Thunderhawk Gunship - Part V (Showcase)

 

Chariot of Firepower

The Thunderhawk Gunship is now done, and with that so are all of my currently owned Aeronautica Imperialis models. No idea where to store it just yet because magnetising for storage isn't really an option, but that's probably for another time.

I had a lot of fun with this particular model. The detail is astounding, and whoever scaled it down from the 40k scale version really put a lot of care into it. The paint scheme from Forgeworld also scales down quite well, with a few omissions. It would have taken at least twice as long had I not used that for reference.

The panel highlights I've been using for Aeronautica worked well with the red. Highlighting the centre of the panel rather than all the edges gives tone contrast to the outline and helps define the shape of the craft. The front decal was perhaps slightly too bright, but I don't think it hinders anything - perhaps helps instead to keep focus there, the same as with trying to keep focus on a face. There are red and green running lights (the green on the hidden side), done with simple Spiritstone Red and Waystone Green respectively over a bright silver, which are a very small but satisfying detail as well.

Most of the the final touches are nothing particularly special and so I didn't take notes when doing it. I do regret not recording the particular colours used on the engine housings, but I'm certain it was based off mixing in Gehenna's Gold with some brass along the way. Definitely metallics with a hint of red in them, rather than anything with green or overbearing yellow. It keeps the palette darker, more earthen, and appears to be what I'm tending towards these days. I really should do something bright and cheerful just to mix it up.

The missiles proved the most difficult to decide on. In the end I just had to go with it and hope for the best. The tips might appear white, but again I didn't want anything too bright. I wanted more of an off-white, or perhaps a cream colour. To that end:

• Wraithbone base coat.
• Pallid Wych Flesh to highlight the tips of the missiles.
• Mephiston Red on the very tip, done by poking the tip into some paint on the wet palette.

The missile body is equally simple:

• Grey Seer over all the body.
• Basilicanum Grey over the missile body.
• Black Templar over only the wing attachment.
• Dawnstone mixed with Abaddon Black to give some extra coverage across shapes.
• Black dots on the exhaust areas.

I specifically did not do the missiles in metalllic colours lest that clash too much with everything around it. Dark grey is neutral in this regard, but kind of gives the impression of wing feathers, and that any Blood Angel can respect.

The landing gear is for now held in place with PVA glue. I'm not sure if I'll keep it in the landing pose, or add a flying base in future, so it seemed a good tradeoff for display purposes. It also keeps all the parts together.

I have already started on assembling the next set of models, which will very likely result in a lot of partially ready models for a long time. I have an opportunity to use the airbrush for a while, so I want to take advantage of that while I can. I'm also going to start going more in depth again with future posts to really document more colours used, and the decisions that go into using them. I've been doing a lot of painting models using already figured out schemes, and want to start expanding some of that once more.

As another model is finished, my official tally of two models painted for every one bought means I can now buy nine models.

-- silly painter.

Stormcast Sequitors - Part V (Showcase)

 

Honourable colours.

Silver Lion Lady.

The push-fit Sequitors are now "done". Mostly because I say they're done, not because they're up to the proper standard - they were used for experimenting with oil paints, and mission accomplished. I also used the opportunity to try a different skin tone to normal, and with patterns on shields. Both of those worked out quite well I think.

The skin tone involved quite a bit of wet palette usage - it wasn't just one colour covering another, I did mix things before application. This is preferred because it's not easily exactly repeatable, and skin tones aren't exact copies either.

• Rhinox Hide base.
• Skrag Brown mixed, about 50/50, and used for initial highlights.
• Deathclaw Brown mixed into that, and used for secondary highlights.
• Cadian Fleshtone mixed in, only about as 10% or maybe 20% of the mix, and used for further edge highlights (nose, upper cheeks, brow).

A little grey was mixed around with whatever was on the palette for the shaved sides of the head, and quite obviously darker colours for the hair (don't recall what - it was just using whatever was available at the time and I didn't write it down).

Despite some of the vibrancy being lost by the varnish layer over the oils, the colours come out well enough. It took a very long time without that varnish to dry, and kept a gloss appearance in places. I suspect this partially from the local area being unsuitable to curing, and over reliance on linseed oil to smooth out the paint - but I still prefer that over smelly white spirits.

The white (actually very light blue-grey) helmets don't really fit, and I'm aware of that. Maybe a blue to match the armour, or a black would have been better. I was aware of that going in, and kept the colour so that it might fit with the few other models I've painted up, but seeing as I'm unlikely to really field them as an army perhaps I should just use what remaining Age of Sigmar models I have to play with colour schemes some more.

-- silly painter.

Stormcast Sequitors - Part IV

 

Oversized pauldrons and an oversized hammer.

Painting has been so very slow, and there are reasons for that, but some progress still. These particular models should still be done in another week, but it was worth some notes on what has been done.

First off, acrylics really don't flow well over oils. That much should be obvious. A varnish is required to over the top - and I obviously didn't apply enough here! Just another step to keep in mind when mixing oils and acrylics together.

The base was surprisingly simple, and quite effective:

• Grey Seer across all the stones.
• Death World Forest across the grass, or plantlife.
• Basilicanum Grey across all the stones.
• Athonian Camoshade across the grass.
• Longbeard Grey drybrushed over the stones.
• Nurgling Green drybrushed over the grass, with some extra patterning out onto the stones to tie it all together.

Other than smaller details, that's about it. I'm still working through the leaves - probably a mix of green, red, yellows for those.

The weapon I was concerned wouldn't work out with metallics on the haft, and a more blackened end to it, but actually I think it's turning out ok. The left gauntlet is metallic for no other reason than I thought it looked cool on one of the trio (and I wanted to use Grey Knights Steel), and so now they all have it. The Silver Hands, I guess. The haft of the weapon is also something simple:

• Wraithbone base.
• Gore-Grunta Fur.
• Carroburg Crimson.

I could do a final highlight step but honestly done feel the need to. The Contrast paint effectively does that - and this is a showcase of how useful those paints can be.

The helmet is a glaring omission of something yet to be done. I'll paint it like the other Stormcast that I've done, and it will definitely become a bright focal point - perhaps a little too bright, but I'll see how it goes. The metallic areas need highlights, or some more shading, and the right gauntlet needs some blue. Many small details to go - and yet I kind of just want to finish them off now. They were really only for experimenting with oils, so it's time to finish them and move back to a certain other model waiting for finishing touches as well.

-- silly painter.

 

Stormcast Sequitors - Part III

 

And _my_ wood splitter.

This post has very little new to it in terms of visuals, but I've been playing with oil paints and though it deserved some notes.

Right off the bat: the yellow I tried on a shield (not shown) absolutely sucks! I think that's true for yellow paint of just about any medium. It covers poorly, does not smooth out well, and any hint of some other colour contamination is immediately visible. With acrylics it's not so bad for me because I can just use multiple layers to build up a solid foundation. Oils don't try quickly enough for that, so an undercoat of white probably would help. I've actually stopped painting the shields on the other models to allow the oils to cure there slightly before coating with Purity Seal and going back in with acrylics.

Magenta, as kind of an opposite, covers sometimes far too well! Only the smallest amount of it is needed, and I suspect the same with red. It completely overwhelms what it's mixed in with, so need to really keep its usage minimal.

I've been slopping too much paint on in general to start with. That's ok, I wanted to get a feel for the paints to begin with. Having an unbiased initial approach done, I then looked at some info online for the "proper" way to use them on models. Marco Frisoni of course is one of the more popular sources to look for, and indeed gave me the invaluable tip #1: use two brushes. One to apply the paint, and a second (dry) brush to smooth the paint out. I did this on the weapon, and the blending is so much nicer, plus requires so much less paint compared to what I was doing: thinner paint layers should cure faster, obscure less detail, and generally respond better to the brush. It was this tip that has started to make using oils so much better already.

Thus far I've only tried detail painting in about one area of a single model. I suspect that I will much prefer acrylics for details - the level of control with the brush seems just easier for very small details, and the oils are kind of thick for that purpose. I will still try to find a face to paint with oils though, just for the anticipated exercise in frustration that will be, but I could be surprised.

I'm still using some old brushes for the oils. Needing to clean them with white spirits is probably not doing them any favours, but the brushes weren't in the best shape anyway. Better brushes might indeed make using oils much better - but I'll leave off that until I'm more comfortable with the medium. On the topic of white spirits: that stuff is still too smelly for me to be working with, so it will be for brush cleaning only! I'm aware this might make working oils on miniatures more difficult, but quite honestly if I'm that sensitive to the smell, it's not worth the health risk. I'm basically just having fun with oils, and don't intend to be using them to replace acrylics across my miniature painting hobby. I will, however, probably buy a canvas soon and play around with portraiture.

I think I've basically decided to stop with the oils on the Sequitors now. I painted the armour in blues just to see how it would look - the broad surfaces to work with seemed appropriate. I kind of just want the models done now, so forcing myself to continue with oils will have diminishing motivational returns. Large surfaces can be fun to work with though, so I had a thought on another model to use for experimentation: a plastic Contemptor Dreadnought. I have a spare - I can try to reposition it from the frankly horrible default pose, and then paint it up with oils. I want to start that now, but probably need to wait three weeks for reasons.

-- silly painter.

Project 20 Marines - Part IX (Showcase)

 

Survivors of the Tyranid assault on Baal.

Finally, the project of painting 20 Space Marines in one big batch has been done. Took long enough. I've mentioned before that this kind of painting simply isn't for me - I don't batch paint easily, at least not with Blood Angels. I prefer to pay attention to details, to give meaning to just about every colour used, every choice made. That kind of approach just doesn't lend well to batch painting, and is highly demotivational when thinking that there's 20 models this needs to be done on. I'd have finished them all much faster if I'd done them one at a time.

Filling the ranks of the 2nd Company.

There are some areas that worked well in batch painting. The helmets surprisingly were fine in that regard. The weapons mostly too, although that could just be because I was starting to approach the finish line by then. The general base armour worked just fine in batched mode because I don't have much time during the day and it's easy to keep two or three colours on a wet palette and just do a little bit here and there when I can. So maybe that's the better approach - do what I can in batches, then finish off models one or two at a time.

The Primaris were the easiest to go through in batch mode. They're all quite similar, and with very little embellishment on each model. The tactical squad though look much more interesting in the end, but are simply so much more difficult to do in batch mode.

I'm getting much more effective at using the decal softener. I was wiping away excess, but realised I don't need to - it will do its job just fine without that, and there's no need to push a decal onto a surface - the softener will pull it to the surface ok. On the note of decals, I'm putting most older models into 3rd Company, newer Primaris into 2nd Company. Not exclusively that way, but it let's me use more of the squad designation decals. I've also tried to paint areas on those models without knee pads so that they still indicate which squad. Don't really know why it's important, but I'm kind of just going with it now.

Oh, and keeping a sheet of "how to paint Blood Angels" really made even this slow attempt possible. I'd have been lost without that. I will keep going with squads as I can, but need a small break with other models before I start on the next.

Using my "1 model for every 2 painted" mantra, I can now permit myself to buy 7 models. I bought a few small things before the price rise, so I reset the count assuming these squads done.

-- silly painter.

 

Stormcast Sequitors - Part II

 

His friends call him Mr Tickles.

For various reasons it's been slow going of late. Kinda sucks, so when I finally found a spare moment I decided to play around with oil paints again. No white spirits this time, simply because of the smell, but I did use some Linseed Oil in very sparing amounts to thin out the paints or make them easier to work.

The photo simply does not do justice to how good oil paints can be. They are really something else when it comes to organic shapes, the blending is just on a whole other level to acrylics. I can see why they're so popular with skin tones - it's hard to describe, but it's really the tints from mixing colours on the surface that make oils so great to work with. The downside is the extended drying (or curing) time - I had to wait a full day and it still wasn't quite there.

The cloak in the picture above uses a black, magenta, and crimson. I tried to keep the crimson on the upper surfaces, magenta as a kind of mid-tone, and black in shadows. It worked so well that I never wanted to use a matt varnish over it all, but it was necessary if want to later acrylic layers to stick. I used a bit of rattle can Purity Seal with the theory that it's not water based like some of the airbrush based varnishes and so might adhere better. It worked just fine, but it's a shame to lose some of the colour vibrancy.

I've half a mind to buy a set of oils and paint the other Sequitors in different cloak colours, and there are shields to consider as well. I don't know what other models to practice on basically. The armour I'll keep as acrylics though, just because I want to.

Might be another couple of weeks before I get to another post.

-- silly painter.

Stormcast Sequitors - Part I

 I know of no words to describe what is happening, no words of comfort, and the English language contains no words sufficient for the damnation of the Russian dictator who started this war, and all those who support him.

Ukraine fights not only for their own future, but for all of ours.

Can think of someone who deserves this to go where the sun don't shine.

Some Sequitors have been boxed up for a while, and I decided to give a go with inks on them. Just to see - and excuse to start yet more models being painted basically. The initial results are less than stellar, but I think I learned a few things about the inks and how to use them.

Starting off, I actually use an airbrush primer on these models. It works, but takes so much longer than a rattle can that I'll probably just keep using that in future. I might use the primer with a brush directly in future, just when weather doesn't permit otherwise.

Next up I used black ink (and I forget the name of it, but it's acrylic and not intended for this hobby) and it...did not work. So I mixed in white and...that didn't work either. It was simply too watery, didn't dry very quickly, and did not adhere to the surface very well (more on that in a moment).

So inks are not like normal acrylic paint. They're often used to give a colour shift, and so I decided to spray some white over the model first (White Scar) and see what that might do. The white speckles a little bit, to be expected, but this is just for testing.

Next up, a purple ink. It did indeed tint where he white was, but not much. So I tried a second layer, and that ended up a bit to heavy - again, too watery, didn't apply as evenly as it should have. It's about here that I started to get a feel of inks through an airbrush - light application only, more of a mist, and really let it dry between coats. This might work well, and the black (or something mixed with it) could easily be used for "opposite zenithal" shading. Something to keep in mind anyway.

Finally, I used some red in top level areas where the purple is. Everything turned a little pink, but there is a definite colour shift. The only downside was that I didn't wait long enough for the purple to completely dry, but that's alright - it's all experience.

Still other models in the background with slight progress, and I might get more done on them soon. There are distractions other than current world events though, so not sure when I'll actually get more done.

-- silly painter.