Wolves Army Scheme Tests

[Prot]

I'm still trying to juggle a bunch of ideas here. Not sure which way to go.

I took in a lot of opinion and advice from a wide range of people too, and somewhere in the middle I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with the time/result combo. I always think in terms of finishing an 'army'.

One of the early figs using Enamels:

Above is probably the quickest. But it hides any real work put into the colours. Which is good and bad. Also Enamel stinks! (literally)

This is one of the more 'real' looking, banged up marines though. Which has it's own merits.

Then I moved onto the above scheme. Which has no Enamels but liberal washes with oils. There is more time spent on transitions, and blending (because you can actually see it better without the figure being covered in heavier wearthering techniques). So there is only sponge 'chipping', and a sand weathering wash (I would put them on an orange/cream coloured environment). However, the tie spent on the background is still diminshed, or lost by the weathering.

Oils compared to Enamels (Enamel scheme is quickest, and stinkiest!)

So then I decided to try the following:

Above: Maximum time spent on transitions. These models go from purple/blue all the way up to green/sky blue. The only wash is a careful oil pin wash.

To keep most of the work visible, it is weathered, but only slightly, with a home made mixture of sand pigments, and a bit of colour. And careful, light sponge/brush chipping.

This does preserve most of the underlying work at least. The problem? This takes a ton of time for me! Finishing an army with this process might be not just... unrealistic, but might fatigue the heck out of me before I finish. But so far I think it is my preference for scheme. The colour here was meant to go from a feeling of a stormy/ice feel.

That's about it for now.

Also hammering out some new recipes for an old Legion revisited:

[jaxom]

I like the oil pin-wash one the most. The more colour versions armour colors remind me of 2nd edition Space Wolves, but seems a bit off because the other colors are not as bright and I'm just not used to seeing it on that much Space Marine.

 

The only critique I have of the first three is that my brain keeps switching the perception of the top layer between weathering and a too-wet drybrush; like, is it a duck or a rabbit style-picture. That may very much just be me.

[Prot]

Thanks. Just FYI there is no dry brushing in these models and the wetness in the first three might be the enamels or oils being a tad slick still?

[Cadmus Tyro]

I think it really depends what final look you want to achieve. The enamel looks like a great option for a weathered and gritty appearance, but it’s acting as a filter over the lighter colours and therefore changing the tone of the grey, which I quite like in some ways. It’s perhaps applied a little heavily in areas, particularly around the smaller details which makes it a little hard to judge. Perhaps more care around these areas with a pin wash and a smaller brush would help.

 

The oil looks great, pin washing helps maintain the original colour. The advantage I find with oils is there longer working time but also the control you can achieve with different ratios of oil to thinner. So I might give the whole model a light wash with very thin oil and then a pin wash to deepen the recesses. I think the issue I have with oils is apparent in your example. It doesn’t sit well in the more shallow recesses (eg the joint under between the knee cap and thigh).

 

I tend to use all three, oils for a general wash and then a heavier pin wash. Acrylic washes to deepen the effect where the oil will not sit properly and enamels for more intense spot weathering and to change the tone of certain areas like metals.

 

Also, what are you using to seal the paint prior to oils?

 

Cadmus

[Morngrym]

I like the "Oil pin wash 2" versions.  Well worth the time put into them in my opinion.  

[Prot]

Thanks very much.... I am not sure this is worth the time involved. I did have my first game, and these Wolves feel far more... potent in close combat than my White Scars do. However I do enjoy the speed of the Scars, even though there are a LOT more options for Wolves.

Anyway, this Bjorn model took a dog's age for me to finish (pun intended).

Edited May 19, 2022 by Prot