Thunderhawk Gunship - Part IV

 

To the skies.

The Thunderhawk has seen some work done on it recently, and is now not all that far from being completed. A little more weathering, some metallic highlights, a few weapon details, and that's about it.

Since the last update on this model, the canopy has been given some extra attention, a first pass of metallics applied, decals applied, gloss varnish and oil wash followed by a matt varnish,  and a little weathering.

To start with, the engines are nothing spectacular yet. Balthasar Gold for the golden areas, which will probably end up as more of a bronze later, and Iron Warriors for the silver. I tried not to go overboard with the gold details, instead using it to add some diversity and rely on the red and black markings to do most of the heavy lifting. This is slightly abused with the golden symbol on the nose of the ship, which is slightly brighter than I would like but also don't know what to do about now. There needed to be something there, and a gold decal was all I could think of. Brighter engine cowlings will hopefully offset this later.

Oil wash over a gloss varnish worked as expected, however I don't think I'll continue using that approach in future. It's simply too smelly for my liking when the oil is thinned out with white spirits. I also had to use some Nuln Oil (Gloss) where the oils weren't dark enough, and actually that worked almost as well. In future I may simply stick to the gloss varnish, and then use normal washes over the top.

This brings me to what I like best about the gloss varnish, but what also makes it perhaps difficult longer term. The acrylic paints don't adhere quite so well until dry, so there's a bit of time to correct mistakes. This really helps guide washes into the right place, without some of the troublesome staining normally associated with that. I have a bunch of helmets read to go and will see how a non-gloss varnish goes with that.

After everything was outlined and looking like it has some more depth to it, a little bit of Abaddon Black drybrushed along various edges and streaked along panels was done for weathering. This is quite subtle, barely noticeable with this scale, but just enough to give an impression of the ship having actually been used. In good tradition of being concerned about messing it up if I add more, I'll leave that aspect of weathering alone for now. I might drybrush a light brown or off-white around the underside in places later, given that it's a VTOL capable craft that would kick up a good amount of dust, earth, etc, when landing or taking off.

After the matt varnish step there is one decal that has obviously not quite fit flush with the surface. This is annoying. I'll have to use some Mephiston Red soon and tone that problem down as much as I can. I'm otherwise quite pleased with how the model is coming along. On the subject of decals, I was originally intending to add some kind of golden filigree with decals, but after seeing how the symbol on the nose turned out I decided against it: the golden decals would simply stand out too much, and it's the red that should dominate more than any other colour.

I guess it's a race now to see which I'm motivated to complete first: this, or the pending twenty marines.

-- silly painter.

Project 20 Marines - Part VIII

 

Feuer Frei!

This won't be a very long post, as I'm still just trying to get through these twenty models. All the purity seals, rope, scrolls, cloth, and some minor additional details are now done. The Intercessors have been ready for longer - it's still all the magnitude of extras from the older kit that's slowing me down. On the one hand, getting models done is so much slower and that's frustrating, but on the other hand the older Tactical Marines look more impressive once completed. The older sculpts are much more personalised in Blood Angels tradition, whereas the Primaris are only just starting to get a feel for it. This fits in with the lore, but I doubt it's intentional - it's simply easier to manufacture the basic Primaris kit and pop in a few Chapter specific shoulder pads.

Not shown on the model above, cloth on a handful of models I tried slightly different - not in which paints to use, but in how to apply it. I tried to stipple the later highlight stages to give a more rough and textured appearance than armour panels might have. It sort of works, but sometimes also just looks like sandstone. Perhaps I need an extra paint on top to brighten it up a little. Still, Blood Angels might choose more sturdy material on the battlefield, and it does look that.

Most of the wings on the older kit I've decided to keep in black. Some exceptions of course, notably on the backback seen above, but seeing as I have both original and Primaris being done together I decided it was obviously not long after the Devastation of Baal, and the older troops are in mourning for the loss of their comrades. I even have one with a cloth or scroll, without fancy writing but instead lists of words - the names of those he fought alongside perhaps and is now continuing to honour in battle. It's sometimes fun to come up with a little story when painting details, just for motivation if nothing else.

And motivation is low once more. I've done enough now that I really can't put off starting on the helmets any longer. There are still gemstones to paint (a lot of gemstones - the Sergeant alone as 11 of them) and a few bits of gold detailing, but there will be more on the helmets. There's still a heap of unpainted guns to get ready as well.

In other words, still much to go, but they're starting to look like on approach to the home stretch. I'll definitely not be trying this again - I might be able to get ten Primaris done at a time, but the older models I think only five at a time....or maybe just individually.

I'll hold off posting on this project again until they're fully completed. Maybe I can get some of the Thunderhawk done in-between.

-- silly painter.

Project 20 Marines - Part VII

 

Prepare for power fisting.

To be honest, I'm at the stage now of just wanting to get these models done. They've been sitting long enough, I've learned enough, and just want them finished. If it were just the newer Primaris, they'd already be done. The older models however, are covered in details - enough to be individually considered special characters in their own right. It looks amazing all lined up, but the effort required to paint it all a satisfactory level is equally impressive. So I continue.

The model pictured has had a decent amount of handling, and so paint is wearing off in places, even through the varnish. The particular problem I'm facing with this one is actually the details on the legs - I want them all painted prior to gluing the torso in place (it's just held there with blu-tac right now) and so I'm having to constantly handle separate pieces. This is motivating me to get some of the details finished on this model sooner rather than later, just to glue everything together and then only need to touch the base.

Fortunately ropes, scroll carvings, cloth, and purity seal parchment all use one of two base colours: Steel Legion Drab or Zandri Dust. Shades of different sorts are applied, or other cream and brown colours, but the basic impression is there with the base colours, so they're all looking a little more on the way to be finished. I won't bother filling in the scheme used for each of these details: that's already documented elsewhere.

After the ropes, cloth, parchment, scrolls, etc, there still needs to be gemstones, missing filigree and icons, the helmets, and various weapons. I'm considering getting models up to speed individually for the final steps there - it keeps motivation fairly high seeing models being further alone. It's also slightly against the original intention: to paint twenty marines simultaneously. I will see how I feel, but at least the next steps are fairly clear.

Gemstones attached to armour I'm intending to a mixture of purple and red. Anything surrounded entirely by red armour will very likely be purple just to mix it up, and hanging ornaments being red.

One small extra: the grenades with some models I've decided on simple scheme for: Leadbelcher base, and then Athonian Camoshade for fragmentation, and Drakenhof Nightshade for the others. The shades don't really stand out much, and don't really tint the colour much, but it's simple enough to do and works.

-- silly painter.