Horus Base WIP #2

Some work has actually be done on Horus' base. It's painfully slow, but worth the effort really. Seen below, there's still a lot to be done. I think I've also taken the marbling a little too far, and it needs to be brought back in places. I'm considering dabbing at it in places with a drybrush just to soften some of the harder lines, and may well continue to tweak the stairs right up until the entire model is finished.

Step by step.

Marbling was done by:

• Seraphim Sepia, to add some basic shading to the steps.
• Agrax Earthshade to draw out lines.
• Fuegan Orange to deepen the colour in a few places.
• Seraphim Sepia again to blend a few colours together.
• Karak Stone to pull back some of the worst mistakes (a job that will be ongoing!).
• Ushabti Bone to add some edge highlighting.

The eagle has only had some Drakenhof Nightshade applied sparingly, but the idea is continue to add some more contrast using the same method. Some very light lines might be added, but the eagle should more more of a white marble, and looking at statues there aren't actually streaks threading through most of them. So the marbling will only be very soft in this case.

After doing a bit more on the eagle and stairs, I'll likely start on Horus himself next. The base won't be completely finished first - that will be done at the end, to make sure that Horus and the base tie in together harmoniously.

-- silly painter.

World Eater (Finished)

Fred went to extremes to open bottles of tomato sauce.

 Well, there he is. World Eater in his crazed appearance, complete with blood stains on the chainsword. I decided not to go overboard with copious amounts of blood everywhere on the model, as it would serve no other purpose than to distract from the model itself.

Something about that being a knife...

Not much was actually done since last time. Mostly just getting the metallics sorted. The base ended up being Astrogranite with Drakenhof Nightshade, a bit of Agrax Earthshade, and a little Nuln Oil in places, e.g around the feet. A bit of drybrushing with different blue hues (forget which now, but Stormfang was in there), and that's it really. A blue hue is my go-to for urban rubble, and just makes it a little more interesting than shades of grey.

Thanks go out to Matt for the use of his camera. I must get myself something decent soon.

-- silly painter.

World Eater WIP #1

You! Over there!

 World Eater work in progress, just as a side distraction. As a white base, this was where the airbrush fell down. Just too grainy, but I do think that's the paint.

The blue is worth mentioning properly here:

• The Fang (base coat)
• Calgar Blue (layer highlight)
• Guilliman Blue (glaze to help tie things together)
• Drakenhof Nightshade (wash, to darken a few areas)

The model could possibly use with another highlight colour to create more contrast, but it's good enough as it is, and shouldn't go about stealing the focus away from the head.
Shoulder pad trim was:

• Balthasar Gold (base)
• Sycorax Bronze (layer)
• Skullcrusher Brass (layer, minimal highlight)

And you too! Over there!

Nuln Oil has been used in a few places to bring out the edges of armour, being careful not to overlay the white. A bit of Ulthuan Grey was used to tidy up mistakes, just because it seemed a better fit over White Scar.
Eye lenses were:

• Khorne Red (obviously)
• Wazdakka Red (layer)
• Wild Rider Red (layer, highlight)
• Carroburg Crimson (wash, to darken around the edges some more)
• White Scar (layer, dot on the lens to look like a reflection)

Still got some metallic highlights to go, need to play around with the black components, and a knife holster on the backpack, but then the model is basically done. Not sure if I'll add scratches on the armour, but there will have to be splashes of blood about because....World Eater.

-- silly painter.

Still About

A very quick note that I'm still about, and occasionally finding time to pick up the brush. The base for Horus is still being worked on, but is looking quite marble-y with the simple addition of very thing coats of Seraphim Sepia over the steps, and Drakenhof Nightshade on the eagle.

World Eater (pre-Heresy) have a white/blue colour scheme going on, but I want it to be different to other blues. It seems like it should be more of muted than Ultramarines, but not quite as grey as the Space Wolves. So I've gone for a base coat of the Fang on the shoulder pads, and will highlight that with a blue layer paint later (undecided which one yet, though Thunderhawk Blue is very tempting).

Some problems getting photos right now, but hopefully that will be sorted soon enough.

Airbrush work deserves another post, but suffice to say that they really cut down on time - but only if you get the mix right, and white can spatter horribly.

-- silly painter.,

Rhino Transport WIP#2, Horus Base WIP#1

Watching TV on the way to battle.

 Not terribly much to write about here, mostly it's just a work in progress and wanting to save some shots of the interior before it's assembled. The screens are mostly Caliban Green (base), with some Warpstone Glow (layer) highlighted around them, and Nuln Oil (wash) around the edges. Moot Green (layer) for writing, with a few red words for alerts, a bit of 'Ardcoat over the top, and there's a screen.
The side screens are:

• Thousand Suns Blue (base)
• Ahriman Blue (layer)
• Nuln Oil (wash, just around the edges for definition)
• Baharroth Blue (edge)

Some assembly still required.

 A few steps of washes here & there to give a good outline, and the interior is complete enough for assembly. I do not like decals, even here, as they give this kind of shine that detracts from everything. Purity Seal might help with that, but at this point I just want to assemble and get on with the exterior.

All your base are belong to...

As an extra for today, the base for Forgeworld's Horus model. I've had it for some time, and only just recently decided to start on it alongside the rhino. The steps didn't quite turn out according to plan, but the eagle statue turned out better than I had hoped for. Not that it matters greatly - this is just the first step, and there's plenty more work to be done.
To start with, a black spray undercoat. I was trying to decide between black or white, but in the end decided that a darker feel would suit more, and so black it was. Horus will likely have a white undercoat, if for no other reason than to more easily pick out details later. He'll also be painted a lot darker than the base, so it evens out.
Following the undercoat:

• Dryad Bark (air) over everything, giving it an even coat.
• Baneblade Brown (air), trying to leave some of the previous coat in recesses.
• Zandri Dust (air) over the staircase, again more in larger areas.
• Terminatus Stone (air) over the eagle statue, and also the stairs (but only very lightly in select areas).

There isn't enough of the Dryad Bark in the recesses for my liking on the stairs. I could go back over the Baneblade Brown stage with another of Dryad Bark, but it didn't seem necessary at the time. Still brush work to do, that can be compensated for. The eagle statue, on the other hand, has somehow allowed for every piece of detail to be well defined. If it was any other model, it might be enough to be considered finished already - but of course, being an extra special model, this deserves a lot more attention.
It's also worth mentioning that the statue is currently pinned to the main base. Not sure if I should more fully glue it all together, and pin the feet of Horus later, or allow the detachable base and glue Horus on. So pinned for now, decision to come later.

-- silly painter

Rhino Transport WIP#1

Paint first, assemble later.

It's time for a tank.
The Rhino troop transport offers an excellent vehicle for more airbrush practice, and to see how quickly it can be painted up. It's also not as complex as other models, and can be cut from the sprue quickly and easily enough.

The first step is to paint the inside compartment. The added bonus is that if things go a bit wrong, it really won't be seen that much, so I can afford a bit of experimentation to see what works, and what doesn't.

First step, as always, is a primer base spray. After thinking on the matter a good deal, I used black. This was with the trusty spray can, and provides a good surface for paint to stick to afterwards. Black, because I didn't want it to end up brighter than the troops it's meant to transport.

Getting out the airbrush next, a coat of Zandri Dust (air), evenly applied. Dryad Bark (air) in the corners and around objects next, followed by some Terminatus Stone (air) in an attempt to highlight a few areas. That last step turned out to be too bright, so back to Zandri Dust (air) to cover it all, and blend back over the Dryad Bark a little bit.
The results are quite acceptable, and very quick to do. Takes longer to tear down and clean the airbrush than to actually use it! Anyway, using an airbrush for initial base, shade, and highlights looks more feasible every time I try.

A few points of note:

• The airbrush blending is effective, but trying to replicate it with the normal paints is very, very difficult. So trying to correct mistakes is going to be very difficult - experience will help with that, but don't even plan on going back over large areas. Leave fix ups to smaller sections.
• The paint applies differently, blends differently, so painting over the top of it does look a little bit different. It's something to keep in mind. Not shown, but I did try the usual blend approach over the "boxes" (darker brown) in the compartment. It wasn't quite the same, took a few goes to get things right.
• Karak Stone provides a good edge highlight. Only on the very edges, but definitely helps give definition over everything.
• Decals of the Legion number, in honour of the Primarch.

On a final note, again not shown in the photo, the "boxes" ended up with:

• Dryad Bark (base)
• Gorthor Brown (layer) (bottom 2/3 of the boxes)
• Baneblade Brown (layer) (bottom 1/3 of the boxes)
• Agrax Earthshade (wash) (draw from bottom to top, let it dry so the wash settles in the same direction)

Still a good deal to go for the inside, but it's a start.

-- silly painter

Stormcast Eternal Liberators

Hammer hammer hammer hammer hammer...time!

Before anything else, ignore the join lines! These models were an exercise in relative speed painting, and the first group to receive airbrush attention. The painting standard was therefore intended to be less than perfect - I quite expected to make a few mistakes.

For the first time using an airbrush however, quite a bit was learned. Airbrushes do not work the same as a normal brush, and the same techniques cannot be applied. I wanted to see if highlighting could work; it can, but is necessarily different. Point of source lighting, or colour transitions across large areas, that sort of thing seem to be best suited: anything that doesn't require the fine control that a good brush affords. The speed of painting though is very much faster. Stay tuned for more airbrush soon....

Overall, the colour scheme for the Liberators made them fairly quick to paint as well. Lots of gold trimming, made easy with the gloss shades. Stock standard approach: Retributor Armour, Reikland Fleshshade (gloss), Liberator Gold. The only interesting part was the "clouds" on the bottom. Purely drybrushed approach this time of whatever was on hand: I believe it was Mechanicus Standard Grey, some Dawnstone (dry paint), just dabbed on with a drybrush. It's not a bad effect, and certainly quick, though it doesn't give as much depth as the original.


It's probably the most tabletop standard I can do. Acceptable for mass painting though, so i'll keep them as references for that.

-- silly painter