Of Epic Proportions (spring clean challenge 26)

I have a weird take on accuracy in war gaming. Historical, do what you want. American soldiers in WW2 wearing cowboy hats sure. If its a fictional world though, it has to be 100% accurate, down to the colours of the knee pads.

So its time to re-familerise myself with all the space marine iconography.

I used to play blood angel 3rd company so I see no reason not to play them now. Now I won’t be ableto paint them with the right knee pads but I can try to get them looking right.

What I will need to do and really practice is free handing the symbols on top of the rhinos. Both the tactical and devestator squads have different icons on the hatches, so it only seems right to do these as well.

So me and the baby desided to watch some how to paint epic model videos, (not that he had much choice), and I’ve come to some revelations

1. I’m trying to paint them at 32mm scale, but there not.

2. Edge highlights and spots of colour make them look more complex than they are

3. I’m been far too hard on myself.

But these videos also inspired me another way. Adding all the symbols and colours to add depth and character

“I don’t hold with looking at the future… But now I think the future’s looking at me. And I don’t like it’s expression .” – Granny Weatherwax

I’m a traditionalist at heart, and that comes to painting. I like paint brushes, but for my birthday last year I had been given a set of Army Painter pens. Since November they had just sat at the edge of the painting tray, giving off an aura of distrust and curiosity in equel messure. I’m not sure why but I had the thought of what would happen if I painted over the zenethed rhino with the red pen.. And I didn’t like the results, it looked fantastic. So I had a go with the tactical squad and that worked nicely too. I finished them with a quick wash and highlight.

I do need to find a way of improving the bases. So a trawl of Google will be upcoming.

If I remember at a future date I’ll do a step by step to show the stages.

If im going to build three armies and play a game I need a set of rules to use.

I have these three books, but which to use.

Space Marine. The pros are serious nostalgia, the artwork alone is a amazing. (I might do a post later just going through this book and the artwork). The negatives are that I no longer have the cards that were the used for army composition.

Epic Armageddon. The pros are it seems to be an easy system to use, and the army selection rules are in the book. The negatives are that there are only three lists in the book space marine, guard and orks. (somewhere I do have a PDF swordwind so I have eldar).

Over all I think Epic Armageddon is the best set of rules to begin with. If during the next few months I find others I can change. The main thing is though to get started and paint some units.

So like Games Workshop I too will be returning to Armageddon.

I’m starting to think that I might have bitten off more than I can chew with this. I’m not sure I have the eye sight to paint 6mm, but maybe I’m over thinking it. I’m hoping to get a model perfect that will hardly be seen once there in a mass of other models and seen from a player at least a foot away.

What I need to get next is a brighter silver. To make the metalics work at this scale they need to be far lighter. Subtley won’t cut it.

So, since there seems to be million space marines in these boxes, starting with them seems the best way to go. Which chapter to go with though. My original thinking was either Ultramarines as they are just classic or Dark Angels. Having the different colours for the Ravenwing and the Deathwing seemed like a good idea. So I was talking though my thinking with a friend he just casually mentioned “what about Blood Angels?” and the idea was an epithany. All there iconography with blue and yellow helmets, shoulder pads reversed if there a sergeant, the idea was perfect.

Plus it was this image, the second edition box art that got me into the game in the first place.

My anxiety isn’t athe best so, I though a test run is a good start, so I’ve based a marine, and I’ll have a go at painting a land raider and a single marine. I’m going to leave them over night for the PVA to dry (plus I’ve been awake since 4 this morning) and have a go at painting tomorrow

So in these two awesome vintage boxes is stage one. 

In some respect it’s a little overwhelming. There’s a mass of guard, marines and eldar. Although as I say this is part one. I know there’s still a box of tanks, another box of buildings also somewhere planes and titans.

I’m really not sure where I’m going to go with this. I think the first thing should be to have a crack at painting something this small, rather than get crippled by doubt.

Since it was a little plastic rhino that started this I make this pledge by this holy relic of terra.

That by the rising of the sun on midsummer morn I will have accomplished three things.

1. Painted 2 – 3 playable armies

2. Created a board and scenery

3. Played a game using the armies.

So how to accomplish such lofty goals. I know there should be 3 or 4 armies somewhere, as I had the old Space Marine box set (the one that had the art above). They don’t have to be good armies just playable.

There should also be the buildings from that same set somewhere, so that should be most of the scenery.

The hardest bit will be playing a game. We recently had a second child so finding time to play anything is a challenge now.