When Games Workshop rereleased Dark Vengeance on made to order a few years ago I jumped at the chance. Originally I had to take the Chaos half of the boxset, which did indeed become the basis of my horde of cultists, and the Dark Angels would go to my brother who had collected them since we got into Warhammer all those years ago. As it happened he had no need for them, I believe he had picked them up during their original release. And so the Dark Angels sat unassembled in my loft for a few years. 

With Zombicide Invader and being a glutton for punishment I decided it was time to launch into another box of miniatures. I pulled the box out of the loft and started on the assembly. It had been so long since I had done the Chaos side of this box that I had forgotten all the miniatures were push-fit. They therefore came together quite quickly, especially as each Marine is only three or four bits each. However as they are only a few bits each, the models do lose a bit of fidelity in some of the details. It’s easy to see how far Games Workshop has come in the twelve years since these models were initially released. 

Tactical Marines

I started with the Tactical Marines as they accounted for half the models I had to paint and to speed things along I primed them all with Army Painter Angel Green, tidying up any missed areas with Caliban Green. 

I started out by painting all the joints in the armour with Two Thin Coats Dark Reaper. The Dark Angel’s white chapter marking would be a pain to paint over the dark green. To make things easier I first painted them with Two Thin Coats Carcharodon Grey, which has good coverage over Caliban Green, followed by a coat of Ulthuan Grey. For the tactical markings on the right shoulder I painted them with Vallejo Scarlet Red, while I had it out I also used Scarlet Red for the weapon casings and any rope details. I normally paint leather pouches with something like Skrag Brown but that would be a bit bright for the overall dark scheme, so in this case I painted the pouches with Rhinox Hide. It’s for similar reasons that I painted the Sergeant’s bare head with a couple thin coats of Vallejo Dark Fleshtone. While I had the sergeant, I painted his tabard with a couple thin coats of Army Painter Skeleton Bone. For the purity seals I usually use Skeleton Bone for the parchment but Dark Angels will have a lot of bone details, particularly when it comes to the Deathwing. So instead I painted the parchment with Two Thin Coats Griffon Grey, a kind of brown-grey colour that often is used for decaying skin. Similarly, I would normally use a red for the wax seal but these models already had a lot of red details so instead I used Two Thin Coats Sword Hilt burgundy.

Lastly I picked out the metallics, painting the Imperialis on the chest and any other gold details with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. Any silver details I then painted with Scale75 Thrash Metal. 

Moving onto the washes I gave the silver details, rope and purity seals a wash with Army Painter Dark Tone. While I had it out I also used Dark Tone to recess shade the armour, so that it wasn’t just one big block of green. The gold details and the Sergeant’s tabard I washed with Army Painter Strong Tone. Lastly, the Sergeant’s head was washed with Army Painter Purple Tone. 

To finish things off I layered the Sergeant’s tabard with Skeleton Bone before highlighting the highest areas with Army Painter Pale Sand. The plasma coils I base coated with Army Painter Matt White before giving them a coat of Talassar Blue. I then carefully painted a thin line of Matt White into the eye lenses, I then painted a small amount of Blood Angels Red into the eye lenses. 

Deathwing Terminators

As the next most numerous models I then moved onto the Terminators. Following a light grey primer each model was then given a few even coats of Army Painter Skeleton Bone through the airbrush. I was pleasantly surprised at how well Skeleton Bone went through the airbrush, some paints not formulated for it can be terrible to try and airbrush. 

Once I had a smooth finish on the bone armour I could then work on the rest of the details. I started by carefully painting the joints in the armour with Two Thin Coats Dark Reaper. The Crux Terminatus on the shoulders I painted with Two Thin Coats Carcharodon Grey. The chapter symbol on the other shoulder I had initially painted with Caliban Green but I didn’t like how it looked so I repainted it with Vallejo Scarlet Red. I also used Scarlet Red for the weapon casings and any rope details. As I couldn’t use my usual bone colour for the skulls I instead painted them, and any feathers while I was at it, with Ulthuan Grey. For the purity seals I painted the parchment with Two Thin Coats Griffon Claw and the wax seals with Two Thin Coats Sword Hilt Burgundy. For the robe that the Sergeant is wearing I painted that with a couple thin coats of Caliban Green, as a nice reversal of the robe that the Tactical Marine Sergeant is wearing. 

For the gold details, such as the Imperialis on the chests and the various ornamentations, I  painted them with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. I then realised far too late that due to the pale bone colour I could have been using contrast and speedpaints for the Terminators. Better late than never I suppose, I finished the base coats by painting the silver details such as the weapon workings and sword blade with Army Painter Speedpaint Broadsword Silver. 

Moving onto the washes I started by recess shading the armour with Skeleton Horde, which seemed fitting for the bone coloured armour. The purity seals, Crux Terminatus, Sergeant’s robe and skulls were washed with Army Painter Dark Tone. The gold details were washed with Army Painter Strong Tone. 

To finish things off I layered the skulls with Army Painter Matt White as the wash had darkened them down a bit too much. I then layered the Sergeant’s robe with Caliban Green and highlighted them with Warp Lightning. I then carefully painted a thin line of Matt White into the eye lenses, I then painted a small amount of Blood Angels Red into the eye lenses. 

Ravenwing Bikes

Moving onto the Ravenwing bikes, I started by priming them with a light grey before using the airbrush to set down a nice even layer of Army Painter Air Raven Black. 

Like the Tactical Marines I picked out the markings first with Two Thin Coats Carcharodon Grey and then Ulthuan Grey. Weapon cases were painted with Vallejo Scarlet Red, purity seals with Two Thin Coats Griffon Claw and Sword Hilt Burgundy, pouches and holsters with Rhinox Hide, and bone details and robes with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. 

For the tyres I painted them with Army Painter Matt Black, would make them difficult to shade but I had an idea that I wanted to try. 

For the metallics I split the silver into two categories; shiny silver and dull silver. The shiny silver was things like the trim on the bike, armour joints, the muzzles of the bolters, ammo hopper, chainsword teeth, etc I painted with Scale75 Thrash Metal. The dull silver, such as the exhausts and engine, I painted with Army Painter Speedpaint Broadsword Silver which worked quite nicely over the near black undercoat.

The washes were broadly similar to the Tactical Marines, not unsurprising as they are effectively Tactical Marines on bikes. The silver details, armour recesses, purity seals and Ravenwing symbols (as they’re more textured than the Dark Angels symbol on the Tactical Marines) were given a coat of Army Painter Dark Tone. The gold details and robes meanwhile were washed with Army Painter Strong Tone. The winged areas on the front of the bikes and the standards on the back I gave a coat of Apothecary White contrast paint. For the tyres I washed them with heavily thinned down Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth to give them a muddy appearance. This didn’t work as well as I had hoped but it did help to bring out the texture slightly. 

Like the Tactical Marine Sergeant I did also layer and highlight the Ravenwing Sergaent’s robe with Army Painter Skeleton Bone and Pale Sand respectively. For the biker with a plasma gun I also base coated the coils with Army Painter Matt White before giving them a coat of Talassar Blue. Additionally I painted the screens on the bikes with Matt White followed by Warp Lightning contrast paint to give them a glowing appearance. I then carefully painted a thin line of Matt White into the eye lenses, I then painted a small amount of Blood Angels Red into the eye lenses. 

Librarian Turmiel

Starting from the same light grey primer that I had used for the Ravenwing Bikes I started Turmiel off by base coating his armour with a couple of thin coats of Macragge Blue. I then picked out the joints in the armour with Two Thin Coats Dark Reaper. From there I painted the wings on the shoulder pad and various ram’s heads with Ulthuan Grey. If anyone knows why the ram’s head is the symbol of the Librarius please let me know. I also painted the background of the right shoulder pad with Caliban Green. From that I picked out any parchment, such as the scrolls and purity seals, with Two Thin Coats Griffon Claw and the wax seals with Two Thin Coats Sword Hilt Burgundy. The rope around his waist I painted with Vallejo Scarlet Red. The small portion of Turmiel’s face that can be seen I painted with Two Thin Coats Dwarven Skin. 

Next I painted his robes with a couple thin coats of Army Painter Skeleton Bone. As the robes, especially with the hood, are quite extensive I painted the bib with Two Thin Coats Royal Robe to break up all the bone colour.  I also used this colour for the cover of the book on his hip. 

For the silver details, such as the sword blade, I used the usual Scale75 and for the gold Scale75 Dwarven Gold. I also used gold for the trim on the bib. For the washes, I did the same as I had before; using Apothecary White on the wings, Army Painter Strong Tone on the bone and gold details, Reikland Fleshshade on the face, and Army Painter Dark Tone on the ram’s skulls, armour recesses, silver details and purity seals.  

As the model is a character I gave the armour a quick edge highlight with Two Thin Coats Celestial Blue. As with others wearing robes I then layered and highlighted said robes with Army Painter Skeleton Bone followed by Pale Sand. Lastly, I painted the swirling pattern on the blade with Gryph-Hound Orange. 

Company Master Balthasar

Despite also wearing green armour I primed the Company Master with a light grey, as most of the armour is hidden under the robes. The parts of the armour that are showing I painted with a few thin coats of Caliban Green. The robes and cape were then base coated with a couple coats of Army Painter Skeleton Bone. In hindsight, it might have been easier to airbrush the robes like I did for the armour on the Deathwing Terminators. Like the Librarian, to break up all the bone colour I painted the outside of the cape and the outer robes with Two Thin Coats Royal Robes. 

From there I could fill out the rest of the base coats such as painting the rope, pattern on the hem of the robe and bolter casing with Vallejo Scarlet Red. The wing designs on the outer robes, helmet and shoulder pad I painted with a couple thin coats of Ulthuan Grey. The strap on the bolter meanwhile I painted with Rhinox Hide. Any parchment details I painted with Two Thin Coats Griffon Claw and the wax seal I painted with Two Thin Coats Sword Hilt Burgundy. The sword blade, grenades and bolter muzzle I painted with Scale75 Thrash Metal. All the gold details, like the sword hilt and various decorations about his person, I painted with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. 

For washes, all the silver and purple areas were given a coat of Army Painter Dark Tone. I additionally used this to recess shade the armour and weapon. The sword hilt, gold medallions and white robes were then washed with Army Painter Strong Tone. The wings on the helmet were given a coat of Apothecary White contrast paint. 

As always I layered and highlighted the white robes with Army Painter Skeleton Bone followed by Pale Sand. The purple robes were layered with Two Thin Coats Royal Robes followed by a highlight of Two Thin Coats Sword Hilt Burgundy. As he is the boss I gave his armour a quick highlight with Warpstone Glow. I then carefully painted a thin line of Matt White into the eye lenses, I then painted a small amount of Blood Angels Red into the eye lenses. 

Bases

For the bases I first needed to fill the gaps where the models slot in. To do this I simply mixed up a small amount of greenstuff and carefully shoved it into the holes in the bases. I then left them to fully cure overnight. 

With that done I could then cover the bases with Stirland Mud texture paint. Once that was dry I then washed the bases with Army Painter Strong Tone to bring out that texture before giving it a drybrush with Tyrant Skull. As most of my Imperial forces have tundra bases the next step was to dab PVA glue in patches on the bases then sprinkle on some Geek Gaming Scenics Base Ready Patchy Plains. I then applied some Valhallan Blizzard texture paint in patches as well. I finished things off by painting the rims of the bases with Steel Legion Drab. 

Final Thoughts

Coming off the back of speed painting the Rotmire Creed using the traditional method of base coat, wash, highlight for these guys was practically tortuous. There was certainly more, particularly highlights, that I could have done but towards the end I just wanted them done. Not to say that I don’t like how they turned out, they look great! And if I thought that Firstborn Marines would last more than another edition I might use them as the basis for a Dark Angels force. Alas, the Firstborn are not long for this world so they will have to settle for looking pretty on my shelf.