Legio Custodes: The First Custodian Finished!

Well its been an interesting week of trial and error, but it has been well worth it! Not only have I had immense satisfaction from doing this mini, I've also added a great and useful painting skill to my repertoire!

So without further chit-chat, here is the first (of many i hope!) Custodians:

Not much in the way of adjustments to the gold from the last post. I decided to keep the red robes and helmet plumes reasonably dark to contrast with the gold, and hopefully make the gold look a bit brighter. The eyes i just washed with Badab Black, as there wasn't much in the way of lens detail in the sockets. It does make them look slightly grim in the face, but i like to think of it as a serious look! (well, they are guarding arguably the most powerful being in the galaxy!)

The biggest addition since the last post, is of course, the Guardian Spear. Again i tried to go with the gold NMM look, and i think i pulled it off much better on the bolter than anywhere else on the model! I've decided that this is because there is a starker contrast between the reflective strip and the background colour (ie: the background is much darker than the reflective strip) On the next Custodian (which is already under construction) I'll  try and apply this to the whole model, and hopefully achieve a better overall NMM look.

The other challenge was painting the chrome/metal parts in NMM as well! I hadn't considered this until i picked up the brush to paint it, as id been so focused on the gold! It wasn't hard though; just the same technique but with a different colour palette. Again, i think the chrome on the bolter is one of the better examples of NMM, for the same reason as above i think.

So that's it from the Custodians for now! Another two are mid-build in the forge at the mo', but the arrival of a Hive Fleet above my house is interrupting production (i know, Wales is a crazy place!) So next post, Hive Fleet GunGrave returns!!

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Legio Custodes: Gold NMM Pt 2; Guardian Spear Adjustments

So today i had another bash at painting  gold NMM for my Custodian models. I stared and stared at the test mini i did, and eventually decided that something wasn't quite right about it! I couldn't really put my finger on it, but i think that it was to orange and not enough yellowy gold.

So in the second attempt i tried to correct this, and this time round the test subject was a bona-fide Custodian (well, mine and Scibors version anyways!) I'm much happier with this attempt, and i think a large part of its success was down to Vallegio's paint range! Their Gold Yellow was a bit more gritty than GW's Sunburst yellow, and pulled off a Gold look a bit better!

Again, I'm not sure if i really pulled off NMM. I am happy that i pulled off a decent non-metallic gold colour scheme that i can use, even though it might not be quite what i wanted (kind of a contradiction there, but you know what i mean!)

Tomorrow I'll be pressing on with the other colours on the model! "But where's his Guardian Spear" i hear you cry.....!

Well its here! After some useful comments in on the last post, i shortened the blade of the spear, bringing it much more into proportion. I also added some detail to the blade itself, as the Emperors finest do love their bling! The wings used to be part of a SM Force Commanders Battle Standard, but theres not much left of that now! So i hope to have this guy finished by the weekend.

I've also noticed a sizable Tyranid order has been placed with GW using my credit card, so i expect the Hive Fleet to be arriving in west Wales again soon! In the meantime i better track down that sneaky 'Stealer that must be lurking around here somewhere......!

Legio Custodes - Guardian Spears

So, after no response to my plea for feedback on my NMM test model, i can only assume that the quality was of such a high standard that it stunned the blogging community into silence! SOOOO its onto the next and final bit of the build: Guardian Spears!

I used the images from the Horus Heresy art books for inspiration, and the conversion was dead easy after that! Some metal rod (5cms long in this case), a trimmed down Bolter, a spike off a Chaos Trophy rack, and a blade (or the most bad-ass bayonet you've ever seen!) made from plasticard.

Here's a pic of a Custodian armed with Guardian Spear and Shield:

So next up on this project, a fully painted Custodian!

A Quick Splash of Terrain

So today i thought it was time to give my long neglected terrain some attention, as they've been out in the utility room for about 3 months now!

So here is an Administratium building, all battered and torn!

My vision of a ruined city is a very dark and scary place, where it constantly rains!!! That's why i have very few bright colours and loads of rust!

I've added a few bits of broken pipework and girders to this piece, and i really think it gives the building that extra edge! I don't put much effort into my terrain pieces, and this is an easy way to make it all a little bit more interesting!

Next post, more from the Legio Custodes!

Legio Custodes - Painting Gold Non-Metallic Metal

So its been an interesting day, as I've been attempting to paint Non-Metallic metal!!

For me, its a big ask, as I've never tried it before. It seems to be a technique reserved for only the best miniature painters, and well beyond my skill set. HOWEVER you never know until you try, so today i bit the bullet and had a go!

Firstly i needed a template on which to base my attempts, an idea of what I'm trying to achieve. I already had something in mind; Scibors miniatures (where i got those cool Custodes models from) had done some excellent NMM on some of their Sci Fi minis! This is what i definitely want  my Custodes to look like. (image used without permission, but hey, its good publicity!)

The next job was to decide on colours. My only focus at this stage was the gold, and as the only golds that GW do are metallic, i had to mix a new colour. To help i made a colour chart! Yeah, its a bit anal, but  i tend to forget what i mixed! I really wanted to replicate that yellowy-brown that Scibors minis have created.

 (not sure why  it came out sideways but you get the jist!)

So i went for this one, 1:1/2 Sunburst Yellow: Blazing Orange. This colour would form the base coat and subsequent layers will be built up from this base by adding more and more Sunburst Yellow.

As it was a day of new things, i also decided to make a wet pallette. I saw there was an excellent tutorial up on FTW by Corvus, so i followed his Vid and gave it a go! I thought it would be helpful with all the blending and mixing!

Now i wasn't about to butcher one of my new Custodian models trying out this difficult painting method, so a lowly Space Marine was to be the object of my experiments! Well, part of him anyways! I went for a Skull White undercoat so the gold and NMM effect could be accentuated as much as possible.

SO, the first coat of Sunburst Yellow and Blazing Orange was applied.

Then i washed the whole model in a 50:50 mix of Devlan Mud and H2O

A layer of the original base coat was applied next, taking care to leave the recesses dark.

Now it was time to start building up the layers of refection and highlight. Before i started I chose three areas that i wanted to be reflective: the inside of the right leg, the outside of the left, and the groin area. I concentrated the next layers of highlight in these areas to try and make them lighter and brighter than most of the model, in an attempt to make it appear reflective. So i took some of the original base colour and mixed it with some Sunburst Yellow in a 1:1 ratio. I then applied it to the areas that i wanted to be reflective and highlighted.

This picture is after two stages of highlighting, each successive highlight having Sunburst Yellow added to it in a 1:1 ratio.

This is another two stages of highlighting. The reflective areas are starting to shine!

A further two stages of successive highlighting were added before a stage of pure Sunburst Yellow was added finely to the reflective and highlighted areas

You can see here how far i've come from the origional base colour!

FINALLY, a very thin and fine stage of Skull White was added to the reflective surfaces and extreme areas of highlight, effectively highlighting the highlights!!

Here are some pics of it in a light box for a better view.

So, i do like how it turned out, but I'm not sure it its perfect. Did i achieve NMM? I'm not  sure! I am however happy enough with the colour mixes to give it a go on one of the actual Custodian models. I'll no doubt refine the process a bit more as i go along! I'll also add a few of the other basic colours that'll be featuring on the finished model to see how it looks!

Thoughts and opinions please, every little helps!

Death Korps of Krieg Repaint: Platoon 1 Complete

So here's your weekly does of Krieggy goodness!

The first of my two Krieg Platoons is now complete with another two squads and a Platoon Command Squad added since my last Krieg post.

Unfortunately my airbrush died (again!) after being resurrected with spare parts, which means that my Krieg armoured units and artillery are sitting in the cabinet collecting dust! Very frustrating! So until £70 drops in my lap to buy a decent Iwata, its on with the troops!

So here is Platoon 1 (yet to be named!!)

Platoon Command Squad

Squad 1 with Melta Gun

Squad 2 with Plasma Gun

Squad 3 with Melta Gun

More Krieg coming soon, along with a few more new years resolutions!!

141st Elysian Drop Troop Regiment "Helljumpers" Showcase

As promised here are the pics of the Helljumpers! I asked Mrs GunGrave to perform her usual photo magic on these guys, but some of the pics aren't as good as the last bunch!

Company Command Squad

Long Range Ground Scanner

Veteran Squad 1: Heavy Flamer and two Plasma Guns

Veteran Squad 2: Heavy Flamer and two Plasma Guns

Veteran Squad  3: two Melta Guns and Plasma Gun

Veteran Squad 4: Three Melta Guns

Sentinel Squadron 1:

Sentinel Squadron 2:

Now for their rides! Mrs GunGrave performed a little extra photoshop magic on these pics! An experiment that might see more use in the future!

Valkyrie 1 with Rocket Pods

Valkyrie 2 with Rocket Pods

Vendetta 1

Vendetta 2

Vulture Gunship 1 with Twin Linked Punisher Cannons

Vulture Gunship 2 with Twin Linked Punisher Cannons

Well I hope you guys liked the showcase! I'm exceptionally pleased with this army, and have had great fun designing and building it. I'm just sad that it is done, and theres no more Elysians or Valkyries to build! As i mentioned a few posts ago, i will be attempting to expand this force into a viable Apoc army, but that'll probably be a way down the line as other projects beckon! I may do a Vostroyan showcase soon, as those guys haven't had much exposure on this site.

 

Next post its more from the Krieg!