I've only managed to finish one unit of 10 Boyz in the last 3 years so I took up the army painting challenge to help motivate me to complete some squads and hopefully a full army.
This Project Log will follow my attempts with Saim Hann Eldar for the challenge.
First unit was Banshees which was probably a bit ambitious.
I hope to improve not only my painting, but also pic taking as this log progresses. (Background, yes I know!)
First time attempting highlights which was a bit hit and miss to be honest. Spent as much time making good mistakes afterwards.
There is an excellent level of detail on these models which my painting skills cannot yet do justice to. Overall, I am happy with the end result as they will look good on the tabletop, although suffer somewhat under closer scrutiny.
Coat of Purity Seal followed by adding tufts of grass to the base. Wanted to post the finished pictures before spraying with Purity Seal as I have heard horror stories from others using this.
First time adding static grass as well, pretty pleased with the result.
Next up will be a squad of Guardians for the April entry.
This was a bit too close to the intended final colour so I needed to darken them up a bit. Unfortunately Baal Red isn't very good at shading so I used a heavy wash of Badab Black instead:
Plan is to drybrush with Blood Red then attempt some highlights with a red/orange mix. Probably then wash with Baal Red to try and bring it together.
Will be a short month for me as I will be away for a week, so want to make this unit fairly quick if possible. As they are a basic troops unit, I'm not too concerned about a great level of detail this month.
I think the darker look is pretty fitting actually. I'm not a huge fan of bright and gaudy colors. Why not highlight/finish one Guardian off as is and see how you like it.
Looks like I missed the large gem on the chest, so wil need to do that with the grey as well. Grey is pretty neutral so don't think it matters too much what will go on top, just prevents the red from bleeding through.
Oh yes, and that is Shadow Grey on the shuriken catapult, over a base of Astronomican Grey.
Your eldar are shaping up and turning out pretty good so far. I havent worked with the new "Fine cast" models yet, but I have been seeing alot of slightly warped parts and such. I have gotten used to it working with FW models and kits, I guess now I will have ot expect the same thing from GW. An easy fix is to dip the warped part into hot water and place it in a clamp or vice until it cool back down to room temp. Lastly, do you plan on maybe adding one more coat of the red as to help the colors underneath not bleed through?
@DoE - as you spotted, I have struggled a little with the warping on the finecast Banshees. I was using a fan heater and my fingers to straighten some parts, but it was a bit hit or miss. Thanks for the clamp tip, I'll try that next time - have Fire Dragons to tackle at some point.
Having had a week away and a pretty lazy week after, I'm not going to add any more coats of the red as time is starting to get tight now.
Latest photo's below. I've completed the highlights on the armour, and started to basecoat the helmets. I ended up using a 2:1 mix of Blood Red and Blazing Orange for the highlights as I didn't think the straight Blood Red showed up enough:
Struggling to get these finished in time, so will only be tabletop quality for the challenge. I'll need to finish highlights and more detail later. Some making good too.
Have completed shuriken catapults, faceplates and first coat on the bases:
Have got half a day tomorrow and Monday evening to finish for the challenge. Eyes, helmets and probably another coat on the bases is about as much as I think I can get done. Not too sure how many coats will be needed for the helmets.
I will be adding a little more to these before I consider them to be complete:
Some more details, such as belts and the things hanging off the Shuriken Catapults.
Highlights on the SC's.
Couple more layers on the bases.
Purity Seal
Static Grass.
@Pride365 - would like to see some pics of those once you have the paints.
Have just posted up my Army Challenge entry for May, which is a Farseer and Warlock squad. I did want to do just the Farseer as that would give me some extra time to finish off the Guardians, but then I realised it was probably the only chance to get the Warlocks painted this year.
Will attempt to complete the lot, but if time runs tight I may drop back to just the Farseer.
Rather foolishly I decided to finish my Guardians first. Not the smartest move, but unfinished business really bugs me.
Just waiting for a dry day to give them a coat of Purity Seal, followed by some static grass. I have backup pictures already in case it all goes horribly wrong.
Anyway, on to this month's entry, Farseer and Warlocks. I've shaded with Badab Black and then a coat of dry brushed Blood Red. Also done the first coat on the bases, more to cover up the red than anything else:
I'm going to follow the same process as I did with the Guardians, which is basically base coat, shade, highlights and pick out some details.
I'm still a pretty basic painter, so am concentrating on getting comfortable with a method that works for me and allows me to get some completed units on the table.
Later on I may look at adding some new techniques and a higher level of detail, but this is enough for now.
Helmets and the "flashes" on wrists and ankles would benefit from some highlighting to bring out the detail. Might try lining the detail edges on the Farseer and Warlocks.
I'll need to put in more effort to finish this month on time...
You can totally get them done this month!! Keep up the good work!
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Warhammer 40k Forum and Wargaming Forums
1.5M posts
44.2K members
Since 2006
A forum community dedicated to Warhammer, Warhammer 40K enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about Warhammer and Wargaming collections, miniatures, tactics, terrain, reviews, accessories, history, displays, models, styles, scales, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!