Hey all! So I've been quite busy this past week and seeing as everyone else was posting Hobby articles and modeling photos, I figured I'd jump on the Hobby train and show you the progress I've made thus far. If you look to the left, those are my 5 test models, about 90% done. The minor things left are to correct a few error spots, add writing to the scrolls, paint on my custom unit badges to the right shoulders, and of course glue the arms/weapons on. But since we like looking at minis, here are some more pics (I'll get into detail over colors/washes/etc. shortly)
The purple knee pad is part of the theme I'm working into my army list, as is edging the left shoulderpad with purple. I'm working on a perfect purple color, but the knee pad above was Liche Purple base, done over with a Liche Purple wash, then Dry Brushed with Regal Blue. I actually like that dark bluish/purple and feel it is closer to the "royal" purple of ancient Rome and Byzantium, so in the future I'll be doing a 1:1 mix of Liche Purple and Regal Blue to get the purple shade I want for my Varyags of Miklagaard VII.
The first photo is of my "showcase" model. I bought the gloss varnish and since he had the most successful details and looked overall the best, I decided to use it on him. It came out nicely, though for some reason it started like...melting...some of the paint on some areas - like the banner detail on his right shoulder pad, as well as on the white wolf skull on his chest. Anyone else have this problem with using the GW Gloss Varnish? The only tweaking I need to do for him is get rid of the yellow that somehow splattered on his Chainsword skull. I chalked it up the the gloss varnish :) Other photo is of two regular dudes.
So my very first squad is now based and primed! And as you can tell my first foundation layer has been painted two of the squad. In the background is Thor, my first Lone Wolf.
Finally, my soon-to-be Mark of the Wulfen model for the squad. Also is another of my complete test models I forgot to post above. Once I redo the knee pad, write on the scrolls, and glue the arm on, he'll become my new "Showcase" model.
So you are all undoubtedly wondering how I got the models to look like that and what paints I used. Firstly, I'd like to thank Adam over at the Space Wolve's Blog for this article inspired me and helped guide me in getting a paint scheme down. It also guided my first 8 paint bottle purchases (I have like 15 paints now...I just couldn't stop! Every time I go to HobbyTown now I buy like 2 paint pots...). I'd also really like to thank Vinsanity, Rupert, and fester for all your articles on here helped me work on technique and gave me ideas, in particular the use of washes. I plan on experimenting some more with some new test models soon with using different homebrew washes (I'll prolly use Fortress Grey wash for the armor before Dry Brushing SW Grey to help soften the black in the crevices). So, thanks :)
As for what I used:
Armor: Based in black, any missed spots during basing were touched up with Chaos Black (which is very watery for me...is this true for others?), brushed on Fortress Grey, and Dry Brushed with SW Grey.
Boltguns/Pistols: Baed in black, Dry Brush Fortress Grey, Dry Brush Boltgun Metal, Light Dry Brush Mithril Silver (I used more Mithril on on the barrel and magazines then on the body of the gun)
Shoulder Pads: The right shoulder pad is based in black, brushed in Mechrite Red, edge done in Blood Red; Left shoulder pad is based in black, brushed (several times) with Sunburst Yellow, Dry Brushed with Burnished Gold (it gave it this nice, richer, sparkling effect I liked), and edged in Liche Purple
Runes: Simple really, based in black, painted in Fortress Grey (I'm trying to skip this step on my squads now....keep the Grey for the armor only so it doesn't get into the nitty gritty details of the smaller, more detailed parts), brushed in bestial brown, Dry Brushed with Kommando Khaki.
Skulls: Based in black, Fortress Grey coat, painted in Kommando Khaki, Dry Brushed in Bleached Bone
Fur: Based in black, painted in Fortress Grey, Painted in Bestial Brown, Dry Brushed in Vomit Brown, Dry Brushed in Kommando Khaki, touch Dry Brush of Bleached Bone.
Leather Belts: Based black, Fortress Grey, Bestial Brown, Dry Brush in Vomit Brown
General Metallic Areas: Boltgun Metal Dry Brushed with Mithril Silver
Brass Areas: Based in Black, Fortress Grey brush over, Dwarf Bronze brush over, Dry Brush in Burnished Gold
Whew that was long! Overall I think the test subjects came out alright. I didn't base them as I didn't have basing material until...well yesterday :)
Overall here's the Good and Bad of my tests:
Good:
- Fur -I think out perfectly
- Bones - These two i think the method I used made them come out perfectly
- Weapons - Well boltguns/pistols...I dig how they came out
- Brass/Metals - They came out well
Bad:
- I think the armor, while looks good from afar, upon closer inspection looks..splotchy? I think it's a result of the Chaos Black Wash I did (after I painted the models entirely in Fortress Grey, once it dried I used a Chaos Black Wash over everything to highlight the details.)
- General mistakes - accidentally splotching paint here and there. I've bought some thin painters tape to help alleviate this for my next round and I've decided to actually use my details brushes. Yes, I refused to use my detail brushes on these (I've got a 10, 20, and 30 I believe), and the lowest brush I used was a 1/8" brush. Haha so I'm happy with the detail given the brush used.
Time-wise, I had no rush to get these done and really took my time playing with colors and techniques. It took me about 4 days to do these guys (working about 1-2hrs a day). My goal is to knock out a squad a week, so by Thanksgiving the Army will be done.
Anyway hope you all enjoyed this and as always feedback is welcome, particularly with regard to painting tips, and things you think I could work on. And if you have questions about what/how I did something or you want to know how I painted them, let me know!
