Mars Ascendant

[Stray]

That's a good idea, Stray! They have access to some buffing powers that could provide some utility for the rest of the batallion too. And I'll have an excuse to source up the Imperial Navigator model from FW.

 

Hehe, yeah. I was fooling around in Battlescribe myself today and figured that for a pittance of (I think) 14 points, we can actually get a bit of use out of that second mandatory HQ slot, have a small amount of psychic defence, and maybe even put out a couple of mortal wounds on a good day.

 

Seems a no brainer really - at least on paper.

[brother_b]

Amazing as always. So what will you choose? Krast or Tarannis? I'm heavily considering Krast.

[Marshal Reinhard]

I've been fiddling with a Knight Gallant this weekend in between grading an enormous stack of papers. Not quite finished with either yet - let me know what you think. Any suggestions on how to improve him?

 

 

He's very unique! Not sure I'm the right person to advice.. But perhaps something more could be done with his banner? really do like the shifting tones of red in it though

[Heliomanes]

Good suggestion, Reinhard! I'll see if I can find some fitting transfers for the banner...

Thank you, Brother B. I think I've stumbled into the following formula. If I'm just fielding the Porphyrion, then I'm going for House Raven for the stratagem. If I'm fielding him and/or warglaives and/or gallants - then House Krast. The reroll is just so strong, especially when they have taken some damage.

[Heliomanes]

I've been looking through my old miniatures and found my Tech Thralls, who I intend to use as Guardsmen while testing some lists. I'm pretty happy to get to use them again - it's been a while since the 30k craze died out around here - and I think they look the part.

Still, I keep thinking that I should spruce them up a bit, but I'm not sure what to do. Perhaps make the skin a bit paler, and use some of that reddish light effect I've been incorporating? Or should I just leave the boys alone? What do you think? Any help is appreciated.

[frosteldar]

They look great and certainly fit the aesthetic of the rest of your forces!  If you want something to draw the eye more, you could paint all the mechanicus skull/cog icons on their chests.  Would add more color to the front.  Incorporating some red lighting would also help tie them in, but the green is nice. Could go with red eye lens and leave the weapons with green power sources? 

[Charlo]

Looking ace!

 

*remembers I have 30 Tech Thralls*

 

I guess Guard Spam is back on the Menu boys!

 

...Though I plan to build some with Chainblades.

[frosteldar]

Yeah, those Tech Thralls look really cool.  I really like the idea of using them as guard when needed!

[Heliomanes]

Glad you like the idea! I have a few Titan Princeps and Moderati incoming to serve as Company commanders and Sargeants.

I really like that suggestion, Frosteldar - thank you! I'll try it out on a few of the unpainted thralls I have lying around.

[Magos Takatus]

Those Tech Thralls look great. You can tell they are low in the Mechanicus pecking order. They look neglected and in urgent need of a tune-up. The weathering is excellent.

[Chaeron]

I really like those Tech Thralls as they are Heliomanes! I like the range of skin tones, and they all look suitably weathered. On mine, I picked out the cog motif on their chests, but I wonder if that might distract from the scheme and dusty nature? The subtlety of the green lenses and other parts is really effective too, and complements the scheme nicely.

[Heliomanes]

Oh man, thanks guys! You make a good point. I'll let these ones be for now, and paint up a few of my unpainted models in a test scheme. Perhaps some variations on the eye lenses would add to the ramshackle appearance of the lot? I'll report back later when I get a few new ones up and running.

Edit: Giggle. Back to the drawing board. The FW Moderati models arrived, and next to the Tech Thralls, they look like slender hobbits. I have to figure out something else for my counts as Sergeants.

[Heliomanes]

So, I painted up a few test models to near completion, largely following advice from you guys. I went with the red eyes, and decided against painting up the admech symbol on their chests for now. I tried to get new variant skintones into the mix, and keep the "neglected" feel. Then I put them together with the old batch and snapped a picture. What do you think? I guess what we ended up going for is a mix of uniformity and variance, contradictions which I think fit pretty good with the fluff for the Thralls.

[Marshal Reinhard]

Those eyes really does a lot for them. They feel a lot more menacing now

[Magos Takatus]

Agreed. The orange red lenses draw the eye to them better than the green lenses.

[Heliomanes]

Just a quick WIP shot of the two Titan Princeps models I'm working on.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Princeps look promising. Your skills are admirable.

[Charlo]

Very nice.

 

How did you achieve the dark and dingy metal?

[Heliomanes]

It's a pretty simple process, really. Mostly just washes and drybrushing - anyone can do it, and it doesn't require precision. Feels a bit messy and fun to do, like playing with your food. Most of my painting techniques are like this, to be frank.

Basecoat a 4:2:1 mix of leadbelcher, brown and black
Black wash
Drybrush leadbelcher. Add in small streaks here and there if you want.
Drown the whole area in seraphim sepia wash. Let it pool up a little here and there to generate textures.

Optional:
Add another layer of drybrushing and streaks using leadbelcher and/or a lighter color, like a silvery metal.
Add another heavy wash of seraphim sepia.
This can be repeated ad nauseam if you want to.

The gradual effect of differently washed metal colors (some streaks have 3 layers of wash, some have 1 etc) will give the metal an aged, weathered and textured look.

The brownish metal on the Kastelans are an example of what just a few layers of this process looks like.

Edit: Oh, and another quick tip. This process relies on painting with washes. Sometimes, when these washes pool up, they will generate a glossy effect that is offputting and detracts from what we are trying to achieve. You fix this quite simply by adding a layer of matte varnish. I use the Vallejo version and just apply it by brush to the affected area like any other paint or wash.


 

[Charlo]

Really nice. Cheers buddy - thinking of doing something similar on my 30k Xana forces.

[brother_b]

Looks awesome again as always. I really love the look of those bot screens such good stuff.

[Marshal Reinhard]

Really really like the striking red and green breaks up and draws attention from the muted metals of brass, copper and dark silver. Really attention catching

[Heliomanes]

Thanks, guys! Really looking forward to seeing what you come up with, Charlo.

Another quick tip:

Use sponges. You know, the little things you get in blister packs of miniatures etc. Rip off a small piece, and dab it in leadbelcher or a more silvery metal. Then dab it on a paper towel until it's nearly all gone.

You then dab it around on the metal parts of the miniature. The natural texture of the sponge will create random patterns of the paint around on the metal. This was used to apply rust and metal texture on the Kastelans, and is my primary method of weathering. You can then drown it in seraphim sepia wash and do the same thing again, if you want to, to create successive layers.

This is just another variant of drybrushing, really - but it creates a natural and not brushlike texture. It's quick and easy to do, and a lot of fun.

[Heliomanes]

They are getting there. Got some thralls with mitralocks coming up to use as sargeants.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I like the officers in red robes and bronze armor.