green that i used on previous models.  In the end, I chose to use layers of Caliban Green, Warpstone Green, Warboss Green and Moot Green.  This ended up with a brighter look for the models, but I actually like it better.

House Tarryn Imperial Knight

I decided to build a Knight Titan from House Tarryn for the simple fact that they have fought alongside the Ultramarines in previous battles.  For me, themeing my army to the Ultramarines is pretty much the way I go about choosing color schemes and models that are going to be part of my main army.

I used a micron pen to paint the check patterns on the shoulder pad and knee, then Abaddon Black and two layers of Ceramite White and a layer of White Scar to achieve the look I have.  It is okay to make mistakes here, especially with the white as black will cover it up pretty well.  Deletion is a lot easier than getting it perfect in one go.

This model uses a lot of transfers from the Knight Titan transfer sheet.  The hardest part is the tiny ones on the banner.  I had to make sure to blot each one as I went to remove any excess water.  This is important as the excess water can create the transfers you already have placed to come up and slide around.  Which happened to me a couple times while working on this.  Getting those transfers back in place can be a huge pain.

Just so people can see the scale comparison, here are my new Knight Titan, Warhound and Reaver.  It's pretty impressive to see them all on one board, and I know if I was going to face it, I would cringe - especially after the tournament I just played in.

Imperial Navy Aircraft

These two Imperial fighters were built and painted by me a couple years ago.  In my quest to down size my collection, they are headed up to ebay.  Both have color schemes used in Tactica Aeronautica, from the Typha IV campaign.  Typha IV was an ice world, and featured both Tau and Imperial forces, and was primarily an air war.

I chose to paint the Thunderbolt up in the color scheme of Ixan Muro, a fighter ace druring the war.  Knowing that I couldn't paint the eagle wings free hand, here is how I did it:

After assembly, the model was primed white.  I then used a pencil to draw the imperial wing designs.  Then, taking masking tape, I blocked out the sections for the wings, and sprayed the model black with an airbrush.  Once that was done, I used layers of Golden Yellow and Bad Moon Yellow.  The black was carefully touched up, and then I used my normal silver scheme for those areas.

The gold for the front eagle, was also done with my normal gold layering.  Finally, I used P3 Coal Black to create edge highlights.

The Lightning used a camo pattern pictured in Tactica Aeronautica for the 111th Fighter Wing.  This is the old, out of print Lightning pattern no longer available.  I used various gray shades to achieve the colors.

The camp pattern is done just by creating wavy lines across the model with the lowest layer of gray.  Then consecutive lighter layers are applied to create the highlighted effect.  The black is done as I normally paint it, just like on the Thunderbolt.

My biggest regret with these two models is that they were acquired before the new flying stands were existant.  It would have been nice to be able to use them in a more natural way during games.