MJ;-) Project Log: Logan's Hunters, Logan and Njal

Hmmmm... Looks like a week has (almost) passed me by, and no updates to the blog.

Epic Fail on the 12 step program.

In my defense, its been a busy week. Work has had me slammed, there's been a death in my family, AND I'm gearing up to run a TOYS FOR TOTS 40k tournament tomorrow.

A few weeks ago, I managed to finish SQUAD 2 for my LOGAN'S HUNTERS army.

At pretty much the same time, I painted my two characters - Logan Grimnar, and Njal Stormcaller.

So today, I'll post up some pictures of these bad asses!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so given my time constraints today, I think I'll just let the pictures do (most of) the talking.

MJ;-) Project Log: Logan's Hunters, Squad 2

OK. So its a Terminator Thanksgiving! Continuing with the Terminator Theme that has run through my last two posts, here is an update on the Second Squad for my Logan's Hunters (Wolfwing) Army.

One thing I intend to do with the army is to demarcate different squads through the use of different accent colors. In the FIRST SQUAD, the primary accent color was red. For the second squad, the primary accent color was yellow. I used the Foundation paints Mecharite Red and Iyanden Yellow, respectively.

I have also decided to wait until all the squads are done and then do all the bases at the same time. I find that (a) gives me more of a sense of accomplishment (churning out squads faster, even if the base is not done), and (b) makes basing across all the models more coherent.

Squad 2 is pretty self-sufficient in just about any role. It features two Wolf Guard with storm bolter and power weapon/frost weapon, two Wolf Guard with storm bolter and power fist, and one Wolf Guard with cyclone missile launcher, storm bolter, and chainfist. This unit can lay down some serious small arms anti-infantry fire, can hunt tanks at range, butcher infantry in close combat, and even rip tanks a new (deleted by the Inquisition) when they assault armor.

This storm bolter/power weapon WG model is from the Space Hulk set. For this one, the primary accent color is used on the cape.

Here we have Mr. Storm Bolter/Power Weapon Number 2 (hmmm.... I may have to come up with real names for these guys someday).

Unfortunately, this Assault on Black Reach model did not lend itself well to using the Iyanden Yellow accent. I plan to do some somewhere on him, just need to figure out where. Maybe a gauntlet (or both). Hmmmm.....

Ahhh... Another of the wonderful Space Hulk terminators. Here, the primary accent is the power fist.

To give the model a little pop of color, I painted the Tyranid carcass purple and dry-brushed it with a lavender.

Next up is a terminator that has used mostly Wolf Guard bits, although I believe the storm bolter arm is from an Assault on Black Reach model.

Again, the primary accent color here is on the powerfist.

Last, but certainly not least, is Mr. Rockets. As a side note, I've found that more often than not, if you say during a game that you're shooting your "missile launcher," that it will miss. After all, "miss" is the root of "MISSile launcher."

The primary accent color is on the chainfist as well as the trim of the CML. Although you can't see it, I did not do the whole CML in yellow, just the "band" that wraps around the front of it.



So there we have it. Squad Number 2 is (almost) complete.

I've also (mostly) completed the two characters for the army - Logan Grimnar and Njal Stormcaller. However, that will be for a future post (or two).

Until then, make sure the safety switch on your chainfist is ON - I'd hate for anyone to take off a nose while digging into some delicious Thanksgiving Dinner!

MJ;-) Project Log: Logan's Hunters, Squad 1

Well, this unit isn't quite 100% complete, but I can't wait any longer to post up some pictures of BONA FIDE PROGRESS!!! Bases need a little work. Can't decide if the ones with the models standing on larger rocks should have black/gray rocks or darker brown rocks. Also plan to paint the face of the base a frostbite skin color (my first P3 paint product).

This squad consists of Arjac (or simple TH/SS if I can't "afford" Arjac's hefty price tag in terms of game points), a 2nd TH/SS model, 2 Twin Wolf Claw members, and a Heavy Flamer with Chainfist.





















Above, we see "Arjac" in a slightly top-down shot. Arjac was completely built out of Wolf Guard bits. On this model's base, I need to do a little "white wash" of the crevices to tone down the blue, but the effect I'm going for is cracked ice/tundra/glacier. I also am going to use a few fine tip pens to do some freehand symbology and other work on his banner.





















One of my prouder moments in painting this squad was Arjac's Storm Shield. For this, I dry brushed a medium gray over the whole central part, then dry brushed a very light gray over the wolf skull and crossbones, followed by a light dry brush of ivory over that. The trim was picked out in red foundation paint, and the recessed portion around that was washed with badab black wash. Finished it off by painting the very edge with a metallic green (emerald) color.




















Here we see my two Twin Wolf Claw troopers. The one in the foreground is an Assault on Black Reach snap-together terminator with Wolf Guard wolf claws and shoulder pads. Plus a Wolf Guard "gubbin" on top.

The Wolf Claw trooper in the background, although not as easy to see do to the focus (or lack thereof), is one of the Space Hulk terminators.

Like Arjac, both of these guys need the blue in the base's crevices to be toned down with a white wash. The one in the foreground also needs me to decide how I'm going to do large rocks on the bases.





















Finally, we have the Heavy Flamer - Chainfist trooper. This was another one built entirely out of Wolf Guard bits. You can't really tell in this picture, but I did a devlan mud wash on the front 2/3rds of his flamer's muzzle, to give it a "used" look. He also suffers from the same base issues as the others - white wash the crevices, frostbite the face of the base, and figure out what to do with larger rocks.

So there you have it. Real progress. One squad, in about one week. Its not as assembly line as I usually paint, but in the end, I was able to stick with my "average" of one figure per evening rate of production. Here's hoping I can keep it up for a bit!

PAINTING: The Lazy Man's Way (drybrush & wash)

As eluded to in an earlier post, and being a little delinquent on fulfilling my promise there, I'm finally at a point where I can give a better detailed lesson on my Lazy Painting method - specifically the Drybrushing and Wash method.

Volunteering to help me demonstrate this methodology is my Forgeworld Deathguard Terminator Icon Bearer (complete with Combi-Melta and Power Axe).

Step 1. Prime Black.

OK, so this step is pretty easy. I doubt I can teach you anything with a step-by-step for priming (and if you've never primed a model, I'm sure you can find numerous tutorials elsewhere). Instead, I'll wax philosophical about what I use to prime models with.

Citadel/Games Workshop Chaos Black.

Expensive? Yes, yes it is. To expensive? Yes, yes it is... While expensive, I like the fine-grained nature of the product and the very even and smooth finish you get in the end. Being lazy, I tend to prime a little on the heavy side, so other products I've tried, like Krylon, were just a tad to "thick" for my style.

Step 2. Heavy Drybrush of Basecoat Color.

As most of us know, drybrushing is a technique where one uses a dry brush, and before applying it to a model, wipes off almost all of the paint from it. Use a textured paper towel to wipe on - you know you're good to go when all that is taking paint off the brush is the raised edges of the texture.

I like to use a larger brush, as a pointy and/or skinny one gets into the crevices to easily, and we want to avoid that.

Now, to do it "heavy" and "the Lazy Man's way", I tend to leave a tad bit more paint on the brush than a true drybrush method might.

Another difference here, compared to a normal drybrush methodology (where one only wants to slightly pick out the highest of details), is that I work the brush fairly hard (pressure) and repeatedly (re-loading paint on the brush two or three times).

As you can (hopefully) see in our Test Subject here, the drybrushed basecoat has almost completely covered the black primer (pressure element); however, going back over a few times (repeatedly element) adds more and more basecoat to the raised details to help further define them.

Voila! One Step, Two Tones!


Step 3. Medium-to-Light Drybrush of Lighter Color.

Now, get a lighter color to drybrush, which will help further define the details of the model. For the Terminator Test Subject, the basecoat in Step 2 was the Citadel Foundation color Gretchin Green (the one that is kind of olive-drab colored). For this step, I chose the Citadel (regular) paint Rotting Flesh. Its a nice contrast to the Gretchin Green, but still within the green spectrum of things.

On a side note, while I've now pointed out two Citadel paints that I use, I actually more frequently use the cheap craft acrylic paints one might find at any craft store like Michaels or A.C. Moore - Ceramcoat by Delta, Apple Barrel, Americana. I like these because (a) they are cheap and (b) they come in a range of colors, so you can easily get two or three shades of the same thing. For example, planning on jumping on the Blood Angels bandwagon in a few weeks? Then round yourself up two or three shades of red craft paint and use the Lazy Man's drybrush method basing in the darker shade and then moving through the brighter shades.

Step 4. Wash

Sheesh, again with the Citadel products... For washes, I am absolutely sold on the relatively new range of Citadel washes. Devlan Mud has got to be the best product released for my Lazy Man's painting method.

Right, so what does that matter, you ask? Simple. The next step is to wash your model. Get that large dry brush out and slap that wash all over the place. But do make sure that any places where it pools too heavily, you hit it again with the brush to "soak off" some of the excess.

Stupid me, I forgot to snap a picture of our Test Subject after this stage. But Fear Not! I have a back-up plan for you. Below, in Step 5, look closely at the shoulder pads in the picture there. While the main body of the Test Subject there has been re-drybrushed with Rotting Flesh post washing, the shoulder pads have NOT, so its a good example of what Step 4 should look like (kind of - the shoulder pads were washed with Thraka Green while the body was washed in Devlan Mud; also, I went a tad heavy on the shoulder pad wash as I wanted to really mute/obliterate that Gretchin Green/Rotting Flesh color).

Where the intent of Step 3 is to help define the details, the intent of Step 4 is to help define the recesses.

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**

If you proceed withOUT letting that wash COMPLETELY dry, you'll be sorry... Seriously, let that wash dry completely, overnight if possible. Me - I like to get a whole bunch of miniatures to the point where they are ready to wash. That way I can spend one evening doing nothing but that, and then letting them all dry until the next painting session. You've Been Forewarned... Mwhaahaaahaaaaaa...

Step 5. Repeat Step 3.

The only thing to point out about Step 5 is that you'll definitely want to lean more towards the lighter side of drybrushing. In fact, where Step 3 is a "modified drybrush technique with more paint and more force", Step 5 should be more like a "true drybrush technique" - very little paint on the brush, and very little application of force.

Like I mentioned above, look at the shoulder pads on this Test Subject image to see what a wash looks like before Step 5.

You'll also see now that Step 5 is complete, I've moved on to Step 6.

Speaking of which...


Step 6. Detail.

All that's left to do is paint the details using the regular ol' cheapo craft paints mentioned above. At this point, I consider the vast majority of the model complete, so like to use Step 6 to add some "pop" into the color scheme. For example, with these Deathguard Terminators, I'll use a lot of bone/white and red and silver/boltgun metal and gold on the details and extra bits, to help the model "pop" on the tabletop.


There you have it. A step-by-step tutorial on Painting The Lazy Man's Way. Its kind of funny to me, having written it out, it seems SO time intensive. Trust me, its not. For a typical squad, say 10 regular infantry or 5 elites (with that extra bling), I can usually do steps 1 through 4 in a single evening and then wrap it up with steps 5 and 6 in a second evening. I'd say four to five hours of effort for the whole unit. Easy-schmeesy.

Painting: Confessions of a Lazy Painter

My next few posts will include a couple of painting-related articles. While these forthcoming articles will detail a particular unit I’m painting, their intent is really to show *how* I paint in general.

So I thought it would be best if, before those articles, I laid out the type of painter I am and my styles of painting.

I am not an ‘Eavy Metal painter. I’ve never entered one of my miniatures into a painting contest, and probably never will.

I am not a Pro painter. I do not paint umpteen layers of wet-blended highlights or line/edge armor plates or etc. I simply have too much to do and not enough time to do it all.

But I do strive for a paint job that accomplishes two goals:

1. Much better than basic “Table Top” standard (i.e., more than simply three colors and based).

2. A finished product that amazes the pants off my non-gaming friends/family and even elicits the occasional “nice paint job” from the various gamers I encounter.

To this end, I basically utilize two painting styles, depending on the army I’m working on or what I want the finished piece to “look like”.

1. Painting with Inks

2. Dry brushing and Washing

Painting with Inks

For bright, sharp, crisper looking models, like the ones in my Eldar army, I primarily “paint” the minis with inks and then do details with regular paint. The process is rather easy.

Step 1. Prime white

Step 2. Then paint UNDILLUTED ink over the major parts (this is like a “basecoat”). With inks, the important part is to let them dry for a long time before proceeding.

Step 3. Once all the inking is completed (and dry), then it’s merely a matter of picking out details with regular acrylic paint to broaden the color palette on the mini.

By inking over the white primer, it’s like “killing two birds with one stone” in the sense that the flat parts will end up with not as deep of a color compared to the recesses where the ink pools. If I’m doing a “centerpiece” model, like an HQ Independent Character or something, then I usually go back and dry-brush some highlights to give a third level of depth to the model, particularly cloth or leather items (I guess this could be considered “Step 4 – Optional”).

If you look at those Dire Avengers above (sorry for the less-than-spectacular picture of them, it is an old one I had on the computer), I'd say that maybe even more than 90% of those models are covered in ink. The entire blue body and all the red on the helmets (plume and face).

Dry brushing and Washing

For dirtier, grimier looks, like my Deathguard, I use a series of dry brushing and washes. The process is rather easy (notice a pattern yet?).

Step 1. Prime Black

Step 2. Heavy dry brush of “basecoat” color. Be liberal with this step, but do leave some of the black primer showing in recesses.

Step 3. Medium-to-light dry brush of lighter color, typically similar to the color in Step 2, but just a lighter shade. The point in this step is to (a) not cover the Step 2 “base color”, but also to (b) liberally hit the high edges and details to lighten them up.

Step 4. Wash. Color is chosen based on the desired effect – brown for skin and leathers, black for chainmail, I’ve even used some purple washes for “bruised” effects.

Step 5. Once the wash is completely dried, I then repeat Step 3, but definitely lean towards the “light” and not “medium” scale for the dry brushing. The point here is to simply re-define those most raised edges and details that have been muted in Step 4.

Step 6. Pick out details using regular acrylic paints.

If you look at the Jetbike Autarch above, you actually see both painting styles (again, apologies for the poor picture). The Autarch himself was done primarily with the ink method. The Jetbike, particularly the front nose, was done with the dry brushed method. First, the nose was inked blue, midnight blue was dry brushed near the front/tip to darken it up, and a lighter blue (almost "Carolina Blue") was dry brushed at the handlebar end.

So there you have it, "Confessions of a Lazy Painter." Currently on deck for me to paint is a squad of Chaos Deathguard Terminators (dry brush/wash style) and a unit of Zombies (ink style). They will be my next posts to give real-world examples of the methods outlined above.

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