First attempt for Blood Angels paint scheme

Since I'm leaning towards Blood Angels for my fledgling Marines, I figured I should do some paintin' and make sure that I actually enjoyed painting the model and could do it to a standard that I found acceptable.

So I'm going to put up two or three test models using different techniques and hopefully get some feedback on what looks best.  I have a tendency to create extra work for myself by picking out areas of detail that aren't necessary, which slows down the whole army production, and I have a feeling I might have done that on the first test model here:

Look Ma! No hands!

First of all, as many people have mentioned, it's amazing how much you can see in terms of errors when you photograph the model.  Having said that, you can't really see any of them on the tabletop, and this is just a test model after all.

So here's how I did it:

First, I decided to use Blood Red as a basecoat colour, because it's incredibly bright.  Let me just say first off that I forgot how much of a pain it is to use that colour, as it has very poor coverage.  Thank goodness I used a white basecoat.  I also decided I wanted to do the armor accents in Shining Gold, as I would be using that for accents throughout my entire army.

So basecoat Blood Red all over the model, Shining Gold, Mithril Silver and Dheneb Stone on the details:

If your blood is actually this colour, you need immediate medical attention.

I knew I wanted bright, but I forgot just how bright this colour is.  That's okay though, because my well-know love for washes dictated that I do a bright red and wash it down with Baal Red.

It's clear to me that Baal Red Wash was made for exactly this purpose.  It gives some good darkening and blending on Blood Red without diminishing the colour, and lets you go right back over it with blood red to highlight when you're done with that.

So Baal Red wash (2 coats) for the red armour and Badab Black (which I go through like candy) for the metallic bits, bags, parchment, and your shading is done!

... Shady Character?

From there, I simply drybrushed the original colours back on, painted the eyes Emerald Green (of course!) and cleaned up a couple trouble areas.

Do I like it?

Yes.  Looking at that final picture at the top of the article, I think once it's finished and based, it'll look great.  There are two problems that I have with this method, however:

1) Both Blood Red and Shining Gold have terrible opacity.  This means that if I make any errors, it's difficult to correct, and because the model isn't as detailed as some others, the lines can blur a bit.

2) I'm not sure that the gold is necessary.  I looked at GW's Blood Angels, and they don't have the gold trim, simply bright red all around.  This would speed things up greatly and let me focus on smoother shading instead.  I'll keep the gold for the chest piece, however, because gold will feature heavily in the entire army as an accent.  I could (gasp!) put transfers or freehand on the blank shoulderpad.

So while I may stick with this method, I may reserve the gold shoulder detailing and other extravagant touches for special models such as characters or heavy weapons mules.

I'm going to try a model without the gold, and I'm also going to try a model using Mechrite Red instead (due to its ease of use), which will probably end up darker than I want it to be.

I'd love some feedback, or tips from people who have painted Blood Angels.

UP NEXT:

Hopefully more painted Marines!

Also:

Seriously, what am I supposed to do with all these Orks?