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Hi guys, I am painting a grey knights dreadnaught (well first of three actually).

I am using generic space marines dreadnoughts which are the early 90's version, all metal.

My question is, I want to notably distinguish the armour plates from the mechanical parts. Looking through a google search, it seems not many people do that, and the whole thing ends up almost looking the same colour.

The armour plates are standard Grey Knights colour, so Leadbelcher base, some small spots of wash, then I will drybrush/edge highlight Ironbreaker and Runefang Steel.

So far the mechanical parts are just the black undercoat I've not touched them, in a way I actually quite like how it looks already other than the colour being completely flat obviously.

I know it sounds lazy, but I wonder if simply just putting down a drybrush/edge highlight of a medium dark grey will work? It will end up darker in colour than my armour plates, plus non-metallic. Think that'll work?

Or paint it grey, wash black? (then maybe highlight over again as needed?)

Unless I do those areas a different colour all together???, but the only thing I can think of then is doing it like a bronze colour, but I think that'll just conflict with off the gold details I will be doing as part of the grey knights colours.

Eshin grey is good highlight colour for black. Keep in mind in nature almost nothing is actually pure black so what we see as black tends to BE dark grey.

Eshin grey and if you want multiple layers of highlight even lighter grey for sharpest points.

Could you not do the hydraulics in either rusty or oily colour, that would differentiate the colours too

This will be a difficult one because of the metal legs being one piece as opposed to the multi piece plastic

Yea oily I could try, any idea how to achieve this?

And yea I purposely didn't glue the arms on, but the legs I have, and kinda regret that but I should manage to get in there.

There is a ww2 dirty engine wash but I can’t remember were I saw it

It sort of leaves streaks like dripping oil would

I ended up keeping it simple, so I just drybrushed over the black undercoat, first with Eshin Grey as a heavier drybrush, then a much lighter drybrush with Dawnstone.

Looks okay, and actually does contrast a lot with the silver armour plates which is what I wanted.

EDIT: The other advantage with painting them this way, is all the little recesses (particularly under the torso area) and behind the arms, will just naturally look done, even if some places have never been touched by a brush.