Painting Tutorial: Dark Angels markings, part 2: the Chapter Symbol

Here's how I paint the Dark Angels chapter symbol on my models. I never thought I would be able to pull it off, but when I look at my finished models I think they look pretty damn good.

My usual painting disclaimer: Please note that this tutorial is about painting an army, not winning painting competitions. I'm not even close to a Golden Daemon standard miniatures painter, and neither do I aspire to be one. The important thing for me with my miniatures is that they look good on the table, and that means they only have to look good at arms length.

Dark Angels chapter symbol, step by step:

1. Paint a cross
2. Turn the cross into a sword
3. Paint the basic shapes of the wings
4. Fill in with white and clean up
5. Finish the wings
6. Clean up

As usual, a note on brushes and paints. Unless otherwise noted, all paints and brushes used in this tutorial are from Citadel/Games Workshop. You are, of course, free to use whatever painting supplies you like, but it's worth mentioning for the purpose of brush size, for instance.

Now, it's time to turn a green space marine into a Dark Angel!

1. Paint a cross

To begin with, I paint a thin cross. This will become the sword. Not completely straight? Never mind! It'll look great when it's finished!



For steps 1-3 I use thinned down Dheneb Stone, as it gives better coverage than Skull White.

2. Turn the cross into a sword

Now I flesh out the cross and turn it into a sword of sorts.

3. Paint the basic shapes of the wings

Now I paint the contours of the wings. Here's how I do it, step by step:









Now, I just mirror the design on the other side for the left wing:



When this is done, I fill in the wings with Dheneb Stone.

4. Fill in with white and clean up

Now it's time to fill in the entire design with Skull White. Skull White really needs to be thinned down, so I mix in plenty with water and paint several coats. It's important to let each coat dry before applying the next.

After the white paint is completely dry, I clean up the edges a bit with Orkhide Shade.

5. Finish the wings

To get the "feathers", I just paint Orkhide Shade over the Skull White, starting in the middle.



Two more strokes with Orkhide Shade finishes off the right wing.



Then I just do the same thing with the left wing, and I'm almost done!

6. Clean up

If I need it, I finish up with some more Skull White and Orkhide Shade to clean up the design. But, as I keep reminding you (and myself!), it doesn't have to be perfect!

Right! The anonymous green space marine from the first two tutorials is now a proper Dark Angel!





As always, thanks for reading.

If you like or dislike this article, please leave a comment and let me know!

You can also e-mail me at stitch [at] roll2dice [dot] com.

/Stitch

Painting Tutorial: Dark Angels markings, part 1: Squad Markings

Like I told you last month, I paint all the unit markings and chapter symbols freehand. As promised, here's a step-by-step tutorial explaining how I do it.

Usual painting disclaimer: Please note that this tutorial is about painting an army, not winning painting competitions. I'm not even close to a Golden Daemon standard miniatures painter, and neither do I aspire to be one. The important thing for me with my miniatures is that they look good on the table, and that means they only have to look good at arms length.

Up close and personal my Dark Angels look a little messy. No two chapter symbols or numbers are exactly the same, for instance. But I believe that that's the secret to painting an army. I had to struggle in the beginning, because, like a lot of people, I would like my army to be perfect. But I also want it done this millennium, preferably within a year or so. So I had to let go of the dream of a perfect army, in favor of the much more reasonable goal of a completed army that looks good on the table.

Dark Angels 3rd Company and Tactical Squad markings, step by step:

1. 3rd Co badge, left knee
2. Tactical symbol, right shoulder pad
3. Highlighting
4. Clean up
5. Squad number, right shoulder pad
6. Clean up

The Chapter symbol is handled in part 2!

As usual, a note on brushes and paints. Unless otherwise noted, all paints and brushes used in this tutorial are from Citadel/Games Workshop. You are, of course, free to use whatever painting supplies you like, but it's worth mentioning for the purpose of brush size, for instance.

Now, let's get painting!

1. 3rd Co badge, left knee

The 3rd company badge couldn't be easier. I just paint a line of Mechrite Red diagonally across the left knee. On marines with mk 6 legs, without knee pads, I paint the line across the entire lower leg. I think it adds to the variation, but in a way that still ties the miniatures together.

2. Tactical symbol, right shoulder pad

The secret to painting these kinds of symbols, at least for me, is to divide them into separate, simpler shapes.

I also thin my paint a bit, just to maintain a little better control over the point of the brush.

For the tactical double arrows, I start with a simple line in Mechrite Red:



Then I paint the basic arrows.





Then I flesh out the arrows.



After that, I just flesh out the original line. (Not pictured.)

3. Highlighting

I like to paint some Macharius Solar Orange along some of the edges, just to make the symbols pop out a bit. I deliberately pick out the edges that would be highlighted if the light source was up and to the right. It's not necessarily correct, but it makes the badges stand out more than with just the red, and that makes them more visible on the table.

Left knee:



And the right shoulder:

4. Clean up

If I've managed to get any paint where it doesn't belong, this is where I clean it up with more Mechrite Red and Orkhide Shade. But remember, it doesn't have to be perfect. No one will notice small mistakes on the gaming table!

5. Squad number, right shoulder pad

Now, this is the tricky part. I thin my paint at every step, as it's almost impossible to paint thin lines with paint straight from the pot.

As I'm currently painting the 2nd squad from 3rd Company, the numeral in this tutorial will be a 2. Other numerals may be the subjects for other tutorials in the future.

Again, to paint this complex numeral, I divide it into simpler shapes and just paint it a step at a time.

I start with Dheneb Stone, as it covers better than Skull White.

Here's the numeral, step by step:











Then I flesh the numeral out a bit with Skull White, adding any small detail that I may have forgotten. (Such as the small uppy-pointy-bit to the right.)

6. Clean up

Again, this is where I correct any big mistakes by painting over them with Orkhide Shade and Mechrite Red.

Here's the marine, with tactical badge and squad number:



Thanks for reading. Please check out Part 2, for a tutorial on painting the Dark Angels chapter symbol!

If you like or dislike this article, please leave a comment and let me know!

You can also e-mail me at stitch [at] roll2dice [dot] com.

/Stitch

Army-building: The List

As I said in my first post, I'm currently building a 1750 points Dark Angels army. I thought I'd present my army list here, both so I can talk a little about my choices, but also so you can see what's coming in future updates.

I'll show you the list first, and then talk about each part, but I won't bore you with details right now. If anyone is interested in seeing the actual points value of each choice, I'll be happy to show them in a later update.

• HQ:
  Company Master, Command Squad (5), Razorback
• TROOPS 1:
  Tactical Squad (10), Rhino
• TROOPS 2:
  Tactical Squad (10), Rhino
• TROOPS 3:
  Tactical Squad (10), Rhino
• ELITE:
  Dreadnought
• FAST ATTACK:
  Ravenwing Support Squadron (2)
• HEAVY SUPPORT 1:
  Predator
• HEAVY SUPPORT 2:
  Vindicator

HQ:
I decided on a Company Master with a Command Squad as HQ. The Chaplains and Librarian are all cool character choices, and awesome models, but I want to use some of the cool Dark Angels upgrade bits to build my own plastic Master.

The Command Squad will include an Apothecary, Standard Bearer and a Company Champion. With a total of four power weapons and two flamers, I'm hoping this unit will be able to dish out some serious hurt and clear objectives for my Tactical Squads to hold. The Razorback will hopefully get them to where they need to be, without them being shot to pieces on the way.

TROOPS 1, 2 & 3:
I think Tactical Squads should always be the core of a Space Marine army, and with 5th Edition, you really need them. The option to split them into five-man combat squads makes them extremely versatile, and gives me a potential six Troops units with which to hold objectives.


I'm hoping to paint up the entire 3rd Company, eventually, and three full Tactical Squads with Rhinos will not only be a solid core for the force, but will also provide a good start for the bigger project.


The Tactical Squads will have a Plasma Cannon, Missile Launcher and Lascannon, respectively. The special weapons slots will be filled with two Plasma guns and a Meltagun. However, the special weapons are not glued, but are held in place by magnets. This way, I can swap them around. I will paint up a whole bunch of Flamers, Meltaguns and Plasma guns with magnets, so I'll always have options when I build my lists in the future. This will be the topic of a future tutorial, if anyone is interested.

ELITE:
I don't think I could ever play a 1000+ points game without at least one Dreadnought, as it is one of my absolute favourite models. I've got both a right and a left arm Twin-linked Autocannon, so in some games I'll be able to field him as a Mortis Dread. For this list, though, the left arm will be a close combat weapon with a heavy flamer.

The Dreadnought will be held together with magnets at three points: both arms and the waist. This will allow me to take it apart for easy storage and transport, as well as allowing me to change the armament between games.

FAST ATTACK:
Land Speeders are fragile on the table, but they look really cool and they can fill the air with screaming bullets before they go down. I will have one regular speeder and one Typhoon variant. I would like to have an Assault Cannon as well, but I don't have the points for it.

If they survive long enough, they may even be able to deny the enemy an objective by flying in on top of it in the last turn.

HEAVY SUPPORT 1 & 2:
A Predator with Twin-linked Lascannon and two Heavy Bolters should work well against both enemy armour and infantry. And a Vindicator can make anyone worry about where they move their units to.

I thought about taking a Devastator Squad, to tie in with the Battle Company plans, but I already have a Predator that just needs a new paint job, and the new Vindicator model is just too damn sweet to leave out.

That's it! That's 1750 points of angels of death in green armour.



Comments and e-mails are always welcome, so if there's anything you'd like to say to me, don't hold back!