Legion III - Emperor's Children (finished)

Careful of the edge there.

Despite a few mistakes and back to bad quality pictures (which the Purity Seal seems to make even worse), but here is what I consider to my first "tabletop quality" model, by which I mean the standard isn't quite up to the other models I've done. And that's ok, because I do want to learn how to get an army painted much quicker.

Firstly, the airbrush highlighting doesn't show in the picture, but it is acceptable on the model. I've tried to use it more for a natural light/shadow effect, and there's been no purple edge highlighting of armour plates, other than a very small amount on the helmet. I think the Blood Angels will have to continue to receive that step, if for no other reason than to tie it in with the models already done, but keeping it minimal.

Also, it seems that Hashut Copper and Fulgurite Copper are incredibly similar. I thought the latter might be a bit brigher, but there doesn't actually appear to be much difference between the two, at least with my paint bottles. Could just be the mix. So if I was to highlight again, I might go for one of the brass metallics for edging instead.

Pinning the arms didn't really work. They're not at quite the right angle; the gun tilts away from the body a bit. So back to blu-tac it is in future, but I'll stick to base coat one colour with the airbrush, then assemble as much as I can for the highlighting steps, before back into pieces for easier brush access.

The model isn't centred on the base properly. Drilled a hold for pinning in the wrong location, and the glue was pulling off too much of the base, so the model is stuck there now. This is something I'm going to work on: glue can pull off the texture paints, so the model doesn't stick to the base as well as it should. I'm looking at pinning to help in this by achoring the model a bit more with a metal hook of sorts. Otherwise in this case I went for a light coloured base to contrast the darker nature of the model. Apparently it's a bit of "mountainous mud covered in snow" battlefield.

Still, the idea behind this model was airbrush practice, and that worked well.

-- silly painter.

Legion III - Emperor's Children WIP#1

Darkwing Duck

Another entry in my Legion series. Just felt like working with purple really - it's one colour I get to use very rarely (seeing as there aren't any Tyranids on the completed shelf yet). So basically why not.

The colour scheme for Emperor's Children (pre-Heresy) is purple and gold, though some silver is often mixed in there. Going by some of the artwork, a gold face mask is often present, but I felt that the purple helmet should stay. They helmet should reflect Legion colours, and though the artwork often depicts a silver helmet, I've opted for purple here.

The main body is based coated, but otherwise not much done yet, so that's a post for another day.

Colouring for the base:

• Chemos (Forgworld Airbrush range)
• Genestealer Purple (Air range, highlight)
• Genestealer Purple, White Scar (Air range, 50/50 mix, highlight)
• Nuln Oil (wash, but used with the airbrush, shading)

A few comments here. The Nuln Oil is very thin, even for an airbrush, but has a similar effect to the Forgeworld Deathshroud "clear" paint. It just makes things darker really. Considering Forgeworld discontinued their airbrush range, that's going to be a big help in the future. Thanks to the local GW staff for that tip!
The mix with White Scar was just experimental. I wanted an extra highlight on top, and it did work rather well. The catch is that using white tends to desaturate the colour somewhat, so if I do that in future it will only be for very small, final highlights.
Lastly (or first, I suppose), the Chemos is a good base colour. Pity to see that go, but maybe Naggaroth Night can be thinned and fed into an airbrush as a replacement. Or maybe the Air range will be expanded.

Moving on, a final edge on very select edges of a thin application of Dechala Lilac (Edge paint), and some Druchii Violet (wash) in recesses rounded off the base stage.

The faceplate is:

• Balthasar Gold
• Hashut Copper
• Reikland Fleshshade (Gloss)
• Fulgurite Copper

The eyes took a bit of doing, as I wanted something closer to an aqua colour for them. Using a very small brush:

• Incubi Darkness
• Sotek Green (first highlight)
• Temple Guard Blue (second highlight)
• Drakenhof Nightshade (around the edges)
• Waywatcher Green (glaze)

A bit fiddly, but it got the job done.

Last note: the airbrushing is easier when the model is perched on something that can hold it assembled. Paperclips help for this, and some have been inserted into holes drilled around the model (a photo for next time). 0.85mm drill bit seems the most suitable to use, although it can be a bit loose. 0.8mm might work better if the paperclip should be there more permanently. This might be refined a little more over future models, but an assembled model is easier to highlight rather than trying to do it in parts, but being able to take the model apart again afterwards helps get the brush around various areas.

-- silly painter.

Dark Imperium Primaris Intercessors

Squad leader interrupted during his toilet break.

So the first five Primaris Intercessors from the Dark Imperium boxed set are done, including company and squad markings. These are decals - more on that in a moment.

There's really not too much to note painting-wise. Nothing that hasn't been written down before, but a short summary wouldn't go astray.

Utility pouches:

• Eshin Grey around the belt and drybrushed onto pouches.
• Dawnstone drybrushed onto pouches.
• Nuln Oil applied to pouches.
• Leadbelcher on the clasps.

Sidearm holster:

• Rhinox Hide
• Sylvaneth Bark drybrushed over the top.
• Lamenter's Yellow glazed over it all.
• Bloodletter glazed over that.
• Agrax Earthshade to darken it down again.
• Leadbelcher for the clasps.

Chestpiece:

• Black (duh).
• Dark Reaper along the edges of the "feathers", and the center skull.
• Russ Grey as further edge highlights.
• Nuln Oil to add some contrast back in, or darken as necessary.

Black armour & gun casing:

• Black (again, duh).
• Eshin Grey to highlight as appropriate.
• Dawnstone for very sharp edges.
• Thinned black to blend it all together as necessary (because highlighting black is hard).

Red armour:

• 50/50 mix of Mephiston Red and Dryad Bark
• Mephiston Red
• Evil Sunz Scarlet.
• Wild Rider Red for extreme edge highlights, if needed, but it was very, very rarely used here.

Eye lenses:

• Caliban Green
• Warpstone Glow
• Moot Green
• Coelia Greenshade around the edges
• Nuln Oil if it should be darker yet
• Dot of White Scar (although I may leave this out in future - it's too easy to mess up basically).

Last note is another bit of improvement to working with decals. Normally there are a couple of problems with them: creases over curved surfaces, and gloss finish that doesn't match the rest of the model. The latter is fixed somewhat with a satin varnish (i.e Purity Seal), and creases can be alleviated with a few careful cuts before soaking the transfer. It still never ends up quite proper.
So based on a bit of Internet reading, there are various products to help with transfers, in making them adhere to the model, and to make them more malleable to work with. Mostly these products are a solvent of some kind, which as it turns out is what air brush cleaner is. So I decided to apply a little bit of air brush cleaner with a paint brush and see if it would help. And it does. Creases basically disappear, the edging around the transfer (most have a kind of transparent border around them) fades away, and most of the gloss is removed as well. A spray of Purity Seal and it's basically indistinguishable from the paintwork.
I did try a bit of Lahmian Medium before adding the solvent, but that actually hinders things a little. Just have to be careful with how much solvent to use - don't want to go stripping paint off. The photo pretty much speaks for itself though - I can actually be confident in using transfers now.
I've used the word "solvent" because I'm not entirely sure of the exact chemical inside the cleaner (other than that it's really obviously toxic and flammable), but it's probably available cheaply at art & craft stores, or home hardware stores. Regardless, works really well.

-- silly painter.

Another Primaris

Hold steady, I'll just get that fly...

After a bit of a break, painting is back again. Above is a lower quality phone camera shot of Primaris #4. Still needs a sealant applied, along with the base to be done, and some small details filled in (the purity seal in particular), which will be done for all five at once, when it comes to that point.

I may paint some fewer models next, just to get more of a handle with the airbrush. This was a good experiment, but I'd like more experience with getting the right paints, mix, etc, before going back to batch painting. Just takes too long to fix up where I've made mistakes. That being said, the Ultramarine standard bearer worked nicely, so it could just be the colour really. Red is a difficult colour to work with.

Not much else to really say. Painting continues. Hopefully this squad will be done in the next week or so, and I can figure out what to do next. Probably another 30k of the Legions, just for the airbrush, and to give me time to think of what to do after that.

-- silly painter.

Some Unfinished Business

Just a couple of photos to show different things I'm working on.

Run closer, I want to hit them with my hammer.

First is the return of Karlaen. A better photo this time, and the Iron Halo (I presume that's basically what it is) was found and glued on. So that needs painting, and is close to being done.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something...blue.

Next is what happens when there's an undercoat of black, followed by Kantor Blue, Macragge Blue, and Calgar Blue, with the Air range of course. Basically I wanted more fun with the airbrush. I could have use with a darker base (mixing black and Kantor Blue is probably something to do long term), and then maybe a very selecting and small Lothern Blue at the end would make for some great contrast in photos, but for now this is ok. Still some shading to add (Drakenhof Nightshade will be the choice), and either Lothern Blue for edge highlights, or go straight to one of the edge paints (Baharroth or Blue Horror, not sure which yet).

Another Primaris Blood Angel is assembled, so moving onto the 3rd of that squad soon as well.

-- silly painter.

Primaris Blood Angel (Continued)

Not much further done on Horus yet, and very little painting in general, but one out of the five Primaris Marines is painted enough to be fully assembled. Still a lot to go, but moving onto the second now. Just painting each enough to fully assemble, then finish all five at once.

Looking at something interesting.

The snap together models (well, non-posable at any rate) have given the designers a chance to make some very good poses and action stances for these models. Some chapter icons would have been nice, but maybe they're very new.

A proper camera definitely helps in taking photos. The colours show much better, though I'm still trying to get the focus right.

Chest eagle is the usual now for "black" wings: Black, Dark Reaper, Russ Grey. Shoulder pad trim only has a thin Eshin Grey edge highlight, though I'll add Dawnstone at a later date more selectively. The same goes for the gun casing. Not shown, but pouches attached to the belt also have Eshin Grey highlights, but that's given in a drybrush style to make it look more like worn leather rather than hard armour plating.

There's not enough contrast on the armour highlights, so I'll look to increase that with the next one. This guy is obviously more in shadow than the others will be.

Overall though, Primaris Marines are definitely much easier to work with, mostly due to their increased size. Hopefully this will allow me to move back to "old" marines much easier later on once I'm more experienced with the airbrush.

-- silly painter.

Warmaster Horus Test, Primaris Blood Angel

Raise your hand if you're Horus.

Started some initial testing for Horus. I was fairly certain on going a for a blue hue to the armour, and that's turned out "ok". I'm not entirely happy yet, but I think it's enough to do more and see how it goes. I think so far there's not enough shine maybe, or not enough contrast. So it looks actually more blue than black. This may change later - I think more of the model is required to really know.

The plan if it does look too blue is to grab a dark grey and desaturate the colours with some glazing.

So far the armour is a base of Black (several thin coats to get it nice and even), followed by Dark Reaper for initial highlights, and then Russ Grey for edges. A little more Russ Grey is still needed in some parts.

The trim is Balthasar Gold washed with Reikland Fleshshade, highlighted with Sycorax Bronze and edge highlighted with Runelord Brass. This is similar to the Grey Knight weapons on purpose: Grey Knights use pyschic powers and force weapons, and Horus' armour was supposed to offer psychic shielding. So this basic brass theme has now become the go-to for (Imperial technology base) metals related to pyschic uses.

I did try a Warplock Bronze base on one small part of armour trim, but it was a little too dark for my liking.

Overall though, the armour does offer colours reminiscent of Solar Auxillia. This kind of fits in with Horus seeing himself as the proper leader of Imperial forces. Horus should look evil, no doubt there, but if I can put in hints that he didn't see himself as evil and corrupted, then it might give that much more character.

Bedknobs & Broomsticks, 40k style.

Above is part of a side project to Horus. One of five primaris marines. I've adjusted the colour slightly, but it's made the top look orange - it doesn't look that way in reality, just in the photo.

This model is the first play test with some different approach to airbrushing. Basically a mix of Mephiston Red and Rhinox Hide, overlaid with Averland Sunset for highlights. Over that goes Mephiston Red, and over that goes Evil Sunz Scarlet.

The Averland Sunset didn't really show through, and I messed up the last layer - the paint was far too thin and I couldn't apply it proper. Also the compressor on the airbrush is basically gone, as it keeps kicking in and getting extremely hot. So I'm having to fix up again with a paintbrush. The photo doesn't do things justice sadly (the camera just doesn't capture the gradient), but I am getting better at the red.

At any rate, once the current lot of marines are done, the next batch will be:

• Rhinox Hide (all of the model)
• 50/50 Rhinox Hide / Mephiston Red (most of the model, try leave the deepest recesses)
• Mephiston Red (less of the model, mostly mid range highlights)
• 50/50 Mephiston Red / Evil Sunz Scarlet (less still, highlighted areas only)
• Evil Sunz Scarlet (less of the highlighted areas, if it's needed)

Wanting to do more airbrushing will hopefully motivate to get this lot done relatively quickly, and I do have Tolmeron to use as a reference for colours too.

-- silly painter.

Warmaster Horus

Just in pieces over the Heresy.

So I've finally started on the main model of Horus. This is going to take some time to get done.

The model is incredibly detailed, and I had to take quite a bit of time removing flash, mould lines, and generally tidying it up in preparation for priming. Owing to the feet attached to inserts that slot into the base itself, I've decided to leave the main body on the resin block from production, at least for now. It's easy to hold. I may change my mind and find a way to attach everything to a miniature handle, but I'll see how I get on with the painting first.

Although black is a better primer, I went with Corax White this time. The white might make some areas brighter than they should be, but it also make it much easier to pick out detail - and I'm going to need all the help I can get for that.

In terms of colour planning, the current thinking is for the main armour to be a base of black, highlighted up to a blue hinted grey (which basically means layering using Dark Reaper and Fenrisian Grey). This is intended to give things a bit of a (temperature) cool look. The character was not given over to emotional outbursts, so something more cold, calculating, and yet clean, seems to fit.
Filigree and edging will be more of a bronze than gold. Gold edges towards yellow more, and runs the risk of distracting from the darker and somewhat sinister nature that Horus' character had become. Bronze is a somewhat earthier colour and shouldn't "brighten" the model too much, but still offers quite a range of saturation that can be used to shade and hightlight the details.

There will of course be red lighting coming from within the armour itself, which will take some effort to show in the face properly. The face is definitely a focal point of the whole model - surrounded by black armour, well above the lighter tones of the base, it's the face that will prove most difficult to get right. It can't be too stark in contrast to the armour or it will look like a floating head, but too dark and it doesn't stand out. More planning required there.

Looking around, the shoulders are often depicted by others with some level of green as a nod towards the colours of the Sons of Horus. Although it's somewhat of a copy-cat move, it's still a great idea and one that I'll follow.

The cape I'm a little torn on. Purple might be nice, and I've seen it being pulled off well elsewhere, but I have the feeling that a red velvet might tie in better to the base. I'll keep an open mind on that a bit longer.

As for where to go from here: probably start blacking in armour, firstly around those areas that would be hard to reach fully assembled. Painting will proceed with that in mind: get enough done to assemble each piece, and then complete the model once everything is attached.

-- silly painter.

Rhino

vroom vroom

The rhino is officially complete, although some decals may be added later, and some freehand on roof hatch might be done at some point too.

This was the first model really started with an airbrush, and it turned out rather well when not in a photo. The shading in particular helps define areas, so much so that there was little need to edge highlight anything.

Actually in general I've been doing less edge highlights of late, and trying to make them less bright when I want to. Shading and blending work better in my opinion, with edge highlights helping make something in particular stand out rather than being used to define every edge of armour plating.

There aren't any new techniques that haven't been covered before, so there's really not much more to say about this model. The name scroll was done with pencil, black, and Lahmian Medium, as noted in a previous post. Look closely on the actual model and some of the pencil is visible still - something to look into getting rid of on future models.

All in all, I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. I didn't go overboard on the vehicle, but decals and shading keep it looking interesting anyway. I'll save going overboard for something....bigger.

-- silly painter.

Imperial Fist

Say hello to my little friend.

Another test model, mostly as an excuse to try out some colours with the airbrush. In this case, the following:

• Averland Sunset (air)
• Flash Gitz Yellow (air)
• Angron Red (Forgeworld Clear)
• Phalanx Yellow (Forgeworld)

It's a shame that Forgeworld have stopped their airbrush range. I was just getting into it, and the quality of them is far superior to the GW range. Especially the clear paints - they are just brilliant! But, have to make do with the GW range now I guess.
A few problems in working with yellow here - mainly the speckling from an airbrush is very apparent. This could perhaps be covered with a bit more clever airbrushing in future - namely use the base colour over the shade and highlight colours to help blend it all together. So long as the base colour is kept thin, this should work. Picking a proper base colour is key, so if I were to do the same I might do something like:

• Averland Sunset
• Red (of some kind) for shading
• Phalanx Yellow for highlights
• Flash Gitz Yellow all over to blend everything together.

Moving on, some paintbrush application of Casandora Yellow (shade) to give better definition to a few areas, a tiny bit of Fuegan Orange (shade) where I wanted that definition even darker, and a sparing edge highlight with Dorn Yellow, and the armour is done.
It's probably worth noting that I messed up on the angle of shading on the shoulder pads. I'm leaving this as it is, as a reminder to do better in future. Proper planning should have solved this, but obviously I didn't think through the final pose.

Not much more to say on the marine. The eye lenses are Mephiston Red, Evil Sunz Scarlet, Carroburg Crimson, Nuln Oil, and a dot of White Scar.

The base is entirely freehand. Just playing with shades of blue and purple. Seemed to fit the feel of Imperial Fists, and was a great excuse to play with more marbling effects.

Also, this model was done very quickly compared to most. Yay.

-- silly painter.

Lieutenant Tolmeron

Or, as I prefer to call him, Lt. Toblerone.

Run closer, I want to hit them with my sword!

So this guy has been done relatively quickly, at least for me. The reason is actually quite simple: this was the first model to really build on all the notes used previously on how to paint each component. In essence, the first production model!

After much thinking, the sword was done by drybrushing instead of adding a pigment colour to one of the metallics. The deciding factor was wanting it to look similar to the Sanguinary Guard.

The helmet was coloured gold for veteran status, and done the same as the Sanguinary Guard. The sword hilt was:

• Screaming Bell
• Reikland Fleshshade (Gloss)
• Hashut Copper
• Fulgurite Copper (edge highlight)

I wanted more of a reddish colour for the hilt - almost red gold, and distinct from the helmet.
The rest of the gold was more like that done on the recent Chaplain, with a wash of Druchii Violet to make things a little bit darker.

The armour itself was done with an airbrush, and tidied up afterwards. It's certainly faster for basic highlighting, but less controlled than a paintbrush. It should work fine for Primaris marines, at least until I'm better with the airbrush and can move back down to smaller models.

-- silly painter.

Grey Knights (Finished)

One has gone ahead, we're the backup.

So, they're done now. Only the recently completed models are shown here - the first painted has a different base, and while I could rebase that particular model, the armour was also painted differently. So that squad member is obviously ranging ahead, teleported slightly further away and is busy fighting his way back, or is on deployment elsewhere.

Not really too much of note. The hammer didn't quite turn out right, so I ended up drybrushing with Hoeth Blue, Lucius Lilac, and Praxeti White over the ends. It's not the same as with power weapons to try give the essence that psychic energy, power from the warp, is flowing through it.

With some of the finer details, I'm finding myself heading back to using flow improvers more (so basically Lahmian Medium). Using water has a habit of drying out the paint too quickly on the tip of the brush, and can flow too easily where you don't intend.

The blades I may have rushed a little, but didn't know what else to really try. Something more detailed would probably be better, but for now....they're done.

-- silly painter.

Grey Knight WIP#3

A little more progress. Perhaps not initially visible much, but it's detail progress - it's on more apparent once you look into the model in more, well, detail.

Still got a pointy stick.

There's not much going on into terms of painting schemes. Retributor Armour, Reikland Fleshshader, Liberator gold, and a the usual mix of silvers is all that was done on the storm bolter's detail. Switching between golds helps to keep the colours interesting, but still uniform. There's actually a small dot of Spiritstone Red around the "belt buckle", and it works so well there that I didn't feel the need to do anything fancy with it.
I'm actually having trouble with what to write across the scrollwork on the chest, so for now it remains blank. The central icon would only obscure anything anyway, so not all of the word would be seen. So the writing and central icon are now one: a capital 'I' from the sigil for the Sigillite.
The face has only just been started. Being without helmet, I've left this to almost last. Still the blade to stylise as well. Still, the base coat used is Bugman's Glow. I would really like to do a more dark skinned face at some point to expand my skills a little, but for this model needs a lighter face to balance out the white cloth and book pages vertically. I'll keep it in mind for the Custodes though - different skin tones for them to represent their individual nature.

Likes to be in the spotlight.

Above is another model simply for reference purposes. He still needs fair amount of detail work, but the eye lenses have been done. I couldn't remember the exact method I used on the original Grey Knight (which looks better honestly), so I've settled on the following:

• Lothern Blue.
• Drakenhof Nightshade around the edges.
• Baharroth Blue highlight in the middle.
• White Scar for a further highlight.
• Guilliman Blue to pull back any mistakes.

The last step can also help keep one of the lenses less white, to keep in line with directional lighting. It might be worth using Drakenhof again as the last step though, to darken around the edges some more. I'll see.

-- silly painter.

Grey Knight WIP#2

Still plugging away at the Grey Knights. This is mostly a post to remember what details were done how.

Showing off a pointy stick.

First off, it took a while to figure out the shaft of the force halberd. The usual black highlighting seemed insufficient, and yet black as a base colour works well with the rest of the model. Ultimately, I decided that as a force weapon, it should have something more to indicate this. Hand drawn runes would be a bit much, and possibly distract from the rest of the model, but a kind of glow along edges might seem as though the Grey Knight is channelling power through it. So a bit of Sotek Green to the rescue. That's all actually - just trying to blend it towards edges, with a stronger accent on said edges. Definitely makes the weapon more interesting, while the aqua offsets against the golds and red nicely.

The weapon head, beneath the blade, is metallics of course. I didn't want gold, simply because enough of that is on the armour, but a metal of some kind to give it an old yet practical feel. With inspiration from steampunk (no, really) I settled on more of a brass or bronze feel. In the end:

• Balthasar Gold
• Reikland Fleshshade (Gloss)
• Runelord Brass
• Sycorax Bronze

A bit of Nuln Oil (Gloss) on the blade was applied as well. The gloss shades are good for metallic paints, but care has to be taken with them: they have a nasty habit of pooling in the deeper creases and ending up very shiny. Might have to investigate ways of lessening that in future.

Most of the books are done simply enough with Mournfang Brown on the "cover", with Wazdakka Red on the corners. Most of the books are so small with very little of the cover showing that no highlighting or shading is necessary there.
The pages are:

• Rakarth Flesh
• Agrax Earthshade
• Screaming Skull
• Pallid Wych Flesh

Edging of the besagew is:

• Balthasar Gold
• Gehenna's Gold
• Auric Armour Gold

What I classify as a bit of a oldie (from having used it on the Sanguinary Guard), but effective. It can be good to not use the same gold on everything. Not shown above (not that that model in particular has this anyway), but the besagew pattern is replicated in gold and black on the right shoulder pad. Same gold is used there. However, for the besagew itself, the white area is:

• Celestra Grey
• Nuln Oil
• Ulthuan Grey

with the red area:

• Mephiston Red
• Carroburg Crimson
• Wazdakka Red

I purposefully use subtle different reds here just to keep things distinct from the Blood Angels.

The black casing of the storm bolters will probably have highlights using Skavenblight Dinge and Stormvermin Fur, and is likely to be done next. Blades behind books will be standard silvers, with possibly a Liberator Gold pommel. Otherwise, there's a lot of details to be sorted out across the Grey Knights. Wonderful sculpts, but it takes time to consider how each individual piece of detail is going to be done.

A few other random notes:

Fulgrum Pink was bought and used as very tiny spot highlights on purity seals. It just makes the "wax" stand out some more, and helps it look glossy.

I rather suspect that given enough time, the springs inside of the Citadel painting  handles will stretch. I don't take the models out much, but they definitely have loosed up a little when I do. Still, it hasn't affected how well it holds the models so far.

Layer brushes have been tweaked a little bit. They hold water much better somehow now, and have much more pointed tips than the last time I looked (which has been a little while). My old small layer brush is starting to look a little worse for wear, and isn't as effective for details anymore. It has lasted amazingly well though, and I do still use it for some areas.

Guess that's about all for now. Hoping to have the Grey Knights done within a week. Just want to get the finished really.

-- silly painter.

Deathwatch Chaplain (Finished)

Finally, another model done. Chappie the Chaplain is classified as "complete" (although a decal still needs adding to the shoulder pad).

I have a big stick!

 Lots of metallics used on this piece in the end, more than normal, but it all seemed to fit together in the end. It also shows how proper shading and highlighting is just as essential with metallics as it is with "normal" painting. This is good experience that will be applied soon to the model of Horus.

Not sure how those bones don't fall out of the box.

Even though originally in Deathwatch set, the model still fits well as a Blood Angel. Writing on the scrolls and cloth remains something I really need to work on though.

Been a little while since the last post, so there's quite a few things to mention in regards to painting. Firstly, the "wax" seals are:

• Screamer Pink
• Drakenhof Nightshade
• Pink Horror (small highlighting)

More or less may be required on future models, depending on how well they should stand out, how much of a gloss feel they should have, and so on.

Not wanting the entire Crozius Arcanum to be gold in colour, but feeling that it should be mostly metallic rather than bone coloured, I decided on something darker for the shaft. This would keep the emphasis on the head of the weapon while keeping the colours cohesive. Very simple for much of it, with the usual silvers (Leadbelcher, Ironbreaker, Nuln Oil, Stormhost Silver) for the skulls along the shaft (and elsewhere on the model):

• Leadbelcher
• Ironbreaker
• Nuln Oil
• Stormhost Silver

with in between as:

• Warplock Bronze
• Brass Scorpion
• Runelord Brass

No shade on the latter because the details were just too small for it to be worthwhile. The same was applied to small areas of the bolt pistol as well, which makes it look a little steampunk, but also ornate.

The wooden box housing some bones - well, I wanted something "wood", but without being too brown. A red tinge to it, and yet wood and not leather. Still experimenting with that sort of thing, but shown here was:

• Mournfang Brown
• Doombull Brown
• Skag Brown (edging only)
• Agrax Earthshade
• Bloodletter

A bit overkill for such a small feature, but it's the small features that end up standing the most and giving that much more character, so they're quite often worth the extra attention.

Not shown here, but included for the sake of completeness (this was, and is being, done on the Grey Knights) is scrollwork on armour. It shouldn't look like paper, but neither should it give the appearance of bone. Too dark and it's no good, too light and it can't be differentiated from paper, cloth, or other "white" elements. I also wanted a stone carving feel to it - it's a part of the armour, and sculpted to look like paper, so it should feel solid and heavy. In the end:

• Zandri Dust
• Seraphim Sepia
• Karak Stone (at this point, it basically looks like sandstone)
• Ushabti Bone
• Screaming Skull

If it's too dark at this point, very lightly apply Pallid Wych Flesh. Can also swap out Seraphim Sepia for Agrax Earthshade. It works well enough for me though, so keep an eye out in future when I finish the Grey Knights.

For skull and bone iconography, something similar is actually used. It's mostly a case of tone: lighter for this stage to make it distinct.

• Zandri Dust
• Seraphim Sepia
• Ushabti Bone
• Screaming Skull
• Pallid Wych Flesh

It's really the last step that makes everything lighter and more bone-like. I'm also increasingly using Serpahim Sepia for many things. It's far more of an interesting colour than using Agrax Earthshade everywhere, but not as red as Reikland Fleshshade.

Moving on, the skull mask of the chaplain. This really has to stand out on the model, as it's such a central point of focus. It makes or breaks everything else. The airbrushing done previously gave a good white to it, and I didn't really have to add much else. A little bit of shading for depth, and a few edge highlights; sometimes less is more. For making some areas a bit darker, Lahmian Medium was used with Drakenhof Nightshade, at about a 10:1 mix. Really, really thin paint, less than glaze consistency. Multiple coats in a few key areas, and it really adds depth. Mostly applied to the sides, and just above the "brow". It does tend to leave a very slight gloss finish, but this just made the helmet stand out more, so I didn't bother trying to fix that (hint: normally some purity spray does the job if the gloss is too much). The eyes I decided on something blue:

• Black first on the lenses
• Kantor Blue over about half of each lens
• Hoeth Blue over less
• Baharroth Blue over less
• White Scar as a dot on the black areas
• Guilliman Blue in the recesses around the lenses.

It's the last step that really makes the helmet, and the whole model. I didn't want red for the lenses because that just makes him look angry (something that's probably a job requirement for Chaplains). I wanted him to look like a terrible sight to behold for the enemies of the Emperor, to strike fear, but still to be a bastion of leadership for allies. Blue is associated more with supernatural elements than red, so a blue glow to the eyes just seemed to fit. A shade would have been too dark, so a glaze was used instead, and it all just comes together, so I'm happy with how it turned out.

As an update on the Grey Knights: they've been painted just enough to be entirely assembled. All the details need filling in now, so still a bit of time give my slow pace of painting. They are looking good though, courtesy of being such nicely designed models.

-- silly painter.