Phase II underway and I’m having a blast painting this thing. My initial goal was to get this beauty painted by Sunday but that’s not going to happen. lol
I grossly underestimated the scope of this phase. I’ve burned quite a few hours and I’m barely scratching 50% completion and that’s not even including the wings & tail. There is a tremendous amount of metal detail to cover so to keep the updates for this project rolling I’ll be moving the wings/tail to their own section.
New Phase Schedule:
Sandstone body and base
Body armor
Tail, & wings
Torso, hood, & face
I’ll be away from the house for a long while today so I’m unsure if I can get this phase done today so here’s where I am at the moment.
My original concept was to follow the style GW’s heavy metal team provided except to paint the body as if it was carved from onyx instead. The blue while completely beautiful seems a little out of place to me. So I opted to change direction for this kit and challenge myself at the same time.
Here’s my concept:
Base
60x100mm resin base from Dragon Forge’s Temple line.
Onyx paint scheme with directional highlighting.
Gloss varnish
Body
Sandstone scheme for contrast against the gloss/black of the base.
Claws in gold
Armor/Wings
Antiqued gold with multiple highlights.
Blue/Red gem detailing
Wing ‘feathers’ and body surrounding the abdomen cartouche will be in onyx to tie the model to the base.
Hood/Face
Death mask will be gold matching the body. Someone knocked of the false beard at the store so that’s out.
Hood will be in onyx with gold detailing
I’ll be trying to knock this out in phases:
I – Sandstone body and base
II – Body armor, tail, & wings
III – Torso, hood, & face
This concept will focus on contrast, color control, and balance. I have not challenged myself in a long time so this will be fun.
When I heard this model could be in a Black Box this I demanded that I’d be allowed to paint it. Ok, I begged again.
The only stipulation Bing gave me was I had to build it in the store which meant people handling it before it had time to fully dry/cure. It got knocked about quite a bit before I got to take it home (Note the missing beard extension). If I can’t find that missing piece I’ll have to putty over that hole.
I thought GW outdid itself with the Dark Eldar line. This new Tomb King stuff is nothing short of astounding.
I’ve been asked how I did the gold look on my Juggernauts. Before starting those models, I had not touched a metal paint pot in years. I’ve been trying to develop my NMM (non-metallic metal) technique sot I forbid myself from using metal paints to force myself to get better. I still suck at it though. >.<
Anyway, I didn’t feel like painting those bastards in NMM as that would drive me crazy so I used a style I gleaned from a tutorial on J-Runes site. I’m still developing how to do patina properly so I’ll save that method for a later tutorial.
What you’ll need:
Tamiya Clear Orange
Citadel Gryphonne Sepia (GW)
Vallejo Game Color Bronze (72057)
Citadel Mithril Silver (GW)
Paint Palate (Bath Tile)
Step I: I started with a black prime and applied a nice coat of VGC Bronze. I watered the paint down some so I had to apply two coats for proper coverage. Make sure the coat is solid and even as the 2 washes will make imperfections very apparent.
Step II: The first wash is 2/1 Tamiya Clear Orange to water. Tamiya washes are alcohol based so you’ll need to be a little careful as it will dry faster on the palate then you may expect. This wash gives the bronze a rich orange hue. The one problem I have with this wash is it’s very glossy. That’s where the Sepia comes in.
Note – Be sure to allow the Tamiya plenty of time to dry. It will need to be fully dried before you move onto the next step. Check one of the pooling areas with the tip of a brush, if it’s soft give it another 10-15min.
Step III: Wash the model in Gryphonne Sepia being sure to get complete coverage. The wash will tone down the orange of the Tamiya a touch and kill the glossiness. Use the wash straight out of the pot with no dilution. Be sure to go back and soak up any heavy pooling spots with your brush before they dry.
Go make yourself a sandwich and watch some TV as this stuff takes forever to dry and I have a halogen lamp…
Step IV: Highlighting is simple. Hit your highpoints with VGC bronze, 1/1 Bronze to Mithril Silver, then if you are feeling really froggy pure Mithril on the sharp edges.
Potential Issue – Highlighting brings some shininess back to the gold. From a distance (♫) this should not be a problem but if you are neurotic as I am sometimes you may want to hit the model with some matte varnish to kill the shine. I hate glossy minis.
Hazard Stripes are a requirement to complete the look of an Iron Warriors Army. They are surprisingly easy to do, and they look great everywhere, especially on chain swords, power fists, and bolters. This technique takes a carful hand so take your time.
Here’s what you‘ll need:
Chaos Black, Vomit Brown, Golden Yellow, Sunburst Yellow, Skull White paints (GW)
Fine Detail Brush
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Step I: Paint the area you want the stripes to be black. Next paint on several diagonal stripes in Vomit Brown. Keep the lines as straight as possible. If you mess up, just clean it up with black.
Step II: Using Golden Yellow, paint a highlight stripe onto the Vomit Brown stripe but don’t cover it up all up.
Step III: Now using Sunburst Yellow, paint another highlight stripe on top of your Golden Yellow.
Step IV: Using Skull White, paint a fine line at the very edge of the hazard stripe bar on the Sunburst Yellow highlight you did in step 3.
Step V: Now using Codex Grey, paint a fine line on your black stripes. That’s it!
Back when I owned this army I received quite a few inquiries on how I painted my Iron Warriors. To answer all of your questions I have decided to make this my first painting tutorial. Click on the image thumbnails for a better view.
Before I get started I would like take some time and inform you on proper priming. The most important rule on priming is to never prime miniatures on rainy or humid days. Repeat this line ad nauseum!!! Moisture gets on your mini when it’s humid outside, you may not be able to see it, but it’s there. That moisture gets caught between the mini and the primer, and when it dries your miniature will look like it’s been sprayed in fine black or white sand. Getting that stuff off is a real pain, so save yourself some heartache and only prime during the proper weather conditions. That being said, let’s move on.
Now I used to use Future floor wax for this tutorial, but with the release of GW’s (Game Workshop) Citadel Washes that noxious mess is no longer required. Mixing Future into your washes, rather than straight water, breaks up the water’s surface tension and causes the pigment in your paints and inks to settle and dry properly in the recesses of the model, rather than on the surface of your miniature. While useful, Future does come with some problems:
I. Future leaves your minis coated in a medium to heavy gloss depending on how much you use. The gloss is also pretty resilient and will act as a protective varnish for your minis, but I’m not a fan of polished models on the tabletop.
II. Future is toxic if ingested. Many hobbyists out there like to lick their brushes after washing them off to reestablish a nice brush tip. That habit is easy to forget and can make you sick when using Future. If you use that stuff PLEASE be careful to not ingest any or leave it in a place where family/pets could get into it.
Since we are using GW products with this tutorial we don’t have to worry about ingesting toxins and gaining all those cool superpowers the following morning. All that said, let’s get started!
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Step I: After the black prime has dried, it’s time to basecoat the minis in Boltgun Metal with your airbrush. I suggest you check out my tutorial on Airbrushing and practice on some old unused minis to get this technique down before starting on your precious traitor marines. A complete coat is important for this step so make sure no black is showing. Don’t forget your pistols/guns!
Use your gloves for steps 2&3. That is unless you like shiny silver fingers…
Step II: Wet-brush (just like dry-brushing but keep more paint on the brush) your minis with Mithril Silver using your Tank Brush, and let them dry. Just like in Step I, a complete coat is very important. The washing in Step III relies on total coverage.
Step III: After the silver has dried it’s time to apply the wash (GW Badab Black). The new Citadel Washes from GW are pretty damn useful. They pool in the recesses and when they dry you’ll find all your joint shading done all at once. Another fine quality of these washes is that they can be used right out of the pot with no watering down. You’ll want to use a brush that can hold a lot of wash so you can do your mini’s assembly line style to save time. You can find some nice cheap soft bristle bushes from Michaels Arts and Crafts.
The only negative I’ve found with these washes is the time it takes them to dry. You’ll have to wait around 30 minutes or so for the model to dry naturally. I have a halogen lamp on my desk that trims the drying time down a bit but it still takes my minis at lest 10-15 minutes. Make sure they are completely dry before moving on to the next step.
Step IV: Pick out the detail of the mini with Shining Gold. Hit the trim on the greaves, shoulder pads, chest, belt, backpack, pistol/gun detail, and helmet. Now grab your Sepia wash. Use a detail brush to paint the wash onto the gold trim being careful not to get any on your newly dried iron armor. It gives the gold a very ‘rich’ look I am quite fond of.
Step V: Paint interior of the shoulder pads, the spots between his armor plates (backs of the knees and such), tubing, helmet, and sides of your pistols/guns in Chaos Black, then paint any horns with Beastial Brown. Highlight the horns with Bleached Bone. Now it’s time to make these guys into real Iron Warriors: it’s Hazard Stripe Time!
After the stripes, apply your decals and you are done! Base your minis, and give them their weapons, it’s time to slay the lackeys of the Corpse Emperor! “Iron Within! Iron Without!
