Chapter Decal

okay I haven't posted in a while but I have not been completely idle, either. I have installed the shoulder decals including the tactical squad designation and the Chapter symbol.

Here is a pic of the chapter decals.









Notice also the contrast you get on the greaves where I've drybrushed 'dirt' and not varnished it. Looks good, and the pic is from much closer than anyone is likely to get when my marines are running around the battlefields of the 41st Millenium!

Varnish or Pre-decal

Okay I realize that I have not posted in a while. That's because I am about to embark on redoing my kitchen. I am going to rip up the subfloor and prep it for tile, then new cabinets will be installed, new countertops, new appliances, and some wiring, before I will lay tile. :o)

So, I put on a coat of gloss varnish. Now I know many people do not like the really shiny armor, but first of all, I kinda do like it. To me, the space marines, being a totally martial brotherhood would keep their kit in tip top form. Plus the use of varnish allows for some neat detail, for example I have drybrushed some "dirt" (graveyard earth) around the bottom of their greaves (? armor around their lower legs?) to simulate that they have been moving about on foot and didn't just step from the shower. This "dirt" effect has not been varnished giving it not only a color contrast but also a finish difference that the keen eye might pick up.
Secondly, the gloss varnish allows decals to hide much better. i will most likely tone down the gloss with a coat of matte varnish later, but the shininess of the decal would render the illusion of the chapter symbol, and unit markings being painted onto the shoulderpad. Here are some pics.

Squad Markings

I think I have decided on a way to differentiate marines from separate squads that will look decent on the tabletop as well as make it easy to tell. I may further differentiate with shoulder iconography, but this will make it easy as a player.

The two white slashes on his backpack denote that he is a part of the 2nd squad. By painting different parts of the backpack you'll be able to tell where each squad starts and stops even within those huge tabletop melees.

Chapter Symbol

The question arose that I had not yet detailed my Chapter name, iconography, etc.

As previously stated I am a huge Penn State Nittany Lions fan, and alum. I come from a family of Alum, my brother, mother, and father all graduated from PSU. This has caused me to do a great many things to demonstrate my absolute fanatical loyalty to the school.

Chapter name: Emperor's Pride
colors: Dark Blue and White
Symbol: Paw print
1st Squad's Ultimate Super-fly ride!













The reason I am not starting with 1st squad is because it is already all but finished. The chapter and squad iconography was done with decals. I had Griffon Games custom make them for me. It was a great deal. $40 or so got me 100 shoulder decals and several different vehicle-sized decals. High quality stuff. The also have a selection of decals that you can get for much cheaper.