WIP: Blood Angels tactical squad (shading)

Work continues on the tactical squad. The two models above are the first (after the finished test piece) to get the recess shading treatment. By the time you read this* I should have done more work on the others. The plan remains to paint them up in batches of two or three at a time so I don't get too bored of painting the same details over and over again before I can move on but I'll get as many of these early stages as I can bear done across the whole squad early on. It's good to have a production line going, but there's always a risk that tedium will get the better of me and I don't want the quality to suffer.

* I tend to write several posts in advance and schedule them over the course of the week, so these models were actually shaded last Tuesday evening.

Recess shading can be time-consuming. Rather than an all-over wash that takes seconds, the wash is painted direct into the recesses of the model, leaving the smooth surfaces relatively clear. I always glaze a little around them so the shade is more natural and progressive, but the principle remains the same. The effect is quite striking, leaving your brighter colours showing and providing instant contrast.

Incidentally, for anyone interested, the colours I'm using for the armour are below. All of them are from Games Workshop's Citadel Colour range.

• Undercoat: Chaos Black (spray)
• Basecoat: Mephiston Red
• Shade: Agrax Earthshade (recesses only)
• Edge highlight: Wild Rider Red
• Fine edge highlight: Ungor Flesh
• Glaze: Bloodletter

At any stage it's wise to go back and tidy up with the previous colour. As you can see from the picture above, I have a little tidying to do on these models with Mephiston Red before I move on, having just done the shading.