So you need a Eldar Guardian and you only have 10mins... well I have the answer. I am doing some paint test for my upcoming Eldar army and I stumbled across this really quick process. Basically it is a two color prime and a wash.
Rhino 2 and 3 are done. This is the last paint project I can do without setting up the airbrush. sigh.. I may have gone a bit over board with the weathering but I was having fun with it. Now off to the garage to see how much I can get set up.
I finished up weathering and details on the Space Marine Assault Squad. The helmets turned out good, although they do kinda look like a football team.
The weathering on the jump packs turned out great. I had to dry brush some Chaos Black to get the scorch marks dark enough.
After looking at my test paint squad for a couple of weeks, I came to the conclusion I wasn't happy with the fast paint job. The level of detail I had put into them was poor. While painting round 2 I have brought the level of painting up a bit and fix some of the things that annoyed me looking at the test paint squad. The results is I am happy with the 5 new marines I just finished and the project as a whole has slowed down.
So after spending more time cleaning mold lines, painting lenses, cleaning over paint and a whole new method of bases, here is the result:
I am happier with the result, but it will take more like 3-4 hours + drying time per-marine instead of 1-2. For example, the base now requires 3 drying cycles instead of one and they wash is now painted on to where I want it instead of all over, all of this takes time. With painting time being precious as a working Dad, it is going to take a while before I am on to my next project. However, I am much more proud of my army... lesson learned.
My goal with the Imperial Fists is a table quality army without putting in a great deal of time. The idea is to have a good looking army and still be able to finish a squad in 6-8 man-hours. I want my marines to look as if they have come out of battle, grimy worn used troops and tanks. Imperial Fists are siege fighters and siege fighting is a dirty business. In phase one I'll talk about how to get quick zenithal highlighting and base coat using the airbrush.
Quick Zenithal Highlights using an Airbrush
I got the idea from this great article from Philippe Villé written in back in September 2008 adn from Les at awesomepaintjob.com. Basically just use the airbrush as the light source.
Step 1: Prime
Prime the model white. I use the airbrush to prime my minis . It give me more control and better results. I have a paint are set up on my workbench so I can prime right there. Here is the mix I use.
One note is that this mix is very thin. When airbrushing it on it is very important to work slow and do not let it collect. Let the primer dry for 24 hours (8 would work, but 24 is better).
Step 2: Base Coat
I base coat the whole mini Plague Brown (GW equivalent Bubonic Brown) which is the color of yellow shadow, I know it is brown, but there you go. What I am doing is painting the shadow first. Cover the whole model. You can let the base color dry or paint the highlight right away, it doesn't seem to matter.
I have found that Vallejo Game Colors airbrush nicely with a minimum amount of thinning. To clean up I clean the color cup in water and run two color cups of Windex through the brush. You will still need to do a full disassemble and clean once in a while, but that works between colors.
Step 3: Highlights
Here is the magic. Hold the mini so that the top is facing the airbrush. Now just paint the highlight color, in this case Vallejo Game Color Sun Blast Yellow (GW equivalent Sunburst Yellow), from the top of the model. You will notice that the calves of the space marine don't get hit with the highlight color. Angle the model just enough to so that the highlight color hit the part of the calf. This is how I judge angle while painting.
As you can see below the shadow should be 100% Plague Brown and the highlight should be 100% Bald Moon Yellow. In between is a gradient between the two, the same way blending would create.
From straight on the model doesn't seem dramatically highlighted. However when you look at them on the table it makes a big difference.
