Deathwing Terminator Command Squad meets Black Reach spares WIP

With the new Dark Angel book recently released I thought it might be a good time to unleash the eleven or so Assault on Black Reach Terminator models I still had buried in my bits boxes.

I do suspect there is an abundance of these discarded models out there just ready and waiting to find a new home as Deathwing squads. However the basic models from Assault on Black Reach are very limited with their default armament and pose, so we come to the second part of the equation. The all new Deathwing Terminator Command Squad box set, like most new Games Workshop releases this box includes a bare minimum of complete models and a vast array of optional components and variants. In most cases this is an pricey way of selling any specific unit with a host of extras you may not have any need or preference for over extra models. But in this case the shear array of weapons and arm variants available could potentially enhance up to 20 models.

So, when many spare parts meet many spare models, feasting and merriment can be enjoyed by all!

Command Squad/Knight Sprues, Black Reach Spares, some High Elf wing/feather ornamentations.

Foot pegs and pins, keeping bases separate for terrain textures and effects.

Several stages of landscaping, from cork to sand and Vallejo Dark Earth paste (top left).

Pegged models propped in bases for handling and some of the many arms to be magnetized.

Spare power fists glued to this plastic strip for testing possible marbled effect.

Quick marbled test proved to be over ambitious and would only be done justice with far more time and diligence.

So on with the classic bone white armour. The inital base coat of Wargames Foundry "Drab Light" is drybrushed with "Boneyard" .

A 3-1 watered down wash of GW Agrax Earhshade smooths out the drybrush and adds some depth. 

Blended Highlights and crisp edging with "Boneyard Light".

These blended highlights have been done with a simple two brush technique, that I have been increasingly leaning towards.

1). With your first brush, apply thinned paint to the edge/section being highlighted (3-4 parts water, this may vary even greater depending on the strength of the pigment involved or highlight required).

2). Using your second brush, which is clean and dry, use it to feather away the darker/inside edge of the applied paint (as if you were trying to lightly clean off the applied paint while dragging it across the armour plate or section being highlighted) .

The knack is in both the consistency of the paint used and the timing of the feathering. If you immediately apply the second brush, too much of the paint may be removed (this would be perfect if you wanted to apply this is a couple of coats for some super smooth blending). I found that applying the thinned paint on two or three edges then returning to the first edge allowed enough time for the first to be drying. These highlights were then edged with the side of the brush as I worked over the rest of the model.

I can not normally explain the painting involved very well, but hopefully this makes some sense.

Basing close up with the Vallejo Dark Earth paste and an ink/water effect mix for a rugged muddy wartorn landscape.