Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Heresy Era Thousand Sons - Spartan painting complete!

After leaving the new computer running all night to update and upload, I finally have a wodge of new pics to show! Leading off with what has become the must-have tank of the Heresy, the Spartan has been detailed, weathered and sealed (taking advantage of a narrow window of nice weather we had last week):

  

Added a further rune to the front section, and gave the tracks another layer of washes to give them a bit more dirty and oily look. Once that dried I went in with a sponge and added some charred brown followed by boltgun metal to represent a little battle damage. The extreme edges of the exposed metal was then given an edge highlight in silver. Generally speaking I go with the 'less is more' approach and just add a little weathering here and there. It's always easier to add more later than it is to try and clean up an overzealous application after all!

  

Never fails that once I think I'm done and have the models sealed that I notice that I forgot a step. Generally speaking I give the exhaust stacks on the vehicles a little heat distortion/soot which I'll have to go back in and add. Doh! Nevertheless overall I'm quite happy with how the giant brick of a tank has turned out. In game it'll carry a big ol' squad of Terminators, and likely ol' One Eye himself as well!

13 comments:

  1. Do you seal before weathering as well?Or just as a final step? Tank looks fantastic. I especially like the color use on the side. The cream really adds a nice pop.

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  2. That red is vibrant!

    One stompy looking end result. Hope it's as effective in game as it looks.

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  3. It looks fairly huge. It looks like it weighs a lot.

    And full of termies ? hummm...

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  4. Really eye catching. Nice job. Zzzzzz they definitely are bricks.

    I like where the cream colour was applied. Always trouble to select appropriate spots for the accent colour.

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  5. That freehand work on the front really sets the tank off nicely. Eye catching but subtle.

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  6. Nice work. In the beginning I did not like the spartan that mutch, but with your paint scheme and quality I am starting to warm up to it.

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  7. @Greg Hess: Thanks man! Usually I'll seal a model after it's painted "factory-fresh", then apply any waterslide transfers and weathering, followed by a further seal coat over that. In this case there were no transfers so I skipped the interstitial sealant step and skipped right to the weathering.

    @Dai: Thanks! It's definitely got a presence on the tabletop. I have a feeling that means it'll attract all sorts of fire. :)

    @Zzzzzz: Indeed! Not only a fun model, but also doubles as a doorstop or bludgeon. Hah!

    @TheAmbit: I appreciate it! I'm in the same boat, very challenging to find the right balance.

    @Phil Morris: Cheers man!

    @Pawn Cocktail: Thanks very much!

    @Agis: It took me a while to warm up to it as well. Once I got it in hand I found I quite enjoyed painting it!

    Cheers everyone!

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  8. Thanks! I was debating sealing my entire stompa before applying salt and another coat. Sounds like a good idea!

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  9. Fantastic! I like the freehand, it is very clean and fitting to the look. The minimal wear matches well with the Thousands Sons, they seem like a legion that cares enough about looks to maintain their vehicles (perhaps with their sorcery), but not as vain as the Emperor's Children

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  10. @Greg Hess: Nice, looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

    @D'nyarak: Thanks very much, man!

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  11. Some of your best work yet brotha. Nice job!

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  12. Oh boy. I've always loved Spartans - ever since I noticed a guide on how to convert your own in an early-90s White Dwarf...

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