The Sekhmet+HH Emperor's Children: Loken vs Abaddon 12/6/24

[Kizzdougs]

That's a fantastic tutorial - thanks!

I didn't create the image, but it's the best example that I could find of the technique that I've always used.

 

He´s looking badass, though I have to say I like the helmeted version better. Also the raptor sword fits exactly what I was thinking, something hook-like but still blade looking, befits the SoH aesthetics very nicely!

Thanks a lot bro! Glad you like the sword. I had to cut it up so that I could have it held in the left hand rather than the right, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

I have to echo and say that the helmet is awesome! I really need to get a few of those TS helms and put them to work!

 

Looking forward to more progress!

Thanks a lot, bro! Glad you like the helmet. A few people have said that it looks a bit too Thousand Son-ish, but I'm pretty happy with how it looks.

 

That eye tutorial is awesome. I just worry that due to my hands constantly shaking, I wouldn't be able to pull it off. I still like unhelmeted better than the TS helmet. The terminator face just looks too damn good.

I'm lucky to have very steady hands, but even if you stuff up you can always go back neaten it up afterwards. I also find it really important to make sure that I securely brace the miniature and my painting hand before painting really fine details.

 

It's totally the head for me - the helmet is very gold, while his torso also has an abundance of that colour. The bare head, by contrast, stands out and gives him character.

I'll probably wait until everything is finished before deciding on the head/helmet. I might even try out some other options :)

 

 

 

Thanks for looking ;)

[hushrong]

It's obvious to tell that it was a TS helmet but it looks so good. I wonder if its the raised bit on the top that just hallmarks it.

 

One idea maybe to change it up a weeee bit is to removed that pointed bit on the top and model another layer of armor on 'forehead' of the armor. Similar to how the SoH Contemptor helm looks. Which always reminds of WWI helmets where they added an extra plate of armor to the front of their helmets.

[Kizzdougs]

Base Building Tutorial

 

 

Part 1. Building the Base

 

 

 

Time for another tutorial!

 

I’ve been asked about the bases on my Sons of Horus a few times, so I thought I’d write up a step by step/tutorial for how I build and paint them. The first part of the tutorial will focus on building the base, and part two will look at how I go about painting them.

 

Basing Tutorial:

 

Basics: Underlined text = the basic instructions. Regular text = explanations and suggestions.

 

Tools:

Hobby-knife

Pliers

Hacksaw

Old paint brush

 

Materials:

Cork

Slate rock

Builder’s sand

Superglue

PVA glue

Bits from your bits box.

 

 

 

A quick word on my approach to basing

 

In my opinion, basing is an important part of the hobby and should be seen as an opportunity to complement and enhance all of the work that you’ve already done on the mini that will inhabit it. For example, I’ve chosen a reddish ochre for the bases of my Sons of Horus because the ‘warm’ colours work really nicely with their ‘cold’ blue-green armour. The right choice of basing colour can really add to the overall impact of a model. Bases are also a great way to add to the narrative and character of the miniature and tell the story of the army at large. My Alpha Legion army is based in a Zone Mortalis/industrial/naval style because the project was inspired by a particular scene from the short story ‘Wolf King’ involving lots of XXth Legion Terminators and a boarding action. My Sons of Horus have remnants of Salamander, Iron Hand, and Raven Guard armour on their bases because they are a fast raiding force tasked with hunting down the Shattered Legions which have been harrying the Warmaster’s forces as Horus forges a path towards Terra.

 

 

 

Base Concept/Preamble

 

As the base is for a Legion Outrider I want it to help give the model a sense of momentum and direction. Personally I feel that Space Marine bikes and Legion Outriders can look fairly static unless something is done to create the illusion of movement. With a Tactical marine or any other infantry miniature this can be easily achieve by the use of running or walking legs. It’s a bit more difficult with wheeled vehicles as the riders/pilots tend to be in fairly static poses. There are two basic approaches to giving a Space Marine bike a sense of movement.

• The first approach focuses on the composition of the miniature. Cloaks, topknots, plumes, wolf-tail talismans, banners, robes, tabards, and purity seals modelled/assemble to look like they are flowing back behind the miniature are an easy and effective way of creating that sense of motion and direction.
• The second approach involves the base and the angle at which the model is positioned on it.

I’ll be building this base with the second approach in mind. As such the bike will be modelled to have its front tire off the ground and will be modelled on slight lean to suggest that the ridder is either turning the bike to avoid a potential hazard or engage an enemy. When people look at the miniature and see a bike that is on an angle and only has one tire on the ground their brain will tell them that the bike must be in motion even though it’s obviously a plastic/resin miniature.

 

I just thought it was important to explain the thought process behind the base and pre-empt some questions that people might have regarding my reasons for particular decisions and choices in the construction of the base.

 

1.

 

 

Once the base has been cleaned up (such as the removal of any flash) the first material that I use on the base is cork. I break the cork into roughly the right shape and size and then attach it to the base using superglue.

Some people like to use cork to represent rocks, and it can look fairly decent when painted up nicely. Personally, I use cork as a cheap and easy to work with material, to add some depth and topographic variation to the base. I don’t want all of my minis to be standing at exactly the same height on perfectly flat bases with the bare minimum of a coat of texture paint…

On this miniature the cork is used to elevate the back tire of the bike so that I can have the front tire off the ground without making it look like the rider is pulling a ridiculous wheelie.

 

2.

 

The next step was to start shaping the cork. For this step I used a sharp hobby-knife. I cut away a section of the cork towards the front of the base to create a housing for a piece of slate. This housing will allow the piece of slate to sit securely and give the impression that it’s actually part of the base’s geology rather than not look like it’s just a random rock that’s fallen from the sky.

 

 

 

I also used the hobby-knife to cut the cork at the back of the base on an angle, going from left to right. When the miniature is attached to the base this angle will make the bike lean to the right, giving it a sense of motion and direction.

 

 

3.

 

 

The next step was to add a piece of slate to the housing that I had created in the previous step. I used the pliers to break off a piece of slate that was roughly the correct size and then used a hacksaw to cut the slate so that it would sit flush with its cork housing. I used superglue to attach it to the base. If you don’t have a hacksaw you can use the pliers, they’re just a little less exact. When breaking the slate with the pliers I’d recommend gripping the stone with the pliers and then covering both with a cloth. Slate can be a bit messy when it breaks and a cloth is perfect catching the small shards of slate, which will break off (keeps these broken bits of slate as they’re perfect for adding to a the base at a later step).

 

4.

 

The next step was to make the cork on the base look a little bit more organic (not two bits of cork sitting one on top of the other). I used my fingernails and the point of the hobby-knife to break away the edges of the cork. Once the base is finished the cork will be completely obscured and I don’t want it to be obvious that that the base is essentially just cork with some slate and sand glued on top. If you just glue sand over the top of cork it will still have the stepped and uniform look of cork sheet, so it’s important to break up the clear lines and to create more natural slopes/angles.

 

5.

 

Next up I used superglue to glue down some bits from my bits box. I cut the bits in half so that they would look like they were partially submerged. I also drilled out the helmet. You could attach these bits with PVA glue at a later stage if you wanted to save time, but I’ve found that using superglue is best for getting things positioned exactly as I want them.

 

 

6.

 

 

I then used superglue to attach the larger pieces of slate and some random stones that I found on the side of the road and crushed up with the pliers. Again, you could use PVA, but superglue is better for attaching the larger pieces.

 

 

7.

 

Next up I positioned the bike on the base, as I wanted to look once fully assembled. I then traced around the wheel with some paint (any colour will do). This is so that when it comes to adding the PVA and sand I’ll be able to avoid the area where the bike will be mounted. You could just glue the bike on top of the sand, but gluing it to the cork will give you a better connection.

 

 

8.

 

Now it’s time for the PVA glue. I used an old brush to apply it. It’s best to use an old brush, but to avoid getting glue all over the rocks and bits you’ll want to use a brush that still has some control. I also like to make sure that I paint glue over any obvious transitions between the stones and the cork base. This will help to create a more natural look and make the rocks look like they actually belong on the base. The first piece of slate that was glued to the base is a good example of this.

 

 

9.

 

Time for the sand, but before the sand I sprinkled some of the smaller slate shards and rock across the base. The best way to apply the sand is to pour it on. It’ll naturally stick to the PVA glue. Having a variety of different sized rocks on the base helps create a more realist look. I like to have some larger stones, some smaller rocks, and sand. With the sand I usually just use some builder’s sand because it’s a relatively fine grain, but for this base I also used some larger grains of sand that I collected last time I was at the beach (the yellowish and brown grains that are randomly scattered across the base). For the smaller infantry sized bases the builder’s sand is more than adequate, but because this base is a bit larger I wanted a bit more variety.

 

 

And that’s the base built! The PVA glue will be dry in about twelve hours but I usually just leave it over night.

 

 

Hopefully I'll be able to start painting the base tomorrow, but I probably won't have the next tutorial up for at least a couple of days.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking ;)

 

 

[SkimaskMohawk]

Preshading tutorial next! :p

[hushrong]

Personally, I'd like a tutorial on all the things.

 

I may have to invest in some slate and different gradients of sand to start making bases. I've been using those scenic ones GW's been producing but may have to switch it up. Plus, I have a ton of regular bases to use now.

 

With PVA glue have you ever had an issue of it drying up after time and peeling from the base? I wonder if I used the wrong type of glue because some of my older minis have segments of the glue, with sand, coming off the base. Imagine lifting a carpet off the floor and its was like that.

[Quixus]

Your tutorials are awesome. I have a couple of them bookmarked. It would be even better if you collected them in a separate thread or some other repository.

[NightHunters]

Stunning work and great Tutorial too.

 

Love it!

[Bluedoo]

You do a great job of detailing a process, thank you for that! Anyway I could convince/beg you to show us how to paint those beautiful lenses on your helmets?

[The Nephilim]

That's awesome! Thanks for the basing tutorial!

[Kizzdougs]

Thanks for the kind words regarding the basing tutorial :tu:

 

 

Preshading tutorial next!

Hahaha, that might be a way off. I'm still pretty new to pre-shading, myself.

 

Personally, I'd like a tutorial on all the things.

 

I may have to invest in some slate and different gradients of sand to start making bases. I've been using those scenic ones GW's been producing but may have to switch it up. Plus, I have a ton of regular bases to use now.

 

With PVA glue have you ever had an issue of it drying up after time and peeling from the base? I wonder if I used the wrong type of glue because some of my older minis have segments of the glue, with sand, coming off the base. Imagine lifting a carpet off the floor and its was like that.

No, I've never had that issue with PVA glue. I have peeled the tops off of bases before so that I can redo them, but I've never had a base start to peel by its self.

 

Your tutorials are awesome. I have a couple of them bookmarked. It would be even better if you collected them in a separate thread or some other repository.

Thanks a lot! There are links to all of the tutorials at the bottom of the first post in this thread :)

 

You do a great job of detailing a process, thank you for that! Anyway I could convince/beg you to show us how to paint those beautiful lenses on your helmets?

Glad you like'd it! And I hope the eye lens tutorial is helpful too.

 

That's awesome! Thanks for the basing tutorial!

No worries! Glad you liked it.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking ;)

[Kizzdougs]

Space Marine Eye Lens Tutorial

 

 

I don’t really have time to make a tutorial for every aspect of my painting, but because Bluedoo asked nicely (and painting eyes is a very quick process), I thought I’d write up a quick tutorial.

 

A word of encouragement: yes there are a lot of steps to painting eye lenses using this technique but it’s actually a surprisingly quick process. Eyes and lenses are tiny and only need a very small amount of paint and are actually quite quick to paint.

 

Basics: Underlined text = the basic instructions. Regular text = explanations and suggestions.

 

Tools and materials:

 

Paint brush

The most important tool for painting eye lenses, and eyes in general, is a brush with a sharp point that can hold some paint. The actual size of the brush matters less than the brushes ability to hold paint and a good point. It’s a common assumption that a fine detail brush is essential for painting fine details such as eyes. For example when some people see the eyes that I paint on my minis they often say something like “you must have a brush with only one or two hairs on it” or “where do you buy a brush small enough to do that?” The truth is that I used a regular Games Workshop small ‘Layer’ brush to paint the eye lenses in this tutorial. I own finer and more expensive brushes, but the Layer brush is perfectly adequate because it has a good point and holds paint well.   

 

Paints

Blue lens: Kantor Blue, Enchanted Blue, White.

Red lens: Scarlett Red, Flat Red, Troll Slayer Orange, Flash Gitz Yellow, White.

 

You can use whatever paints you want to… I know that’s not really very helpful, but I use a variety of paint brands and I can’t really say that any one brand is so far superior to the others that it is a must have. In this tutorial I used a combination of Citadel, Vallejo Model Color, and Vallejo Game Air. I choose paints based on whether I like the colour or not (I’m not really too fussed about the brand).

When it comes to painting Space Marine eye lenses I’d suggest choosing fairly well saturated colours. Try to avoid ‘flat’ or pastel colours as they’ll blend in a bit too much and won’t create that energized look that we’re going for. For example if I wanted to paint some green eye lenses I’d choose a colour like Warpstone Glow instead of Waaaagh Flesh, Castellan Green, or Loren Forest. Warpstone Glow is a fairly rich green paint whereas the others are variations on olive green. To use an old school example, Enchanted Blue (my favourite Citadel blue) would work much better than Ultramarines Blue (which is quite ‘grey’ and therefore flat).

 

Technique

Paintings eyes and eye lenses is just like painting anything else (but obviously on a much smaller scale than most other things). Use regular paintbrush strokes; don’t try to ‘stab’ the mini with the brush. The only time you’ll need to directly apply the brush to the mini at a 90-degree angle is if you decide to add the white dot to simulate a reflective surface.

Bracing the mini and your painting hand is important, especially if you have shaky hands. Bracing both your elbows on your painting surface is a good place to start.

 

 

 

 

 

The first step is to paint the entire lens black. I used Abbadon Black, but you can use any black that you want, just make sure that it’s a ‘true’ black and not an ‘off black’ such as Tamiya Rubber Black.

 

 

 

The first colour that I used on the blue lens was Kantor Blue. I painted the entire lens, but made sure to leave a fine black line between the blue lens and the white helmet. If you make any mistakes at this stage it’s very easy to fix with some black paint or the colour of the helmet (in this case white) if you get the eye colour on the actual helmet.

 

 

 

The first paint for the re d was Scarlett Red from the Vallejo Game Air range. All of the same rules (as painting the blue) apply. I wouldn’t suggest using this paint if you’re thinking of painting some red lenses because it’s an airbrush paint and therefore doesn’t have the same coverage as paints designed for regular bristle brushes. I just used it because I like the colour and it’s the only dark red that I had laying around.

 

 

 

The next step was to paint the lower and front third of the eye lens with Enchanted Blue. Again, any mistakes were fixed up with black paint.

 

 

 

The red lens was painted with Flat Red from the Vallejo Model Color range in the same manner as the Enchanted Blue (lower and front third of the eye lens). Although I warned earlier against using ‘flat’ colours for the eye lenses, Flat Red from Vallejo isn’t ‘flat’ in the way that I was using the term. It’s actually a fairly well saturated colour. 

 

 

 

After the Enchanted Blue stage the blue lens was just a succession of highlights of Enchanted Blue mixed with an increasing amount of white. Make sure leave some of the previous colour showing. Each highlight should be more concentrated in the lower corner of the bottom left quadrant of the eye lens (bottom right quadrant for the red lens).

 

 

 

The red lens was highlight with a thin strip of Troll Slayer Orange.

 

 

 

Again, more white was added to the Enchanted Blue for the final highlight. The final highlight should focus in the very bottom corner of the eye lens.

 

 

 

Flash Gitz Yellow was used as the final highlight for the red lens.

 

 

 

For the ‘glow’ on the blue lens I used some thinned down Enchanted Blue. The colour is painted around the very edge of the faceplate on the helmet. I usually find that using the main colour of the eye lens works best for this stage. Make sure you don’t go overboard with this stage and make sure that your application of the colour is consistent and smooth. As always, if you get some of the colour on the black line separating the lens from the helmet or on the helmet you can easily fix this with either some black paint or paint in the colour of the helmet.

 

 

 

I used the Flat Red for the ‘glow’ on the red eye lens. All of the same rules/tips apply to both the red and blue ‘glow’.

 

 

 

 

To finish it off I added a small white dot to simulate the reflective surface of the eye lens. The white dot should be in the opposite corner of the eye lens to the most extreme of the highlights. For the blue lens this is the top right quadrant of the lens and on the red lens it’s in the top left. This step isn’t really an essential part of the process and you could leave it there if you wanted to (I have with my Sons of Horus).

 

 

And some pics of the helmet on an miniature, because everything looks better when it’s actually in context :P

 

 

Sorry about the blurry pic 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking ;)

[Quixus]

Thanks, very helpful tutorial.

[malcharion]

Ho ! A Malal SoH champion !

Really great tutorials bro ! The last one on the eyelens is particulary interesting :)

For the boss head I think that it will rocks whatever you decide but I suport the fact that it could have too mutch gold with the second helmet. You could paint that faceplate in a SoH green ? Well I'm waiting for the other options you think about ;)

 

Malchy

[Bluedoo]

You're the best kind of person Kizzdougs, thank you so much! :)

[The Nephilim]

Aaaaaannnnnnnddddd another tutorial bookmarked.

[Lorenzen]

In regards to the whole helmet/bare head thing and the pictures from your eye lens tutorial..

 

Years ago I think Christian Byrne did a black legion lieutenant with a white helmet that I always really liked the look of.. the white half of the tutorial head reminded me of that and if done on an "interesting" helmet could look pretty cool and draw focus to the Praetor.

[Kizzdougs]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! :tu:

 

I've painted up another alternative head for my Praetor and thought I'd take the opportunity to show the eyes pre and post iris.

 

 

 

Unfortunately it wasn't until after I'd taken the pictures that I realised that one eye was much bigger than the other... pretty annoying, but fixable.

 

 

 

I love painting bare heads. So much more fun than helmets!

 

 

Thanks, very helpful tutorial.

No worries! It was fun to make.

 

Ho ! A Malal SoH champion !
Really great tutorials bro ! The last one on the eyelens is particulary interesting
For the boss head I think that it will rocks whatever you decide but I suport the fact that it could have too mutch gold with the second helmet. You could paint that faceplate in a SoH green ? Well I'm waiting for the other options you think about

Malchy

Glad you liked the tutorial! I did consider SoH green, but I recon the green, red, and black might be a bit too colourful. He'll probably have some green on his bike, but limiting his armour to black and red will probably look better in the long run. I suppose green could work on a helmet if I kept it fairly dark and maybe on a smaller face plate.

 

You're the best kind of person Kizzdougs, thank you so much!

Hahaha, no worries bro! Hope you like the tutorial.

 

Aaaaaannnnnnnddddd another tutorial bookmarked.

Hope it's useful for you.

 

In regards to the whole helmet/bare head thing and the pictures from your eye lens tutorial..

Years ago I think Christian Byrne did a black legion lieutenant with a white helmet that I always really liked the look of.. the white half of the tutorial head reminded me of that and if done on an "interesting" helmet could look pretty cool and draw focus to the Praetor.

Yeah, I think I remember that Chaos Champion (I'm thinking Emperor's Children, but could have been Black Legion). I'd have to come up with a good justification for a white helmet.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking ;)

[Lord Commander Eidolon]

Loving the alternate head! He does look like a grizzled veteran! The topknot certainly gives him a mini Abaddon vibe! I think the head itself is more 'aged' than the bionic head as befits a veteran commander!

 

Exceptional painting as always!

[GrandMagnus]

I think he looks better with a bare head,  gives a bit more character to the... well... character 

[hushrong]

Oh yeah, that sneer and the top knot rocks! I agree with GrandMagnus that it gives the character more character!

 

I do like the helmet but looking at this set up I love that scarred face and grin he's carrying while dealing death from a bike.

[KrautScientist]

That's easily one of my favourite GW faces, so a thumbs up from me ;) Funnily enough, while the topknot is certainly a fluffy addition, I can't help feeling the head works even better without it -- the character seems more shrewd and sinister, for some reason...

[Bluedoo]

Love the trophy rack, and the gold instead of green on the upgrade torso. Just noticed the decal glyph you slid onto the shoulder, absolutely seamless. Please post an updated group shot soon, I'm drooling over these

[Kizzdougs]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!

 

Loving the alternate head! He does look like a grizzled veteran! The topknot certainly gives him a mini Abaddon vibe! I think the head itself is more 'aged' than the bionic head as befits a veteran commander!

Exceptional painting as always!

Thanks a lot bro! Yeah, I'm really liking this new head. I'd been saving it my bits box since I first bought it back in 08-09 waiting for the perfect project. This might be it.

 

I think he looks better with a bare head,  gives a bit more character to the... well... character 

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, I'm pretty happy with how it's looking. Plenty of character.

 

Oh yeah, that sneer and the top knot rocks! I agree with GrandMagnus that it gives the character more character!

 

I do like the helmet but looking at this set up I love that scarred face and grin he's carrying while dealing death from a bike.

Thanks a lot bro! Yeah, I'm leaning towards this head at the moment, but I'll wait until everything else is finished before I make a final decision.

 

That's easily one of my favourite GW faces, so a thumbs up from me Funnily enough, while the topknot is certainly a fluffy addition, I can't help feeling the head works even better without it -- the character seems more shrewd and sinister, for some reason...

Yeah, me too. I've had it in my bits box since the Chaos Terminator Lord first went on sale back in 08-09 (I think). Seemed like the perfect opportunity to give it some paint.

 

Love the trophy rack, and the gold instead of green on the upgrade torso. Just noticed the decal glyph you slid onto the shoulder, absolutely seamless. Please post an updated group shot soon, I'm drooling over these

Thanks a lot bro! I used six seperate glyph decals on the mini (one on each leg, wrist, and shoulder-plate). 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking ;)

[Kizzdougs]

Base Tutorial: Part 2

Painting

 

 

 

Time to get some paint on the base!

 

Underlined text = the basic information.

Regular text = additional information/suggestions/personal commentary.

 

Tools:

Old paint brush

Dry brush

Airbrush (optional)

 

Materials:

Kalahari Orange (Scale 75)

Flash Gitz Yellow

White

Agrax Earthshade

Age Rust weathering powder (Forge World)

Vallejo matt varnish

 

Optional Paints:

Vallejo Metals Gunmetal Grey

Nuln Oil

Drakenhof Nightshade

Stormhost Silver

 

 

 

I start off by priming the base with Chaos Black spray from GW. Make sure everything is given a good coat of the primer and I always go back over it with some black paint and a paint brush to make sure I get any bits that might have been missed by the spray (under the rocks etc.). You could use just about any primer for this stage, although I’d probably suggest either black or grey (in my opinion black is the way to go because we’ll be painting the base rim black anyway).

 

 

 

Now it’s time to add some colour. I’ve used Kalahari Orange as the base colour for my bases. You could airbrush this on if you wanted to and it’s probably the way to go if you’re going to be painting a lot of bases, but I used and old paint brush for this base because it allowed me get the paint on nice and thick. It took a couple of coats to get the coverage that I wanted. I also took the opportunity to give the base a coat of matt varnish. This isn’t essential, but can protect the base from potential scratches during the dry-brushing phases.

 

 

 

For the first drybrush stage I added some Flash Gitz Yellow and white paint to the Kalahari Orang (about 1/2/4). It’s difficult to give an exact ratio of the different colours in the mix because I never measure the paint when I’m mixing it. I just mix them together until I like the colour…

 

 

 

Next up I used the Agrax Earthshade to add some depth to the base. I only used the Agrax around the bases of the rocks and the shoulder-plate and helmet. This stage is optional in my opinion. It’s not essential to the process, but I think it adds a bit of variation and definition to the otherwise fairly monotone base.

 

 

 

Once the Agrax had dried I added some more white and yellow to the Kalahari Orange for a final highlight. I limited this stage of dry-brushing to the edges of the rocks and to the most prominent areas of the base.

 

Optional

 

Optional Step: I painted the abandoned shoulder-plate and helmet with a base coat and followed this up with a coat of Gunmetal Grey from the Vallejo Metals range. Once the gunmetal had dried I gave the pieces a wash with Nuln Oil. I then used Drakenhof Nightshade on the helmet and shoulder plate, but avoided the shoulder-plate trim and the face grill on the MkIII helmet (I added a second coat of Drakenhof once the first had dried). To finish the armour pieces I used Stormhost Silver to edge-highlight and add some scratches to the shoulder-plate and helmet. This was a quick Iron Hand scheme that I came up with on the fly.

 

 

 

Next I used the Aged Rust weathering powder to dirty up the base and to create a more dusty appearance. I used the powder in mostly the same areas as the Agrax Earthshade. It is also useful for breaking up any bits of terrain that look a bit unnatural or that have painting mistakes on them. Perhaps the most important role of the weathering powder is to tie any foreign objects to the base and to make them look like they belong. Without the weathering powder the shoulder-plate and helmet would look completely unnatural just sitting on the base. The weathering powder makes them look like their environment has influenced them and means that they enhance the overall look of the base, rather than distract from it.

 

 

 

To finish it all off I painted the base rim black and gave the whole thing a light coat of matt varnish through the airbrush. For the varnish at this stage I’d definitely recommend either using an airbrush or a spray-can if you don’t have access to an airbrush because if you tried to paint the varnish on by hand it would completely ruin the weathering powder.

 

So that's how I've been painting the bases for my Sons of Horus.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking ;)

[Bluedoo]

Just did a double take and saw the rest of the decals. You have a good eye for subtlety ;) makes looking at your models multiple times rewarding. Amazing work as always!