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I have been moving forward with my Kill Team project, and I have to say that this is one of the most enjoyable painting projects I’ve had in a long time.

The project, which was part of my Ovelist goals, is that I am going to paint all nine legions of the loyalist Space Marines as five-man Kill Teams. This is because I really love painting Space Marines, but I’ve made like three different Space Marine armies in the last two years and was looking for a different kind of project. With this, I still get to paint all the Space Marine infantry (I don’t like painting Space Marine vehicles) and I get to enjoy a whole variety of color schemes and upgrades.

Last week I painted the first two legions, the Dark Angels and the White Scars. This week I didn’t entirely go in order because I was using the upgrade sprues that just happened to be in stock at my FLGS.

Without further ado:

Space Wolves Kill Team

With the Space Wolves, I decided that the most appropriate type of unit was Assault Intercessors. I got the Primaris Upgrade Sprue, which gave me mainly shoulder pads and a couple of little knickknacks that they could hang off their armor, like wolf tails.

I broke out the Woodland Scenics Flex Paste and Army Painter Snow Flock, my favorite snow basing materials. I also put them up on some ruins of an old Warhammer 40k scenery kit, all chopped up, to give them a little elevation, and to break up the bases so they’re not flat white snow.

I’m really happy with how they turned out. There’s just the tiniest bit of freehand on their right shoulder pauldron (I don’t think you can see it in this picture) of the red field with a jagged black claw shape coming over it.

Raven Guard Kill Team

So the Raven Guard. I was not looking forward to these guys, but they happened to be the only Space Marine legion who had upgrade sprues in stock at the game store on the day I went. I don’t like the Raven Guard in their lore, and I don’t like painting black armor. (By the way, I tried to follow the Raven Guard armor painting recipe on the Citadel painting app, which would use edge highlighting with Fenrisian Grey, and it was just TOO BRIGHT. I painted back over it after the first marine was done.)

The Reivers were the appropriate choice for the Raven Guard, though. I equipped them with the grav-chutes so that they could be their guerilla-fighting selves. I did find it funny that for as much as people make fun of Shrike for having an emo haircut, these Upgrade Sprue heads ALSO have emo haircuts.

I based them with cork which I first painted grey but it blended too much into their armor so I drybrushed it with tan. And then I used some bright green tufts to kind of give them a jungle fighter look.

Blood Angels Kill Team

These have been my favorite to paint so far, but that probably shouldn’t surprise me because I’ve already collected and painted (and then sold) three Blood Angels armies. This paint scheme is a little bit different from what I’ve done in the past, shading with Carroburg Crimson and then edge highlighting with Fire Dragon Bright worked a treat.

I went with Assault Intercessors again for these guys. This upgrade sprue I also got at the FLGS, but I didn’t realize until I got home that it was a regular upgrade sprue and not a Primaris upgrade sprue. In the end it didn’t matter too much. I wasn’t able to use the torsos that have six-pack abs, but I was able to still use their shoulder pads. And I was even more pleased because these shoulder pads had the most variation of all the upgrade sprues.

I based them with some basic flock and some dryer green grass tufts.

So, overall, these were my favorite Kill Team.

Imperial Fists Kill Team

I knew these were going to be trouble. I have only tried painting yellow Space Marines once before and it only turned out half good. I knew I wanted to shade them with something, but I wasn’t sure what. I thought about Cassandora Yellow but worried it wouldn’t give me enough definition in the recesses. So I went with a mix of Reikland Fleshade and Lahmian Medium. It worked, but still was splotchy.

Oh, also I forgot to buy Averland Sunset, so I had to use a Vallejo paint as the base for the yellow. It matched pretty well, I guess. I cleaned up the splotchiness with Yriel Yellow and it seemed to match. I then edge highlighted them with Screaming Skull, and I’m happy with that choice.

Their bases were Armageddon Dunes and some Army Painter tufts.

The upgrade sprues for these were pretty boring. Just shoulder pads, mostly, and then the power fist option.

Still, not too shabby.

Stay tuned next week because I’m taking a break from Space Marines (I still need Salamanders, Ultramarines and Iron Hands) and I’m starting my Age of Sigmar army. It’s one that I have never painted before, so I’m excited to give it a go.