Thunderhawk Gunship - Part III

 

Warhammer 40k physics: "I believe I can fly..."

After a short break for the beginning of the year, there is once again not too much done. I'm still working through multiple projects, still just doing little bits at a time. And possibly playing too much Space Marine. Still, there's enough progress to at least mention a few things.

First off is something a little unusual: how to hold the Aeronautica Imperialis models while painting. I like painting handles, specifically the older Citadel handles which fit my use better than others. The grip shape is effective, the spring-loaded base clamp is sturdy and convenient for swapping models about, and it's fairly solid. Unfortunately there exists nothing to hold the bases for Aeronautica. It then occurred to me that I was using a clear plastic rod to hold it while painting, so all it needed was for that to be attached to a spare base and I could then use the Citadel handles. A spare 32mm base, a large clump of green-stuff to hold it in place, a generous amount of superglue to make sure it won't detach, and done. I'm also using the handy hands version to help give some more stability and now no longer to touch the model when handling it for painting.

The most obvious changes for painting recently are the black trimming and green cockpit windows. The latter will be tinted darker, similar to how the other aircraft were done except green rather than red. Not much to say there: just like the lenses on helmets, the green here is contrasting to red and creates a focal point.

The black trim was difficult to get right. I'm following the Forgeworld painted Thunderhawk (why not, it looks amazing) and so had to get lines running where there are no convenient panel edges. Fortunately there aren't many places that need doing this (most are along convenient panel edges), but it turns out that I bought specialised masking tape for just this kind of purpose long ago. I could have used any old masking tape if a gloss varnish were applied first, but I'm still leaving that to a much later step. Determine a line, lay down the tape, paint over it, done. The black is a fairly simple combination, but slightly different to my normal armour go-to:

• Corvus Black base coat. This will need 2, 3, or even 4 coats for good coverage. That stuff is not a base paint, it should be labelled as a layer paint.
• Eshin Grey along edges or areas that I would like highlighted.
• Black Templar Contrast next, applied without letting it pool too much. The intention for this step is really just to make the black deeper, and help get it into recesses better.
• Eshin Grey to re-highlight edges.

I might also use Dawnstone for really sharp edges or points, but I'll see how I feel on that later. I've not finished doing all these steps everywhere, so what's in the photo might well give a different impression afterwards. I'm also likely to put a black oil wash around panels at that stage, which should help give some more depth.

Still much to go on this one. The details are just insane, and once again I'm rather thankful for having a good reference to work from. I won't do the canopy frame in gold, it will remain in red, but I am considering going through my stash of decals to see if I can put some gold filigree in places.

-- silly painter.