Scythes of the Emperor - A blog - UPDATE 30 Sept 2013

[FalcesImperatoris]

Right then, I quite enjoyed my last blog on the sisters of battle, so I thought I would try a new blog on my current army project.

I have an old Scythes of the Emperor army from many years ago... but I always wanted to go back and do a new army of them, as I felt that my skills had improved over the last few years.

So start off with I have done one basic model to get things going.
I will probably keep on doing models at one or two at a time, so I can take my time on this project.

So withouth any more rambling, here is faithful Brother Robertus.

Brother Robertus represents a mix of hope and sadness for the Scythes. He has just recently been promoted to full battle brother after serving his full training in the scout company. He is the first of a new breed of battle brother who did not originate from Sotha, having been recruited from a small Imperial Colony on the Scythes journey after the loss of their homeworld. As such Robertus represents hope for the future of the chapter, as the chapter slowly gains new brothers and start to recover some of its former strength. However, he also reminds his fellow brothers of the loss of Sotha and the dwindling numbers of those who survived those dark days.

[Daddy troll]

B*#tard. Here's me thinking: "Hey, those Red Scorpions I'm doing are not bad, do a blog" - and then you come along and show this.

Amazing detail on the backpack, looking forward to seeing more.

[CygnusMaximus]

I very nearly died of excitement when I saw the title of this log. As if your incredible Witch Hunters weren't enough, you've gone and started to paint an army of one of my favourite chapters.

Looking fantastic so far, I will be watching this log very closely.

[simeon]

Black is a very difficult colour to work with (or shade depending on how artsy you are). You have pulled it of impeccably!!!

[superfiend]

In my best Quake voice impersonation:

Impressive!

[Maestro]

You really dislike colours that are easy to paint, don't you?? First an antire white army, now black combined with yellow..

Do you spray them black for easy black (but horrible yellow) or spray white for easy yellow (but horrible black)?? Or something else entirely?

[WEST]

Thats an absolutely gorgeous model.

I'm also working on some Scythes, and your painting really inspires me. Great work!

[bruenor]

Aye fantastic job!!
Chips i the armour look very convincing.
What colour did you use to highlight the black as it's very smooth and not harsh at all?

[Howlinggriffon]

Lovely stuff...

I like the battle damage on him. I guess you're going to be leaving it to the veteran members of the chapter to show signs of battle damage directly from tyranid attack?

I'm also looking forward to seeing how you make a new Chapter Master Thrasius

[FalcesImperatoris]

Ok - to answer a few questions on how they are painted.

Models are are sprayed black, and then the yellow is painted using some of the GW's foundation paints to get things going:
- Tausept Ochre
- Iyandun Darksun
- shade of thinned Dark Flesh painted into recesses
- Tidy up with Ochre and Darksun
- A few thin coats of Golden yellow applied like thick glazes to build up colour, working out on the surfaces. This is also used as a final highlight on some of the recessed edges.
- Final highlight on the outer edges is Sunburst Yellow

Black is done using the magic colour that is Shadow Grey as follows:
- Black basecoat
- First wider higlight is apllied as a dark shadow grey mix of Shadow Grey and Chaos Black (3:1)
- Then thinned Chaos Black is used to neaten up this higlight, and where possible fade it into the black a little
- Second stage highlight is then pure Shadow Grey, applied to the uppermost surfaces and edges keeping the highlight lines as thin, crisp and straight as possible.

Its also worth noting that I painted this guy in several components before sticking together and adding the final details (like weathing etc.) - The main part all stuck together was legs, torso, backpack and arms. I then painted the head, boltgun and shouler pads seperately in order to let me get at the areas of the body that are going to be yellow.

Howlinggriffon - the plan is something like that, though I will probably keep with the weathered look and just try to add in Nid flavour via bits on the bases and through a few trophies and the like. Adding in too much damage or nid bits will make them look goofy, so it’s a fine line I am trying to aim for here - and I want to keep them looking as realistic as possible, so erring on the side of caution is better. I have some ideas around using nid armour plates to show repairs to sections of their armour… but I think this may look silly if over-done and will ruin the realism effect… so I will see how things go.

Meanwhile I have plans for a new Thrasius worked out, but it will probably be months before I get round to doing him so you will just have to wait. ;P (He wont have his jump pack anymore, but he will still be weilding his signature weapon, the 'Falx Imperatoris'.)

[bruenor]

Thx buddy, thought it looked like Shadow Grey, but needed confirmation!!

[GumbaFish]

He looks great! I particularly how you painted the front 'nub' on the bolter like it might be some sort of targeting sight or laser sight. I had never really figured out what that piece was but I think I will have to steal this idea and repaint it onto my exisiting marines.

[Prince Bel-Vegard]

That's a very impressive space marine. The colour combo is really nice and the weathering effects really helps tying it all together(and you can't really say much on the technical aspect either).

Think I will try and paint up a test model with the colour breakdown you gave, it's a really attractive scheme.

Good luck with the army. If you can keep this standard with all your troops it will be a very impressive army for sure.

Cheers

[M. Endymion]

He's fantastic. I've been looking for a new way to do black and I think you've sold me on yours. It's simple and it looks fantastic.

Can't wait to see the next piece.

[Generalbear]

how did you do the battle damage?

[Cyel]

Painting is gorgeous!
Can't wait to see the conversions

[ben johnson]

Wow , very nice dude

[WickedCarrot]

Wow this looks very nice indeed!

[FalcesImperatoris]

how did you do the battle damage?

Its not too tricky (There was a similar guide in White Dwarf a few issues ago about an ork warboss, which also talked about painting yellow in the same sort of way too - and gave very useful step by step guides). My method is generally similar with only a few differences and went as follows:

- paint the chip area skull white.
- Paint a thick coat of Dark Flesh over the top to act as rust - leaving a thin line of white below/around the area as required. (the while line needs to be thicker on the yellow and thinner on the black, so that it looks right to the eye when you view him at normal size.)
- Paint boltun metal into chips
- Paint Mithril into the odd most raised of the chips
- Glaze a thin dab of Gryphone Sepia over the top of each metal chip to finish

Rust runs on the vents of the backpact where done with watered Dark Flesh and a small brush.

The only thing is that is takes a long time to do and requires a very steady hand, a good brush and fresh pair of eyes.

EDIT - one additional point. Some of the chips on the paintwork for their shoulder pad markings are just done with tiny bits of black, to look like the symbol paint has worn off, leaving the armour undercoat beneath showing.

[dafruk]

Its not too tricky (There was a similar guide in White Dwarf a few issues ago about an ork warboss, which also talked about painting yellow in the same sort of way too - and gave very useful step by step guides).

What something useful came out of WD , that contravenes everything I've heard people say about it for the last few years!

I can only echo what people above have said about the great work and amazing level of detail for what is just a basic trooper for the army. I hope you can keep the motivation up to do a whole army to this level as they would just look amazing.

[FalcesImperatoris]

This is going to be a slow blog, as each guy is taking me 20-30 hours, at a leisurely pace. I am also planning to hop about between different squads and units painting models as I feel like. I hope to have something new to show every couple of weeks.

Anyway on to today's update!


Brother Sergeant Maximillian
Brother Maximillian is an old and grizzled veteran and has taken part in many of Scythes most desperate engagements against the Tyranid threat. He currently commands squad 2 of the remaining battle company and is a reliable officer, capable in any situation. Determined, Stoic, Taciturn and Enduring; Sothan to the core.

[mike newman]

these look really good andrew. very different direction and style to your usual bright clean cut amies and it i fully approve. keep up the good work mate!

[Sven]

A really nice paint job and mini. And besides that, I really like the fluff part. Maybe there'll be something longer when the squad is finished?



Cheers,
Sven.

[Howlinggriffon]

Excellent job there. I like the pilot flame - nice touch

[Saardis]

I really like these, and the Scythes of the Emperor are one of my favourite chapters. Will you be going for a 'fluffy' scout-heavy build? Although if you look in the rulebook at the "Time of Ending" timeline, the Tyranids turned up in 745.M41, and the 'current' time is supposed to be 920.M41... Long enough for a chapter to rebuild its strength?

[GumbaFish]

Looking good, I didn't notice that pilot light the first time that is a great little touch. I never noticed it before but the scythes are just an inverted color scheme of marines malevolent, and its pretty hard to go wrong with black yellow and red.

[FalcesImperatoris]

I really like these, and the Scythes of the Emperor are one of my favourite chapters. Will you be going for a 'fluffy' scout-heavy build? Although if you look in the rulebook at the "Time of Ending" timeline, the Tyranids turned up in 745.M41, and the 'current' time is supposed to be 920.M41... Long enough for a chapter to rebuild its strength?

The Scythes of the Emperor were stuffed by Hive Fleet Kraken - which is supposed to have happened in 992.M41. (the Tyranid codex actually lists it as 993, which is incorrect.)

My army will have lots of scouts and scout bikers fear not.
(I am currently working on another tactical marine at the moment, but then I will probably do a scout or two next.)

[FalcesImperatoris]

Now have a third marine done.

Brother Draco
A long serving veteran of the Scythes, Brother Draco is an expert in ship boarding actions and has been involved in the successful boarding and destruction of eight Tyranid hive ships from Hive Fleet Kraken, more than any other brother in the chapter. Draco's custom boltgun is designed to be able to put down bursts of fire with maximum control, pefect for the close quarters of ship boarding.

[Sven]

The little blood "strings" on his head are stunning. How'd you get them there ?
A really beautiful model! All ready waiting for the next update.



Cheers,
Sven.

[FalcesImperatoris]

The little blood "strings" on his head are stunning. How'd you get them there.

They are supposed to look like veins under the skin, like increased blood flow or some such from the plugs.

Its fairly easy to do:
- Just add very faint lines with purple ink using a small brush with a very fine point. (I used a 000)
You need to be careful to make sure the brush is not over-loaded with ink as then the lines will go too thick or strong (I usually remove excess by painting lines on the back of my thumb until the lines are look right).
- Then a thin glaze of elf flesh over the top of just the veins fades them back a little (particularly if any lines went on too thick).

It does require a very steady hand though, which I find just comes with practice.

It also helps that I paint the heads, and shoulder pads seperately to the main body, as its easier to get the brush in close and at the correct angle etc.