Kyra & Lavarath (#3000), and Ebonwrath (#77102) WIP

[Gryphon]

Very In Progress, I've put both together, but am missing 3 pieces from Lavarath (the shoulder armor/pauldrons and base). 

 

 

I wasn't especially thrilled with either model until I saw someone painting Kyra and Lavarath, then I looked it up and found a blog post of Sandra Garrity's that mentioned the wings were designed to be interchangeable.  So I bought both the blister and the box and immediately started putting them together, swapping the wings.  Ebonwrath must have warped some coming out of the mould, because I had to green stuff the wing up quite a bit to make it fit.  Still, I think it looks epic and I'm hoping to get her primed post haste.  I've emailed reaper customer support about the missing pauldron bits and base (that's what happens when you don't finish putting your model together, then leave it alone for years - lesson learned) so hopefully I can get replacements and get that pair finished and primed soon, too.  

 

I am wondering about the colors for Lavarath- 1)Black with fiery highlights and silvery armour, 2)Something similar to the official painting of T'char, Dragon of Flame and Fury, with silvery armor,

Or 3)Mottled dark and light browns to make a sandy/desert effect.  Probably with dark armour.

4) I also considered red, with highlights into oranges and yellows, but the only two painted versions I can find online are reds, so I like the idea of being a bit different. 

 

Please let me know if any of the color scheme sounds more appealing to you. 

 

Ebonwrath will be typical black dragon colours unless massive inspiration hits before I get started. 

 

I'm not certain how well I can pull off any of the above Lavarath effects, but if we don't stretch ourselves, we don't grow.  Or at least, not very quickly. At minimum, it'll be fun!

Edited November 21 by Gryphon
Correcting a typo

[Chaoswolf]

I like options 1 and 2, or possibly a combination of them both.

 

 

Also, you have good taste in reading material.

[Gryphon]

12 hours ago, Chaoswolf said:

I like options 1 and 2, or possibly a combination of them both.

 

 

Also, you have good taste in reading material.

*grin* Thanks!

 

I've been trying to figure out how to do T'Char's style.  I think it's painted in a orange/rust-ish base colour (the main wing webbing colour) with layers of thinned black ink for the 'black fire' and dry brushing in the orange and yellow highlights.  Does that seem right to you, or are there nuances and techniques I'm still missing? 

 

T'Char was the first professionally painted dragon/miniature I ever really noticed (back when my idea of painting a miniature was putting some pretty colours on, in one layer, thick enough to make sure you couldn't see the primer through the paint).  I've been wanting to emulate it and somewhat afraid to try ever since. This may well be my time. 

Edited November 21 by Gryphon

[Gryphon]

I got Ebonwrath primed, then knocked her off the painting table and the front left leg popped off.  I put it back on and fixed the dream with 10- minute plumbers epoxy (like green stuff only almost the same color as my primer, and with a 3 minute working time).  I'm thinking of spreading some primer into a container and painting it over the fix, since I don't have an actual paint on primer. I'm hoping to have the base coat today. 

[Gryphon]

For Ebonwrath, I remembered the Forgotten Realms story about the ancient black dragon slain by a group who had become known as the purple dragon knights, because it's scales had faded to purple. I decided that these scales would have a purple undertone.  So I'm basing her purple, and going to highlight and shade her in that color scheme.  Then I'm planning on diluting some black ink (possibly with a drop of purple ink in it), and layering that on until she's (mostly) black.  We'll see how it ends up. 

I will probably have a few layers of ink mixed with pledge (aka future floor wax) before I do any other inky layers.  It's supposed to increase the pooling effect, which might work too good effect on the wings, methinks. 

Edited November 25 by Gryphon

[Gryphon]

Added a couple layers of purple, and one of the brown.  Discovered a couple moulding lines I hadn't noticed while I was prepping it, and one visible seam.  I feel like I really should fix them, even though I don't want to, given that I've finally started painting it. Hopefully I can fix the local areas without having to strip it and start over.  

[Gryphon]

Behold! The black dragon!

*snicker*

 

a bit more work on highlights, then I'll start building up the browns and tans.

 

Then I'll play with black ink... and stuff. 

[Gryphon]

Done more highlighting, evened it out a bit with some purple glaze.  That may have been a mistake; time will tell. I also started to work up the browns a bit.  I'm undecided if I should deepen the shadows now, or wait until I've glazed it black.