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So I did!

How do you delete a post?

Hrrrmmm, dont think you can tbh.

The hornets are looking very nice indeed, so are the DEldar, that really is an aesome scheme!

Have you got any advice on zenithal highlighting, i just want to try it out see if i can get my airbrush in use for more than basecoats!

Vitruvian XVII wrote:Hrrrmmm, dont think you can tbh.

The hornets are looking very nice indeed, so are the DEldar, that really is an aesome scheme!

Have you got any advice on zenithal highlighting, i just want to try it out see if i can get my airbrush in use for more than basecoats!

As far as airbrush zenithal highlighting goes I do this:

During all these steps you want to be spraying very lightly from above and a bit to the front from 100mm/4" away roughly unless specified otherwise. Dust some paint on a few time and have a look at it before you add more, this'll help keep a decent transition between tones.

Don't worry if you go very light on the upper surfaces as this will be dealt with later. Just make sure all the minis are consistent.

1: Spray the mini with the colour you want in the deepest shadows all over. (I use a very dark blue on my Guardians).
2: Spray the mini with a mid tone.
3: Add the colour you want at the brightest highlights gradually and build up the layers adding in more each time. Add in 2-3 time to build up to the brightest points. (I just added a grey white directly into the airbrush a few drops at a time). At the latter stages like this you want to be spraying less and a fine spray concentrating more on the head and shoulders.


The whole process of this on a squad of 10 minis can be done in minutes as the paint should be dry within seconds of each application!

Once you've airbrushed all the layers you need a wash to help blend it all together. I mix ink (blue in my case) with Klear floor polish 1:1. Then I add in a drop or two of my mid tone. This is then thinly washed over the mini. This stage ties all the layers together and blends everything perfectly. If you don't have Klear then put a little gloss varnish in the ink to help provide even coverage. You can apply more washes to help tone down any areas you think are too bright.

Let it dry then airbrush matt varnish onto the minis so you can brush paint the details without moving the ink around underneath later.

That should be 10 minis highhight to 2-3 stage, shaded to 2-3 shades and fully blended in about 30 mins tops. I learned this technique from the Miniature Mentor speed painting download. I recommend it as they show some other neat ways of doing zenithal with an airbrush.

The DE Wyches I've just done were highlighting using a normal brush and an overhead lamp. Harder and takes longer but thats life. It was just small areas anyway and didn't take that long.

Thanks, thats a great tut. I shall have a go very soon!

I really love how everything's looking. That blue is so vibrant and beautiful!

I really love your wyches. WOW. The best I have seen so far.

How did you paint the gold? I have problems painting this color and I never get it right.

I mixed burnished gold with a bit of scorched brown (not too much) & painted that mix on as a base.

I then applied two washes. One of badab black into the deepest recesses and the deepest parts of where the armour looks like it's overlapping and then a wash of devlan mud over all the gold.

This was then drybrushed with burnished gold and finally mithril silver on the raised edges. I did go back and forth with the washes if I had removed them accidentally during the drybrushing.

Thanks.

Are you selling them?? I saw a squad just like it on ebay??

Yes, i am. Just an experiment really to see if its worthwhile painting the odd unit to sell on.

I can always paint another one up as i keep notes on the colours etc.

I'm sure it will go, it's a great looking squad! Sad to see it go though, I wanted to see them stacked up with an equally pretty DE army

Well, I'm working on 2 Warriors squads, and Raider and a Ravager. They'll be done a bit different to GW to say the least.

I'll post up pics soon.

The Wyches , if sold, will return in a slightly different incarnation.

Awesome man can't wait to see more! I adore the GW scheme but something different is always good. Have you seen the DE Chronos thread on here? That guy did a really interesting tri -color blend scheme.

No, sounds interesting. Can you post a link?

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/30/330485.page
Not the cleanest jobs, but very interesting in terms that most people only think of blending shades of 1 color, or 2 colors into each other at best. I think he pulled off 3 pretty well!

Don't know how I've missed this log until now...

A fellow Glasgow man...using an airbrush to paint his figs beautifully.... It ticks all the right boxes for me!

I've had my airbrush for over a year now and keep meaning to try something like what you are doing here to speed up some of the typically more boring aspects of painting - this is providing great inspiration for me to do so!

Cheers,

Dante

Nice blog Dante. Where do you go gaming?

Don't game, just painting and modelling for me I'm afraid mate. Though even then, not enough of that these days (only painted 2 models last year...:()

Heading to Conflict Scotland this year with those lovely Eldar?

Nah, not really into tourneys. I like playing bigger games occasionally and weekly at St Aidans or with some local chaps on here.

More of a painter type myself but I recently got back into gaming so I'm more 50/50 now. Thus the blog.

I'll be sure to check out your blog as there's some very nice work there.

Update time again.

I've been on the airbrush again doing some Kabal Warriors (1 Shredder/Splinter squad and 2 MSU Blaster squads). I've also been working on a Raider and a Ravager.

Everythings been done with zenithal highlighting and its all very much an early WIP. So if you're thinking WTF?, just bear with me for a few days.....

I think this is gonna be good! Glasgow lads eh? Lol I assume you can both take down a pint in less than three seconds and immediately turn around and nut a 1 quid coin off the top of a toddlers head without touching the toddler?

Nah, Its a bottle of Buckfast that we'll down! washed down by a pint of kebab sauce and the blood of a ned.

Not sure about being that accurate with the 'heed' either. Years of substance abuse makes us indiscriminate and prone to the rage special rule. We always pass Ld tests for counter-attack though cause we're pure mental n that.

Lol that sounds about right! Mom is from Northumbria, spent many a youthful day driving up and getting into all kinds of gak with you hooligans lol.... Mmmm kebab, with extra spice.... Can't get those here, not the same way anyhow!

What kind of scheme are you planning with that sienna zenithal coat btw???

Well, the lines in the hull etc will be bright, almost neon, green. A bit of weathering also. Then its appropriate detailing with a few metallics etc.

They'll look very different to the Alaitoc!

The Warriors will be given a wash of black ink mixed with a bit of the hull red mid tone I've used. This will tone it down and make the details pop as it'll shade the recesses. The eyes and helmet grills etc will also be done in the neon green.

The neons and some of the washes I'll be doing on the vehicles will be done in oil paints.

I'm going to make decent custom flying bases also to match the rest of the army. I like the new ball joint stems on the GW ones so I'll keep them for a while and see if they slacken off with wear. If so its the trusty magnet bases i made for the Alaitoc vehicles.

Doing the neon effect using oil paints today. Turned out as well as I'd hoped. Total experiment that paid off (again).

Still lots more to do once the oil paints dried......

It is certainly different from the GW dark green. I like it. Can't wait to see the whole army done. Keep up the good work!

Thanks!

One thing i will say though is that they are much darker under normal lighting. The pics were taken under a twin-tubed flo daylight lamp. The darker colour under normal daylight or any normal indoor lighting helps the neon effect pop more.

Vet Sgt Ezekiel + Warp Hunters and Shadow Spectres, Discuss.

Any chance you'll be picking up some of these puppies.

Mmmmmmm, yes.

Warp Hunters first though, naturally. I'm not sure about the Sectres TBH but the release of the Lynx will probably put them on the back burner.

I will own an insane amount of Eldar stuff this year. Maybe next year a new codex will be in the pipeline. Then i will own an mental patient sized army with the releases around that.

Oh, and the Phantom Titan. If its around the price of the Reaver I will be very tempted.

Also started my HE army while at work last sunday (I was opening up for some re-decorating to get done):

Is your real name Haldir? You seem to have an affinity for all things even mildly eldritch

Oh if you need any aspects ever give me a shout. I have an Eldar army looking for a new home in the webway, lol. Its almost all unpainted.