Sunday 6 December 2015

Imperial Knight - Cerastus in manufactorum pt 15

Right, let's 'foot this ship up', or rude words to that effect! Having carefully applied my decals it was time to make them all scuffed and damaged. I did apply Army painter Anti-shine to cover the gloss varnish and on some panels Lahmian Medium [as suggested by the guys in the GW tutorials]. I have to say the Lahmian Medium is more effective at matting the gloss finish, it's coverage is also better but there are still areas where the gloss shows through. It's no doubt difficult for the medium to find purchase on the smooth surface but I'm sure it'll be fixed with a subsequent coat or Anti-shine. As for the decal, I have figured out why I'm not 100% convinced - the wonderful tecture created by the Vermilion craft acrylic doesn't show through the decal on the Cog. If this had been hand painted you'd have seen that. I've shaded it a little bit but it's still overly bright white, the scratches came out really well, especially the way the paint looks to have smudged. The litany across the top of the guard is a bit dubious but I do think it looks a little like chains so that scotches any concerns.


The other side got a bit fiesty. I think I was overzealous on the highlights on the damage, they're a bit too chunky when viewed close-up. Afterwards I felt I'd rushed it and been clumsy but as the previous comments have made me realise I'm being critical because I am looking at it close up. But it has made it more interesting and the damage on the shins would be considerably more given the way it smashes through terrain and stomps on everything,


And the damage on the chevrons, ooh! If I can mange to replicate this range of highlights on my Ravenwing I'll be a happy man. I'd toyed with the idea of using the red edges as highlight but went for tints of the top layer of paint. I think that makes some logical sense but I'm sure there could be red in there too as it gouges through the Red Oxide Primer the knight is coated in.


Chest plates also got damaged up. I'm still wishing there were more markings and bits on it but I don't know what so this is it and I'm really happy with the result.


And I moved on to my patina, the lower legs of the Lancer. Now some of this weathering is completely wrong, I'm pretty sure it's not going to form inside those ball joints but it's a minor anachronism and only the most anal individual would notice it [just me then ;) ] Some areas had extra weathering on, that usually works best where there is more shading on the metal, the turquoise really shows up against the darker areas but I was bold on the toes.


The is was still wet and I've added more Turquoise in those hollowed areas. I see this as a central core with another metal forged around it so some areas weather quicker than the rest.


And more weathering, the entire lower section is done now and I was particularly judicious on the pelvic region. I went from a thinned turquoise to drybrushing and I really like it.


Until it gets covered up by the groin guard! That still needs the edges weathering though, but it is glued on! That's right I'm starting to actually add pieces together.


But you can still make out some of the great patina I'd created. The hip joints are less weathered just because I thought I'd done a pretty good job on the metallics and wanted to retain as much of that texture as possible.


So, it's all coming together now, a little more battle damage on the carapace and fist. then it's lighting FX on the lance, eyes and plasma areas. Then varnishing and some extra details on the base and umm and ahh about the missing banners...

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

18 comments:

  1. Simply beautiful man, that just keeps getting better and better!

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    1. I've really enjoyed doing it, a lot of decisions and many debates with myself but ultimately I stand by the decisiveness I forced upon myself and the finished article is something I'm really proud of now.

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  2. Those decals are looking much better now that you have beaten the hell out of them ;-) I can't wait to see the finished product.

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    1. Well I took the To Done! Pictures today and I love it, I'm sure you'll all like it too :)

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  3. Brilliant mate, can't wait to see it all together.

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  4. Wow that looks awesome Dave.....forget the advice i gave in my last post on your blog you dont need it ;)

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    1. Don't worry Jamie, its always helpful, even if I progressed beyond its immediate usefulness it might benefit me later on another project or help someone else out, thanks.

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  5. Damn! That is looking absolutely glorious. The weathering is just fantastic! I am really,looking forward to the final finished pic of him

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    1. Not long now, pictures done, already started working on other things until I find my next groove/focus :) thanks for the compliment.

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  6. As everyone else has said, really stunning stuff Dave. Its handy having this as a reference guide for weathering as well, the blue depth of the black on the Chevrons is my personal favourite, really lovely stuff.

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    1. Thanks Rob, that's what's impressed me too, I just don;t get why I wasn't able to achieve that with my still WiP landspeeder, although come to think of it I may have added Bahama Blue to this, in fact I can't recall how I did it at all, damn what's the point of the blog if not to record how I do these things! Stoopid bloggers, useless ;)

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  7. "I was particularly judicious on the pelvic region" - Careful, this can cause chafing. Excellent work.

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  8. Dave you really are gifted, that going to be one amazing model mate well done.

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    1. Thanks Frank, it's definitely been my most successful non Tyranid model so far. I'm hoping that some of these skills will trnsfer to the rest of my Dark Angels, hopefully it will help blow away some of the doubts and concerns I;ve had with their implementation.

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