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(Forgive the first few posts; they’ll be a bit rambling as I try to catch up with what I’ve already done.)

 

 

Warhammer 40,000.

For the uninitiated Warhammer 40,000 (40K) from Games Workshop (GW), is a massive, decades old tabletop wargame which is now on its 8th edition. Backed by countless books fleshing out the massive background storyline to the joy of GW who according to Wiki had revenue of £158 million last year! (If you’ve never seen a tabletop wargame, just think of the figures as fancy chess pieces. The whole setting is basically Lord of the Rings in space, with orcs, elves with added Terminator /Aliens etc.)

 

Back in ’87, me mates and I were all long haired teens into heavy metal, D&D, Tolkien, Sci-Fi etc. Ideal GW fodder, ripe for the fleecing. Reasonable pocket money prices, a lead/pewter Marine cost 75p and a plastic Space Marine boxset cost a grand total of £10 for 30 Marines (which now costs £30 for 10 Marines!). I remember being in the ‘Orc’s Nest’ games shop in central London the day the box set of three Rhinos (futuristic  M113 APCs) came out, £10 for 3! (now £22 each). Heady days full of rose tinted memories, playing massive 40K battles on my mates dads garage floor. (Oh, and the two missing Primarchs were there so that ‘you’ could make up your own:pipe:.)

 

My first attempt at painting a Marine army was with good ol’ Humbrol enamels, I had a reasonably sized army painted up to ‘tabletop’ standard.

o8qpm9V.jpg Mid 80's paintjob.

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Couple of years later. A mate from college ends up being the manager at the Games Workshop store in Dalling Road, Hammersmith, another friend at GW in Oxford St (probably one of the only female members of shopstaff they had at the time).

Our little Tribe weren’t your typical clichéd socially inept wargamers , trips to GW and playing wargames and role playing games were mixed in with pubs, clubs, gigs and all that malarkey, but we were definitely ‘Fanboys’ throwing our spare cash at GW and having a good time.

 

Wargaming bits and bobs were eventually put away to make way for ‘wine, women and song’;). Oh, and ‘work, responsibilities and bills’:(.

 

Fast forward to 2006, and in a nostalgic (mad) moment I briefly rekindle my love of 40K and splurge out on all manner of figures (metal and plastic), boxsets and vehicles. I knocked up some ‘Imperial Guard’ tanks and figures, but ended up treating them more like normal models rather than gaming pieces. (I gave up on photobucket, so had to copy these photos off another forum)

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 I soon realised that I was now a ‘modeller’ rather than a ‘gamer’, so once again the ‘little men’ were put away to concentrate on Spitfires and Messerschmitts etc.

 

Fast forward to now, and I see some of the some of the impresssive builds on here and the wonderful stuff GW is now knocking out.

I can hear the Ruinous Powers whispering in my ear… So I end up in the loft rummaging through boxes to try to pick up where I left off…. With a few newly bought extras of course!

 

I’ve never been much of a figure painter. Most of my efforts have been mediocre at best, painted to get them into play rather than for show. I’d like to try to at least finish off what I started years ago, even if the results are not as good as I’d hope.

 

 

TL/DR : old toys from out of the loft repainted!

 

Mart

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SPACE MARINES!

 

Not these ones…

92hTgDz.gif

 

These!

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Genetically altered SuperSoldiers, humanities’ finest warriors, equipped with the finest equipment, blah blah bla…

 

Basically, big blokes in big powered armour suits with big guns.

 

They come in different ‘flavours’, each belonging to a different ‘Chapter’ consisting of a thousand Marines. There are some established Games Workshop chapters with their own background (fluff) and colours and markings, or you can make up your own. After many false starts I gave up trying to come up with my own, so I’m going with the ‘Crimson Fists’. Dark blue armour with a crimson fist (surprisingly!). The Crimson Fists were the cover boys for the very first edition of the game rules.

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I’ll also be doing a few other Marines from different Chapters, but if you know your 40K background they’ll all be Dorn related.

 

 

Before I start on some of my newer acquisitions, I’d better show what I’ve been up to so far.

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Some of these plastic miniatures have been stripped of paint numerous times over the years so please forgive the somewhat ragged appearance of some of them. The yellow ones are my previous attempt at making my own Chapter, but as some of you know yellow is not that great to paint and they looked a bit garish. Remember: “Camouflage is the colour of Cowardice!”

 

Strip! Using IPA rather than the smelly Dettol I used in the past. IPA is much easier, and even removed the Halfords primer that I used to use.

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Undercoat with Stynylrez.

Sprayed Vallejo ModelAir 091 Insignia Blue all over.

Sprayed 50/50 mix Vallejo GameAir 722 Ultramarine Blue and ModelAir 091 Insignia Blue at about 45°.

Sprayed 1/1/1 mix Vallejo GameAir 722 Ultramarine Blue,  ModelAir 091 Insignia Blue and GameAir 747 Wolf Grey. Mainly on the top and as highlights on various bits.

Slather on some Citadel ‘Badab Black’ wash all over.

YcWhs6u.jpg

 

The heads were sprayed Vallejo ModelColor flesh (815 I think, the pot is so old the writings worn off), followed by various Citadel washes of red, brown and sepia. (All Space Marine Sergeants go into dangerous combat bare headed, it’s the rules!)

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Paint a few thin highlights using the blue mixes and watercolour pencils along the top edges of various parts, didn’t quite work out, but I’ll give it another go later.

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Here are a few shots of what you start with. Airfix Multipose style. The moulding on these older kits is so-so, not that sharp, but not too bad. The plastic is very soft and easy to cut, chop and convert.

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The legs get a bit repetitive in their look, so I’ve sliced off the ‘purity scroll’ detail on some of them (wax seals holding on parchment containing the Marines devotion-yadda-yadda). Conga!

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The arms are also a bit repetitive, so I’ve chopped them around a bit to add a bit of variety.

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Now I’ve caught up with myself, the rest of this thread will probably go at my usual snail’s pace.

 

FOR THE EMPEROR!

 

Mart

 

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As well as the rank and file, there’s also a range of vehicles.

 

Space Marine bike. (Judge Dredd called, he wants his Intellectual Property back…)

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And a suit of Dreadnought armour. When a Marine Hero is so badly injured almost at the point of death, he can be interred into a suit of life sustaining gigantic armour. “Only in death does duty end!”

tMIXj5f.jpg

 

Mart

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Very nice work, I especially like that Chimera and Leman Russ!. Is the Chimera chassis scratchbuilt? I can see the upper half is from the actual kit, but not sure what's under the Plasticard!

Edited by TheVoidDragon
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Awesome thread, I really like the up-armoured tank and that (Stalwart based?) vehicle is cool as hell.

 

The marines make me so happy, and even more because they're Crimson Fists :) Excellent faces too.

 

In case it helps, I've been using white acrylic ink for edge highlights (like you were doing with the pencils) and it's a lot easier than paint. Might be worth a try?

 

W

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17 hours ago, TheVoidDragon said:

Is the Chimera chassis scratchbuilt?

The wheeled (scout?)Chimera was based on Trumpeters 1/35 ‘JGSDF Type 87 Recon Vehicle’.

 

I have a wheeled Basilisk knocking around that didn’t progress too far. I spent way too long messing around and converting them that I never really got anything finished. I’ll dig them out and hopefully finish them at a later date (perhaps)…:hmmm:

It is funny to look back at what ‘me in 2006’ was up to!

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12 hours ago, Will Vale said:

white acrylic ink for edge highlights

Oh good idea. I’ve got some acrylic inks knocking around somewhere.:yes:

I’m none too keen on the ‘Tron’ style look that a lot of GW style painters go for, edge highlighting everything to within an inch of its life, but the armour does need a little something to make it ‘pop’ a bit. I’ve got some ‘Black Templar’ Marines to do, and their black armour will definitely need some attention to make it stand out a bit.

 

The heads surprisingly turned out way better than I was expecting, or had done in the past. Other than the initial basecoat they’re all done using washes. Almost feels like cheating:D.

 

 

I’ve picked up a few of the new starter sets, so I’ll be adding some of the new larger Space Marines that GW now make (or perhaps, should have made in the first place. The classic GW Marines have always been a tad short for 8' high superhumans).

Oh, and the’ Knights: Renegade’ boxset, which I opened with a maniacal laugh at the sheer amount of plastic in the box, and the fact that for a GW boxset, it’s a genuine bargain!

 

The newer GW kits are great, and miles ahead in terms of sharpness and detail over what I’ve had from GW in the past.

Primaris Marines and Nurgley goodness here we come!:clap2:

 

Mart

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I was suspicious of edge highlights for a long time but I think I'm over that, they're good for adding a crisp clean finish and making things look sharper than they really are. Especially as a final touch over drybrushed highlights, where the messier drybrushing recedes and supports the edge like a blend would, without looking scruffy. Or maybe I've got mini painter's Stockholm Syndrome??

 

I picked up the Knights codex to see all the pretty pictures and I keep looking at the Renegade box. I've painted some of the Sector Mechanicus scenery and while it's a bit of a pain to clean up it's really good to paint.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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19 hours ago, Will Vale said:

I keep looking at the Renegade box.

I’m guessing you’ve done the maths on the value of the contents. You’re getting one Errant, one Paladin and the scenery + rules etc.

It’ll be rude not to buy it!;)

 

Mart

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In the 40K background material the Marines have been through a number of different styles/marks of armour.

To replicate some of the earlier style ‘reinforced’ armour, I’ve used brass pins (from an ill-fated dalliance with wooden ship modelling) to act as the ‘knobbly bits’.

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Other than that, not a lot done so far today. I jumped up into the loft for a rummage around for past treasures, but the heat was quite literally unbearable up there. Just enough time to grab a ‘Black Templars Battleforce’ boxset adding another twenty geezers and a 'Rhino' personnel carrier to the 'to do' pile .:yes:

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Heres a quick shot showing the size difference between the old ‘classic’ Space Marine and the newer ‘Primaris’ Marine.

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And here’s a rather atmospheric fan-made animated version of one of Games Workshop’s audiobooks concentrating on the Black Templars, extremely well done IMHO .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUplioG2DC4

NO PITY! NO REMORES! NO FEAR!

 

Mart

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Next bunch of Marines are ready for painting. I’ve tidied up my previous work, but to be honest ‘me in 2006’ did a fairly reasonable job of assembling them and removing the many mould lines. I’ve also added some extra bits and bobs like extra ammo pouches and grenades to busy them up a bit.

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I’ve made a colour card of some of my blue paints i'll be using, just for reference.

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The three at the top are my main colours base/mid/highlight.  Luckily, I’ve managed to give some of my older out of production GW paints a new lease of life by adding some distilled water to them and shaking the bejesus out of them using a jigsaw holding a ratchet bar clamp!:clap2:

 

Mart

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I’m not the first to come up with the idea, some other silly sausage thought they’d try it out years ago. I’ve used it on occasion with caution, as it can end in tears in moments!

pMvPURr.jpg

 

As Corporal Dwayne Hicks once said “Short, controlled bursts" holding a free hand almost cupping but not touching the pot.

I bare no responsibility for any loss of limbs or multi-coloured redecoration of your workroom!:D

 

Mart

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Yay! First one almost done and the first Space Marine miniature I’ve painted in over 12 years.

This particular miniature is out of one of Games Workshops starter boxsets from years ago, so it’s not as detailed as some of the others I have. Worked quite well as a test piece for me to practice on.

 

Veteran Brother Sergeant Álvar de Vaca of the Crimson Fists.

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Most of my highlighting vanished under the matt varnish and the recent warm weather is making it a pain in the bum to paint with acrylics, but all in all I’m reasonably happy with it. He turned out a bit lighter than I was hoping, so something for me to remember for the other twenty odd on the workbench at the mo. There are a few scratches on his armour that I forgot to enhance and a few other odds and ends. Just needs the base changing and job’s a good ‘un.

 

Mart

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All your base are belong to us.

oeWxA7i.jpgEFZd4Y0.jpg

Re-based and tidied up a bit.

Gosh, these blown up photos are merciless at showing your cock-ups:lol:. It’s bigger than some miniatures, but still only an inch and a quarter to the top of his bonce.

 

It’s a ready detailed base from GWs ‘Sector Imperialis’ base set*, all I had to do was paint it up using mostly washes, metallic drybrushing and some of GWs wonderful crackle ‘Martian Ironearth’ texture paint (thanks to @Will Vale for the heads up:yes:).

 

I was going to start on the big Dreadnought robot thingy next, but I’ve misplaced his lower leg armour bits. I’ll see if I can dig them out or just scratch build them from some plasticard.

 

Mart

 

*Note of caution: The moulded plastic detail in this set is a lot less defined and softer than it looks in Games Workshops photos.

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Not a great deal done this week, I’ve been enjoying the unseasonably warm recent weather. Here we call it a ‘heatwave’, anywhere else it’s just called ‘summer’.

 

I couldn’t find the little armour plates that go on his legs so made some out of styrene tubing cut to shape. Added some rivet detailing with my old Historex punch and die set, which must be at least 20 years old and is still going strong.

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Now I’ve made them, the original plates will probably show up!

 

Made another bike. I thought I had more of them, but I’ll have to pick up a few more to make the ‘squad’ rules legal if I ever decide to actually play. Very easy to build, taking only minutes. Helped by the fact that the GW plastic is very soft (almost soapy) and it’s easy to clean the mould lines. I did add a little detail by adding a few more rivets, and drilling out the blank featureless exhausts and popping in a bit of styrene tube

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The starter boxset that I bought years ago (Assault on Black Reach) also contained another Dreadnought (an easy-build less detailed version), so I now have two of them. To enable me to switch through various weapon configurations, I’ve put magnets in the shoulder joints. Not normally necessary, as the joints are simple ‘pin and socket’ affairs, but the two dreadnoughts have differing size hole joints.

VaWpl8w.jpg?1

 

Mart

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  • 2 weeks later...

I’ve got hardly anything done in the past couple of weeks. The weather has turned my attention to outdoorsy pursuits rather than sitting at a workbench.

 

Finished and primed the bikes, one of which has received its basecoat. I’ll hold fire on these until I get a few more as I want to paint them all at the same time to ensure consistency.

j61ExjB.jpg

 

For the vehicles I’ll use slightly different colours to the troops which hopefully will add a bit of contrast. Vallejo Dark Mediterranean Blue 71.313 is very close to my ‘mid’ colour and I’ll use that instead.

jKjmMva.jpg

 

The dreadnoughts and their weapons are now all magnetised and fully interchangeable. In the 40K game the weapons configurations can be changed dependent on what sort of foe you will face.

Here one is configured for close combat / anti-infantry, and the other long range / anti-armour.

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I’ve detailed up the ‘easy build’ dreadnought to better match the one I’ve already built. Bits of plasticard, wire, guitar string and punch and die rivets were used as well as shaving off some of the moulded on details. (GW has co-operated with Revell and this kit as well as some other ‘easy build’ less detailed ones can now be bought under the Revell label as starter kits complete with paints.)

 

‘In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war riveted construction’:D

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I need to watch out that I don’t go mad on the conversion/detailing, or I’ll end up like I did last time forgetting that these are meant to be ‘gaming pieces’ rather than actual display models.

 

Mart

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  • 2 weeks later...

Plodding on.:D

 

Undercoated in Halfords black and Stynylrez.

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Basecoat in Vallejo 019 Signal Blue.

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First layer of 313 Dark Med Blue.

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Mucking about layer of 266 Dark Blue RLM24.

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This is the moment it could all go horribly wrong.:lol:

Salty Goodness!

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Mart

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That's a lot of salt! The bikes look really good when cleaned up, and your rivets etc. add greatly to the effect.

 

I'd heard the moulded scenic bases were soft, but I'm surprised how dramatic the difference is! It's a pity as the ones they've been adding to the push-fit AOS figures (Shadespire etc.) are really excellent.

 

Lastly, credit for Martian Ironearth goes to Andy Moore, I'd not trusted it (as a new product) but he used it on an Admech model and it looked awesome, I'm a convert :)

 

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Sydonian Dragoon by Andy Moore, on Flickr

 

^^ Andy's Ironstrider.

 

Will

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Round one. Ding Ding. I now have blue salt crystals all over my workbench!:D

Gives me a good reason to have a tidy up. (Yes, I am one of those weird modellers who actually tidies up their work area.)

2XfT7yx.jpg

 

19 hours ago, Will Vale said:

That's a lot of salt!

It’s more for an overall effect rather than any form of ‘salt chipping’. Ive played around with it before and it’s a quick and easy way to get reasonable results.

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That texture paint really is amazing. I’m tempted to use it on the armour of one of my Nurgle Marines from the starter set.

 

Mart

 

Edited by LotusArenco
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Mart, what's this Stynylrez stuff like? Google/YouTube is filled with formerly skeptical painters singing it's praises- but they're spraying at 30psi? Is that what it takes? Or can it be used (or thinned) to dial in less than a typhoon through your brush?

 

The results are impressive! About time someone gave the other Fists some lovin'!

 

                                               There is only the Emperor

 

                                           He is our shield and protector!

 

 

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17 hours ago, oileanach said:

what's this Stynylrez stuff like?

It’s ok. I won’t give it any higher praise than that.

Certainly better than the Vallejo primer, but not the Wunderwaffe me as an acrylic user was hoping for. And it is genuinely sandable, unlike some acrylic primers. Personally I find it to be a bit finicky in use as seen here:

I now only use it where I’m not likely to be masking and therefore ideal for priming miniatures. Other users seem to have no problems, so perhaps it’s an error between the airbrush and the chair.

 

The high psi is due to its fairly thick nature. I’d be unlikely to go as high as 30, but it still needs a bit higher than usual. Although I have sprayed it at normal airbrushing pressures when I’ve forgot to turn up the compressor.

 

And if anyone’s interested in playing about with salt, have a read through this that Chuck540Z3 posted.

Salt for the Salt god!

 

Mart

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That green Gundam (?) leg is extremely good. And thanks for the link, I remember reading that a few years ago but was never brave enough to try it on something like an aircraft - all those internal spaces to fill with water! Makes lots of sense on 40K stuff though.

 

The result seems to be a bit like you'd get by sponging on paint/washes, but with more control and less tendency to skip the concave areas because the sponge can't reach them?

 

Will

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19 hours ago, Will Vale said:

all those internal spaces to fill with water!

I brush off most of the salt with a wet brush before a quick rinse under the tap (remember to put in the plug!), dependent on the model you will get some water ingress doing it this way but at least you’re sure all the salt has been removed.

 

The leg is from this chap (1/144 ‘Man Rodi’ from Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans).

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The intention is to eventually put him in a small diorama with Barbatos about to tear him a new one.:D

mMMnXCr.jpg

 

 

I added another layer of salt on the top areas and shot a light coat of blue over it.

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it’s quite hard to tell how much paint is actually reaching the surface and it’s easy to overdo it. The effect is purely me mucking around to try and make the dreadnought look old and ancient as befits the 40K background. (The dreadnoughts in the game are usually hundreds of years old revered relics, only used in extreme circumstances. It’ll be hard for me to try to replicate something that’s supposed to be ancient, yet well looked after as befits its status.)

 

By the time I’ve painted the other areas, done a wash and a bit of shading I’m hoping the effect will be darkened and toned down a bit as he looks a bit 'Ultramarine' rather than 'Crimson Fist'. If it comes to it I’ll just airbrush a thin coat of the original colour.

 

Mart

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  • 2 weeks later...

What would be the point of a Crimson Fist Dreadnought without its Crimson Fist?

The ‘power fist’ weapon in the 40k game setting is a rather nasty piece of kit. An armoured glove that generates an energy field around it and is capable of tearing holes in the side of armoured vehicles. The one fitted to a Dreadnought more so due to its size!

 

Salt again, to keep it similar to what I’ve already done. Black undercoat sprayed over with Vallejo 814 Burnt Cad Red, add salt, overspray with Vallejo 72.711 Gory red.  I removed the salt but the effect was minimal, so I added more salt and applied a further coat of more 814 Burnt Cad Red mixed with a drop of black.

rMU9ckD.jpg

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Some of the Crimson Fist miniatures I see online seem to go for a brighter scarlet red than I’ve gone for. I’m trying to keep my Crimson Fists more toned down in colour and towards a darkish red/purple colour range similar to a red oxide colour.

 

The mechanical gubbins have been sprayed with Vallejo Metal Color 77.713 Jet Exhaust followed with a bit of 77.720 Gunmetal Grey. I’ve used a bit of Tamiya panel line accent colour here and there on the blue bits to add a bit of shading.

LsEpJbz.jpg

 

I’ve still got an overall wash to do which should tone the whole lot down a bit more.

 

Mart

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