Warhammer 40k: Chaos Marine Havocs

The next couple of units for my "Grimdark" modern Black Legion are the Havocs.  They have exactly the same paint scheme as the standard Chaos Space Marines except I'm using the Gold as a signifier of rank or importance so their weapons have more gold and they have the larger Eye of Horus symbol on their shoulder pads.

The first unit is very much anti-tank while the second unit is for shredding infantry, it's always good to have options!

Warhammer 40k: Modern Black Legion Chaos Marines

With the last of my 2nd Edition Chaos Marines finished (for now...) I've moved on to the modern Chaos Space Marine miniatures however I wanted to do something a little different with them so decided on painting an alternate Black Legion scheme, something a little more "Grimdark" than their 2nd Edition brethren.

I started off with a standard squad of Marines to try the scheme out and though I was a tad sceptical while painting them once I had finished them I was very happy with the results and so ploughed on with them.

What has really helped with the paint scheme is the Scale 75 metallic paint, namely Black Metal and Necro Gold, as these have allowed me to paint a really desaturated scheme.

One thing that isn't really noticeable in these pictures is that I finished all the lenses and eyes off with Tamiya Clear Red that adds some real depth and shine to them, adding a little pop to the miniatures.

As I was enjoying painting these so much I just cracked on and ended up doing both ten man squads and The Executioner in pretty quick time for me (I have also started working on two Havoc squads as well), I just hope the rest of the army goes as well.

Warhammer 40k: Chaos Predator

With another character done it was time to add some more firepower to the army, a Predator.

This is a Forgeworld miniature which I've added some brass etchings to along with spares from the Chaos vehicle sprue.

I followed the same paint process from the Rhinos though I did end up dry brushing this a little too heavily so went over the entire vehicle with a black wash mixed with contrast medium to tone it down.

I've also used some more of the Scale 75 Black Metal on the guns, I'm really enjoying using their Metal N' Alchemy range and will be picking up some more to use.

Next up on the table are some of the new Chaos Marines, which I've decided to paint as a different warband.  After all there's only so much gold trim you can paint.

Warhammer 40k: Fabius Bile

For a change of pace and to paint something other than black and gold I decided to paint up another favourite sculpt of mine, Fabius Bile.

Even though he's had a new miniature produced of him I still think you can't beat the original.

I painted him slightly different to normal by painting the top half of his coat as power armour as I really wanted a chance to paint some purple and push the Emperor's Children look.  I think it turned out well and helps his head and hair stand out.

For his coat I layered up Rakarth Flesh to Pallid Witch Flesh before glazing it with the Guilliman Contrast paint to add some richness.

All if his vials were painted with Pallid Witch Flesh before building up layers of contrast paint and finishing with some watered down varnish (after his matte spray).

I also tried out some Metal N' Alchemy paints on his backpack, which were great to use and so different to other metallic paints, they'll definitely be getting used more. 

Now that Fabius is done it's time to paint up some more fire power for the Black Legion...

Warhammer 40k: Abaddon The Despoiler

With all the troops finished it was finally time to start on the big man himself, Abaddon The Despoiler.

Unlike a lot of the army Abaddon is my original miniature from 2nd Edition, bought from my FLGS on his release, and so I've been leaving him until near the end of this project.

Up until the great paint removal he still sported my original paint job from back in the dayband I was torn between leaving him as he was and buying another Abaddon to paint or stripping him and starting afresh.

In the end I decided to give him the paint job he deserved all these years.  His base also got an upgrade as he was never the tallest of chaps and now he stands out from the rest of the army.

My 2nd Edition paintathon doesn't end here though as I still have a couple of characters to paint and I'm on the look out for a squad of Rogue Trader World Eaters.  Oh and there's also my Death Guard army as well...!

To end with here's a picture of Abaddon sporting his original paint job.

Warhammer 40k: Chaos Rhinos

Not the most glamorous of miniatures but very practical on the battlefield, I can't say that these were the most riveting miniatures I've painted however I'm quite happy with the end results.

I'm not a fan of line highlighting and usually prefer a couple of layers of dry brushing and a wash but a wash wouldn't work too well on these flat surfaces so I skipped that step and made sure I avoided making the dry brushing look chalky.

I also tested out applying dirt to the tracks and sides with a sponge and texture paint before going over it with a dry brush/stipple of the highlight colour I use for the Marines basing.

Basically these allowed me to test out a few techniques for vehicles before I get to the (much) bigger ones.

Warhammer 40k: Chaos Marine Sorcerer

Another miniature I've been looking forward to painting, one of the three original Chaos Space Marine Sorcerers.

I remember when these were released and this sculpt stood head and shoulders above the other two as he just looked so evil.

That crazy helmet and Chaos star staff, he just oozed what a Chaos Marine should look like.

I never did get around to buying him but when I started picking up pieces for my old school army he was top of the list of miniatures I wanted.  Luckily GW were still selling the same mini many years later (around 5th Edition if I recall) so I picked one up and added to the hoard for later use and here we are now with him all painted up.

As an aside I've got a new camera and it seems to be making a real difference with the image quality but boy it's unforgiving!

Warhammer 40k: Chaos Dreadnought

After finishing all the squads of old school miniatures (there's plenty more modern ones to do) it was time to add some heft to the army.  I remember when the Dreadnought was released and wanting one for my Chaos Marine army but younger me couldn't afford it at the time so it brought me a certain amount of satisfaction to paint this up.

Being a bigger centerpiece miniature I did a small amount of extra highlighting just to make him pop a little more but nothing too extravagant as I'm not overly keen on the edge highlighted look.

This is the first time I've used a transfer in decades as I wasn't feeling brave enough to attempt a freehand design but the blank space was begging for something.

He's quite a beast when held in hand (talk about heavy metal) and looks great standing next to this Chaos brethren.

Kickstarter Spotlight: In the footsteps of the Mad Wizard:Forbidden Psalm Expansion

Occasionally a Kickstarter catches my eye more than most and I feel it's worth getting the word out there about it.  Forbidden Psalm is definitely one of them.

Forbidden Psalm is a miniature agnostic table top skirmish game based on/compatible with Mork Borg.  The sheer old school wackiness of the rules and aesthetic won me over almost instantly however I missed out on the initial Kickstarter for the core book but the new campaign allows you to get this and the expansion, which continues the campaign, together.

The game is very much fueled by the hobby experience where you kitbash your band of misfits to pit against whatever evil they're thrown against or perhaps you want to draw your own paper monters and characters instead?  The book is a well spring of inspiration for both and the limit is your imagination.  There is even a monster creation competition currently ongoing over on Discord and Instagram which ends with the Kickstarter (in 5 days as of posting) so why not join in and maybe you'll get your monster in the new book!

If you love random names (you might see a familiar one in the new book, wink wink), character generators, weapons tables, socks and some of the nuttiest monsters you're ever likely to fight then go check out the Kickstarter and head over to GMG on YouTube as Ash has been playing through the main campaign:

In the footsteps of the Mad Wizard Kickstarter 

Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader Chaos Terminators

When I first got into the hobby in the early stages of second edition there weren't many Chaos Marine miniatures about (or a codex), in fact all you had were the Rogue Trader minis.  This meant that there wasn't much in the way of options when it came to picking up my first unit however once I saw these in their blister packs I knew I had to have them.

Those first Terminator miniatures were unfortunately sold off when my interest waned in the hobby but when I decided to collect a second edition army I knew I had to have these for my Terminators rather than the actual 2nd Ed minis.

The paint job for these is much the same as the rest of the army but I wanted to give these chaps a little extra time due to who they are.

The Captain has some great detail with the bone armour and as he will also be used as a Lord in some games I wanted to give him a Daemon sword rather than a power weapon.  Contrast paints worked great for this and gave it the otherworldly feeling I was after (he really stands out now).

My original Skullface had a power sword and combi-bolter but he's had a bit of a mix up this time getting an autocannon and chain chainfist, for when he gets up close and personal.

The Heavy Flamer has a great flame motif on his shoulder which I painted in red at first but I felt the the balance of the miniature was off so I went over it in gold and he looks much better.

Last up there are a couple of standard termies to round out the unit.

Though they are quite small by modern standards there's still something about these sculpts that hasn't been bettered in my eyes and they've been a real joy to paint.