Queen Bee Knight -- Thank you! Please read the new post

[JeffTibbetts]

The eyes look great.  My only qualm (if you can call it that) is the relative monotony of steel on the face.  The brass and the eyes look excellent, but I think a touch of another metallic, like a copper, in a strategic spot might go far.  Maybe a copper on the hose coupling (or whatever they are) on the "outer" hoses?  With just a tint of verdigris in the recesses to bring a pop of non-metallic softness.  I think that might really add to the visual interest without distracting from the eyes.

 

Ah, yes! Thanks for mentioning it.

 

These pics don't show it off very well but there are already a FEW variations in the metal. The 'ears' on the side are darker (not the brass bits, around that) and the bottom 'can' bit is slightly darker as well. A couple of the tubes on the side are copper. I'll probably pick out the rings around the eyes in some way (not sure about a brighter gold or copper, or more polished silver). Now that you mention it those couplings on the outer tubes could use a little something as well. Good call there! Oh, and I haven't added the patina to the brass bits yet, but you can dig back through the post if you want to take a look at the legs. The brass bits on those are done. All the metal here will be getting oil washes and weathering pigments soon, and hopefully that will also add some variation and interest. 

 

What are your thoughts on either a silver or brass around the eyes? Brass may pop against the blue a little better. But, when I add OSL (which, again, will be subtle) it might end up looking greenish? I don't know. 

[Montuhotep]

Brass would look better I think and give more of a contrast - the snag with silver is that it might blend in a little too well with the steel and therefore effectively become invisible.

[geektom]

Looks fantastic, Jeff. I wouldn't change a thing about the eyes.

[KrautScientist]

If you really want to make the metal on the face more interesting, you can always go back with a brighter silver colour and add some very fine scratches to the larger areas. Or some very slight verdigris to the slightly rebreather-like bronze part where the mouth would be on a normal face.

 

As for the entire eye region, I can only agree with geektom: I would leave it exactly as it is right now. No more accents, no more OSL, no more nothing. It looks exactly right, and any addition would just take away from that impression, I believe. Sorry for coming on a bit strong here, but I think it's important to know when to stop tinkering with an area, especially it's so rare for something to really look finished ;)

[Jolemai]

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't picking up the odd tip here and there as I go about painting my first Knight. Keep up the good work!

[apologist]

A really fantastic blog – great to see an ambitious (and successful) repose alongside some wonderful subtle detailing. The birds' nest is inspired! :)

 

 All the metal here will be getting oil washes and weathering pigments soon, and hopefully that will also add some variation and interest. 

 

What are your thoughts on either a silver or brass around the eyes? Brass may pop against the blue a little better. But, when I add OSL (which, again, will be subtle) it might end up looking greenish? I don't know. 

 

Some tonal work by darkening the rest of the metallics will be nicely set off by some bright shiny silver around the eyes. I'd be concerned brass will end up looking a bit bookish, like spectacles. Of course, there's some potential there for a bit of character, but it doesn't seem to fit the feeling I get from the background you've posted :)

[JeffTibbetts]

Thanks for the responses! I was leaning towards brass, but maybe not so much now. I think I'll have to see how the weathering/patina on the rest of the face works before I fully decide. The face is too important to mess up. I can always add, but it's tough to take away. So, no brass for now. K-Sci, I will def be doing some of that stuff. 

[Battybattybats]

Looks great! Love the cracked lens!
Before changing anything on the face i'd look at how it works with the hood and carapace, as that tends to be a big block of colour and if you break up the face too much with too big a block on the carapace it might camo it a bit too much.

Knights can get a bit over-done with too many colours (though for some it's the look gone for of course) where a bit of restraint here and there can preserve the shape while good contrast in highlights can keep all the panel lines and details popping without breaking the form.

And the hood tends to 'frame' the face in a way that may preclude any need to break it up at all, or might necessitate it, depnding on what you do with the hood.

[JeffTibbetts]

That's a good point, Bats. Keep in mind the helmet will be in this configuration, with black on the left and gold on the right.

[JeffTibbetts]

Okay. I've been painting just about non-stop since yesterday evening so this is a big update. This has been my view all morning.

I just wanted to show you guys I'm not nearly as organized as I make out to be once I get going.

So there's her torso. Oil and pigment powder weathering complete. I've also added bits of grease just like I did on the legs with Future and brown ink. I took some closeups as well so let's have a look.

This quarter section is pretty heavily corroded. Note the greasy mess that's leaking behind where the heavy stubber will be.

These exhausts really came together for me with the blue green verdigris and just a bit of rust. I'll probably add some weathering powder soot to the very tips. They have a little less rust than some other parts since they'd be much drier due to the heat most of the time.

And the back. I have yet to paint the Adeptus Mechanicus symbol here, obviously. It doesn't show as well in this pic, but the brass plate on the lower right is popped up where the rivet's missing. I was pretty generous with the rust in this area, and I added a fair bit of the grease mixture as well to make it look like it's been leaking. You can actually see it better in the next pic.

I wanted to show you some of the nooks and crannies here. Note the area behind her trophy. I added a lot of rust in these bits, and also on some I added some more leaking grease. I was shooting for the look of old farm equipment, with grease soaking into rough patches of corrosion. I think it turned out pretty well.

Here's where she stands now, so you can see the legs as well. Color's a bit off due to strong daylight. Sorry.

I can't decide if I should do arms or base next.

[Stoneheart]

Superb, love the grease effect! Consider this followed :)

[JeffTibbetts]

Superb, love the grease effect! Consider this followed

Thanks! I've got some more details on the techniques I used back further in the thread, and on my blog (TibbsForge.com) if you want to have a look. Fair warning: it's a lot of work the way I do it. You can probably get pretty close with a lot less effort, but I think it's pretty fun to do so I don't mind the task.

[Forté]

I love that you are taking time and getting all the extra details in place.

[JeffTibbetts]

I love that you are taking time and getting all the extra details in place.

 

Thanks. I don't really play, so this isn't a means to an end. Painting IS the end. :P 

 

Some day she might see the battlefield with those baby blues. Someday. 

[Forté]

I know what you mean.

[sockwithaticket]

Those lenses! Fantastically well done and the cracked one: . The amount of painstaking effort you're putting into this girl continues to impress and it's yielding great results.

[Montuhotep]

Words cannot express nor emphasise just how impressed I am with what you're managing to achieve with the Queen Bee, it's truly amazing and so inspirational it hurts.

 

 Yet it seems a massive shame to me that quite a bit of this effort will be obscured by the arms and plates. Will you be keeping those bits loose or fixing them down solid when the time comes?

[JeffTibbetts]

Thanks! I'm not 100% sure yet. I don't have a problem with hiding it, ideologically. I know it's there either way. On the other hand, it wod be very easy to magnetize the top carapace and shoulders so maybe I should. Some day down the line I'd like to detail the interior, so I never planned on glueing the carapace anyway.

[Ace Debonair]

Each update on this thread only makes me more excited for the finished model.

Awesome stuff!

[JeffTibbetts]

Okay. More progress. This has been a busy weekend for me... First up, I did start the arms, with an airbrushed base coat on all the little bits.

I even found another use for my brush holder!

How convenient!

But that's not really what this update's about. This update is all about that base, 'bout that base.

I built up the inside of the walls finally with Milliput, and then used some Bondo (auto-body filler) to build up foundations for the rubble. You can see various pre-sculpted greenstuff bits I added as well. These were originally sculpted as masters for some resin/push-molded details for basing my Eagle Eyes. I popped a few off and added them here. Also note the discarded Eagle Eye helmet in the rubble. I think I'll probably drill a hole in that. Maybe I'll leave it so you can see more of the color poking through the ashes. The rest of the base had already been finished prior to this work. Also note where I pressed her foot into the filler so I could tell where it would end up.

And here it is with some of my sand/ballast mixture added on in patches. Normally I use it a little more sparingly, but here it's representing the rubble and detritus of the demolished building, as well as the dirt and earth that were upturned by the Annihilation Barge wreckage.

Helmet looking fairly well buried now.

If it's been a while, here's what her foot looks like crushing the barge. Note the way her inner and outer toes interact with the wreckage.

And from the back. This will look so much cooler with paint...

And here's a closer shot of a sad little scene I created. A parent was trying to protect their child (from the Necrons or, if you follow the background of my Eagle Eyes, possibly from them if you're feeling particularly grim dark). They failed. This will be painted as a charred mess, so it'll blend into the ashes almost completely. It's just a small detail to add a little bit more of that story.

So here's the deal. While I was working on this base, I knew I wanted it to be as much a part of the story as the Queen Bee's other details. You see, those tell HER story, but the base tells the story of how she interacts with the rest of the characters. It is, literally, where her story intersects with the broader universe. I wanted to make sure I represented a few things. First, who she fights is obvious from this. She has a deep-seated enmity for the Necron. Her battle is the main act, and should be immediately clear to all. The helmet from the Eagle Eye represents who she fights WITH. Her allies. For better or worse, she is honer-bound to fight with them, and her base of operations is on their recruiting world. The dead Macay on the base represent who she fights FOR. The people. Not the Eagle Eyes. Not the Imperium itself, and absolutely not for the Adeptus Mechanicus. She may operate in those worlds, but her motivations are driven by her utter humanity, reinforced by the values imprinted into the Throne Mechanicum. Her loyalty to the people is absolute, and the more she sees of the uncaring imperium and utterly UNhuman mechanicum, the more she relies on this core belief to keep fighting. So, I wanted to make sure that, even though it's a tragic scene, the people themselves had a role in the base. I had originally planned cowering human in the rubble, but I thought it would grab too much attention away. Plus, war is hell, and dead humans (especially of the futilely brave variety) would make a more interesting detail for me. Aurelia and the Bee are tools of vengeance, more often than they are protectors and shields.

[Battybattybats]

The paintwork looks breathtakingly good.

The base, especially the tragic aspect really compliments it all so very well.

And the toes, that's where so many repositioned knights look odd, a foot raised high in the air might keep it's toes splayed out but when treading on something with a full share of weight toes need to grip and you have that sooo sweetly done.

[JeffTibbetts]

Thanks, Bats. I've got some paint on the base now and it's really coming together. More pics when I'm done messing with the drippy metal bits back there. I had been thinking about doing them as red-hot steel, but I was looking up vids of molten aluminum and I think I'll do that instead. Really it's just bright silver. I'll mess with it and post pics later this week. Back into my weekly grind so not sure when I'll have time to work on it. 

[JeffTibbetts]

Okay. Got some paint on the base. But first, I forgot to post a pic of the cog on the back of the engine.

I need to clean up the line down the middle but it makes the torso feel a lot more finished.

Okay. Here's the base so far. I haven't added gray flock or weathering pigments yet, but the base is all drybrushed. It ties in well with the Eagle Eyes bases.

You can see a half-buried EE helmet here. Weathering pigments will gray it down a bit, and I've gotta add a little dark red to the eye. Also note the little Necron scraps at the bottom. I want these to look like they've been there a little while, as opposed to the wreckage up top. They'll get a good dose of weathering pigment ash on them.

Here's my little mini tragedy. I'll be adding some more soot and ash, especially in the middle. Can you see the child's body here? You're looking at it's left shoulder from behind, and then you can see the ribs and spine below that.

Here's the brick wall. I want them to look like rough mud-bricks, covered in ash and soot. That's actually pretty tough to convey and I need to do some more work with it. This is just the start.

Necron wreckage shot. I wanted the metal of the Necrodermis to look different from the Knight, so I washed it with a very dark green for the subtle alien hint. Most of this will be covered by Queen's foot, and I have a lot left to do, but I think it's looking okay so far!

Don't sweat the orang yet. It'll make more sense in a minute. Take a look at the green ooze melting the ground, though. This will have some OSL and much more intense highlights for that glow effect. I think this is turning out pretty well.

Okay, now you can see what the orange was for. I covered it over with some Runefang steel for that internal glow look. I watched a bunch of videos of various molten metals, and opted for something rather like aluminum. There's more orange here than aluminum, but that's by design. I'll be adding some orange glaze in places before I'm done, I think.

Thoughts? Is this working for you guys? I really want to get the wreckage right.

[Twisty]

Looks great! I especially like the green ooze melting through the base, I can´t wait to see how it all looks when it´s finished

[JeffTibbetts]

Looks great! I especially like the green ooze melting through the base, I can´t wait to see how it all looks when it´s finished

Yeah, it's a cool little touch. A happy accident, as Bob Ross would have said. It really couldn't have been in a better spot, and I don't think I would even know how to replicate the effect deliberately. The Emperor works in mysterious ways.