Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 20

As this project comes to a close it seems like progress is much harder to evidence. It's all little things and backtracking on bits that have been missed or could only be started when another aspect is complete. In particular all the hand rails on the carapace but also the last of the verdigris, which I'm hoping was just restrained enough to keep some of the metal visible. I know the verdigris is starting to be less reliable now, the paint is really beginning to break up when watered down. I've got me some Nihalakh Oxide to try but I can immediately see it's lighter than my current efforts. I've things coming up to practice on though soe we'll see how it goes as my current method is becoming less sustainable.

I also started the first of my glow effects - all Maccarius Solar Orange thinned down. There are far more of these 'vent' style things to use it on the Paladin than the Cerastus I may have done too many [y'know like how some Eldar players paint ALL the gems ;) ] but it breaks up the metallics a bit.

I'm hoping the top vents work better than the ones on the Cerastus this time around. Some darker orange to add, and some pure white and then it's pretty much done.

I added verdigris to the chainsword, you can see how much better a dark patina works on the darker bronze. A light verdigris will look quite odd...

I also did the metallics on the missile launcher. Need to paint either chevrons or split 50:50 white and black, haven't decided which yet but it's not essential for my To Done at this stage. 

I've also brought the thermal cannon and battle cannon up to scratch, which leaves it like this:

• More details on the guns
• Metal hand rails on carapace 
• Verdigris [do not go overboard!]:
• Pauldrons
• Guns
• Chainsword
• Carapace
• Metal hand rails on carapace 
• Glow effects:
• Generators
• Weapons
• Back of the carapace
• Head/eyes
• Hatch glass
• Varnish 

Obviously some of the weapon options still needsome of the ticked off elements done but I just need the one configuration complete for AoP so I can move onto the other remaining elements. I can fill in the other options as I continue to work and further down the line as similar requirements [metallics, weathering etc.] crop up I can then batch them together. It's nearly done next update will have to be To Done! - BOOM!

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

The return of the lizard hide

My brother recently asked me to repaint the lizard 'hide' I painted for him in 2013. I should have taken a picture of it in the state it arrived, because it had abotu 50% of the Ferron Proxima red removed. I'd seen the vivarium it was going in so something more natural and hopefully durable was required.

This time I used a grey car primer, followed by matt black car spray. I then over sprayed it with a moss green, trying to get speckles on it for some underpainting texture.

Then I pretty much obscured it all with some burnt umber art acrylic - a couple of coats followed by a shadow wash. Then I drybrushed it again, mixed a highlight and a second drybrush. Then it was a green wash in the crevices to tie it in with the moss green environment it's going to be in.

Finally I added a spray gloss varnish [which was really old and almost like silly string in places], then a spray matt varnish [also old, wasn;t very matt and did spit out all the little white spots you might be able to make out] and then three coats of brush varnish and hopfully it'll stand up a bit better to the litter critter. It's nice to do something different for a change.

Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 19

The great thing about a weekend is I seem to get a lot more done. I think because I don't have work the next dayI may burn the candle a little bit more than I should, so next thing it's 1am before I drag myself to bed. At some point I need to get a handle on this, stop setting myself deadlines so I can be a little more relaxed about completing stuff, I've burned out a few times already I need to think marathon not sprint.

Anyway, the pauldrons got damaged.

This was just Khorne Red all over I'm not sure if I did anything else that night.

But the following night I did all the shadows and highlights. I think the neat touch here was streaking the white from the Euronymous symbol, it really helps sell the effect.

And the back of the pauldrons, a little more understated. I wanted to do something else to break up the surface, couldn't think of anything so left it.

The chest cabling.

And all nice and covered up, why go to so much effort on something that won't ever be seen? Because I'll know it's there [as Durnik once said ;) ]

You know how I said I'd reduce the amount of damage on the carapace... it appears I don't know when to stop! This was another nights efforts and although I think I've done a better job in some places than the Cerastus damag,e I think I did too much and possibly too uniform in places. I mean the damage is pretty much consistent across the model I just think it appears 'considered' as opposed to random. It's great and all, I just think I could have been more restrained to let the green show through more.

I did the damage on the guns too.

So, what's left to do:

• More details on the guns
• Metal hand rails on carapace 
• Verdigris [do not go overboard!]:
• Pauldrons
• Guns
• Chainsword
• Carapace
• Metal hand rails on carapace 
• Glow effects:
• Generators
• Weapons
• Back of the carapace
• Head/eyes
• Hatch glass
• Varnish

And I think that's all there is to do. It's not a big list of remaining things but I can see it taking a disproportionate amount of time - four nights work to get to varnishing I think but we'll see. Regardless I'm well ahead of schedule on my AoP countdown.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 18

All my efforts are being put into the Knight now and I can feel myself on a roll. With countdown to AoP ticking away every step forward helps, unfortunately it mean you're getting update after update... Anyway, I thought I'd tackle the Euronymous heraldry - adding in the portculis, eyes, top of the helm and highlighting white. I'm actually really pleased with it, imperfection and all. The right one is a little thinner but overall I'm happy.

I think it was pretty close to my Photoshop effort too.

I also added a couple more decals on the knees. Not entirely sure if the Ravenwing badge makes sense but it's OK and although I can freehand that 1 I just wanted to use it up to mark the legion number.

The following night I scuffed all the knee and thigh plates. It's definitely much less green than it was before, I may have gone OTT but I'll try to reign it in a bit as it goes further up the knight.

 I then finished some missing highlights on the black areas of the carapace

Here you can see the limited chipping on the Ion Shield, helm and helm carapace, I don't know whether to do a glow effect around the Dark Angel symbol, if so it'd most likely need to be orange, what do you think, too much breaking up of the green [I do feel I'm losing it a bit]?

I also did some limited chipping on the chest piece. Next up I need to do the battle damage on the carapace and pauldrons, then verdigris the torso and weapons. Lastly it'll be the glow effects and we're essentially done.

So this may well be completed next week, well ahead of schedule and I can then focus on the Bastions.

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 17

Flushed with satisfaction of making a decision on the leg decals I decided to continue my focus on the shin pads - time for some battle damage. Just Khorne Red with some black added in places and then highlights of Dark Reaper or green depending on the background colour.

A Strong Tone wash on the decal just to tone down the brightness. I'm really pleased with the result, the damage is comparable to the same on the Cerastus. There's a lot on the shins, I'll try to reduce the amount as it goes further up the Knight - no point covering up all the green and black! 

I only need to do the knee and thigh plates and then glow effects on generators on the calf and hips and the lower torso is complete! Sometimes these things can progress super quick and this particular effort is offering up a glimpse of the home straight. Then it;s focusing on the upper torso, I'm a bit miffed as I've misplaced the semi-circle that holds the head in place. I can obviously just glue the head on but I wanted to be able to turn it. Alternatively I was looking at making a wire collar for it, where it wraps round the mount on the head and is pinned into the attachment point on the neck. Unfortunately my wire bending skills haven't convince me just yet...

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Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 16

As you can see it was decals, there was some solid reasoning behind it in the end. Yes, I can freehand these symbols but I needed them to be consistent. It's already difficult to put them in a similar space but the same size and thickness. The Euronymous symbols illustrate that's a difficult task. So you can see here I've gloss varnished where the decals were applied [luckily that's all gone now thanks to Lahmian Medium]. I slightly scuffed the Dark Angel symbol on the left but I think I can cover it with battle damage. The other one is random mechanicum sybology and numbers - '69 dude!'

Construction date on the other shin and another Dark Angel badge. The orignal plan was just to have the badge with one wing, but it looked odd. Ultimately the relief I feel from making the decision and moving this forward is reward in itself. My newly minted progress chart is giving me a focus. I can do some proper battle damage on these, add in the patina on the front and then they can be glued to the legs.

That's real progress when I'm gluing the parts together! I can't wait to see this done, I love the model and the very essence of Imperial Knights. I hope with renewed focus and overcoming these hurdles I can crack on with it and finish once and for all. I also painted a little bit on a Bastion too ;)

Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

Imperial Knight - in manufactorum pt 15

As I debate the further use of decals I decided to add my own 'Gerantius inspired' heraldry. Given the Dark Angel affiliation and exisiting symbol I decided to replace the portcullis with a broadsword. I was a little disheartend by my efforts, but only insomuch as they were far too bulky looking, whereas the proper Gerantius symbol is quite lean in it's execution. Also what do you think of the Forgeworld mark on the hatch, too distracting?

To that end I trimmed it down again which has offered up further issues with how to render the eyes in such a small space. I also need to do the top of the head and perhaps decide if I need to put the portcullis in?

Quick Photoshop later, what do you think?

I've also been wodering about the back of the pauldrons and the legs. As you can see the shin pads feature the crown from the main symbol. I have a number of Dark Angel decals I could use but I'm already wary of mixing the decals and freehand. Freehand on its own works for me but put it next to the clarity of a decal and it really highlights any deficiencies in the quality. I can free hand the Dark Angel symbol but I have the decals... find out tomorrow.

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