The race is on. As my deployment date creeps closer, so too does the end of my current painting project. In order to get the models finished on time, I've had to abandon my goal of writing a tutorial for it. I've taken enough pictures so far that if I have a few days worth of free time between finishing the squad and getting on the plane, I can still write an armor tutorial for everyone.

As for the Dire Avengers themselves, I've gotten a lot done.  The Exarch is completely finished! As you know, I've painted these models exactly the same as my other squad. The only difference separating the squads is the color of the helmet plumes. Take a look and see for yourself!

I love how that plume turned out!



I'm a huge fan of how his helmet plume turned out. I think it'll look fantastic when the whole squad is done. Also, the helmet plumes should be different enough that I can tell the two Dire Avenger squads apart on the battlefield.

As far as the progress on the rest of the squad goes, I'm almost done with them, too. Really all I have left is some detailing on the guns and their helmets. It shouldn't take me too terribly long. I just hope that my work schedule allows me to finish them before they ship me off. For now, take a look at my current progress.








I would like to say that I've noticed a small difference in the color of their armor versus the armor of my other Dire Avengers. The colors for their armor is Regal Blue, Ultramarines Blue, and a 50/50 mix of Ultramarines Blue and Ice Blue. I use them in that order, so that mix is my brightest highlight. I must have mixed this batch differently than when I painted the last squad of Dire Avengers because the armor is slightly different. It's barely even noticable, but it made me realize that if you're going to mix colors, make sure you mix enough for the entire project.

I hope this doesn't end up being my last post for a while. With any luck, I'll be posting again with the finished squad and maybe even a short tutorial for you guys. And with that, I leave you with some reference pictures from the other Dire Avenger squad so you can see the difference for yourself. Take care!

You can see how the armor colors are slightly different.