Sons of Horus MkVI Assault Squad - Part IV

 

Overhead lights must be bright.

There are very likely going to be a few "not a whole lot done" posts in the near future because I can't get a whole lot done during the week right now. Far from being dismayed, it's simply a challenge to overcome and figure out how to keep the models moving forwards in the most efficient use of time as I can manage.

This is actually part of a broader discussion on painting motivation. I see many videos on how to paint fast, how to keep up motivation, and all of that - but the they all miss a very crucial point: humans aren't machines. Motivations change and what works one day might not work the next. Some days I feel like using a specific synthetic brush, other days a good kolinsky sable brush - and I'm using exactly the same paint for exactly the same task. Some days I want to paint metallics, others I just want to glaze and highlight volumes. Some days I just don't want to paint. Find what works for you on any given day.

The last couple of days I've been painting one part of each model at a time. Not all the metallics, but for example all the gun barrels of each in turn, then I might paint all the intake brackets on the jump packs, and so on. It's been keeping the sense of monotony at bay, and with the same paint I've been able to do one piece at a time whenever I get a few spare moments.

The metallics are going to be Iron Warriors covered with Black Templar as a base coat. This might not be as fancy as some of the dedicated layering I do, but it's fast and will give decent contrast around the details. I'll go back with Iron Warriors to neaten up later, and then it will probably be Iron Hands Steel for highlights after the varnishing stage (which shouldn't be too far off now).

Aged Metal (TTM) for the studs and some chainsword detailing gives some variety to the model - the shade for outlining, and later (post-varnish) I'll use the light version to highlight.

The black armour is an interesting story. I basically thinned down Dawnstone and shot it through an airbrush after masking the models appropriately. The masking worked, which was the main reason for this, but the use of Dawnstone was not the best. I should have at least mixed it with Corvus Black, or perhaps a dark blue. Dawnstone is too desaturated and gives too much of a broad, rounded volumetric highlight. I'll probably thin down Basilicanum Grey and glaze over it to knock back the stone look, though it might be better if I mixed in the barest hint of a blue for colour saturation.

The models are coming together nicely and I think I have all of the colour choices decided upon, so now it will just be a matter of following through with known steps to get them done. I'll be busy for a while however and no guarantees that such steps will happen quickly.

-- silly painter.