I’ve been sticking with the Iyandan for this week and I’ve made some good progress on the WraithBlades and the Psychers, but I have also taken the time to get some wo l rk in progress pictures along the way. Some of these will help me if I do decide to paint up any more units in the future. If I remember to get enough I may even get around to writing a new painting guide, which is something that I haven’t don for quire some time now. As I have no idea how the different weapons work in game terms i decided to magnetise the arms so that I can either use them with a pair of swords or with an axe and shield. From an aesthetic point of view I like both options, it just means a little bit more painting.
For the Farseer and Spiritseer I wanted them to stand out from the Wraths but at the same time be instantly recognisable as being part of the same force. The cloaks gave me the perfect way to do this by keeping the armour yellow like the Wraith and making the cloaks blue so that stand out but keep the same colour palette. I have to say that I’m really happy with how they are turning out and do match what I set out to achieve. One of the things I wanted to achieve with these guys was to get some smooth blends, or at least as smooth as my current skill level can achieve, with the cloaks so I used the airbrush to do as much of the heavy lifting as possible with the blue. Then came back in with the brush to do the yellow armour areas. I managed to get about ninety percent of the way there with the airbrush and then I thinned down some contrast Talassar Blue to make a wash before doing quite a bright edge highlight. Keeping with my idea that what I’m aiming for here is something that I would be happy putting down on a table top I do like how they are looking at the moment. There are still a lot of details to work through but I’m happy with where they are at the moment and really feel I can get them finished for next week.
Fore the WraithBlades I’ve just followed the same process as I used previously for the WraithGuard. So as a recap that was a light sand colour for the primer followed by a coat of Iyandan yellow contrast paint to get the base colour laid down. I did a better job this time round of managing the pooling but there is still room for improvement, but I’m confident that will come with time. What I have found is just how perishable a skill painting is, my brush control now compared to twelve months ago is far worse than I thought it would be. Now it’s fair to say it wasn’t fantastic before but there is certainly room for improvement and I’m hoping the old adage of practice makes perfect pay off quickly. Anyway back to the Wraith, with those base colours down I then did a zenith highlight with the airbrush to start to bring out the highlights and to give them a nice rich yellow look. I have also started work on shading in around all of the gems and in all the joints in all of the armour sections. This is one of the most boring elements of the whole process but it’s one that does need doing. To try and break this up a bit I have been going back to some of the gems that have been shaded and adding the base blue ready for latter. It breaks things up but I have to say I do have a little bit regret that painted them all on the first squad as it would have made this a little bit easier or if not easier then certainly quicker.
The progress this week doesn’t appear to be that great but when you take into account the build and clean up time required I feel like I’ve made good progress. I don’t know about you guys but I always underestimate just how long it does take to clean up and build a box of models. That being said I do feel that they should be finished and ready to share with you all next week. The key elements are to do the highlights and then finish the details off what bulk of which are on the the weapons. I’m still not a hundred present how I’m going to finish the blades but in keeping with my desire to have them finished for next week I’m not going dwell on them to much. I have a few ideas so I’m just going to go for it and will live the end result, as long as it isn’t really terrible, which I don’t think it will be. I’m hoping will learn some really cool new techniques when I’m at Adepticon so there is a bit of me that wants to be lazy and leave them until I get back. But the practical part of me knows that I will have new things I want to work on when I get back and they will never get finished if I do that. So better have them finished to the best table top standard I can do now rather than run the risk that they never get finished.
Not directly a hobby activity I also have my prep and packing to do ready for Adepticon. Really this is looking at what items I need for the courses I’m attending and making sure I have all the paints and brushes that need. I did consider just picking them up once I got there but I know that I would have persistent nagging feeling that something wouldn’t be available so it’s just easier to get everything sorted now. It’s not like I need to take a lot of stuff and everything apart from a few paints will fit is simple pencil case. The only things I’ve had to get specifically for the trip are some synthetic brushes, even though I know I have some I just can’t remember where I’ve put them. One of the courses also says you need a few paints, five to be precise so again I’ve got some fresh ones just because I think they may be a bit less prone to leaking. Obviously I will be taking no chances and will have them in a plastic bag away from my cloths, or else I may be starting a new trend.
That’s all I have for you this week. I’m planning on hiding from the world next week to give myself the best chance possible of not getting the dreaded vid and not being able to travel for Adepticon. So until next week I hope you all stay safe, enjoy your hobby time and hope you can all pop back next week to see how things are progressing it’s the Wraiths and for a final Adepticon update.
