Xeones Returns to Painting: Forge Master

[Brother Xeones]

Since it's been ages since I've seriously painted anything (we're talking years here) I figured it was about time to get "back in the saddle" and try my hand at a higher level of painting than I usually manage for most of my projects. This guy was slowly progressing until the only gaming shop in the area announced that they were doing a competition to celebrate the release of the new Marine codex. I've never entered a competition of any kind with my stuff, and I figured I'd enter for the fun of it. Vaaish has already submitted his piece so my chances of a win are minuscule (short of treachery ) but it's all in good fun, and at least I had a deadline to shoot for. I was a little rushed at the end so there are things I would re-work if I had the time, but submissions need to be in by noon today, so at this point, things are as good as they will get.

Overall, it was fun to do some more serious painting and it was refreshing to learn (and re-learn) some of the techniques I used on this guy.

http://imageshack.us/a/img10/6492/nsrt.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img189/971/imvf.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img29/5462/us33.jpg

[GrandMagnus]

wow... just, wow... that techmarine is amazing.

[Firepower]

He's a beauty :) Very interesting color choices, particular the more brownish-red.  The gold looks a bit thick here and there.

[Brother Xeones]

Thanks for the kind words!

He's a beauty Very interesting color choices, particular the more brownish-red. The gold looks a bit thick here and there.

I'll admit that the bronze was one of the areas that I would have preferred to have spent more time on if I hadn't been rushed at the end to finish him. It needs more shadow and highlight for one thing. It ended up being rather flat in comparison to some of the other portions of the model and the lighting setup seems to have robbed me of what little variation I'd managed to achieve. The actual paint isn't particularly thick though. If you are referring to the vents in the plasma cutter or the skulls on the chest or knee, those parts were not cast very well, and would have perhaps benefited from more dutiful cleanup and re-sculpting at the beginning of the process.

It just goes to show you that it doesn't matter how much time and effort you put into the paint job later on, there is no substitute for taking the time to properly prep your mini before the painting starts...

[Firepower]

Very true.  But what actually stood out to me was the bronze pistons on the back of the servo arms.  After seeing those, I looked at the rest of the bronze areas, and saw a trend :)

[Brother Xeones]

Fair enough. :) I'll see if I can improve things if I re-visit him in the future

[That Guy Matt]

I'm in a similar place to you having not painted seriously in a long time and just coming back to the hobby. If I manage to produce things to your standard I will be very pleased with myself.