Classic OOP Blood Angel Space Marine Sergeant, your chapter choice w/optional basing, metal, Warhammer 40K
Optional Basing
(Decal Pictures for reference only, not included)
I started playing 40k when 3rd edition was brand new, and I remember reading the BA codex and White Dwarfs thoroughly studying every space marine picture I could find. One of the details I rarely see now, but seemed common in my mind’s eye, is the caution-tape chainswords. Given that this was such a classic figure, I had to pay homage to that memory as best as I possibly could – even breaking out my old Blood Angel Codex to see if my memory was accurate! This figure is the result!
Never satisfied with mono-colored space marines, I had to do something a little different to make this Son of Sanguinus stand out. So I cross-quarted the colors between black and blood red. I added an old style right arm and plasma pistol and kept his old angular bannerpole backpack. In order to make full effect of the bare bannerpole I continued the divided colors right up the very shaft of the pole and out onto the crossbar. Though there is no banner, the effect is still rather impressive! The chainsword was orginaly modeled to have a (space horse hair?) tassle that oddly swung to connect to his wrist. (In the earlier days of Citidel’s models, they avoided having details and spikey bits.) I did not like this, so I cut the tassle out, and re-pinned it so it swung free. The details were also not the best, and the face suffers from mushy lines. The first time I painted him, I followed these lines exactly, and his eyes and eyebrows turned out quite lopsided! I have corrected this with paint, but when you zoom in on his face, I wish to point out that it is the mold that is at fault – not my paint-job! The plasma pistol is drilled out.
This model includes Custom Heraldry!: If you wish to have me freehand a chapter colors/icon on the shoulders, I will do so. (For example, you want a black salamander head instead of the white one on the decal sheet, or a flesh tearer circular saw blade and bood drop.) I can also mimic the decals you see if you would prefer a hand painted Ultramarine Omega instead of a decal, for example.
Decals: Instead of, or including the above, I can use decals from the sheet shown with this listing’s photos. I use Microscale brand ‘Micro Set’ to afix decals to the shoulder. I cannot garauntee you will not see decal edges, but I must say, this stuff does work much better than water.
I normally add $10 on to the model’s cost for freehanding custom heraldry and unit symbols. If you wish to buy the model as-is, I will refund $10 of your cost to you when I ship it out. (I will still decal the shoulders and base the model to your request if you wish.) Feel free to contact me with questions to this effect, or any questions!
TIME: Understand that this customization takes time, and when you make your requests, I will communicate with you on how long it will take to render.
BASING: As are most of my models, the base has been deliberately left unfinished. This is to provide the buyer with the option to provide a base that matches his army. If the buyer so chooses, I will simply base it for him matching the colors of his choosing before I ship it to him free of charge (this includes flock). If the buyer wants a fancy base, like the figure standing on a rock, he will have to allow for additional time for me to find an appropriate rock.
A note on quality:
COLOR!!! To steal a previous employer's slogan: Color makes the difference! In the first decade of playing 40k, I met a guy named Chris whose paint jobs were the envy of everyone in Oak Park, IL. I purchased a couple of his armies, and studied his work. His work was not perfect, BUT, every unit he had looked fantastic on the tabletop - why? Because he knew how to bring out colors to bring continuity to his units. He was consistant in his painting, his colors were bright and sharp, and by adding to some of the units I had bought from him to update them for later editions of the game, I learned his techniques. I was an awful art student in high school, BUT, I learned the color wheel inside and out. I pay very close attention to my freehand and improvised work to my colors as to keep them matched and to bring out every little detail I can, which reminds me...
DETAIL: I am a fanatic about detail. I feel as if I'm honoring the sculpter when I paint a model and find a way to expose every little detail he or she put into it. If I see the model is missing a tooth, I don't give him one! If I can give a blood drop a little reflection, I will. If they have a service stud in their forhead, it doesn't turn into a mole! That's why more detailed models are priced higher than less as well. The more detail I add, and I often have to put at least two coats even on the smallest detail, the longer it takes, the more I charge.
Layers: I learned my brush techniques as a housepainter. (Believe it or not, it's not the size of the brush that matters.) You cannot paint anything perfectly, but you can create the illusion of perfection. That doesn't keep me from painting as perfectly as possible, but sometimes the illusion of a perfect paint job is far more appealing than perfection, especially if the model itself is not perfect! The closer you look at a model, the more imperfections you find, and a good painter will turn them to his/her advantage.
I do not mass-produce figures. They are all unique and all have AT LEAST 2 coats of paint on them, not including basecoats. I avoid brush marks by putting on as many coats as necessary to obliterate them. I do not speed-paint.
All metal models are sealed before photos are taken. Glue marks on the model are non-existant unless noted. All flash is cleaned off before priming or when discovered, and gaps are filled while building or painting.
I pride myself on solid colors, and I very rarely, if ever use inks. I avoid drybrushing as well. I feel a model must look good close up and on the table, as these are after all gamepieces. It is my point of view that - typically - drybrushing and the use of inks is a sign of laziness or carelessness. I'll use inks on skin sometimes to get the right effect, and drybrush non-figure objects, like junk on bases.
++++Endorsements++++++
"If you hold it out at arms length and squint, it kinda looks like a space marine!" - a guy who didn’t want to be identified at the Chicago Battle Bunker for fear of losing his credibility.
2nd place at Sidetrack Nick's 3rd Bi-annual Basement Gamer Painter Competition. (I was the only one that entered, but I won second, so take that haters!~)
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Shipping via USPS 1st Class Mail is included in the buy-it-now price to the USA.
International shipping via the Global Shipping Program.