+ Revelation +
+ Indulge me on the portentous title to this inload; there's nothing hugely new here! However, it's a good demonstration of what's I've got on the blocks. +
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+ 'You ever been mistaken for a Cadian?' 'No, have you?' +
+ First off, sergeant 'Ripper' Jackson; the new Catachan sergeant. Lord Blood the Hungry was kind enough to pick up a box for me, as I was otherwise indisposed over the weekend. Absolutely fantastic little model; and if GW release a Catachan squad kit of this quality, I am in like Flynn. +
+ A very nicely engineered kit, the joins are well hidden when you construct her. Loads of beautiful details, from the relatively crude bionics to the characterful expression and pose; Jackson just bleeds bad-ass. I'm especially taken by the integrated base, which goes a huge way to making her look at home in the jungle. A word of warning for those about to construct your own version of the kit – the fern is delicate, and one of the sprue attachment points is near the tip. I managed to ping the end off, and had a few grumpy minutes scrabbling around trying to find the tip of a plastic toy leaf! +
+ Jackson is going to join Inquisitrix Barbari Kills for a bit – but with a mind to a future Catachan project, her base won't match the Gatebreakers. I've long fancied doing a Kroot/Catachan/jungle 'thing'. Whether that ends up in two small opposing forces, a combined army of some sort, or merely remains a pipe dream, I do not yet know. +
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+ RH1N0 utility tractor Armoured Personnel Carrier +
+ Regular inloaders will know my dread/loathing/fear of painting tanks. Few of my usual techniques work, and I just find them a drag. As a result, when I was seized by the infrequent desire to work on one, I went for it! +
+ The tracks – and some other fun accessories – are not pictured, but are currently drying, too. You'll spot the Rhino's on a base: that's part of my plan to help frame the piece and to give it a bit of additional height. It'll still look rather undersized in comparison with the infantry, but hopefully not too markedly. The large oval size base seems to fit the Rhino well; not so large that it's obstrusive, but not so small it gets lost. +
+ Painting it was partly an exercise in trying new techniques, and partly a dry run for painting the Gatebreakers' Land Raider. I used stippling to build up the red here in the following layers:
1_ Vallejo Flat Red
2_ Vallejo Flat Red, Dryad Bark and Xereus Purple
3_ Vallejo Flat Red, Vallejo Off-white and cadmium yellow
+ Stippling – that is, holding a brush perpendicular to the surface and tapping it up and down to deposit subtle dots of paint – allowed me to build up some variation and visual texture without an air-brush style smooth gradient. I think the latter would be great for Eldar tanks or similar, but I see Space Marines as a bit more rough-and-ready. Some texture on the tank also helps sell it as a scale model of a battle tank. Big smooth flat surfaces can easily look toy-like.
+ I use an old 20mm (¾in) flat brush, which had started to splay for the stippling, which sped things up considerably, and avoided the repetitive identifiable 'stamp' which you can get with a smaller or round brush. +
+ From the details above, you'll note I've supplemented the effect with some edge highlighting. This throws some of the more important lines into contrast, and helps to make the model 'pop'. The lower left detail shows the glazed windows, a detail I'm absurdly – and quite disproportionately! – proud of. They were made with blister plastic glued to the inside with PVA (don't use superglue, as it can fog). +
+ The markings are still to go on; I'll use the original as a guide, but likely modify things a touch. The big flat markings look great on Tim Prow's clean, crisp original, but my grungier style is nowhere near as clear and accomplished. I think my work will be better suited to more 'realistic' stencil-type markings. There's a balance to be struck between making it recognisable and making it my own. +
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+ Legion Sumer-Nikator +
+ These moderati build on the collector's project covered here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and use all my favourite paints – Macharius Solar Orange and Hawk Turquoise (for the accents), Dheneb Stone (for the fatigues), and Charadon Granite (for the helmet, boots and so forth). +
+ Lovely little sculpts, these are unaltered. +
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+ Gatebreakers: Emblem +
+ The Eremite known as Emblem (above) has got some paint down on him. He's got to be varnished, and then I'll be doing a batch of burnt umber oil washes on him and the arms for the soldiers below. +
+ For the coat, I'm planning on using the same deep worn leather look I used on Nayam Shai Murad's coat [+noosphericinloadlink emdedded+], as this looks practical and utilitarian, and will also give some nice eye-catching contrast. +
+ Having lots of projects on the go can sometimes be paralysing; making you feel like you're not getting anywhere with any of them. Try to bear in mind that none of this is a job. There are no deadlines save those you set yourself; and painting should be full of enjoyment. +
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