After being stuck in the house for what seems like an eternity (lockdown V2.0) this exodite escaped for much needed retail therapy and a decent coffee. Oh the sheer delicious joy of it, how I have missed my daily fix!
What was worth risking civil disorder, murder-hornets and alien abduction for? The sons of Baal goodies for my fledgeling Indomitus crusade force of course. All which came out the first weekend of freedom.
Blood Angels
In fairness I began this army at the release of 8th edition and after a few games, which I hasten to add I enjoyed very much, the gravitational pull of heresy drew me back in and I’m sorry to say my motivation for building on the initial 1000 point force withered on the vine.
As this year is all about fresh starts (I’m really trying to put a positive spin on it right now) I’m going to push on with adding a few more reinforcements to the existing force. My ‘very’ broad goal is to add the Imperial half of the Indomitus box as Blood Angels, along with a Gladiator (shown) and a detachment of Terminators assembled from a mix of the Space Hulk characters and the Space Marine Heroes series two set. The latter being whatever random selection the gods of ‘blind buy’ choose to gift me with.
I appreciate it sounds an odd combination, but bear in mind this is to add to an already existing force of Primaris HQs, Intercessors, Repulsor, Redemptor and other infantry units. Not least of all an Astartes first born assault unit, Relic Deredeo and Rhino. As usual for me I’m selecting models I want to paint and include for aesthetics even if they are sub-optimal from a list building perspective.
It also leaves me some wiggle room around future additions should they catch my eye. I’m looking at you Primaris Land Speeder!
Painting the red
The question most asked when it comes to Blood Angels is “how to do the red”. There are many methods and this is simply the one I prefer because it suits my army painting style. It starts with a greyscale pre-shade to help establish initial shadows and highlights over which I airbrush Vallejo game air blood red as a base. I reinforce shadows with Vallejo game air scarlet red and the deepest shadows Games Workshop drakenhof nightshade. Finally to unify and boost the red saturation a very thin mix of the base colour with a few drops red acrylic ink. Sometimes I reverse the colours when I want a deeper burgundy base or use a desaturated red like wildrider when I want to add some underlying fades or weathering underneath the glaze.
I normally apply a coat of gloss varnish at this point to protect the underlying work. It makes the colour appear darker than it really due to the reflection, but this will correct once the final matt or satin varnish is applied, so don’t overly worry the first time it does this. It’s normal. Painting them is far too satisfying not to add more so I expect my red will evolve over time, it should be a fun journey. Until then stay safe.
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