"Space Marine" and "Guard" test paint schemes Update Jan 27

Howdy all,

I've taken the plunge into getting a unit of power armored infantry together to use for gaming on the Battle Systems Terrain I recently backed via Kickstarter.  For my elite troopers I have assembled a couple of squads of Retained Knights from Alternative Armies Ion Age Range.

I was looking for a fairly "realistic" color for military troops....as opposed to the primary colors of 40K space Marines.  I will certainly be adding some kind of decal to the soldier pads...Unit designation or symbol...I haven't decided yet (suggestions welcome).  I'm also not sure how to paint his weapon...Black?  Metallic?



Let me know what you think...

Cheers,

Blue

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

I think black with some highlights or even grey would be good. Metal guns on hi-tech soldiers of the future just seem silly to me.

Nice mini btw!

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

perhaps an olive green - similar to the armor, but a darker (or lighter) shade to provide contrast...

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

I was thinking green for the weapon also, and also black. I think a combination of black and green might work well.

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

First of all, the mini is great! Love what you got there! About the weapon I believe you need some contrast, so the black or grey option should work fine. Also an earthy colour could fit, giving alongside a 'pseudo-military' general aspect to the mini.

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

thanks for your thoughts guys...I'll play around with the weapon color this weekend.

What do you think of the Gold rim on the shoulder pads? Out of place on an Military model? Or a nice contrast with the Green? Would you suggest a different color?

All constructive criticism is appreciated.

Cheers,

Blue

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

I like the gold rim. If you're concerned about the bright and potentially reflective metal giving your battle hardened 'not a space marine' away, you could achieve a similar contrast with something from the khaki or yellow ochre family.

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

Maybe Jeff's right about khaki or ochre, but I don't think gold is totally out of place in this concept, the mini is looking really great this way.

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

Blue in VT":xksy7o50 said:

thanks for your thoughts guys...I'll play around with the weapon color this weekend.

What do you think of the Gold rim on the shoulder pads? Out of place on an Military model? Or a nice contrast with the Green? Would you suggest a different color?

All constructive criticism is appreciated.

Cheers,

Blue

Click to expand...

I like the gold rim. A darker more tin-bitz or copper colour would work well also. Perhaps a Khaki or Ochre will look better as Jeff suggested but then I would also not use any metal paints at all on the model to keep to the theme. As to military authenticity I don't think it is jarring for an elite fellow like this to have some bling on him.

Re: "Space Marine" test paint scheme

He looks fab Blue, you've done justice to great old sculpts.
Personally I wouldn't fret too much about reflective surfaces on models like this, fluff wise, if he's wandering around in a powered exoskeleton with a jump pack on his back, a little pattern diffusion device wouldn't be beyond the realms of believability.
As you're a pretty awesome painter I think you should try for a Raptor Legion Blizzard suit style pattern on one of the models so I can copy it when I come to do my beakies

Re: "Space Marine" and "Guard" test paint schemes Update Jan

Following on the heels of my test paint scheme for the Retained Knights I took the opportunity to do the same for "Imperial Guard" figures. Once again I've gone for a fairly "realistic" paint job on these guys. Though I will be using them mostly for Boarding Raids and other shipboard actions I wanted them to stand out from the grey terrain I will be using them so I've opted for a more natural woodland style camo for the cloth portions and a very dark gray/black for the armor and helmet.

...Lets take a look...



Over all I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. The camo on the pants proved to be a bit fiddly...this is the first time I've attempted camo...and I will need to refine my system a bit. The same is true for the gray areas...The method I employed turned out to be very "layer intensive"...so as I apply this scheme to a whole squad I will attempt to streamline that process somewhat. Also like the Knights I may come back and add some unit insignia to one of his shoulder pads.

As this was the first time I had painted camo I followed the technique laid out by Stone Cold Lead in his tutorial for German SS Oak Leaf Camo (http://stonecoldlead.webs.com/oakleafcamotutorial.htm) ...Obviously I changed the color selection a little bit. It was very helpful to have a system to follow...and to use tooth picks to paint with...

Also...following up on the Retained knights here is how I decided to deal with his weapon...



I've added metal to a few select bits and painted the rest a very dark gray. Looking at it now I'm not entirely happy...I think in the future I will do brighter highlights but only on the edges of the gun bits.

Cheers for now

Blue

Re: "Space Marine" and "Guard" test paint schemes Update Jan

Looking very greta so far. I agree th edark grey looks very good on the trooper's armour but a bit les son the weapon. Sharper edges would make it a bit more easy to read. The way you painted the marine, some weathering here and there could be really top notch considering the quite realistic approach you've used so far.
Anyway, this is absolutely splendid and I am looking forward to the rest.

Re: "Space Marine" and "Guard" test paint schemes Update Jan

Thank you señor no ass! I've been considering weathering...hmm...can't decide!

I liked the visor on the muster troop so much that I went back and added it to my knight as well... But the space in there is very small! The next time I will do this first instead of last to avoid a bunch of touch up work.



Cheers,

Blue

Re: "Space Marine" and "Guard" test paint schemes Update Jan

I must say this is spectacular. I love it.

Re: "Space Marine" and "Guard" test paint schemes Update Jan

Great stuff!!! I must go back and work on mine again soon!

Re: "Space Marine" and "Guard" test paint schemes Update Jan

Splendid! I especially love the wannabee IG trooper: great camo, and a nice realistic feel.

I have some of those lying around... Along with a few alien "legionaries" from the same range... Hum...

Sorry for asking, but do you have a link to the rules system you will use with those?