Sunday, July 29, 2018

54mm Andrea Teutonic Knight (FP-2)

Andrea Teutonic Knight (FP-2)
So my 1-1 scale terrain project has finished up so I'm now able to get back to some painting finally.  In the queue for some time was a 54mm knight with a spear (Andrea FP-2) that I purchased off eBay.

Although a Teutonic knight I wanted to do something different to the usual white as I've got a few other Teutonic figures in the cupboard.  Sorry Mike Blank.  So after much head scratching I went for a tradition(ish) blue/yellow scheme with purple highlights and green (at this stage) on the cloak.  I also wanted to try using the mixtures of two of the main colours to help shade the third colour.  Ie mix blue/purple and use this mix to shade the yellow.



For the blue I used JS Ultramarine Blue as the base, shaded with VMC Dark Sea Blue and highlighted with white and Cerulean Ink from Liquidtec.  I also added some of the base blue back to the mix to stop is chalking out so much.  It has become rather dull but I think that matches the fabric look I am after.  I may also do some dust/stains on the bottom of the cloth area later.  I did try and use the purple (see later) in the mix but that ended with the blue being too violet.



For yellow I used JS Yellow Oxide shaded with a mixture of the light purple used else where and some VMC armour brown.  Basically a very slight darker orange.  I was trying to use the secondary colours from mixing the primary colours of the figure in the shading to have some colour harmony.  Highlights with white, VMC Light Yellow and VGC amarillo yellow ink added to keep the colour intensity.  Really starting to like using inks in the highlights.

For the purple I make a mix of Liquidtec Dioxazine purple (a very dark purple) with white added to make a light purple.  The horns use this as a base and the horn tabs are this colour neat.

Originally I was going to paint the cloak in the purple but it didn't work.  Instead I swapped to a dark green (complementary to the blue/yellow) which helps the tunic pop some more.  More of that to come.

The armour was just the usually black undercoat and then some very gentle dry brushing in metallics and shading with dark sea blue and violets in the shadow areas.

On the rear of the figure the unpainted tab is some milliput that I added to give the cloak something to rest on and stop is sagging while the glue dries as the original fit wasn't that great.  I do have concerns that during gluing the cloak will sag so may also pin this.

28mm bridge painted with oils


Also painted up a 28mm bridge I purchased some time ago.  I used a technique of using oil paints smeared over a light brown acrylic base to represent a wood pattern.  Now need to add some dressing (plants, etc) and clean up some of the highlights.  Really just and excuse to break out the oil paints.

Terminator Genisys human


Finally finished the two Terminator Genisys figures.

...more humans


Monday, July 16, 2018

Orphan 9 kickstarter figure and more interruptions to painting

Orphan 9 kickstarter figure
So over the last two weeks I finished off the Orphan 9 figure.  Really liked her and I was pretty proud I managed to do her tiny face.  From a distance the green of her jumpsuit pops out from the dark red/brown of the wall.

All done
On the purple originally I wasn't happy with it so I toned it up a few levels which helped out.  The sword hilt I did in bright red to make it a bit of an accent.

More hills
Next up was finishing off a resin piece of terrain I had in the box.  Slowly cleaning out these pieces I have.  Not playing anything at the moment (and haven't for some time) but in a few years the kids will be ready.  At the moment every few months we get all the terrain board and pieces out and make villages/etc and race horses cars around the board.

Toothpick tools
For sculpting/modelling I picked up a tip (from a Bill Horan book I think) about using toothpicks coated in superglue.  I made up a few more by using the cheap and nasty superglue and sanding back with 400 grit sandpaper between coats.  Three coats later you have some very hard sculpting tools.

Starting some Terminator Genisys figures
Started another two Terminator Genisys figures.  This time I'm experimenting with sand (think old choc-chip camo) camo uniforms.  I like the idea that the human forces are a miscellaneous band of various soldiers, hence the different uniforms.  Plus it's better than painting 16 figures in green.

...now to add the flock and scatter material
However most of my time was spent on some 1-to-1 scale terrain projects.  Plumbing issues meant the entire back yard was dug up, so now it's time to level out the ground, truck in some turf underlay and spread it out and then lay some new turf.  Not what I wanted to be spending time on the be honest.

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Orphan 9 kickstarter figure

So this week was more of the Orphan 9 base and figure.

Base getting near done
On the base I added some weathering.  First up was some rust and stains on the wall plate and beam.  I went from dark orange/brown to light orange with paint and then added some rust coloured pigments (from Vallejo).  I then wet down the wall and streaked/stained the pigments down the wall.  Still might try using the enamel AK rust wash I have too.

On the green door I added scuff marks, some rust spots and some glazes (dark to the bottom, lighter yellow to the top) to add some variation.  Might need some more contrast there.

I superglued in the electric wire around the top and added in some wire stands from the light.  They aren't really visible so I need to do something extra there to show that the light isn't working.  Maybe a hanging down glass cover?
Ugg, panda eyes.  Try again

Then it was onto the figure.  I started with the head as it was going to the hardest part being so small.  I spent 2-3 hours trying to get it right.  I was being super careful as if I did too many layers of paint it was start to show.  The eyes especially were hard.  I got the left eye on the first go.  The right eye (always harder) took 4 goes.  I had to drop down to a 000 brush and use the next step up magnification on the head lens set to see what I was doing.

Looking like a face
Still not 100% but I'm stopping before I break it again.  On the zoom it looks pretty good (much better than panda eyes on the earlier go.  The white stripe in the hair was a bit of an accident.  I was painting the hair black going around the head and left a white stripe.  I think it added a nice accent/highlight so I left it.

Base colours blocked in
Rather than go for the traditional black stealth suit I the wife suggested a more army camouflage option.  Didn't really want that but went for a military jumpsuit style.  The purple doesn't go with the boots so need to change that up.  However against the base she really stands out.