Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Working on figuring out a scheme for speedpainting a Grey Knight army this Christmas.

Starts with black primer (airbrush), followed by Citadel Grey Knight Steel Air. Suprisingly, GK Steel is less blue than the bottle would suggest, though it definitely has an obvious hue if put next to, say Leadbelcher.

Then a wash of Drakenholf Nightshade, cleaned up with GK Steel in raised/flat/mottled areas. Runic scripts, eyes and weapon were hit with Terradon Turquoise Contrast, followed by Vallejo Blue Green and Light Turquoise highlights (sort of a variation on my regular power weapon recipe, leaning towards blue rather than cold green). Gold is just Retributor Armor and some Agrax Earthshade.





Pretty happy with the overall result, though it might be worth replacing Light Turquoise with a lighter, chalkier blue like maybe Vallejo Deep Sky Blue.

How are you planning to base them?

That is a very bright scheme. On the plain back base it looks a little cartoony? Unreal? Like it’s a little detached from reality. To “pure” for the world. Which, to be fair, is very on-brand for GKs.

I just wonder how they will look on the battlefield fighting over objectives.

I do like that you have going on here. Lovely mini.

 Nevelon wrote:
How are you planning to base them?

That is a very bright scheme. On the plain back base it looks a little cartoony? Unreal? Like it’s a little detached from reality. To “pure” for the world. Which, to be fair, is very on-brand for GKs.

I just wonder how they will look on the battlefield fighting over objectives.

I do like that you have going on here. Lovely mini.

It's just a trial, so the base will be different in the final product. Since I might strip the mini down, basing at this stage would be overkill.

I was thinking of having some glowing crystals on an earthen base. I have a bunch of crystals left over from an aborted project.

Crystals might work.

I was thinking something dusty, that might reach up on the feet a little to help ground the minis.

But crystals would take the bright and sparkly marine and put him in a similar environment.

I also have a bunch of magenta tuft and purple lichen kicking around for a very alien landscape.

The scripting on the GK was a touch too dark on the table/shelf, so I decided to rework it.



I painted over the old scripting, which was 2 layers of drybrushing, with Vallejo Deep Sky Blue (light blue with good opacity). Once that dried, I gave it a wash with GW Terradon Turquoise mixed 1:1 with INSTAR's Water+ thinner. This breaks up the 'skinning' that Contrast paints do and make it easier to work with, giving a more even coverage. Result: Brighter, more even scripting, and less overall effort.

I'm considering giving the cabling and blade the same treatment, though I do love how my normal power weapon scheme shows up in photographs.

Might just be the lighting, but the shoulders Are plasma glow bright. The original might have been on the dark side, but this flip (IMHO) to too bright.

I love your power weapon look, don’t change that!

 Nevelon wrote:
Might just be the lighting, but the shoulders Are plasma glow bright. The original might have been on the dark side, but this flip (IMHO) to too bright.

It's probably the lighting, it's not nearly as bright as plasma weapons, but I do want a spooky psychic glow. This is what it looks like on the table rather than the lightbox (and without Dakka's autocorrect function, which I actually like for most pics).

I love your power weapon look, don’t change that!

I like my power weapons too, but a unified effect palette might be worth it. Plus the halberd blades are pretty big slabs of plastic without much texture, and the effect looks better the more lines there are to edge highlight. That's why I did my Necrons' power weapons in a more flat effect.



And I'm wondering if I can't mix the two effects together.

Personally I love it. Push it brighter, make the lettering etc glow bright like plasma. Looks awesome, and leans harder into their psyker-marine USP.

Crispy78 wrote:
Personally I love it. Push it brighter, make the lettering etc glow bright like plasma. Looks awesome, and leans harder into their psyker-marine USP.

I don't want to go too bright (because it's too much work for a speedpaint unless I want to go the airbrush route, and I'm not fond of that effect), but I did harmonize it and it turned out allright IMO.



Not 100% on the white weapon highlights, I might be better off mixing white into the Deep Sky Blue.

I like the blue a lot. I do think the gold clashes a bit though. You’ve gone for a very saturated, yellow gold - I think a more desaturated, brassy tone would help the blue pop more and balance the scheme a bit.

shmvo wrote:
I like the blue a lot. I do think the gold clashes a bit though. You’ve gone for a very saturated, yellow gold - I think a more desaturated, brassy tone would help the blue pop more and balance the scheme a bit.

It's Citadel Retributor Armor. I chose it because it's got good coverage (minimizes work). It also stands out well on the table/shelf, which means it might seem a bit overpowered with photography.

Also, I am NOT SHY about Goooooooooooooooooooollllllllld!

So after much focus on building miniatures, I finally took some time to finish basing my trial model.



Some resin crystals from Green Stuff world given the same treatment as the weapons/psychic bits (plus some drybrushing, which I've found is the secret sauce to crystals), and some purple flock and tufts from Rival Crafts.



To give the base some texture I used AK Interactive Wet Ground, more because it was something I had around in decent quantity rather than any particular desire for mud. I may have overdone it with 3 medium crystals on a 40mm base, I probably should have used some small ones.

Yeah, like that a lot!

The basing really makes the model pop, I like it.

In some of your photos I think the silver looks too bright and clean. As you say it might just be the lighting though, in your other photos I can't find a flaw with the model.

El Torro wrote:
The basing really makes the model pop, I like it.

In some of your photos I think the silver looks too bright and clean. As you say it might just be the lighting though, in your other photos I can't find a flaw with the model.

I'm constantly amazed how much difference both lighting and the background color makes in digital photography. That said, Grey Knights Steel turned out brighter than I expected, and airbrushing it makes a smooth, very shiny coat. And Drakenholf Nightshade works perfectly with it. I brightened up the upper surfaces with GKS again, but much of the model is just basecoat -> wash, done.

That’s a winner.

The alien/crystal base works well with the bright marine, and the pink flora gives you another color to keep the whole thing from being too uniform.

Great job.