WIP: Adeptus Custodes II

I was able to get another session in on the Adeptus Custodes to share before closing out the month of November. Most everything but the swords and some banner details are done now. I love how the bare head came out.  A mix of GW Kislev Flesh, Agrax Earthshade and Carroburg Crimson washes was used primarily.  Agrax was layered over Kislev flesh, which was then highlighted with Kislev flesh and washed again with Agrax.  Carroburg Crimson was reserved primarily for the mouth and ears. Some Druchii Violet shade snuck in on one of the layers for the sunken cheeks and eyes. I also put some Carroburg Crimson around the service studs on the forehead.

The eyes themselves were a light gray washed with a careful spot of Nuln Oil, my new technique until I can satisfactorily deal with eyes having a cornea and pupils!  I favor the look on the table vs. my sketchier attempts at painting in eyes.  This method does not spoil the severity of the expression of these heroes on the table at all and really only looks odd when viewed directly and close-up, as shown below in this straight on close up. 

The sword hilts got some black on their casing with a light grey highlight and the triggers were painted with Vallejo Steel and washed with Nuln Oil.  Parts of the bolters were then given a final highlight of Vallejo Silver. 

Then the one cape got some love.  I really got a kick out of painting it, as simple as it is. I may come back in with some additional highlights, but I'm content with how it stands here.  A simple GW Mephiston Red base coat was shaded with Agrax Earthshade and highlighted with Evil Suns Scarlet.  A thinned down Mephiston Red was used to soften transitions between highlights and shadows.  The braid and sigil was painted with P3 Menoth White Highlight, shaded with Agrax Earthshade and then highlighted with thinned down Menoth White Highlight again.

Shields were then attached to all but one of the models.  The final model would have its sword partially obscured if the shield were attached and I wanted to leave myself as much freedom as possible when detailing the sword blades.  After attempting a new power weapon effect on the Grey Knight Grand Master's Nemesis Great Sword, I am once again embarking on a new technique and will follow the guide provided by Duncan in his Custodian Guard painting tutorial (cited in my prior post).   Primarily, this will mean attempting to draw on convincing arcs of energy once again.

Here are the models as they stand at the end of this latest session...

The banner scrolls finally got a coat of P3 Menoth White Base followed by a wash of Agrax Earthshade and a highlight of P3 Menoth White Highlight. To my great embarrassment, I realized while painting the scrolls that I had assembled the banner backwards so that the bearer appeared to be holding it reversed in his hand.  After great curses that would make a sailor blush, I cut the banner from the poll, drilled it and the poll for a pin, and pinned it back onto the poll with super glue, now facing the correct direction!  Some GW Doombull Brown quickly concealed the new joint and one might never know the gaff ever occurred.  Whew!

So, one last session on these guys will complete the swords, put some scripture on the banner scrolls, and tidy up and other last details I can make excuse for. Then I have only to paint the bases and attach the models before calling it done on this squad. These Custodian Guard models are really striking on their own, but this GW stock color scheme really makes them shine...literally!  I was thinking that I need to bring in some silver on the wings of the shield so its not some much a single slab of gold with silver highlights. Though even as is they look great.

I can't wait to get them finished for their final photo shoot in the light box.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Adeptus Custodes

I'm closing out November with a short progress post on the Adeptus Custodes squad I've been painting.  The US Thanksgiving holiday among other family projects has slowed progress a bit. Yet progress there is...

With the armor done, the detailing began in earnest with crests, leather work and gun metal.   By and by, I realized the forearm guards were meant to be leather so that got done. I was surprised how long it took to get the base colors and highlights down on these areas for five models.  It's a good thing I'm not doing this for a living! 

I am using the paint recipe from Warhammer TV's "How to paint Custodian Guards" as a guide for this project.  My golds are all Vallejo (Brass, Gold, and Old Gold) as are my other metals (Gun Metal, Steel, Silver), but the other colors are true to the recipe.  

The squad is coming to life!  I have the first base coat on the blades (not shown) and I will complete the blades on my next session.  The banner pole needs to get some love, then I need to attach the shields and clean things up.  Oh, and of course the squad leader must get attention on his bald head and cloak which have gone untouched to this point. Not having any clear deadline, I've been taking this one slow and easy.  Plenty going on as my family launches into the busy holiday season.  No need to add hobby stress to the mix.

Once I have the squad complete I'll knock the bases out and get everything attached.  The bases have been built and primed black for some time; waiting in the wings for some hobby love. The Custodes really pop with color on the table and I'm looking forward to adding the completed squad to my done pile.  Then it'll be time to consider banging together the second squad as wielding halberds. Perhaps in time to add the new HQ that got announced this week.  Though I'm in no rush there as these models likely won't see much table play.  This has largely been an art project for me with some satisfaction in adding such legendary warriors to my collection.

Cheers and Happy Gaming! 

On the Workbench [November] - Custodian Guard

Coming off the Grey Knight Librarian, I decided it was time to bring the Adeptus Custodes back out and get them done.  They first appeared on the blog back in April 2017 here and here at the same time I was finishing my Munitorum containers. Shortly after, they went into the case to await more time and attention while I built Sector Mechanicus scenery and worked on other projects. I had put them up after completing a base coat of gold, a wash of Reikland Fleshshade, and an initial Vallejo gold highlight.

This week I put in two sessions on the squad, painting three more layers of highlights to complete the armor. I laid down more Vallejo Gold, followed by Vallejo Old Gold and finished with a final highlight of Vallejo Silver. At this stage I also determined that some of the scroll work and other details on the armor would get picked out in silver as well for interest. I wanted the armor to appear ornate and not just gilded.

WIP - In progress; three models on the left have all highlights

Late during the second session, I cleaned up the swords and other areas requiring a black base coat.  Then put a splash of red on the plumes followed by a Reikland Fleshshade wash to bring out the details of the sculpt. Now they start to come alive and register as Custodes...

I'm expecting another session this week to crack on with the remaining base colors and then on to the details if possible. I was reminded this week of how much more challenging and time consuming it can be to batch paint five models rather than lavishing care on a single character per session. Further, the Custodes mandate that each and every model be treated as a character as befits their station - so really I'm painting five characters at a go here. And I haven't even moved on painting the custom bases yet...

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Brother Librarian Comus Epinus to DONE!

I've reached a point where I'm going to call this fella done for I can get on with the next project in the queue.  I have enjoyed painting this character.  He's already played two games and I've named him Brother Librarian Comus Epinus. Looking at the pictures again as I write this post, I think I'll hit up the hoses with another effect.  They seem to be a part I missed now, being left steel with a Nuln Oil wash. I don't prefer some of the more garish paint jobs GW has done with red hoses, but still, some contrast on these hoses could add some interest.  Please share any thoughts in the comments if it strikes you to do so.

I have pictures from the handful of sessions I spent on this model.  However I don't see anything that is really helpful in terms of illustrating my process nor anything the contributes much to the overall knowledge of the hobby.  The finishes and base work are more or less identical to what I have discussed while working on the Grand Master for DreadTober. 

I guess a chief difference is that I did finish the armor here is an overall wash of blue using an approximately  50:50 mix of Lahmian Medium and Drakenhof Nightshade.  I did not do this on the Grandmaster - though I think I will likely go back and add this to the terminator armor on that model.  I wanted the nemesis dreadknight suit to stand out as different to the personal armor.

Here's an all around look at the completed Librarian.

Brother Comus will act as my warlord in small games where the cost of the Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight is a bit cost prohibitive. At 50 power level, for instance, the Librarian fits in well with a cheap Brotherhood Champion to unlock a Battalion formation for the command points.

I chose to take a middle of the road approach with the books, using a faded illusory text in brown rather than trying to detail true works of textual brilliance.  I feel it reads well to the eye on the table and saved me pulling out what hair I have left trying to get it right.  It really only bothers me here with the large blow up pictures we few models really shine anyway and all mistakes are painfully revealed.

I'm excited to call this one done and move on to something else form the list.  I want to keep the Grey Knight momentum going, but I have left many things languishing, such as the Deathwatch Captain with Jump pack...my small batch of Custodes, etc.  So we'll see what cmes next...I'm actually thinking of finally completing my DKoK Baneblade, of all things.  It has sat in a sort of middle stage of done for a couple years now.

But that's material for a future post.  This one gets the DONE stamp and enters the annals of history.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

WIP: Grey Knights Librarian

Fast on the heals of DreadTober, I decided to get on with another Grey Knight character.  The Grand Master in Nemesis Dreadknight is a fine warlord, however he won't easily serve in low point games.  I have a number of Grey Knight characters waiting in the wings, all assembled, and some primed.  From this collection I plucked a terminator Librarian.  This model was built some two years ago now, I'm guessing.  Like most of what I built back then, he's been primed with an Army Painter silver/steel primer.

After completing the Grand Master for DreadTober, I was very much in the spirit of painting the Grey Knights so it was easy to dive right in. Like all of my Grey Knights, this model is on a custom cork base of my own design.  It is so very easy to break pieces of cork into interesting shapes, then even pile up the broken off pieces to add more interest to a base.  In this case, I have propped up a daemon skull on a small rocky mound at the Librarian's feet. I realized too late that I laid the brown down before putting on some Vallejo black lava for texture and to mask some of the obvious cork pattern. Perhaps I'll add a dab or two next session and repaint...

After three or so hours in the first session with this guy, I have locked in much of the details and overall feel of the model.  There is lots to do on the warding staff and the shrine/book arrangement acting as back banner for the Librarian. Little or no highlighting has been done to this point accept for a small bit to the blue robes. You can get lost in all the details on these models; its really fantastic to paint, if a bit intimidating at times.

So, coming along nicely.  The face is just roughed in with a base coat and a quick GW Reikland Fleshwash to define the expression and help me establish the mood of the piece for inspiration.  I look forward to getting in there with more colors to really bring the face to life. I'm experimenting with the skull on the ground at this point by trying out the contrast of black/grey horns on a basic bone cranium. I figure a daemon head should no look like just any steer skull. Most of the parchment is roughed in an washed along with the wax purity seals.  I see now that I neglected the left shin guard...which is funny since I made the same error on the Grand Master. I seem blind to the book icons on the leg armor when looking for books/parchment to paint.

All in all, an exciting model to paint.  I'm looking forward to the next session where this guy will be close to done. Once I close on this character I'll be going back to my Deathwatch Captain w/jump pack that got sidelined by DreadTober. I picked him up to paint first but just could get the inspiration for Grey Knights out of my head...so back in the case he went. Oh, and perhaps a dedicated article on how I go about basing models.

Cheers and Happy Gaming!