Heresy Era Sons of Horus - Horus the Warmaster complete!

Another three hours of work in after work today, and have called it finished for the big man himself. Well, he hasn't been sealed yet as the weather has taken a turn for the chilly and I absolutely don't want to take a chance on frosting the model at this point!

A little cleanup here and there, some further washes on the metal to give it more depth, and he's ready to march on Terra! Painting this model is a bit of a hobby milestone for me - I've always wanted to take a crack at him since it was released but wanted to wait until I felt I could do it justice.

Added a little flourish to the interior of the cape, but didn't want to go overboard. I've seen some truly amazing freehand done by others, but I know my limitations and inexperience and this is NOT the model I wanted to be practicing on! I was pretty happy with the obsidian head on Worldbreaker, it'll have a slick glossy finish added once the matte spray sealant is applied, should help distinguish its black from the black of the armour in both tone and color.

I'm pretty sure this is the best face I've ever done, which I expect is more than half due to the fact that it's about twice the size of a normal marine face so there was plenty of room to work!

Really happy with the OSL effect - I probably could have pushed it a little further, but I always say "less is more" when it comes to weathering, blood spatter, and the the like. I was honestly terrified the entire time I was painting it, and the fear of going too heavy-handed and mucking it up completely kept me from going overboard.

Looking at pictures this blown up is always a sobering moment for any painter, where every little flaw and brushstroke is shouted into one's eyes. There's all sorts of things that leap out at me as being ham-fisted, but even so this is probably the first piece I've painted that has made me seriously consider entering it in an event painting competition like NOVA or Adepticon. I absolutely know that I'd be destroyed by the hugely talented artists, but I think I could still hold my head up and be proud of the entry!

Really enjoyed painting him but I think it's time to do something messy and fast next as a way to loosen up - Going to finally build and paint the Galvanic Servohaulers set I picked up a while back. Experiments in weathering ahoy!