Heldrakes - how to paint them?!

[SyNidus]

So yesterday i got my first Heldrake and in a frenzy i finished assembling it in a couple of hours. As i sat contemplating it's majestic body the awkward question came to mind...


How on earth am i going to paint this damned thing?!

Specifically, i'm hoping to get some ideas from you fine folks regarding how i could go about painting it to fit the rest of my Night Lords army.

For reference, my Night Lords will not be painted using a simple coat of Kantor blue with nuln and drakenhof shades washed over it. Rather, i intend instead to take the forgeworld route of Base coat of ironbreaker before a thin coat of soulstone blue (mixed with spiritstone red and drakenhof to give a darker hue).

This produces a nice metallic blue shade. How do i get that onto the Heldrake without messing up the gold "trim" parts?

[Trevak Dal]

Well, some bad news you might already see, its way easier to paint if the wings and legs aren't on. (Not to mention store, but that requires pinning and magnetizing the wings).

 

I hit mine with Rust-Oleum automotive primer that I use for my world eaters (it's a red but looks more brown) then I base paint/drybrush khorne red over it all, then I use brass colored sharpie marker to do all the damnable detailing, go back with khorne red to fix stuff, do some detail work, do the little cable tails in a silver and then Badab wash the silver, and shade the red and bronze with carromburg crimson.

 

And done.

 

Edit: to clarify: I don't super obsess over what my guys look like. I am not just going to glop paint on them, but I'm not going to screw around with 10-15 coats of a color or highlight either. I'd love to repaint my Raptors...but as long as it took me to paint them as black legion and as much of a pain as that was, it burned me out for a long time on painting, and thinking about stripping it and repainting them gives me stress farts.

 

For yours, whatever you prime it, you are going to have to cover it with that ironbreaker. That will be a bitch. The shades/jewel shades will have to be in such quantities that you will probably need a second big brush or maybe a piece of sponge to keep it from pooling up-i don't have any experience with those paints, but too much shade on a wide flat vehicle surface leaves it looking drab, so you will have to dab the drab away.

 

Since you are looking to mix this stuff beforehand or on the fly? (have you tried any larger models with this method? It sounds very experimental and labor intensive...with a lot of ':cuss can go wrong' mixed in).

Edited October 9, 2017 by Trevak Dal

[Sgt. Blank]

I painted mine with a brush and it was one of my least favorite models to paint. It's got a challenging combination of flat surfaces, which can be annoying to get even colors on, and tons of trim to work around. Admittedly, I am not very neat as I'm going so maybe you'll have an easier time of it.

 

To answer your question, I think you have to do the midnight blue first and be careful with the trim. As Trevak Dal said, if you can do it in sub assemblies, it's easier. Lastly, if you can store the mix of paint you're using so you have a consistent batch over layers, it will help with consistency.

[Panzer]

I honestly would do all the trims first and then paint the surfaces inbetween. Basically like in Duncans Rubric Tutorial where he does all the gold first (easy step thanks to the spray) and just then paints the blue.

[Arkhanist]

Presuming you don't have an airbrush.

 

Old style forgeworld 30k night lords was drybrushed rub n buff pewter over black primer and polished, then Tamaiya Clear Blue and Clear Red were mixed together to make a clear purple which was applied over the whole model in 3-4 very thin coats, followed by airbrushing with a layer of Auto Air colour Transparent Blue.

 

So option 1 is rub n buff for the silver.

option 2, citadel spray can of leadbelcher over black, and drybrush with iron breaker; probably won't give a very smooth coat.

Option 3 is a spraycan of army painter 'plate metal' over black primer. That is their midtone silver which was equivalent to old GW chainmail; should be brighter than leadbelcher. 

Option 4 would be to find a suitable metallic acrylic car body spray, but I've no ides for outside the UK (UK, try halfords!)

 

I think the army painter spray is the best bet for a solid silver coat. Do the blue in thin layers, rather than gloop it on in one go. i.e. glazing.

 

Once that's done, do a varnish coat to protect the blue. Then do the gold trim; if you're a masochist, do it with a brown layer, then a gold layer, then a silver highlight. Or a bronze, then gold, then silver sharpies if you want to finish sometime this century.

[Raven1]

I did mine in pieces. I think the head/neck, wings, body all separately. I didn't magnetized for easy moving but that would have been a good idea. He basically takes like half of a pluck foam level in my case. That being said not all is lost because what you don't see well or dont see at all dont worry about painting. Edited October 10, 2017 by Raven1

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

Here's how I did mine:

 

1. Spray with Tamiya Mica Blue (#50 I think). The mica chips give a nice creepy reflective coat all around. I find that I like to use the mica color specifically because it gives a multi-directional glimmer, rather than a flat shine on one facing.

2. Paint trim with paint pen of choice (either gold or brass). 

3. Paint internal metal bits and joints with Leadbelcher

4. Wash Leadbelcher with Nuln Oil and trim with Reikland Fleshshade.

5. Touch up any overpainting from the other layers by spraying the Mica Blue onto a paper plate or plastic bag and then brushing on. Note that some of the overflow from the various washes can make good shading if you stop your touchup on the panels JUST short of touching the trim.

 

For my Night Lord ground units, I spray with Mica Blue, then drybrush with Runefang Steel to bring out highlights. Then I do the trim and weapons with reds and various metallics, wash them, and then touch up with more Mica Blue. For lightning, I use a layer of Temple Guard Blue, followed by Ceramite White slightly inside those lines.

Edited October 10, 2017 by GreaterChickenofTzeentch

[SyNidus]

Here's how I did mine:

 

1. Spray with Tamiya Mica Blue (#50 I think). The mica chips give a nice creepy reflective coat all around. I find that I like to use the mica color specifically because it gives a multi-directional glimmer, rather than a flat shine on one facing.

2. Paint trim with paint pen of choice (either gold or brass). 

3. Paint internal metal bits and joints with Leadbelcher

4. Wash Leadbelcher with Nuln Oil and trim with Reikland Fleshshade.

5. Touch up any overpainting from the other layers by spraying the Mica Blue onto a paper plate or plastic bag and then brushing on. Note that some of the overflow from the various washes can make good shading if you stop your touchup on the panels JUST short of touching the trim.

 

For my Night Lord ground units, I spray with Mica Blue, then drybrush with Runefang Steel to bring out highlights. Then I do the trim and weapons with reds and various metallics, wash them, and then touch up with more Mica Blue. For lightning, I use a layer of Temple Guard Blue, followed by Ceramite White slightly inside those lines.

Okay that sounds pretty doable for a crappy painter like me. I'm going to check out the Mica Blue. Do you also use the gold pen for trim for the ground units?

[Daionosis]

I honestly would do all the trims first and then paint the surfaces inbetween. Basically like in Duncans Rubric Tutorial where he does all the gold first (easy step thanks to the spray) and just then paints the blue.

Completely agree. I painted one the normal way, hated life whilst doing it. Did the second with metallic spray and focussing on the trim first (also not having assembled the entire model...) and it was awesome. 

[Trevak Dal]

Yeah that sounds way easier (metallic primer first.)

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

 

Here's how I did mine:

 

1. Spray with Tamiya Mica Blue (#50 I think). The mica chips give a nice creepy reflective coat all around. I find that I like to use the mica color specifically because it gives a multi-directional glimmer, rather than a flat shine on one facing.

2. Paint trim with paint pen of choice (either gold or brass). 

3. Paint internal metal bits and joints with Leadbelcher

4. Wash Leadbelcher with Nuln Oil and trim with Reikland Fleshshade.

5. Touch up any overpainting from the other layers by spraying the Mica Blue onto a paper plate or plastic bag and then brushing on. Note that some of the overflow from the various washes can make good shading if you stop your touchup on the panels JUST short of touching the trim.

 

For my Night Lord ground units, I spray with Mica Blue, then drybrush with Runefang Steel to bring out highlights. Then I do the trim and weapons with reds and various metallics, wash them, and then touch up with more Mica Blue. For lightning, I use a layer of Temple Guard Blue, followed by Ceramite White slightly inside those lines.

Okay that sounds pretty doable for a crappy painter like me. I'm going to check out the Mica Blue. Do you also use the gold pen for trim for the ground units?

 

Not on the ground units. There, I just use a brush.

 

One VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The method of "spray the trim color on first and then paint in the main color" would work great. The only reason I don't do it is that I can't find Mica Blue in a brush paint where I am. It's all sprays and constantly spraying it out and then brushing it on would take just as much time as the pen followed by the touchups. Also, my chosen ground units are very light on trim (Contemptor from Calth, 3rd edition Raptors, current CSM kit, etc.).

 

Oh, and I double checked. Mica Blue is indeed #50. It's a "pearl" type paint intended for RC car bodies.

[Cheex]

If you need to paint the base color first, try grabbing one of these bad boys:

 

 

It goes on surprisingly smooth and you just need to give it a quick wash and highlight.

[SyNidus]

I've tried the Mica spray on a test model, and whilst the metallic sheen is nice, i'm looking for a slightly deeper shade of blue. Any suggestions?

[Prot]

Wash it with Drakenhoff nightshade (or whatever it's called). Do an experiment on a scrap piece of plastic that is already sprayed. You can water down those shades, but Drakenhauf is strong so be careful. These washes definitely take on a darker tone when dry as opposed to when you apply them so I strongly recommend a test, but this should work. (If you want more of a 'blue' hue try it with Guilliman wash).

[Lucerne]

Consider using Vallejo metallic gunmetal blue and washing down to the shade you want rather than messing with the glazes as much.

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

Wash it with Drakenhoff nightshade (or whatever it's called). Do an experiment on a scrap piece of plastic that is already sprayed. You can water down those shades, but Drakenhauf is strong so be careful. These washes definitely take on a darker tone when dry as opposed to when you apply them so I strongly recommend a test, but this should work. (If you want more of a 'blue' hue try it with Guilliman wash).

+1 to what he said. Additionally, be careful, as washes can kill the shine on that paint if they're too thick.

 

If you want it deeper, you can either try the wash or start with another color and wash it down like others have said.