+ inload: Endworlds +

+ Whatever happened to Barbari Kills? +

The cover was up. For whatever reason, humans did not adapt well to the empty night skies of the galaxy's rim. Haim felt it. They all had; though in different ways. She had tried to explain it to Brunski, a few weeks back, as the ship glided silently through the black, empty void. 

"Like... being watched; but not enough? Do you–" She had paused; started again. "It's just as though there's nothing holding me down; no anchor. Nothing secure. It's all too..." she had waved her hands in slow, loose, frustrated circles. 

Brunski had just grunted, got up and left.

+++

Lowering her weatherhood, she cast a glance over her shoulder. A nod to Brunski saw him holster his rifle. He and Castaway turned and went back out; hoods up, eyes down. 

The sign read, in the peculiar glyphs of the backwater, 'Teleroftaels'. It wasn't hard to see the derivation – particularly not for an ideodact like Haim. Teller of tales. A village bard, then, she supposed; some sort of archivist, she dared to hope. A job as old as humanity. 

From the rear of the spare, stone building, came a voice. "Come; come." The voice was surprisingly deep, and rich; though it was cut through with a scratch. Haim was reminded, for a brief, absurd moment, of her father's audiorepeater. "The arrangement details are all in order; you are well come here." 

The woman's smile was warm; her skin folded and tanned like soft leather. Her head was shaved completely bald, save for two tufts at the other edges of her eyes, where the remnants of her eyebrows had been extended into short, beaded braids. A bold stripe, darker brown than the rest of her skin, ran over the crest of her head. Paint? Make-up? Some sort of tattoo? 

If she noticed Haim's vacant look, the teleroftael's face showed no sign. Her smile remained soft, unwavering. 

"Ti?" 

Haim blinked, and embarrassedly demurred the offer; waving away the proffered cup. The water here required adaptation. Inquisitrix Barbari Kills hadn't intended to stay longer than was necessary; and so nor did her team. 

"No, no; thank you. Do you mind if–?" Haim gestured at her own flask, securely gathered on her webbing. The teleroftaels nodded permission. You'll have my gratitude for information, rather than refreshment, mam. Even so; thank-you." At the other woman's gesture, Haim looked for a place to sit. There was a brief, awkward pause before the teleroftaels smiled apologetically, and lifted aside a pile of soiled textiles from what turned out to be a low bench.

Stepping back, the teleroftaels squinted gnomically, assessing Haim. The moment stretched. Just before Haim spoke, the teleroftaels announced, "You'll be want the history." 

Haim nodded. Odd phrasing, but for such an isolated region, it was reassuring to find anyone that spoke anything resembling Gothic. Most of the populations Corewards of Saxa Tarpeia had been utterly incomprehensible to Kills and her team. 

"Thank you, yes. Solid form if you have it. I tell you," she continued. "It's been a hell of a time getting any cartography or records of this entire region." The teleroftael's smile broadened, perhaps in pride. Haim carried on. "It's such a relief to find an historical repository. Even if it's just the local... " She stopped herself as she watched the teleroftaels shuffle backwards towards the back of the room; clearly uncomfortable with  turning her back on her guest. "Sorry; I'm gabbling. It's been a long search. I'm just excited. Should I ask my colleague to help carry them?"

The teleroftael's smile slipped for a moment; wrong-footed. Haim wondered if she had strayed over some cultural boundary. 

"Not think that'll be needed."

Unsure, Haim made a small half-hearted nod; and the teleroftaels disappeared behind a curtain. 

+++

"Rimworlds, you Imperials call 'em. Most here just call it Edgeside. Out beyond the galaxy's rim. It's an... odd place. Liminal; know what I mean? Out beyond it's the big black. Just nothing. Sounds simple when I say that, but it's..." she paused. "Heh. Comes to something when even my words fall into the black."

"Like I say, it's odd. The big black. It's the end of it all, see? Sure, there's other galaxies out there, but they're just like us. Little island universes gradually wearing away. And make no mistake –" she waved a finger in the Rogue Trader's face, "It sure is wearing away." She paused, looking out of the colossal window once more. "Look far enough, and you can see it happening. Slowly, sure, and dust – just dust. Trickling away from the galaxy's edge into the true void. But nothing comes back in."

Her faraway gaze suddenly switched; as though a lever had gone off in the back of her mind. Fear. That was all Taiwo saw in her eyes.

"Nothing you want to meet, anyway."

+++

+ inload: Flotsam and Jetsam +

+ On the Rubricist's desk +

'Oi, Roboute, stop hogging the blog!' – [Attr. Volnoscere. Likely apocryphal]

+ Coo, doesn't the dust gather quickly? I'd blame Easter for preventing me from updating more frequently, but in truth it's been our daughter blog, + Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten + that's been receiving my updates. Over there, we've seen the War of the False Primarch begin to unfold, with new posts on:

• The Quadrargenta – the first four Chapters to declare for the False Primarch (or not false, I guess, from their point of view);
• The Extinction Armada – the High Lords of Terra's understandably heavy-handed response to rebellion;
• ...and a rather lovely look into the Tom K's awesome Marines Saturnine.

+++

+ But I've not just been writing; rather I've also been doing some bits and pieces across my hobby spectrum. For the Endworlds, my Gatebreakers' Land Raider has received a base and a hint more paint:

+ The Order of Solar Ascendant [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] have received an unexpected batch of reinforcements, courtesy of a kind birthday gift:

+ Heads are coming, don't panic. +

+ ... and over in the War of the False Primarch, I've had a great deal of fun painting up some forumware Epic miniatures:

+ These were both a lot of fun to paint, and a successful experiment in using  the Contrast range. I heartily recommend their use for Epic scale: it's absolutely ideal. +

+ Whether these marines will ever see play is uncertain at the mo; but I hope I can get some games in soon. At the very least, they'll make for a nice backdrop to suggest scale in the project. +

+ Still with the War of the False Primarch, I also painted up a Sister of Silence. The project is proving hugely flexible and fun for me – and hopefully others too. +

+ The size and scope of the war gives a great excuse to paint up some odd one-off models. Not that you ever really need an excuse, of course; but it's certainly giving me reason to churn through a bit of the backlog. +

+++

+ inload: Painting Inquisitrix Barbari Kills +

+ Inquisitrix Barbari Kills +

 There's subtlety in the application of the Emperor's will – just as there's good hard work in interpreting it. 

'Righteousness, willpower, divine grace... You'll hear them all used as justifications for why you should do as an Inquisitor says; but right now, the fact I've got an n-point discharge derringer pressed to your forehead is all I need.'

+++

+ Well, all painted up and ready to wage a one-woman war on the Endworlds – I'm pleased with how Barbari Kills has come out. My notes on building the conversion are here [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], so I'll concentrate on painting in this inload. +

+ The first thing you'll notice is the drab scheme. The plan was for the poncho to be a muted brown leather, with a bright inner lining – the idea being that this anonymous-looking figure suddenly threw back her cloak to reveal a big gun and bright colours. In the end, I think I got a bit carried away with the detailing and washes on the lining, so it's more muted than I had intended. +

+ The heraldic ermine pattern has got a bit lost, and has ended up looking a bit blurry... but them's the breaks when you experiment. I'm still pleased with the result, which has plenty of impact and contrast, if not precisely how I'd planned it! +

+ The face came out well, I felt. I've experimented with a lot of different skintones in the Gatebreaker project, but with the marines I'm guaranteed a contrasting tone near the face owing to the quartered bright yellow and dark green scheme. Not so here, so I had to work carefully to make sure her dark skin didn't get lost against the fabric. Note the embroidered details on her collar (touches of freehand help to identify something as non-skin), and the use of the brighter inner lining of the cloak near the collar, too. +

+ A few flashes of colour are dotted around the figure to make things slightly less realistic and more obviously sci-fi: the orange band on the gun; the gold Inquisition symbol on her loincloth; the red rubricising (see what I did there?) and bookmark ribbon on the book; and – of course – her blue hair. +

+ Typically, eye-catching 'hot spots' are bright, warm colours; but as long as they contrast with the overall scheme, they can be any colour. The scheme here as a whole is a warm sepia-yellow tint; almost nicotine-stained. Blue (or green, or pink) would all work to contrast. +

+ The image above shows the skin best, too. Subtle spot-glazes of red applied to the lower lip and cheeks are all that are needed to give a healthy complexion. Kills doesn't strike me as a striking make-up sort of girl. +

+ Another little flash of red; the Inquisitorial sigil of the Ordo Propter. Again, hidden beneath the cloak until the dramatic reveal. Note the profusion of pouches and webbing; I wanted Barbari Kills to look prepared for anything. This shot shows the ermine decoration on the cloak a little better, too. +

+ The basing is similar to most I do; a warm brown highlighted up with cream, then dotted with a mix of flock tufts and scatter foliage. +

+ ... and here she is pictured alongside Castaway, Coriolanus and Septival. She's starting to build up a little entourage. I must return to Haim and Brunski soon. +

+ inload: Bludgeoning force +

+ More Gatebreakers +

+ Having rested on my laurels for the past few days, I picked up a brush while chatting with the PCRC last night and polished off a few new Gatebreakers. +

+ Adding new figures to a playable force can sometimes be a bit of motivational challenge; particularly when you've taken a break in working on them. I felt a bit rusty working on these, but soon got into the swing of things. +

+ Emblem WIP +

+ One figure that gave me no hesitation was Emblem [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], who is ticking along nicely. Although the basing is done, the model himself is not quite complete – I just wanted to complete the base while I was doing a small batch. +

+ The mysterious sigil-blade (probably not that mysterious if you've been following the Endworlds story)was painted using the same method as K0rdhal's Necrons; namely working red into the recesses of a dark metal. +

+ I like how he's coming along overall; the additions will be minor – working up the coat more, and adding a few markings. Not quite sure what to put on his right pauldron... As a wandering Eremite [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], he doesn't really have a rank per se. Perhaps I'll have a play with some freehand. +

+++ 

+ Members-Ordinary +

+ The standard 'battle-brothers' of the Chapter, the Members-Ordinary are always fun to paint. The squads are a mongrel mix of Chapter 333 Primaris Intercessors and uplifted Astartes of the original Chapter; so to represent that I've included a mix of armour marks, helms and boltgun types led by nothing other than random whim while building. This is probably not the clearest on the field, but then I've got other armies for that – the Gatebreakers are an unapologetically freeform project. +

+ This marine has a Mark II 'Crusade-pattern' helm. Up to this point I haven't used too many bits that are so old in-universe; instead sticking with a preponderance of shiny new Tacticus helms [vizref: below] punctuated with the occasional Mark VI and VII helms. That's deliberate – I want the army to visually reflect that the Gatebreakers have either willingly adopted the new armour, or have been forced to do so through damage and disrepair. The scattered few non-Mark X helms are thus presumably either owing to battlefield necessity or the wearer's stubbornness. +

+ However, a select few older bits here and there – there are so far just two marines with helms so old – also help reflect the patchwork nature of the Gatebreakers. More importantly, they add some visual flavour, which is really the important bit. The cycloptic Crusade helm is lovely, and it's been a treat to paint it up in the grass green and sun yellow of the Chapter. +

+ The Tacticus helm is, after all, a lovely design. It combines the cool grille of the Mark IV Maximus with the batlike ear-coverings of Mark VIII; design features that give it a simultaneously novel and familiar impression. This marine is built using one of the new Assault Intercessor models – the easy-build ones from the Indomitus box set. As with different armour bits (like the shoulder pad), varying the poses within squads helps to give a slightly less-disciplined impression that fits with the Chapter's demeanour. +

+ Speaking of Chapter style, this marine is a Member-Cardinal; an equivalent to a sergeant. I've built two of these; and will add them to the existing squads. I've taken a rather (dare-I-say?) chaotic approach to building this army; simply making individual models without planning out how they'll fit into squads and so forth.  Partially this was just to provide me with a break from the extremely formal and structured approach I was taking with the Blood Angels [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and partially it was because I think this is going to be my primary 'Crusade gaming' army for a while. I therefore wanted to make sure that it was game-legal. +

+ Having bought the new Codex: Space Marines (more on this in a future inload, I think), I'm pleased to see that the Successor Chapter Tactics – that is, the Chapter's special rules – I picked for the army's first game, Massacre at Phen Mun [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], are still there. These are, for the record, Rapid Assault, which reflects the Chapter's mobile small-arms-led approach, and Stalwart, which represents their historical desperation to endure in the face of extinction. +

+ Coming back to the Member-Cardinal models, I think I will eventually come back to the squads to add some squad and rank markings and organise them more permanently. I really like adding these markings and details, and I think that it'll be a lovely way to reflect their growing history: picking out new skills learned and battle scars endured. +

+ I promise I'll stop banging on about the minutiae of Space Marine helmets soon, but this last group picture shows how much personality a few select pieces can add to a uniform group. The simple inclusion of different helmets, weapons, shoulder pads and similar details really helps them to look a bit ramshackle and hotch-potch, without making them look out-and-out orky. +

+ Mark X is exctiging and new; Mark VI has retro appeal; Mark IV is perfect for fans of clean sci-fi; Marks II and III look pleasingly crude; and Mark V is wonderfully brutal... but having been the default for so long, Mark VII is rarely celebrated in the same way as the other armour types. The Mark VII helm on the Member-Cardinal is a reminder to me of how much I like Armorum Impetor. Now that it's starting to be phased out, I've realised that the bulldog snout and frowning mask is the classic image of Astartes for me. I'll have to make a mental note to include a few more of these. +

+ inload: Endworlds +

His head ached. This was, perhaps, to be expected; as Member-Ordinary Gond had been roundly clouted by a Taran's cudgel while suppressing the turquoise-skinned biped's foxhole. He grinned. 'Suppressing', he thought, as orange blood trickled and dripped from his armour. I'm picking up the Coreworlder's coy speech-patterns now. Musing on this, he jogged after the rest of the squad.

The arrival of the Primaris marines had heralded changes for the Gatebreakers. New armour, new equipment. New training to take it on. Adaptation and compromise – not every marine would relinquish his hard-won and ancient wargear; though many welcomed the opportunity to replace their patchwork or jury-rigged systems with the clean lines of the new Mark X plate.

More than that, though; there was a fundamental change in the Chapter. All the long-hidden maladies of their failing biology: the lost organs, the fading rituals; all that had seemingly been resolved. Indeed, Gond was perversely glad of the pain in his head – it reminded him of all the bodily ailments from which he no longer suffered. The Belisarian furnace within him roared; and its voice meant that the Gentles would no longer need to wear the black and surreptitiously steal material from their Deathwatch cousins, merely to stave off a terminal decline. It was more than physical improvement: it cleansed the Chapter's collective conscience. Pride could be felt once more; the yellow and gold of Andocrine could stand in the light.

Even the marines who steadfastly refused to 'cross the Rubicon' – another euphemism – felt the optimism. After an age in which the Chapter had suffered incremental losses, from which they could not recover, the arrival of Scipius and his men – a thousand tall, clean-limbed Primaris marines – had given the old Chapter back its teeth; and swollen the strength of the various Strikeforces. Contact had been made with Eremites on previously abandoned frontiers.

It was good to be back in the field. It was good to reclaim lands lost generations before. It made Gond, and all his brethren, glad. The simple joy of feeling one's body moving and working in the way it should was revitalising. 

And yet... something nagged at Gond, as it nagged at all the old Gatebreakers, and none of the new. The sorry state of their domain was not owing to a failing Imperial grip; it was considerably more than that. As all Gatebreakers once had known – though none would speak it for shame – the Endworlds had never been Imperial, not truly.

Would their new strength be sufficient to break the shackles of Uridimmu?

 

+ inload: Necrons, Eldar and Krell +

 + Elder races +

+ Dread species abound in the grim darkness of the far future; many of which pre-date (and predate upon...) humanity. With the Blood Angels polished off, it's time to have a look at some more xenos. Some will join the Alien Wars project, others will be coming into conflict with the Gatebreakers in the Endworlds. +

+ Necrontyr +

+ Primary antagonists of the Gatebreakers, the Necrons from the Indomitus boxed set will be serving as a subserviant group under K0rdhal's Urdimmu. My ones will be very straightforward – a typical zombie robot horde, to provide some contrast with K0rdhal's awesome conversions. +

+ Some of the unpainted Necrons are shown more clearly in an earlier inload [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], and I'm pleased to say that they're painting up both quickly and effectively. Starting from a black undercoat, the batch above was cranked out in an evening using the following process:

• Place small pools of black paint, dark brown paint, silver paint, pearlescent ink and sepia ink on your palette.
• Muddle the colours together in the centre, leaving some areas of the pure colour still available.
• Use a large brush to paint the figures semi-randomly. The idea is to create a varied underpainting, with some areas of brighter silver and duller browns and blacks.
• Once dry, layer with Agrax Earthshade (or other dark wash).
• Once dry, use a fine-tipped brush to selectively apply Stormhost silver (or other bright metallic) to the armour plates; emphasising the edges and leaving gaps and interesting shapes.

The scribbly, patchy effect that we're looking for.

+ This is a variation on my method for painting Iron Warriors [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], though the result is brighter and cleaner – which suits the more high-tech aliens. +

+ The effect will be further refined with touches of green, yellow and purple washes, as per Designation Samaritan [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+], the Cryptek that's raising all of these warriors. After that, it's down to painting the purple that will – I hope – make everything pop. +

+++

+ Eldar +

+ Having built and painted an homage to the WD139 Blood Angels, it was all but inevitable that I'd end up creating the opposing force, wasn't it? I'm not anticipating these being ready anytime soon; but equally I'm hoping it won't be years and years before they're fit to grace the table. +

+ The modern Banshees are lovely models; and I hope to see the other Aspect Warriors receive updates in a timely manner. My prognostication/supposition-augurs suggest that Eldar infantry have been particularly slow to transition into plastic because of the distinctive background of the Aspects: offering alternative weapons etc. goes against the background principles of the units; and creating new units that share the same base body would dilute the supposed uniqueness of each aspect. +

+ The details above mean that Aspect Warrriors don't fit into GW's dual-build box structure. That's a problem, as I suspect the reason behind GW's decision to have most boxes building two distinct units (e.g. Ogryns and Bullgryns, Deathmarks and Immortals etc.) is twofold: minimising SKU codes and maximising shelf space; and helping to insure against a flop gaming release – if one unit is seen as uncompetitive, the other might still be worthwhile from a Match Play gamer's point of view. With the exception of the Dire Avengers, they're all specialist units, and therefore are unlikely to be taken multiple times in an army. All of these points weigh against the likely commercial success of a launch of an individual Aspect box. +

+ Part of me wonders if the Ynnari background is GW's way to sidestepping this issue. By making units like the Banshees available to two in-game armies – Craftworld and Ynnari, you're broadening the number of potential buyers – in the same way as having the same plastic kit serving multiple Space Marine forces, or allowing the Leman Russ tank to be taken by Genestealer cults. Having a 'year of the Eldar' or something, in which both Craftworld and Ynnari are released, would allow all the remaining aspects to be brought out in swift succession – but not so close together than they cannibalise each others' sales. +

+ To be clear, I don't have any insider knowledge on this – I just find it interesting to speculate, based on what GW have done in the past. It's not beyond the bounds of reason for an army to receive half a dozen kits at once – just look at the Sisters of Battle or orks – but I think GW are slightly more wary of the Eldar. They could easily go back to being hugely popular, but as-is, they strike me as in a uniquely awkward position in terms of the armies. + 

+++

+ Krell +

+ 40k, like a lot of sci-fi, has a lot of fairly similar protaganist species. With the exception of the Tyranids, almost all of the main factions are humanoid. Also known as the Enslavers, the Krell are the perfect example of a non-humanoid alien species that hasn't really been seen since Rogue Trader – and they're a species that, frankly, I think are pretty much the coolest thing since sliced bread. +

+ I created the Alien Wars project with the idea that it'd give me a space to play around with less familiar forces, like the Saharduin and the Fomn. The project stems from a simple concept: what would X model/faction look like if it were released today? +

+ The weird, warp-based, gribbly, mind-eating tentacle monsters have had some cool hints as to their continued existence in 40k – they appeared as the Psyren in a couple of short stories, and some concept sketches and conversions appeared in a Creature Feature article in White Dwarf. Had you asked me a few years back, I'd have said there's no chance of seeing GW re-release them; but we've now seen the release of models like the ambull and zoats. I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that we'll eventually see official GW models. +

+ For the moment, however, I'll be using the rather delightfully grotesque figures from Tagged Events [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. Drawing heavily on the White Dwarf concept sketches I mention above, I got these as part of a Kickstarter, and the quality of cast is lovely – judging by the box they arrived in, they were cast by the excellent Artel "W" [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. The design is slightly awkward, requiring quite a bit of hot water work (I'll try to get some shots when I build the remaining two), but I'm delighted with the results. +

+ The models are very fragile, and I'm very sceptical that the delicate tentacles would last any time at all in storage, let alone play. To help avoid (or at least minimise) damage, I've used wire to connect them to the bases to relieve the weight and pressure. I've also shifted them from the 40mm bases with which they were supplied to large 50mm bases. As well as helping to avoid overlapping the base edge, it also gives them a bit more table presence – fitting for these creepy invaders from being reality itself! +

+ As mentioned, I love the design. The only reservation I have is that there are no options, and the head on the portal/gate figure. I trimmed it off mine, and I think its loss is a substantial improvement. Other than that, it's classic 50s style B-movie monsters from space, and I'm really looking forward to painting them. +

+ inload: Truescale Terminators +

+ What's on the desk? +

+ The Endworlds +

'What did you do?!'

+ Pictured here are Emblem, a whole pile of bits, and Musterion Dorius Brinn, a Rift Team commander (Musterion is a sort of low-ranking Gnostic) clad in one of the Gatebreakers' exceedingly scarce and much-patched Terminator suits. +

+ Brinn is a very kind gift from Kordhal, my fellow traveller on this journey to the distant edge of the galaxy – cheers chum! More on this large Rift Team Lieutenant in a separate inload – and more from Kordhal soon, as he's brewing a [guestpostinload] on his stunning Necrons. I for one can't wait! +

+++

+ Alien Wars: Blood Angels +

+ Theoretical: Shading +

+ More painting on the Terminators of Squad Redepemptor last night. I blocked in the tabards, then laid in the shading on the remaining members. The shading is a very fluid mix of sepia ink; Xereus Purple (the new Liche Purple); flow improver and water. I vary this with Skrag brown(?), which is slightly red-tinged, and helps it stop the shading being too blue. This is washed over a relatively small area – a limb, say. Working quickly, I rinse my brush, dry it, and use the dry bristles to lift off still-wet paint from raised areas. It's a very rewarding process, as you can see the smooth highlights forming. +

+ The pict-captures above and below show the Terminators at this stage. The mix of ink and paint helps keep it fluid long enough to lift off smoothly, while the flow improver ensures brush strokes aren't left as you apply it, and also helps the wet paint left after lifting off to smoothly blend in. This means you avoid a hard transitional mark. +

+ If you try this, do stick to small discrete areas – if left for too long, it won't lift away, and you'll end up with staining. That's not inherently a problem – indeed, the gradients of tone you can create rely on more or less of the mixture remaining in place – but it's best to give yourself a shot at control. +

+++

+ Theoretical: Highlighting +

+ The shading gives some depth and sense of form, but as you can see above, they still look a bit soft and lumpen. The purpose of highlighting is two-fold. Firstly, it creates tonal contrast – the difference between light and dark – which creates impact by being eye-catching. Secondly, it creates structure, by further drawing attention to the form. +

+ Tonal contrast is the single most important thing about creating impact. Whatever your style, approach or medium, if you want an arresting model, you'll need to create tonal contrast. The greater the difference between the darkest shades and the lightest tints, the greater the contrast and greater the impact. +

+ With a mid-key model like this, we have access to the full gamut of tone: pure black to pure white, and the challenge is to ensure that the transition from one to another is not too stark. A bright white mark on a black surface contrasts so much that the effect is jarring – this is part of the reason that black or white schemes (Black Legion, White Scars etc.) are traditionally seen as challenging. Better to build up the highlights gradually, working from the midtone up to the brightest highlight. For this, I mix Vallejo Flat red (the same paint used for the initial red) with a bright yellow (Flash Gitz yellow could work) and a little white, to create a pink-tinged cream. +

+ This is applied sparingly to the areas catching the light, then diluted slightly with flow improver and more red added. This darker highlight is then used to paint the edges out of the light – this represents reflected secondary light bouncing back onto the model from the (imaginary) surroundings. This gives the miniatures the illusion of size. +

+ For an example of the difference between primary highlights (where light is falling directly onto the figure from the light source) and secondary highlights (where the light is bouncing onto the figure from its surroundings), look at the front leg of the sergeant below. The greave (shin armour) has a bright, primary highlight running down the centre, while the bottom of the greave (the curved area just above the foot) has a fainter, secondary highlight. +

+ By applying the highlighting marks neatly, you start to suggest that the model has edges – which is what I mean by creating a sense of structure. By then overlaying the highlights with a still-lighter tint, you really push this impression, and suggest a crisp, fine area that is catching the light. It's important to overlay only part of the previous primary highlights: by partially covering them, you build on the visual transition, and prevent that super-stark, jarring impression of jumping too far along the tonal scale. For this reason, I don't go to pure white with these models, instead adding a dab of yellow to white to slightly knock it back. Pure white is reserved for the really critical details, like eye lenses or jewel highlights. The primary highlight on the sergeant's greave shows what I mean: the top bit, near the knee, flares outwards, and so throws that bit into shade. The highlight is thus less obvious at the top of the greave than further down. Close study of the form of the figure will help. +

+ Note also that the secondary highlights aren't pushed as far as the primary ones. They're not made too crisp. This is because adding too much structure here dilutes the effect, distracting the eye with too much information. Secondary light is softer and more diffused by its nature, so when building structure with it, it pays to be subtle. +

+++

+ I hope to polish these off tonight – not a great deal more to do. +

+ inload: Emblem +

 + Emblem: Heavy Sorrows +

[+appendnote+ – Interview begins: shipcycle 14. 

'Don't memory Fall of Andocrine, mistress.'

'No, was not then Gatebreaker, mistress.'

'Yes, was lived. Tales... uh... telled? by Gnostic...'

'...'

'No mistress, will not uh... steer? from talking about er... headspace? of Andocrine, mistress.'

'...'

'Yes, will uh... cessation naming Mistress mistress.'

'Comprehend. Heavy Sorrows. Have no Gothic tongue.'

'Role? Ah – duty! Sorrows. Hard to er... tongue? Ah... rune? No. Not rune. Emblem is better.'

'...'

'Beginning: was not then Gatebreaker, so don't memory Fall of Andocrine.'

'Heavy sorrows. Do not comprehend.'

'...'

'Yes. Don't memory, but am telled – told? Sorrows. Told in Tenets of Ten Divine Princes.'

[+appendnote+ – The subject, Emblem, patted his copy of The Tenets of the Ten Divine Princes, which sits on the table before us. It is small, but beautiful. A number of its illuminations are animated crystal-wafer.]

'Yes. Tenets are... verifiable? True. True to Gatebreakers.'

'...'

'No. Yes, comprehend. Not... er... laying? Truth. Literal truth.'

'...'

'Yes, gods.'

'...'

'Yes, from beyond the edge.'

'Yes.'

[+appendnote+ – There is an extended pause as Emblem rifles through his copy of the tenets. His halting tongue belies his obvious intelligence; but I detect no dissembling. He is not, I suspect, trying to mislead me. After interviewing Sho, and Yeng, and the rest of the Masters of the Chapter, it is frustrating to find that the one who seems to wants to tell me the whole truth is unable to. At length, his begauntleted fingers holding two places in the book, he gestures with the other hand, open-palmed. A finely-beaded prayer chain is draped over his palm. I cannot help noticing that each bead is a tiny translucent skull. I do not think they are sculpted.]

'Yes?'

[+appendnote+ – The first page shows one of the crys-wafers: a beautiful reproduction of a star chart that has been rendered largely symbolic by some long-forgotten Chapter illuminator's extravagant flourishes. I recognise it as the Andocrine system, though there are a number of anomalous objects.]

'...'

'Yes, from beyond the edge.'

[+appendnote+ – Apparently pleased, Emblem activates the crys wafer. A strange sigil tracks through the system; and a number of the anomalies disappear.]

'Star-rocks. Star-rock-fields. These were er... true? These were. Now not were – not are? Worlds now star-rock-fields?'

[+appendnote+ – He seems agitated, but pleased when I mention asteroids. He tries the word out several times, rolling it around as though tasting it.]

'Yes, aster-oids. Were worlds, true; then aster-oids. True. Now this.'

[+appendnote+ – I do not understand the second illumination at all, at first. Emblem waits, patiently, while I look more closely. At last, it resolves itself – somewhat, at least. It is a picture of the galaxy from outside. Far outside. I look up at him sharply.]

'The gods. From beyond the edge. Not true-god; no. 

'...'

Not god-Emperor god. Other gods.'

'...'

'No, not there outside. Er... other outside. Sorrows. Beyond?'

[+appendnote+ – When I cautiously venture that he is referring obliquely to powers of the immaterium, he bridles; clenching the prayerbeads tightly. The motion reminds me, absurdly, of a high-habber clutching at a necklace of precious pearls, and I wave my hands placatingly. He is murmuring a small catechism – in what sounds curiously like singsong, partly nonsensical High Gothic. Wondering if he is, perhaps, after all, not telling me the entire truth about his grasp of Gothic, I venture the next question in High Gothic. He looks almost endearingly bemused. I suspect his knowledge of the prayer is pure rote.]

'Not diyu. Not diyu. Never diyu.'

[+appendnote+ – Emblem is highly agitated, and clearly on the verge of leaving. I spend a few minutes calming and reassuring him, showing him my protective wards and seals of purity. Begrudgingly, he resumes his seat and tries again. His frustration at being unable to vocalise the concepts are obvious – and all the more galling because I desperately want to understand what this other outside is. His hand movements become increasingly wild, sweeping and broad.]

'The sword. This. It is Gatebreaker er... relict? But not from Gatebreaker, see? We found in the ruins. It is er... sorrows. Do not know tongue. Sign? Sigil? Bond of Uridimmu.'

[+appendnote+ He pauses, holds two fingers up to the vent of his slit-eyed mask, then makes a sharp motion, like a backwards nod. It would be nonsensical; but for Haim's cultural speed-training. She has told me it is a sort of idiomatic ward of the evil eye, when one is forced to say something distasteful or wicked. It made no sense to me before, but now I see a helmeted warrior make the motion, I understand it as an exaggerated spitting motion.] 

'...'

'No, Uridimmu is not god.'

'...'

'Outside; yes. Uridimmu moves between outside and... er... other outside. Not diyu. Rgh.'

[+appendnote+ Again, the same mock-spit.] 

'...'

'Sword is invested. Cuts well; well-balanced. Through all plate, cuts well. Brings death to the xenos.' 

[+appendnote+ – This last phrase is beautifully pronounced, each syllable tinkling into place like a Scholam Solar graduate. Remark – I wonder if it is a phrase Emblem has picked up from the Primaris; from Scipius, perhaps?]

'Sword-sigil found after fall of Andocrine. Left by sigil of Uridimmu. Chapter er... vaults? Strongbox? emptied; our stories gone. Sword instead. Sword-sigil left by Uridimmu-sigil. Taken up by er... winner? Champion? Gatebreaker Eremite Champion.'

'...'

'Yes, we use it brings death to the xenos. Very good. Very uh... strong? I keep it from others; other Gatebreakers.'

'...'

[+appendnote+ – At this point, he lifted the blade – the strange, flat, bludgeon-like blade that seemed half-sword, and half club. He touched the pommel to his temple. I was nonplussed by the gesture. Haim had said nothing about this, as far as I could remember, and I half-wondered whether I should consult my notes to check.]

'No, Inquisitrix; not that sort of other; just the other Gatebreakers. Not the femto-cryptocracy. Sho and the Masters insist I keep the accursed blade away from the others – for reasons I'm sure you'll find obvious.'

[+appendnote+ – I confess I blinked at his sudden fluency.]

'It's draining, but needs must, mistress. It's critical you understand the gravity of the situation; of the femtotech. We're – rgh –going to be drawn in again – he won't long ignore another thousand of us; it's destabilising. Bastard's a jealous sort; doesn't readily entertain a real challenge to his – ach. Has Master Sho – agh – consulted with you on the diaspora of the Primaris through... – agh – throughout the fl–...? Ng. Fleet. I. can't – rgck.'

[+appendnote+ – His hand, which had been trembling with increasing severity, finally dropped the blade. It fell to the floor with a disappointingly tinny clatter. His back bent, shoulders heaving, he made no immediate move to pick it up. His helm was a mask.]

'Heavy sorrows. Wait. Sorrows.'

'...'

*Laboured breathing*

'Yes. *pause* Understand... *pause* Understand... sword-sigil, understand Uridimmu-sigil. Understand outside; other outside.'

+++

+ inload: Painting 9th edition Necrons +

+ Designation: Samaritan +

+++

Wind, endless wind. As though some cyclopean being had been petrified in the throes of a final, everlasting exhalation, the wind coursed urgently across the dead surface of the world.

The tortuous spires of black rock did nothing to impede the howling progress of the wind, nor the abrasive sand that it carried along with it.

There were no local people to raise legends of the Samaritan; not any more. The world was lifeless; the Imperial tithesmen aboard the Rogue Trader's fleet reckoning it extincta summa summaram. As the human vessels turned away, the tithesmen granted the bleak, empty sphere the dubious honour of changing it from a mere dead world to an official Imperial Dead World; tithe grade: Aptus Non.

Even as the eyes of the Ẹtì Alubarika, flagship of Taiwo's fleet, turned away, something moved against the wind. A single lithium-pink eye turned in a socket.

Not all life, it appears, is alive.

+++

+ Painting the Samaritan +

+ The imminent release of Indomitus, the big 40k boxed set, has got me psyched, and while I'm most excited about the Astartes inside, I'm determined not to leave the Necrons lurking in the cupboard of shame opportunity. To that end, I thought I'd see what I could achieve quickly – I'm hoping that I can get good results without investing huge amounts of modelling and painting time. +

+ An hour or two last night ended up with the following Necron looming large on my desk. He's not finished – the staff is still plain black undercoat, and I'd like to poke about a bit more to tidy things up a little – but I'm pleased with the result, particularly given the speed. +

+ Not having tackled Necrons before (at least, unless you count Chaos Androids from Space Crusade), I went with a variant on my approach to painting Iron Warriors [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]; black undercoat, muddled metals, then repeated layers of inks and washes before bringing back the highlights. +

+ This figure, a Cryptek that I bought on a whim a few years ago, proved a good tester, combining as it does elements of the more humanioid infantry with the beetle-like details of the Necrons' war machines. +

+ The front's fairly unadventurous; but given the level of sculpted detail, that's unsurprising. I picked out a few bits here and there in gold, but other than that, I kept the scheme simple to ensure speed. I picked the eye out in a very pale cold pink, aiming for maximum contrast. +

+ The back's a bit more fun. This cryptek is joined to a creepy spider-thing (must look up the background!) by an immense carapace/cloak device. I used  lots of short fine lines of varying lengths in a uniform direction for the highlight on the edge of the cloak 'scales'. This gave it a sense of texture, and hopefully helps distinguish it as equipment/clothing, despite the shared palette with the Necron's own body. +

+ Metallics are very forgiving, so they're a great place to experiment with texture. You'll see here that I've used clean, plain brushstrokes for the Necron, stippling on the less sophisticated spider-thing, and drybrushing on the base details alongside the sharp lines technique on the cloak. This – hopefully – translates to the different areas reading as different things, rather than all blending together. +

+ This shot shows the discoloration and patina on the Necron (the shoulder plate on the left is a good example). I found it tricky to balance a sense of it being simultaneously aeons-old and super high-tech, so getting the contrast between the clean, bright eye and the age-patinated armour plates was the challenge here. +

+ Characters and testers are both great places to play around, and there's a balance to be struck between having a plan beforehand and having a response to the figure once it's in hand. The cloak here is a good example. I planned to distinguish it from the Necron's body, but didn't really go in with any strong ideas of how to do that. I ended up giving it additional layers of inks and washes to build up the patina more, and then using starker highlighting with the parallel lines described above. +

+ I initially tackled the large glowing region in the centre – a gem? A power pack? Mysterious hypertech? – as a simple light, but the more I looked at it, the more it looked boring. It was screaming out for some freehand, but I couldn't bring myself to just paint a boring logo on it: that just seemed too 'human'. In the end, I looked to the setting – the Endworlds of the galaxy's rim – for inspiration, and painted a simple representation of a nebula in black, edging it with white to help it stand out. +

+ The semi-abstract result isn't entirely successful – it could equally well read as a crack! – but there's something of interest there, and it looks deliberate. I'm chalking that up as a win. +

+++

+ Painting Necrons +

+ Since this was as much exploration and experiment in speed as anything else, I'm afraid I didn't take any work-in-progress pictures beyond those you see elsewhere on this post. I did, however, decide to document the paints I used, and will post up a proper step-by-step once the 9th edition 40k box lands. In the meantime, here are the ingredients for the recipe. +

_1: Undercoat black.

_2: Combination of Balthasar Gold and Ironbreaker. Note that this is not a thorough mix, but used wet-in-wet. By this I mean that I transfer a little of each paint to my palette and lightly muddle them together, so I have areas of each pure paint alongside an area where the two mix. I then apply this roughly to the whole surface, giving a mottled result. 

_3: Once dry, I apply Seraphim Sepia and Leviathan Purple, dipping in and out of each pot and letting them mix and muddle on the surface of the model. Before they dry, I use the brush to prevent pooling and steer the wash into recesses, before switching to a clean dry brush to lift out excess from highlight areas. You just touch the dry bristles to the area, and they'll draw up the wash, leaving the surface bright and clean. 

_4: Next up we build the contrast. A mere hint of Warlock Purple is added to white (I used Arctic White from Instar) and used to pick out the glowing bits – eyes and so forth.

_5: With the model completely dry, I switched to using a pair of favourite inks; Sepia and Payne's Gray. These add depth and richness to the shadow areas, and can be used to help develop the patination. Usually I'd stick with Payne's Gray for a cool effect, and Sepia for warm. Here, as the scheme is essentially neutral, I used both to add interest and variety. +

+++

+ How will the Gatebreakers fare when they encounter the Samaritan? Hopefully we'll find out soon... In the meantime, I'd love to hear your thoughts, and if you have any ideas for what you'd like to see done for the step-by-step. Just a regular Necron warrior? +