I March for Macragge: Part 2. Mustering the Legion

The Ultramarines are finished!

And by finished, I mean I've completed one Squad... finished was a bit of an understatement!

These models were a joy to paint. Ultramarines are an idea I've been toying with for a while, and it was really nice to actually sit down and paint the boys in blue.

I hope you like them too.

I apologise in advance for the picture quality. I'm looking at trying to make a light box at home for taking photos for future blog posts, until then I hope you don't mind the shadows. 

I was going to give a number of step-by-step instructions on how I painted them, but I got too excited and just went for it!

I was a little nervous with the painting, as I wasn't quite sure how I was going to do the colours. Fortunately, I still had my copy of Warhammer Visions Issue 23 (from the Betrayal at Calth release) and it has a "Paint Splatter" article on painting Ultramarines.

Now the painting guide itself suggested a little too  much blue for me, so I followed the guide but also took some inspiration from the Citadel Studio copy of the the Betrayal at Calth boxed game (gold trim on the shoulders the biggest change from the solid blue scheme suggested in Paint Splatter).

The model were all undercoated Black before panting. On the recommendation of a friend, I base all my models using Halfords Black Primer - works just as well for plastic, resin and metal models as it would do for a car door! All paints were from the Citadel Range, and I used Games and Gears Ichiban Series brushes.

The blue armour was painted using a base coat of Macragge Blue, followed by a Nuln Oil wash, reapplied Macragge Blue everywhere bar the recesses and highlighted with Calgar Blue.

The silver details on the jump packs, bolt pistols and chainswords was painted using a base coat of Leadbelcher, Nuln Oil wash followed by a highlight with Ironbreaker.

The black casing for the bolt pistols and chainswords were painted using a base coat of Abaddon Black followed by a quick highlight with Mechanicus Standard Grey

The Gold Trim was painted using a base coat of Retributor Armour, Wash with Reikland Fleshshade then highlight with Liberator Gold.

The Chapter Symbol was painted Celestria Grey, followed by a wash with Nuln Oil, a layer of Ulthuan Grey and a highlight with White Scar.

The eyes were painted Abaddon Black, followed by successive layers Mephiston Red, Troll Slayer Orange and Flash Gitz yellow.

For the base, I used the Agrellan Earth Technical Paint. It was my first attempt using it for the 'cracked earth' texture, and I'm very impressed. It took about 4 hours to dry completely (3 hours more than suggested on the 'how to use' YouTube video), which isn't too bad actually.

All in all, I'm happy with how these have gone, and I'm looking forward to started some new Ultramarines shortly. I think, with Christmas now done, I'll be looking to get a copy of Betrayal at Calth to add to the collection.

To that end, what would people most like to see painted next? The Characters, Terminators, a Legion Tactical Squad or a Veteran Squad? I plan on picking up a copy of Horus Heresy Book V - Tempest too to help inform my decision, but any suggestions would be great!

Just as an update, I'm busy at work on a couple of things at the moment, so hopefully there will be some more finished projects soon!

Thanks all, and Happy New Year!

Medge

I March for Macragge! Part 1

Let me tell you... that's a little weird for me to say!

Quick backstory for those that don't know me/ haven't read my "Story so far" blog post:

I played in, and helped organise and write rules for, a Horus Heresy campaign that lasted three years (starting before the Forge World books were released, and finishing afterwards). During that time my Heresy army grew from a 1000pts Space Marine army, to a 7500pts Horus Heresy army with Daemon Allies...
It was big, flashy, and ultimately drove me over the edge Hobby-wise.

It was also a Word Bearers army (hence why I feel a little uneasy praising Macragge).
I've included a few photo's below just to show what the army was like, and how big it became:

That army has since been sold off to fund other projects, mostly because I couldn't stand the idea of playing Horus Heresy anymore. The release of Betrayal at Calth has changed that. For the first time in a number of years I'm seeing 30k as an affordable hobby to start, and with all the new resin upgrade parts and a host of new kits available from Forge World it's now a good time to restart the hobby.

But what Legion? That's a big question, even though there are only 18 possible answers (17 at the time of writing, since there's no Space Puppies resin upgrades out yet!)

I sat down and had a good think, and eventually settled on the Ultramarines. Why? Well... they're cool. Visually they look heroic and strong, without the darker/ gothic imagery that some of the other Legions have. They're also loyalist, meaning my army is compatible with 30k and 40k (aesthetically speaking, along with rules). They're also a really nice blue... which is a weird thing to say I guess, but given my other recent painting projects (Yu Jing = Yellow/ Orange/ White, Nomads = Red/ Black and PanO = Sky/ Blue) I just fancied a change of colour, and the deep, regal blue of Ultramar is a perfect choice for a pallet change.

My first squad choice is an Assault Squad, show below.

Why an Assault Squad? Laziness/ cheapness basically! I still had a MkIV Assault pack laying around from two Christmases ago when I was really into HH. One cheap order to Forge World for the Ultramarines resin shoulders and these guys were complete.

As you can see from the photo's they've all been fitted with standard Bolt Pistols and Chainswords. The main reason was because I don't know what I want to give the squad yet, especially given the diversity of equipment in the Legions rule books. I also chose not to include a Sergeant model, as I want all the Sergeants in the force to have full 'Ultramarines' armor (including head, torso and shoulder from the resin upgrade kit) and those will have to be ordered later on.

Since these photo's have been taken they've been base coated, and I'll be sure to upload completed pictures displaying the finished models, alongside a discussion on what's coming next.

Of course, if you guys have any suggestions about what I can add to the force I'd appreciate them, and I may even take your advice. Not Guilliman though... need some practice at blue first!

Thanks for all the support, and I'll post again soon!

Medge