Painting an Ultramarine.
So, today we are going to paint an Ultramarine for the Horus Heresy but I didn’t want to do the usual flat Ultramarines blue. I want to give them a metallic finish as Forge World have done with many of their Horus Heresy armies.
I started by gluing some cork and sand onto the base then primed the entire model with a leadbelcher spray.
Once the spray primer was completely dry I used Games Workshops contrast talassar blue. I took my time with this layer working from the feet u to make sure I covered all of the armour.
Once the contrast paint was dry I used Bronze by Vallejo to paint the trim around the shoulder pads. I took my time with this as it would take a long time to tidy up the blue armour if i slipped with the bronze.
The pipes, under amour and vents as well as the bolter were painted with Games Workshops leadbelcher.
All of the areas that were painted with leadbelcher and bronze were given a wash with Games Workshops agrax earthshade.
Next I used Coat d arms tank light grey to paint the tactical and Ultramarines symbol as well as the eyes.
The gun casing was then painted black.
While the black was drying I doted the eyes with Games Workshops contrast blood angels red.
The base was painted with Coat d arms red brown.
I then covered the base with PVA glue and dipped it into Geek Gaming Mars earth.
Once the basing material was fully dry I gave it a light drybrush with Ryza rust then painted the rim black.
Adding some little details or splashes of colour can make individual marines pop on the table top. Now we are going to have a look at some of the little details that can be added.
Purity seals are a great way of adding a little colour to break up the flat armour.
Paint them white, then give the wax seal a coat of contrast blood angels red and the parchment a coat of contrast skeleton horde.
Once the base colours are dry you can highlight them with wild rider red and screaming skull.
Painting faces for a table top ready army has never been easier, just paint the head with a light white or cream then use The Games Workshops contrast paint. For these two i went with Guilliman flesh and dark oath flesh.
The contrast paints are great for these little areas, creating a shade and highlight at the same time.
I wanted the power swords to be very pale in comparison to the armour.
I started with a base coat of Grey Seer. Once that was dry i made an equal mix of contrast Aethermatic blue and contrast medium. I split the blade in two down the centre and painted the top 80% of the left side and the bottom 20% of the right. once this was dry i repeated the step 4 more times painting less of the blade each time.
To finish off the blade i gave the Sharpe edges an edge highlight using a bright white.
Transfers or decals are another way of adding details to a miniature relatively quickly.
Just follow the instructions on the back of the sheet. once the decal has dried add a thin layer of gloss varnish over the top to seal the decal to the miniature. Don’t worry it wont stay shiny. Once you varnish the miniature the gloss will dissapear.
