My DIY Imperial Knight House (Advice needed, C&C welcome)

[The Acid Dog]

Greetings everyone. Wasn't sure where to post this, but since the project is in the final stage (transfers) I figured I'd post it here. When I first saw the Imperial Knights, I squee'd a little, and then yelled "I must have it!" I picked one up, put it together, and immediately set about painting it as I eagerly awaited the codex. I've always been inspired by the WHFB army Bretonnia, but I didn't really like playing as them. This new kit, however, gave me the rare, ridiculously entertaining, and incredibly inspiring idea...

Bretonnia IN SPACE!

So, I finished painting my knight, read the codex from cover to cover, and set on my idea: Imperial Knight main detachment, with swarms and swarms of Guardsmen with Bretonnia heads to represent their peasant men-at-arms, and a force of Sisters of Battle to represent a small but honored Order who maintain a sacred shrine upon the Knight house's world. (Damn you, GW, for giving me an excuse to do three armies at once!)

Only one thing was bothering me, and that was the codex stating that the honor of being a Knight was reserved for the first or second born son of a Noble. I struggled with that for a split second, before shouting "Screw that!" So, without further ado, I give you the (tentatively named, so tell me what you think) Comtesse Simone Desrosiers, undisputed leader of House Desrosiers, Honored Crusading Knight, and named "Lady Victory" by her loyal subjects:

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p764/Bobcat_Bill/ComtesseSimoneFront_zpsc92637a3.jpg

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p764/Bobcat_Bill/ComtesseSimoneRight_zpsfc5876b6.jpg

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p764/Bobcat_Bill/ComtesseSimoneLeft_zps6c09c628.jpg

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p764/Bobcat_Bill/ComtesseSimoneTop_zps9e785b10.jpg

As you can see, I've based House Desrosiers' color scheme on the Bretonnian city of Couronne, and I'll be including the crowned lion rampant clutching the sword into the house's heraldry, coupled with a thorned "rose" (derived from the House name). The base is representative of their as-yet-unnamed Knight World, once dubbed a "garden world" which now struggles between the rampant overgrowth of its superforests and the planet's status as an agri-world. The Knights make regular forays into the forests, both to expand and protect the borders of their fortress-city-states, and to hunt down the forbidden cults and mighty beasts that haunt them. If you notice the shield on the ground (next to the Comtesse's left foot), that's there because only the Knights, their men-at-arms, and the Sisters of battle are permitted to use "modern" technology. Smaller militia forces and the rest of the planet's population are forced to make do with medieval level technology in all aspects of their lives save for farming. Whether that's by tradition or simply to keep those filthy peasants in their place is a matter of interpretation.

And now, after the fun, we come to my problem (and the reason I need advice). You'll note a distinct lack of transfers on the Knight. The aren't many there because I didn't have the money to order the Knight Transfer when I placed my order, and GW customer service has just informed me that the sheet was a limited item and will not be available again now that it's sold out (RAGE!). Luckily, I have a friend who's pretty good with ye olde pencil and paper and Photoshop, and is willing to help me develop some homemade transfers. Neither of us has ever done this before, so we're sailing into unknown waters. Any advice? Recommended transfer paper (we both have inkjet printers already)? Any pitfalls to avoid, or other helpful experience?

Thanks for taking the time to look! C&C welcome as always, even if you don't have any transfer advice to offer.

[That Guy Matt]

I have nothing to add about transfers and stuff, sorry.

 

I just wanted to say you've done a great job on this and I'm looking forward to seeing the concepts for the other parts of your army coming together.

[deathspectersgt7]

Look at some flag and shield transfers from Little Big man.The Knight looks Great.

[jeremy1391]

Wow! That is beautiful!

[Son of Carnelian]

Remember: there is no higher canon than your own hobby. I think she looks GREAT and your backstory makes perfect sense for what you want to accomplish. Rock on!

[RolandTHTG]

The knight looks awesome. Very vibrant.

Didn't one transfer sheet come in the box? I thought the limited edition one was extra transfers, for the ones that were mentioned in the codex, but not provided in the box.

[The Acid Dog]

The other transfer sheet is significantly larger, and includes such things as kill markings, additional symbols, options for several famous Freeblades (the vines for the Knight Amaranthine would be very useful for making the rose I want), personal heraldry markings... the list goes on.  It is, frankly, one of the most impressive transfer sheets I've ever laid eyes on.

[TalonZahn]

You just need some Laser Decal Paper and you can make a decal of anything you want. Just print the design on it and get to work. There's usually clear back and white back papers.

 

Back in "Ye Olden Days" there were kits that you printed on paper, then sprayed stuff on the paper that turned them into decals.

 

In these future times, Decal Paper and a Laser Printer, you're all set.

 

Knight looks great btw. :P

[sugar-free]

Wow i almost picked the same colors. Looks sweet. Good job!

[JeffTibbetts]

Oh, you're just asking me for a wall of text here… I'll try to pare it down.

First off, I'm not even kidding when I say that's my favorite knight so far of all the ones I've seen. I'm sure I've missed some, but the quartered look is to die for. I wasn't sure a quartered scheme would work, but the way you've duplicated the quartering on the face, the weapon shield, the shoulders, and again on the legs was absolutely the way to go. Amazing work.

On transfers: This is something I've been thinking a LOT about. I had not heard the Knight ones were limited edition! I wish I would have seen that. I have printed my own transfers on an ink jet printer and I know lots of other forum members have done the same. Check out the tutorials section and you'll find some good info there. I would suggest seeking out a pretty good printer but any ink or laser jet will do with the right paper. There are lots of decal papers out there, and you should be able to find some inkjet compatible, clear backed paper pretty affordably online. Remember that you can't print white, though, without getting some very expensive custom work. I had a whole post recently on my misadventures trying to find someone to do it, and my frustration at every turn. I have strongly considered purchasing my own white-ink printer but the startup investment just isn't happening right now. Needless to say, I've been putting a lot of effort into the problem.

With your strong base colors, you may have a hard time printing a decal that will look good, since the colors will be a bit translucent without a white layer to make them pop. Keep that in mind when you're designing. If you want to go easy on yourself, I'd consider actually printing just the outlines in black or colored ink and then painting over the top. It's like a coloring book for geeks! The other alternative is to print on WHITE-backed paper to get good color, but I've had real problems with this in my projects. I printed my chapter badge on white, and then just painted green around the edges, but despite experimenting with using chemicals to soften the decal, gloss coats and other finishes, I have never been able to satisfactorily get rid of the paper edging being visible. Sometimes it's better than others, but it's a lot of work. I've heard from others that they had success, but it's been a huge and ongoing issue for me to get the results that a clean white-printed transfer would get me.

But really, hit me up if you want more info. I've been looking into this a lot.

[The Acid Dog]

Thanks everyone!  I'm glad you all like the colors and the split scheme.  Keeping all of those armor plates off the model and painting them all like that was more work than I expected, but completely worth it!  I want to pick up more knights and paint them already.

My next plan (once I get the money) will be to get two Knights Errant for a sister/brother duo, paint one in a slightly varied take on the Blue/Red scheme, and then paint the other with the colors reversed.  I can't wait to try it!

TalonZahn, I'll check around to see if anyone I know has a laser printer. Thanks!

JeffTibbets, I'll be sending you a PM for more advice in a little bit.

[Inquisitor Kravin]

Fantastic. I love the model (of course) but also the base and the background. Bretonnia seems like a great model for the Knight World forces as the Knight World's are described as Feudal Agri-Worlds.

I like the mention of the forest beasts - now all you need is someone to convert up an army of big forest critters for you to hunt.

[Gillyfish]

I like it. A lot. Tibbets' advice is sound, although you might also like to try free hand (or not ;)).

 

There are some commercially available transfers that might have some of the emblems you're after, but I don't know if they would be the right size. Printing your own sounds to be the best bet.

[Morningshadow]

Love it! Super sharp paint scheme. The only thing I would say is drill out those stubber barrels