With these being such new models there aren’t any painted examples out there to get inspiration from. This is good in that anything that I do should be ok but bad in that I find deciding on a colour scheme one of the hardest things to do when starting a new project. Whilst there are no painted models out there, or none that I can find, there is quite a bit of artwork that shows the Alchemist’s Guild with a mainly green colour scheme to them. In particular the images on the web site showing off the whole team. Nothing bright or garish but it’s a nice starting point and is the way I am going to go with my minis.
I’ve structured this guide a little bit differently to my previous offerings in that I’ve started by breaking it down into colours rather that parts of the model. So for example I’ll explain how I did the ‘Green’ but on the model this could be used for trousers or jackets depending on the model in question. I’ve switched back to what I consider normal for things like skin, hair, buckles and other common items.
I started off using the airbrush with Vallejo Black Surface Primer (74.602). Then once this was dry I went back over the model with Vallejo Grey Surface Primer (74.601) but I sprayed down at about a forty five degree angle. This helps to show where the light will catch the model and sets up the highlights and shading.
Green: Using the art work from the Guild Ball website as a guide I picked out the areas that I was going to paint green and started off by using a thinned down Vallejo Interior Green (71.010) as a base. I then highlighted this with a fifty/fifty mix of the Interior Green and Vallejo Escorpena Green (72.732). For a final highlight I then added more Escorpena Green to the mix and applied this to the areas that I thought would catch the most light.
Brown: Again using the art work as a guide I started off the brown areas with a thinned down Vallejo Charred Brown (72.045). This was then highlighted using Vallejo Leather Brown (72.040) before a final highlight of Vallejo Desert Yellow (72.763). This final highlight was used to pick out the areas that would catch the most light.
Shirts: As all the shirts had the same white look I started these off with thinned down Vallejo Bone White (72.034). White being a colour I struggle with and wanting this to have a natural material feel I then used a thinned down Vallejo Off White (70.820) to give everything a more ‘white’ feel. For the final stage I used Citadel Ceramite White to pick out key areas and reinforce that feel of a crisp white shirt.
Flesh: To start with I first used a thinned down Vallejo Dwarf Skin (72.041). With the base colour dry I used Citadel Orgryn Flesh wash to darken things up. The next step was to go back over things with the Dwarf Skin Mix used in the first step but this time starting to pick out the highlights. I then carried on the highlights using Vallejo Elf Skintone (72.004) again thinned 50/50. The final highlight was done using Vallejo Pale Flesh (72.003) which was again thinned down 50/50 with water. This highlight was really about picking out the bits that would catch the most light.
Light Hair: For the light hair I started off with a base coat of Citadel Skrag Brown. This was then highlighted with Vallejo Leather Brown (72.040). For the final highlight I mixed some Vallejo Sun Yellow (72.006) with the Leather Brown.
Red Hair: Red hair is something I have never done before so I did some searching on the net and came across several options that led me to this mix using the paints I had available. To start things off I used Vallejo Burnt Umber (71.941) as a base coat. I then highlighted this with Citadel Skrag Brown. Next up I mixed some Vallejo Leather Brown (72.040) into the Skrag Brown for the highlights. This was all done by eye, mixing until I had something I felt happy with.
Glass vials & flasks: For the glass vials and flasks that the models are carrying I wanted to try and do something that would make them stand out. To do this I gave them all a coat of Vallejo Steel (71.065). Then to make them look like they are filled with different chemicals I used some Badger Ghost tints. Specifically Plasma Fluid (D6-180), Green (D6-169), Yellow (D6-XXX) and Blood Red (D6-XXX). I used a different colour on each vial or flask so it looks like they all have a selection of potions. Then as a finishing touch I used Vallejo Desert Yellow (72.763) on the tops to give the impression of corks sealing the potion in.
Details: For the various buckles and buttons I went with a metallic look by using Vallejo Copper (71.068) and then highlighted this with Vallejo Gold (71.066). For the Alchemist guild icon I started off with Vallejo Steel (71.065) and then used Vallejo Light Livery Green (72.733) in a thin coat over the top. This gives a slight metallic look to things which I think suites the feel of the Alchemists.
Fire: For the fire on Midas and Mercury I started off with a base of Citadel Abbadon Black. Then I started building up the layers making sure to leave some of the preceding layers showing each time. Over the black I first added Citadel Khorne Red; next up was Citadel Mephiston Red, then Citadel Blazing Orange and then Citiadel Flash Gitz Yellow. The final highlight, done sparingly was a few spots of Citadel Ceramite White. That’s a lot of steps but it doesn’t take too long and I think it’s worth that little bit of effort. Just remember that fire is normally brighter the nearer you are to the source.
Flask: Because the mascot does not follow the same colour pallet I painted him separately starting off with a thinned down Vallejo Copper (72.068) applied with the airbrush. Next up I used a thinned down Vallejo Gold (71.066) sprayed down at about a forty five degree angle to get some highlights started. To then flatten things down a bit and give a more weathered feel I applied two coats of Secret Weapon Baby Poop Wash. Once this was dry I used the Copper to highlight all the edges before a final highlight of gold on the areas that would catch the light. For the items on the tray I used the same method described above in the Glass vials & flasks section.
Bases: For the bases I made some custom green stuff inserts and started off by priming them with Vallejo Black Surface Primer (74.602). The first colour on the base was an even coat of Vallejo Charred Brown (72.045). This was then followed by a good dry-brush of Vallejo Leather Brown (72.040), before a final dry-brush with Vallejo Desert Yellow (72.763). With the colours on the whole base was given a wash of Vallejo Brown Wash (76.513) and once this was dry a wash of Vallejo Desert Dust Wash (76.522). The final painting step was to then go round the edges of the cracks with the Desert Yellow. As a finishing touch I also painted some white lines onto the base, to try and give the feel of a ‘pitch’ using a thinned down Citadel Ceramite White. Once painted I added some Army Painter ‘Meadow Flowers’ and some Gamers Grass ‘6mm Mixed Green small’ grass tufts. The final step for the bases was to then give them a dusting of Secret Weapon Dark Earth weathering powder followed by a dusting of Secret Weapon Dark Yellow weathering powder. I find that this last step just helps to tie the model and base together.
With the model and base completed everything was sealed with a coat of Vallejo Satin Varnish (26.652). As well as protecting the models, because they are gaming pieces it also just takes the edge off some of the colours and I think gives things a more natural feel.
Full Paint and Weathering Product List:
Black Surface Primer (74.602) Vallejo
Grey Surface Primer (74.601) Vallejo
Interior Green (71.010) Vallejo
Escorpena Green (72.732) Vallejo
Charred Brown (72.045) Vallejo
Leather Brown (72.040) Vallejo
Desert Yellow (72.763) Vallejo
Bone White (72.034) Vallejo
Off White (70.820) Vallejo
Dwarf Skin (72.041) Vallejo
Elf Skintone (72.004) Vallejo
Pale Flesh (72.003) Vallejo
Sun Yellow (72.006) Vallejo
Burnt Umber (71.941) Vallejo
Steel (71.065) Vallejo
Copper (71.068) Vallejo
Gold (71.066) Vallejo
Light Livery Green (72.733) Vallejo
Abbadon Black Citadel
Skage Brown Citadel
Khorne Red Citadel
Mephiston Red Citadel
Blazing Orange Citadel
Flash Gitz Yellow Citadel
Ceramite White Citadel
Ghost Tint Plasma Fluid (D6-180) Badger
Ghost Tint Green (D6-169) Badger
Ghost Tint Yellow (D6-111) Badger
Ghost Tint Fresh Blood (D6-111) Badger
Washes:
Ogryn Flesh Wash Citadel
Baby Poop Wash Secret Weapon
Dark Yellow Wash (76.503) Vallejo
Brown Wash (76.513) Vallejo
Desert Dust Wash (76.522) Vallejo
Other products:
Dark Earth Weathering Powder Secret Weapon
Dark Yellow Weathering Powder Secret Weapon
Satin Varnish (26.652) Vallejo
