Alpha Legion - Paint Recipe Part 01

Squad place-holder, ready to sit in the back.

 If you're like me - and prone to the occasional break from things like painting - it may pay to keep a log of how you actually paint your guys.  Or, if you want to make sure a project remains consistent - it pays to keep a log.  In the event anyone else wants to know one of the many ways to do an Alpha Legion paint job, here's what I essentially 'borrowed' (blood raven style) from the way Forge World does theirs.

The opening picture is a finished product with basing and transfers.  The green detailing on the bolters, melee weapons, and fabric serve as squad markings.  These guys are a minimal choice for a battalion or brigade - they exist to fill out a troops choice and provide fire support.

Recipe Part 1 - From Primer to Blue
This part of the entry is going to focus on the alpha legion metallic blue  We'll go from bare mini to "ready for the brush part" here.

Ingredients
Airbrush & associated place, gear to use it
Metallic silver primer
Tamiya Clear Blue
Tamiya Clear Green
MIX of Tamiya Clear Blue and Green (80/20 blue to green)
Flow improver

Step 01 - Prime

Kind of self-explanatory

 Public service announcement - metallic spray paint fumes will go straight to your head.  There's a reason it got used as cheap combat drugs in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Step 2 - Two Coats of The Blue Mix

Hey man, how old is that wash jug? Does it have to be so close?

 This is your real base coat.  You want to be thorough.  A touch of flow improver is your friend with the air brush.  I am not particularly worried about getting this on other parts of the mini that will be other colors.

Step 3 - Green From Below

What did I step in?

 Time for a little depth.  Make sure the first coat is dry and the airbrush got a good cleaning in between everything.  The green exists to help make stuff pop.  When you apply the green, it goes to the bottom bits of the mini.  Honestly, you just about hold the thing upside down and spray it up.

Step 4 - Blue from on high

I'm over the sound of the compressor

After cleaning up and letting the green dry, it's time for the blue.  This is basically the opposite - point the nozzle at the top of the mini - the blue comes straight down, hitting the upper part.  The blue and green serve to add some color and depth to the blue.

End Part 01
At this point, you can kiiiind of see the contrast in the blue.  And that's fine - but if you're seeing a mostly-blue blob after a lot of cleanup, that's normal.  Where this is going to ultimately pop is when the trim goes on.

Note that the trim is also kind of when some of the crying starts.  (Especially if you have new Chaos Marine kits, or want to run multiple Lords Discordant, because that's a small model with 3 square feet of trim.)