Warcry Fest !

Hello Warcry lovers!

Today a bit of skirmish action in the Mortal Realms, my daughter and I have decided to play a bit and paint some models together again.

So I put a Skaven Warband together, with models from my army but also a couple of new comers...

And Heloise composed a Gloomspite Gitz warband, mostly Squigs but also a few Grotz she painted a long time ago (before the lessons with daddy!)

So back on my ratty-dudes, I have converted and painted 2 models specifically for Warcry. Now, this is not real-real news, I made them about a year and a half ago. They only needed to be based up. But it doesn't change anything for you since you have not seen them before!

So one of them is a Plague Monk of course, the other one is kind of a failed experiment from the Clan Moulder, that I simply use as a giant rat.

The painting of the skin bits is the same, it is more for the Plague Monk I had to innovate a bit. I wanted to have a similar cold palette, but had to pick colours which would link him to Pestilens a bit more.

This is why I swapped the Sotek Green for some Kabalite Green (for the robes), and I have decided to add Camo Green to the Celestra Grey to highlight the black.

But these guys required more conversion than painting effort, so here are some pics of them before they put their winter coats on:

So for this creepy dude I used the legs of a Crypt Ghoul, and the torso-head-arm is from the Hell-Pit Abomination.

I only had to tie the 2 parts together visually, by mixing he textures. I added a bone piercing the flesh on his back to mimic the ones on the legs, and some fur growing all the way up his chest. I then sculpted a scar going all over his side, another way to link the multiple components.

The Monk is from the amazing trio that is on the Plague Furnace. Most of the work consisted in seperating him from his mates, and re-sculpting the bits that were missing.

Time for some games, yeah baby!

So we used a lighter version of the rules (Heloise is only 6), focusing on the essentials (no special actions, bonus etc...), and it proved to be very fun and accessible!

We had 2 games, the first was just a butchery, and the second one an objective control game, with 2 markers on the central line.

And she learn the hard way: sometimes you win, sometimes you lose... That's the law of the Bloodwing Spoil!

But since she had been a good girl I got her a box of Squig Hopperz, so she is already perfecting a new army list to kick my bum...

That's it for today, see you later for more Squig action!

Luna Cohort Imperial Robot

 

Hello everyone!

I am back with a second robot for the Luna Cohort: the Imperial Robot from Blackstone Fortress.

This time, we'll have a look at the colours and techniques I used, since you all got the ins and outs of this project reading the previous article.

First of all, a disclaimer: you will not be amazed by the techniques, since everything is super basic and could hardly be simpler. You have been warned!

The picture above shows the colours I have used, a very restricted palette as you see, which makes sense for some very monochromatic models I guess.

The painting process starts with an undercoat of the grey primer spray. This brand is good (that's the one I use at work), but many others do the job equally. Then I spray the model from the very top with Corax white, letting the white cloud do the gradiance job and cast light on the model.

What is particularly fitting for my lunar environement is that this dual spray technique is always a bit powdery, and on top of doing an instant highlight, it looks a bit like the model is covered with moon dust.

The next stage is to circle the rivets, panel line and deepest recesses with Apothecary white, very much using it as a lining tool to add a bit of definition in a subtle way,

I also block some areas with the same colour, like knee and elbow joints, back leg machinery... This is just to have two tones of white, so the model doesn't feel overly monochromatic.

From there, I block all of the areas I want to paint in metal with Black Templar. This is to add a lot of contrast and definition. I also select some areas to be black, generally shoulder and hip joints, but also the ammo belt in the case of that robot. And the pipes.

I then paint some parts in Sycorax Bronze, some in Leadbelcher, some in Plate Mail Metal... The model shows pretty well where the colours are deployed I believe...
For this stage I make sure to leave the recesses in black to keep the definition.

When it is all dry, I apply a coat of 'Ardcoat gloss varnish on the black bits.

It is now time for the transfers, which I apply straight onto the model. When I am sure they are dry, I then put a few thin layers of Stormshield mat varnish to protect the transfers and have a similar mat finish all over the model.

And you know what? That's it!

The model is ready to explore the cold wastelands of Luna!

The next model will probably be another Kastellan Robot, with the fists this time so he has a different silhouette from the first one.

Please ask if you have any question about that painting process, and don't hesitate to drop a little comment ;)

Cheers,

Luna Cohort Kastellan

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Luna Cohort is a defence force of the Legio Cybernetica assigned to surveillance of the outer fields of the Circuit. Patrolling the Lunar deserts of moon dust, these automated servitors of the Omnissiah protect these desolated regions from the locals contesting the authority of the Imperium and infiltrators from outer space.

Most of the stock of robots was decimated during the tragic events following the destruction of Cadia, but some have been seen wandering in the areas they were allocated…

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So here is something a bit different from what you have been seeing me painting (and writing) over the years. I am going to try to explain my thought process behind this model, through a short personal story. I hope that it will make sense to you!

1. The Overdose

I think I have experienced a bit of a hobby overdose. I mean, I’ve had 20 years of nonstop hobby, solid, without interruption and at a pace that everyone could witness on that blog. Not to mention that my job is a tiny bit hobby related (is it?!)

I never had a hobby break before, so it felt very strange as it is such an important part of my life and daily routine, actually. Some friends were actually checking on me thinking something happened “Are you ok?” I only painted a handful of models over 2020, and this Kastellan Robot is so far the only model of 2021 (more to come?)

I tried to get back to it many times, without being able to commit for more than 20 minutes and in a very sporadic way. And it was painful to realize that I was not able to achieve what I could do before but more than anything else that I was not enjoying the process.

I questioned myself on why I was feeling this for painting models, something that I have loved so deeply over the last two decades. Painting those Ork planes slowly helped me to see clearer and to put my finger on what was bothering me.

2.   The Art of Edge Highlighting

I was really struggling with edge highlighting. Not only was I finding it very difficult (my eyesight not getting better does not help, that’s for sure) but also as soon as I was getting to this stage of the painting process, I was feeling a bit sick.

I am a huge fan of the ‘Eavy Metal style, which is the epitome of edge highlighting, we will all agree on that. I also really like what I see as being the other end of the spectrum, all the Blanchitsu movement. I tried to paint a few models in that style too, but never got anything successful and worth showing on the blog. It is simply not for me. I consider my personal painting style (if I have one) to oscillate somewhere in between, textural but with a very graphic approach. However I probably lean towards the “clean” side of the spectrum a bit more (even my rusty Plaguebones are painted in a pretty neat way), so I was questioning myself: Does a clean painting style always have to tend towards the ‘Eavy Metal style? Couldn’t I find a way of painting devoided of sharp highlights but still being clean and easy to read?

Anyway that kind of hobby break and the fact that I was struggling to find it enjoyable made me think that I needed to explore new territories.

3. The Moon

I really, really like our lonely satellite. I look at it pretty much every night, and sometimes find myself just sitting in my garden with a glass of wine, staring at it for a few moments (that was some romantic sh*t based on true events)

There is something I find absolutely fascinating in this pale, gloomy orb mottled with tiny (from our distance) craters. Looking at this desolated, cold and dusty disc (or crescent) makes me feel very peaceful, and somehow inspired me to research a different visual language.

                                                4. Towards a different Way of Painting

So all that said, I went in search for some images that would reflect the kind of aesthetic that triggered those feelings, and made up a quick mood board:

It is composed of pictures of the moon exploration, but also of photographs of the amazing Andrew MacCarthy who managed to capture the essence of what I tried to express above.

I then looked into what painting technics I could play with to replicate that pale and dusty feel, and what model could be appropriate for those technics (knowing that I would not want to highlight a single edge - that excludes Space Marines I believe…) to sit in that environment: the Moon (well, Luna in High Gothic).

I’ve always had something for the Kastellan Robot. There is something in that slight retro sci-fi / early space exploration that I find very charming and very conveniently fits completely in the environment I just described. Moreover, thanks to the round shapes that compose this brilliant design, they have very few edges. I think I had my winner.

I finally decided to design my own iconography for what would become the Luna Cohort, a handful of Legio Cybernetica robots wandering in the moon-dust wastelands of Luna.

 

That was a lot of words, I think I’ll detail the painting process, aesthetic choices and colours (colour?!) I used in a future article.

Thanks a lot for reading me, I hope you found that big monster of metal covered with guns, well, relaxing! 😊