Primarch | Of Dice and Pens

Mortarion – Primarch of the Death Guard

October 17, 2015October 22, 2015 Charles Muscarella 1 Comment

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Mortarion, Lord of Death, the Primarch of the Death Guard, and eventually the Prince of Decay. More than any other Primarch, Mortarion molded his legion to fit his own personal beliefs of how battles should be won. He had an indomitable determination, ever-advancing, even in the face of impossible odds. As Mortarion believed that victory can be justified by any means. Swift, terrifying, and steadfast, he led his Death Guard from world to world, doing what they do best, leaving only death and destruction in their wake. And that was all BEFORE they fell to Chaos! I do believe that this model portrays Mortarion as the deathbringer that he was, before his fall. I don’t really like his stance, and I really wish the model came with a version of his face with a re-breather.

This model also belongs to Kiel, who gave me a chance at this truly difficult task. The base turned out absolutely perfect, especially the piping! The piping was done with a Citadel Brass color, and I just made sure to not apply a perfect coat. Then I used the Citadel technical paints to apply rust and oxidization. The green-goo is actually the Citadel – Nurgles Rot – mixed with Citadel – Dark Angels Green. I painted Mortarion in the same way I painted Calas Typhon in terms of the bone-colored armor. The gold on this model is actually the new Citadel Gold that was released with the Age of Sigmar stuff… no inking necessary. His backpack was done in a similar matter as the piping was. The cape is just a simple splatter effect with a Stippling brush with Citadel – Nulan Oil – and – Agrax Earthshade.

Overall I’m not entirely happy with this one, but everyone tells me it looks great. I think it’s just “the artist’s eye.”

Angron – Primarch of the World Eaters

October 16, 2015October 19, 2015 Charles Muscarella Leave a comment

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Let’s talk about Angron. This piece was the first Horus Heresy model released by Forgeworld, and I personally think that no model has yet to beat Angron’s sculpt. Here you can see Angron tearing through loyalist marines of his own legion, literally running to the front lines, with his axes (Gorefather and Gorechild) cutting down anything that stands in his way. Leaping over the bodies of friends and foes alike, driven to an insatiable rage fueled by the Butchers Nails embedded into his skull. I absolutely love everything about this model, and I was very happy to have the chance to paint it.

This one actually belongs to my friend Mike, who let me paint Angron. Most of his body was done with the Tamiya – Gold Leaf – which I mentioned in an earlier post. The red was done in Citadel – Gore Red – and the other metallics were done in other Citadel colors. The base was especially fun to paint! After quickly painting up the marines, I just used a color pallet that paralleled pictures of the Istvann IV Dropsite Massacre that I’ve seen. And the blood effect… you guessed it! Citadel – Blood for the Blood God – which was so befittingly used on Angron, father of Khorne! In fact, I liked painting this model so much, I actually went back at least three or four times to complete other touch ups.

I’m really happy with it Mike, I hope you are too.

Ferrus Manus – Primarch of the Iron Hands

October 15, 2015October 17, 2015 Charles Muscarella Leave a comment

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I loved this model from the day it was released on Forgeworld’s site. I love the base, the pose, and just how it all came together. In this moment, Ferrus is on Istvann IV, battling the Emperors Children in a fight he will ultimately lose. But nonetheless he will fight with the Hammer forged by his enemy, to his last breath, steadfast and unyielding — much like his chapter. The model was designed to capture his movement in his swing, which is a awesome feature. I tried to do my best with making him look rugged, while still maintaining the aura of perfection that comes along with being a Primarch.

I painted this one for my friend Jay, who asked me to stick to a certain color pallet. He wanted it to fit in seamlessly with his already-painted Iron Hands army, and let me tell you… it really does. I kept the black paint flat, and highlighted where I could with some grays. I tried to make the flesh look as real as I could while incorporating the silver into his arms and hands. I even gave Ferrus a five o’clock shadow, which turned out better than I originally thought it would. Truthfully I wanted to pain the hammer to look a little more “fabulous” if you know what I mean, as it was technically forged by Fulgrim (Primarch of the Emperors Children). I still think that the model turned out beautiful, with the scattered bodies of both friend and foe on his base.

I know that Jay is very happy with his model, so I hope you guys like it.

Vulkan – Primarch of the Salamanders

October 15, 2015November 8, 2015 Charles Muscarella Leave a comment

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I think that this model was designed to have Vulkan literally just walking through a wall, to smite some unfortunate traitors on the other side. I do like the pose of this model, but I personally think he looks better without the “display base.” It’s just very cluttered. I really tried to capture the determination that is shown in Vulkan’s face, and his power, without making him look too cartoon-y because of the colors I would need to use.

This model I painted for my friend Alex, and I’m happy I had the chance to take on a project like this. Right up until the end, he looked like a Christmas tree… It was really because of the greens, reds, and gold. Painting the fires didn’t help that either, and I hope they don’t look too cartoon-y. Additionally, I originally wanted the cape to be a maroon color, but I thought that it would add too much red to the model. I decided to go with a bone color across all of the bones and scales, because Vulkan’s old… and his cape probably is too. The flesh has since decayed away, and the dragon scales on some leather are all that remains. As far as the Marines on the base, I wanted to make one a Salamander and one an Iron Warrior to showcase the battle on Istvann IV, where almost all of the Salamander’s chapter was lost. I used primarily Citadel paint, with the exception of the green, which was a Tamiya paint.

I hope you like it Alex.

Horus – Primarch of the Sons of Horus

October 15, 2015October 16, 2015 Charles Muscarella Leave a comment

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With this paint-job, I wanted to showcase the sovereignty of the Warmaster Horus. I wanted to keep his armor and weapons clean, to show where Horus’ true location in a battle was. He was the mastermind behind the Great Heresy, and named Warmaster for his strategic genius in battle. Horus was stern, powerful, and commanded respect. He was not always on the front lines, but was responsible for leading the Legions of Space Marines into war, and rightfully so is his pose — forward. The model was beautifully designed as to have the ruins of an Imperial City under his boots. In this way, one could paint him as the Primarch of the Luna Wolves as he defends the world. Or one could paint him as a true Lord of Chaos, as a heretic, standing on the ruins he created. As a Luna Wolf, Horus’ armor was almost completely silver, with the iconic eyes that create a stark contrast. As the Heretic, his armor was black, with gold edgings and filigree.

I choose neither… I wanted to do something different with Horus, and I loved the Sons of Horus color scheme. It’s a lot like the Tomb Kings: turquoise, deep red, and gold. Beautiful colors when used together. Not to mention — Horus — Egyptian themed name… so yeah. Most of the model was painted with Citadel paints, except for the gold. The gold is actually Tamiya paint – Gold Leaf. It chips a lot, but it goes on beautifully. Just needed a finish, and it was perfect. I painted the stairs to look like sandstone, and the eagle to look like regular stone… nothing special there. The blood effect was done with a stippling brush, just to add a little more color to the base.