WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad progress update (again)

Warhammer 40,000: Blood Angels tactical space marine

In my last update I showed you how I was progressing with the first test model for my Blood Angels tactical squad. As you can see in the image above, that model is now finished. All in all, it probably took about eight hours. In the rest of this article I'll show you a few more images and update you on the progress. I should also state at this point that updates to the site from here on in are likely to be fewer. Since launching the blog last month, I've managed to do daily updates (excluding weekends) to show off models I've painted previously. Now I'm into the realms of the projects I'm actively working on, the updates are likely to be a little slower. Anyway, read on to see how I'm getting on...

Despite not really liking Blood Angels in the past, I have enjoyed working on this. I like space marine models generally but the new Blood Angels tactical squad is particularly nice to work with. I like the little embellishments that separate them from the more vanilla chapters. They're more subtle than the variations you see on Space Wolves but they're still very characterful.

Rear view

I've enjoyed trying a new colour scheme too. I'm so used to painting space marines in other colours that it seemed quite unusual to see one on my desk that was painted red. My approach to painting it was also slightly different. When I've painted previous chapters, I've tried painting the armour first and leaving the recesses black, or painting the metal first, then picking out the armour. Painting the whole model red, then picking out the detail later made the whole process a lot quicker. It's a testament to the current Citadel paint range that the base colours are strong enough to support this in relatively few coats without the areas needing to be undercoated again first.

Overall, I'm pleased with how this model turned out. It also helped me decide on the scheme I'm going to use for the rest of the models. In the end I varied very little from the colours I had in mind, but it was reassuring to see them on a model. My next task, at least where Blood Angels are concerned, is to get to work on the rest of the squad. I've already done the rest of the bolters (below) so I can focus on the main models as soon as I've clipped them from their sprues. I have some Horus Heresy era Imperia Fists awaiting attention on my desk, not to mention the Imperial Knight I still haven't finished, but will return to these very soon.

The remaining the bolters, finished and ready for the rest of the squad

What do you think of the test piece?