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Wow, feel like it has been forever since I posted an update on my Nihilakh army. Got a new batch of troops done, and incorporated the feedback I received on the metallics of my command barge.

First the Command Barge. I got a lot of feedback that it appeared rather flat, so I tried some shading with a burnt umber oil wash on the brass sections. Here is a before shot:

And after:



Next we have the Deathmarks, Immortals, and Lord. A few things I would appreciate feedback on:
A) The brass patina effect
B) The new 'glowing ooze' puddles (I used to just do them with white glue, now I'm doing a white glue with CA glue on top to get a roiling effect
C) I'm also trying to do a "mechanical monstrosities clawing up through the ground" effect on a few of the bases. I'm not sure how well it is working

First the Deathmarks. You can see the glowing ooze on several of their bases:


Next the Immortals. You can see the "coming up from the ground" effect on the first one:


Finally the lord, who really has the patina effect going on. Would appreciate feedback on the power weapon effect:

Critisizms are more than welcome.

I really really like the Command Barge. Great work there! I didn't seriously think you'd be able to improve on the first attempt, but the second pic is much better.

Wicked colours mate!

These are some awesome looking 'crons!

Some very sweet figures. Great job.

That barge is SWEEET

Well thanks everyone for the good reviews. I'm feeling a bit peaked on technique for this set. Anyone have any ideas on what else to try?

My only thought so far is to use handbrushed white/ice blue as a final highlight on the veins.

Glad to see one of us is actually finishing models! I've had the same 5 lords and 5 crypteks on my bench for the last 2 months...

These look amazing! That burnt umber wash on the brass really looks great! I also really like the bases you've done there. The one with the immortal looking down like, "WTF - can't you see I'm trying to Tesla stuffs here?" as that claw pops out is full of WIN!

My only suggestion (minor) is on the power weapon effect (warscythe). I think it looks good, for the most part, but the transitions from your darkest greens looks a little rough / grainy. I'm guessing you probably airbrushed it and the paint was only thinned with water? Or maybe just not thinned / mixed enough... I saw that a lot on those crystals I did for my monoliths. To fix it I added some windex to the paint, along with water, and it really allowed for some epic blending. I typically water my airbrush paints WAY down to almost a glaze so each layer is very thin...

I also found that going back over my airbrushing with a little wash can help blend things together and darken your darks - that's probably an easy fix. Below is my dark to light airbrushing and a thrakka green wash (only on the darker parts) afterwards.

Some WIP warscythes on my bench, the bottom ones are still waiting for another coat of my lightest color and some other highlights, sorry they're not the clearest:


Another method for getting some nice transitions and very vibrant darks/lights is pre-shading. It's what I did for the monolith crystals. I paint the whole thing black, spray half-ish (or wherever you want the brightest areas to be) white then start from the lightest green (leaving a little white) down through your darkest color. This allows your darks to be really dark and crisp (it also allows you to really screw things up, if you get overzealous with the dark colors). It's the opposite of what I normally do with a brush. I like going from darkest to lightest, personally - and with 3d models it makes more sense, in most cases. It's also more difficult to pre-shade with the amount of transitions you have going on there but I figured I'd mention it for future reference... These were pre-touchup so you'll find some of the same, "grainyness" going on in a few places.



That's fairly minor though... . All-in-all, they're lookin wonderful! You've inspired me to sit down and get some more painting done this evening.

Wow, very awesome! What else do you have in the works?

@WhiteWolf01 Glad you liked it. I've been waiting on a huge order for about 2 months, and it still hasn't gone out, so sadly my Necrons might be on hold until I get get that order in. So currently I'm working on something a little different, a Klingon Bird of Prey with internal lighting and a movable wing modification, as well as some experiments in weathering.

I just updated my blog with the Bird of Prey: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/416131.page
And have a thread on the painting forum for my weathering experiments: http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/432503.page


@Nowoo Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, it took me about 2 months to get these done too. Took a sick wife and a week trapped at home to finally convince me to finish.

The suprised Immortal was one of those 'happy accidents'. The stupid neck broke and it wouldn't glue on properly. I start gluing them on bases and he just fit that one perfectly.

I had been thinking a green wash on the power weapon might be a good idea to tie things together. I'll probably give that a try.

I really like the pre-shading idea. I often find the white tips are pretty tough to get right, but switching the order might help. I think I'll give that a shot next time.