WIP Dark Angels, RIP Uncharted Seas

Green and mean.

 More painting today.  The focus was armor and the bounty was (relatively) great: a squad worth of green finished.  Previously I was unhappy with how the armor was going, but something clicked this morning and gave me a new perspective.  The work I had done before looked odd because it was incomplete.  With highlighting, and armor, finished the squad looks much better.  It was a rude welcome back to the world of painting for quality instead of speed, but after blitzing through Dust models for the past while it is satisfying to do work that is satisfying instead of sufficient.  The plan is to do the do the metals and/or reds on Sunday.  If I can get both done the squad will hopefully need only one more session to finish and I'll be halfway through my first EPL pledge.

Embracing edge highlighting.  I approve.

What color for the bolters?  It's a question I've been putting off for as long as possible, but the time for contemplation is running out.  I'm used to red bolters, and weapons in general, on Dark Angels.  The concern is Christmas Tree syndrome, which leads to speculation about other colors.  Black would look dark and mean with the dark green armor while still allowing for red accents.  I like this idea mostly, but there's a crucial problem with the Ravenwing.  They're already black enough as it is with just the weapons and chapter badges to break up the monotony.  Keeping their weapons red would look better but would be out of sync with the rest of the army.  I'm mostly set on doing red weapons, but (stop me if you've heard this one before) I'm going to aim for a darker than usual red since the green turned out bright.  I should probably consider chest eagles as well.  They'll probably end up white/bone.

For a while I've been plotting an expansion with more Dark Vengeance Terminators and Ravenwing squads, a pair of each, but recently I've been thinking in grander terms.  The long unheralded Non Gaming Friend (NGF) surprised me with a Crusader last week.  I had considered trading it in for a Nephilim but decided to keep it instead.  A Land Raider is much more appealing to me, if not as effective against flyers, and I can put a Crusader in particular to good use.  The Banner of Devastation (bolters shoot 4 times when standing still) has been heralded across the interweb as a thing to do.  It will affect the Crusader's Hurricane bolters while also giving a command squad a nice mobile bunker to spread extra shooty love around.  My other intention for it is melee Terminators.  I've been disappointed with the Deathwing Knights in my few games with them. but they're certain to do better with a transport they can assault out of.  I can also run them as regular TH/SS and mix in some Lighting Claws for

Progress from last time.

speedier chopping.  Unfortunately my gaming budget allows me to pursue some, but not all, of these options, so I'll be heading to the drawing board to see what lists I can come up with.

Closing on a down note, happy trails Uncharted Seas.  Spartan finally made it official (post here) and killed off US, the inevitable conclusion to the ever dwindling support it received in the wake of their newer games.  I had a great time with US, much of it documented on this blog, and it's a shame to see it go.  US was my first real foray outside GW, the first game I went to a tournament for, and the first time since Mordheim that I could field a fully painted force.  If the clearance discounts get real good I might look for the last ship or two I don't have for the Iron Dwarves and maybe round out my Imperial Humans, but since they'll just be display pieces now it'll have to be a deep discount.