A Thunderbolt from a clear sky

There are some units and models that you promise yourself that you will keep as a treat for finishing other projects. Well, this is one of those units, my Blood Angels Vanguard Veterans:

Pretty aren't they? As I have mentioned before I love the sanguinary guard models but had no intention of using the unit. So I initially kitbashed the models into my death company, my command squad and now my Vanguard Veterans too. Essentially I mated the backplate of the Sanguinary Guard (that the wings attach to) to the front plate of an assault marine, it isn't a perfect match, a little trimming is necessary to get the arms to sit neatly and a purist would sculpt the rubber pack straps going over the shoulders and into the wings. To be honest you just can't see them unless you are really looking for it so I simply didn't bother. Life's too short right?

With the painting I decided on a deliberately "normal" scheme. White wings would have stood out from the army too much and I did not want to give the mistaken impression that these models were Sanguinary Guard. Plus the black pinions echo the chapter badge and so worked rather nicely for me! Some of the models lacked a moulded blood drop on the shoulder pad to be painted white (3rd Company marking) so they got a kneepad drop instead. The Assault marking is indicating them to be the other half of the 8th squad. In essence I feel that vanguard and sternguard units can be used to represent experianced members of squads that have fought together for centuries rather than just members of the first company. This is what I have done in this army to keep it a pure 3rd company force.

Something that has struck me lately is how much my painting has evolved in the last year. Take a look at the writing on the scroll on the shoulder pad and the lightning on the sword. Now take a look at some of the first Blood Angels I painted way back at the start of this blog. Something of a difference eh? I am actually proud of the results I've achieved above. Although I have a long way to go and always something new to learn before I am at the levels of my painting heroes. So here we are and as the picture below shows, only 24 models to paint before Project Blood Angels is finished. Whoa! Until next time folks:

TTFN