Rusted Boltgun's WIP

[Rusted Boltgun]

The hobby butterfly strikes again.

 

A little fun with gunk in the direction of Tau

 

 

[Rusted Boltgun]

Adventures in gunk PT.2

More dodgy Tau

 

I'm other news, I did some more work to the Ballistus chassis, re-established the grey on the cultist test models and assembled a Bladeguard in sub-assemblies for priming.

[Rusted Boltgun]

Painting mojo has been lacking recently but it is slowly returning 

 

 

Tried out the marine juice wash and then reapplied base coats of red and green. First red layer applied. Not sure you can call what I do edge highlighting!

[Firedrake Cordova]

The leaves of that deathworld plant must be razor sharp - they've lopped the weapon arms off!   

 

Joking aside, it looks like solid progress  

[Rusted Boltgun]

Got distracted from painting minis again.

 

 

[Rusted Boltgun]

Back to the Fists of Light!

 

I've added more detail to the Ballistus Dreadnought including second layer highlights. Photos to follow as it is back in a box.

 

Basecoats have started on one of the three Bladeguard 

 

 

I've gone for brown leather (my standard VGC Beasty Brown) this time. Wondering whether it should be the standard leather colour for the FoL.

[Rusted Boltgun]

A quick and dirty group shot of the updates to the dreadnought chassis, the basecoats on the Bladeguard and all the chapter icons added yesterday in an effort to properly complete them before moving on to something else.

 

 

Still have the battleline icons to add so only halfway there....

[Rusted Boltgun]

So the next set of transfers didn't go so well, I cut the Assault crosses to close and had to bin them all. Set aside for another day.

 

Then the Knives in the Void 2025 challenge popped up so I have fluttered back over to Kill Team!

 

Whilst the challenge is (at least) one Kill Team over a three month period, I could get distracted again after next weekend (this should really be a blog, I ought to rectify that).

 

So yesterday I cut, trimmed, assembled and primed some Vespid Stingwings 

 

 

Hand primed in black as it is too cold to use my airbrush in the shed and I try to avoid rattle cans. And have given them a drybrush of VGC Bonewhite.

 

 

Now to decide whether to go traditional base, layer, etc or attempt contrast. I'm not great with contrasts as I make too many mistakes and correcting errors makes a too obvious 'patch'. At least, it does when I do it. Bit I reckon these sculpts would take contrast well...

 

[Brother Christopher]

25 minutes ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

Now to decide whether to go traditional base, layer, etc or attempt contrast. I'm not great with contrasts as I make too many mistakes and correcting errors makes a too obvious 'patch'. At least, it does when I do it. Bit I reckon these sculpts would take contrast well...

 

Oh, yeah - I feel these thoughts and concerns.

 

Vespids seem like perfect models for trying out contrasts. Having said that, if I were to do it, I'd probably stick to the 'traditional approach.' I've never tried contrast paints for painting whole models (I have very limited experience with white and black Vallejo contrast-style paints that I actually use more like washes/inks) but it seems to either be a solution for beginner painters (allowing them to get models done with limited skills), speed painters or pro painters (who appear to find all sorts of applications for these kinds of paints). To me, for mid-tier users, contrast paints seem like a big investment (money-wise) with diminished returns. I also imagine that if you fail to paint a model properly the first time, it's harder to fix mistakes.

 

My conservative advice is this: do it the 'traditional' way and perhaps add a bit more drybrushing to the organic bits of the models.

[Rusted Boltgun]

I'm not convinced that Contrasts are any quicker than the 'trad' method. Unless you don't shade or highlight afterwards.

I've watched a couple of videos on painting the Vespids, both use contrasts and I have the paint already so I'm thinking I might give it a go. If I don't practice with Contrasts, I'll never improve. Stil mulling it over...

 

Wings and lower abdomen have more VGC bone bit need another coat. Rest has been drybrused with VGC Arctic White.

 

[Brother Christopher]

1 hour ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

I've watched a couple of videos on painting the Vespids, both use contrasts and I have the paint already so I'm thinking I might give it a go. If I don't practice with Contrasts, I'll never improve. Stil mulling it over...

 

In that case, go for it! It'll surely be a fresh and fun hobby experience. And in any case: should you not be satisfied with the look of the model, you can get back to 'traditional paints' later.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Is this any help?

 

 

[Rusted Boltgun]

Thanks @Firedrake Cordova, the Warhispter always makes working with Contrast look so effortless. And his work is so neat. 

Both he and the Citadel vid use Gryphhound Orange as the base so that's what I'm going to start with. 

Third coat of Bonewhite is done, claws are all Black Legion so orange is next....

[sitnam]

FWIW, I did my Vespid in contrast and I think it worked fairly well. I did purple mind you, but from my experience Vespid are a great canvas for contrast. Anything organic where you are doing big swathes in one color work well imo. I don't think it is really faster unless your trying to do some of the funky zenithal stuff, but I like the look contrast paints give organic sculpts

[Rusted Boltgun]

Thanks @sitnam, your Vespid look great. I especially like the grey wings against the purple. 

 

Well, I went for it. They aren't as bright as those in the videos with a pure Wraithbone spray but I like the effect I got, especially against the Bonewhite wings.

 

 

Unfortunately, quite a bit of tidying to do and my worst fears were realised when I got orange on the weapons. I am not yet neat enough with Contrast. I find it works best with a brush that has a decent belly and I used a Citadel medium shade brush. I needed something with a better point though so if I try this again,  I will have a go with an R&Co size 1 or 2.

 

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

I think part of the issue might be that the M Shade brush isn't the pointiest of brushes.

 

If you're looking at Rosemary & Co brushes, have a look at their Series 33 size 3 or Series 99 size 3 or 4 - they hold noticeably more paint and are still quite pointy as long as you don't over-load them.

[Rusted Boltgun]

Thanks @Firedrake Cordova, I'll invest in some more R&Co. Their size 0 is my workhorse but I should branch out more!

[Firedrake Cordova]

I don't know if this is any help - it's really not a great image (I didn't have the time to take all of the bristle sleeves off and find a nice white background but figured the silhouette would give an idea of the size and shape of the tuft):

Left to right: Raphael 8404 size 000-3, Isabey 6228 size 1, Jackson's 1205 size 1, DaVinci Series 35 size 1-2, DaVinci Series 10 size 1-2, Rosemary & Co Series 33 size 1-4, Series 99 size 2-5, Series 8 size 2

[Rusted Boltgun]

Thank you, that is really useful. Do you have particular uses for particular brushes or do you find the same sizes from different brands are interchangeable? The Isabey 6228 size 1, Jackson's 1205 size 1 look quite different to me.

 

Using a larger brush has seemed counter-intuitive to me (but I'm painting small things, I need a small brush) but I'll be putting an order in soon, I think. 

 

I put some Corax White on the weapons last night and realised that the tip on my size 0 is now less than optimal so a new one will be requisitioned from stores.

 

I've a plan for the underside of the wings but still not sure about decoration on the upper surfaces. They'll need yet another layer of Bonewhite before anything else anyway.

[Firedrake Cordova]

23 minutes ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

Thank you, that is really useful. Do you have particular uses for particular brushes or do you find the same sizes from different brands are interchangeable?

If you ignore the number stamped on the handle (because the numbers aren't standardised) and just look at the tuft itself, then broadly speaking, yes, they're interchangeable. Some do feel different in terms of how the tuft feels, or how the handle feels, but you're getting into the realms of personal preference. I tend to default to "the cheapest option that gets the job done", which means Series 99's or 33's (the Raphael 8404's and W&N Series 7's are at least twice what I paid for them now).

 

23 minutes ago, Rusted Boltgun said:

Using a larger brush has seemed counter-intuitive to me (but I'm painting small things, I need a small brush) but I'll be putting an order in soon, I think. 

It's all about how fine a point the brush comes to. A larger brush with a fine point means it holds more paint (so you can paint for longer between "refills") and holds more moisture (so the paint takes longer to dry on the brush).  

[Rusted Boltgun]

Having a coffee and thinking about next steps.

 

 

 

Another layer of white on the weapons, control packs and helmets.

Tidy up the orange.

Make sure I have got all the claws black.

Start on the basing elements.

Skeleton Horde on the wing membranes.

[ZeroWolf]

Looks like it's coming out well 

[Firedrake Cordova]

Looks like they're coming along nicely.  

 

Looking at the second one, I was wondering if it was worth giving them a very gentle highlight around the eye sockets (it looks like it can probably be done with a careful drybrush), but they look noticeably less raised on the first one.

Edited January 12 by Firedrake Cordova

[Rusted Boltgun]

Just home after a Sculpting for Heresy course put on by Heresy Hammer and led by Anpharius (Baz).

 

Phew. My brain is fried, my eyes are shot and my shoulders are killing me but I had the best time. Met some lovely people and Baz is a fantastic course leader.

 

I haven't got any decent photos and the light is going now so I'll save them for another day.

 

I reckon I was the oldest and weakest attendee and Baz assisted with quite a bit of remedial work on my minis but my technique certainly improved overnight and I feel more comfortable and confident using green stuff moving forwards. Practice will be key.

[ZeroWolf]

That sounds like a fun idea for a course. Did you need any experience going in or could a beginner have done it?