Dusting off a few older projects to finish off 2020

[WhiteWulfe]

I figured I'd make one "mega" thread for some of this with the goal of not only working on a few new things, but to also finish off a few projects that are in various states.

 

Several Many moons ago I won the Mystic Circle set on Reaper Live (Reaper 77556), and it's sat on the gaming table for some time now waiting for inspiration.  Now that I've ideas for a second Infinity gaming table, and a few other hobbying things have come in the mail, I'm putting it to use.  More than likely, this will wind up being semi-repurposed into terrain for such a table, but also be able to be used standalone for fantasy use.  In short, I want to still be able to have it as a circle (perhaps even with a sacrificial altar within it - I'd have to order such first, naturally), but also somewhat more spread out as cover / line of sight blocking elements of terrain to be used in a wild forest Infinity table.

 

^Obligatory no-paint photo, with Queen of Hell in there.  King of Hell is out of frame, because of still being assembled.

 

^A number of different pigments were used, but I'll be settling into more or less just six: Vallejo Desert Dust, Vallejo Sienna Natural, Vallejo Light Sienna, AMMO Light Rust, AMMO Medium Rust, and AK Interactive Smoke.  This is also where I realized one almost critical flaw with my plan - my pigment fixer is enamel, so boy did things get dark when the fixer was applied, aaaaand things got tacky too.  Thankfully, a coat of Vallejo Mecha Gloss Varnish solved this, and I'd only started on two pieces.

 

^The other two pieces right now are simply airbrushed with a mixture of Brown Liner and Dragon White, and then sealed with Vallejo Mecha Gloss Varnish.  Hopefully such will provide a better barrier when I go to seal the pigments this time, and of course not have the fixer make things go all tacky on me.

 

So with this, I had originally planned to use them to learn more about pigments and how they work together (I still am), but I suspect I'm going about it the wrong way, especially on the ground.  Compared to my usual many layers of drybrushing, I'm not feeling how that ground looks so far...  Nor am I quite feeling how the rocks look.  It feels like they lack a lot of definition that a bit of drybrushing could easily pull out, so I've been tempted to do that to help with lifting the highlights before I move onto the next plan for trying out with these - as a canvas for practicing/learning to use my Oilbrushers.

 

~~~

Next up we have the crashed Aquila Lander from the Battle for Macraggae.  This was used to try and get a basic baseline of my airbrush initially, but then I got inspired and just kept going, so I'm definitely wanting to continue this project...

^So first up was Mission Models Black Primer, which truth be told I was (and still am) having trouble with spraying it through my brush.  I follow their directions, but I get a decent amount of tip dry as well as spattering.  Not sure if it's the 0.3mm nozzle I have, or if it's technique.  I'll have to spend more time at a later date working such out.

 

^Second layer went down much easier, although I don't quite remember what gray I used.  It may have been a mixture of Mission Models Black and White.  Third coat was Reaper HD Twilight Purple, once again through the airbrush, and it behaved a LOT better than the others did.  Funny how either a bit of practice with things or just using paint I'm more used to the properties of can make it work out so much better.

 

^Next up came drybrushing, mainly with Reaper Bones paints.  I think this is two, maybe three layers in.  First layer was Saddle Brown mixed with Heraldic Red, then Heraldic Red, then Vallejo Game Color Hot Orange....

 

^Then came another four layers of drybrushing: Sunrise Orange, Lantern Yellow, Wolf Grey, and finally Bleached Linen.  After such came cockpit details courtesy of a mix of CAV's Schwarzenwald Gray and Reaper MPS Pure Black, and once those details had been painted it was thinned a fair bit and then used for lining of pretty much the entire.

 

This piece will also be used with that second board I'm planning for Infinity, partially due to already having it, and partially due to the feeling that it would just fit into the whole overall idea anyways.

 

^Also, in case anyone is wondering, this is how the terrain looks under the usual lights we have in the house - house lights are 2700K due to my eyes, while my airbrush booth is 5000K or so they say.

 

Biggest thing I'll be using this terrain for is practicing aging and rusting techniques, but also to try out my AK Interactive Weathering Pencils.

 

~~
Last but not least is 17341 Rauthuros from last year's thread.  This time, I definitely do want to finish him off, and I'm also rather looking forward to making use of my airbrush to give his wings even more... luster I think is the word?  And yes, I'm going to keep to the previous idea of using mainly iridescent and pearlescent paints on him, because why not.  They look good, and I want to see them anyways

 

I'm looking forward to finishing off a few of these, or perhaps even all of them.  All would be lovely, especially given their size!

[Glitterwolf]

Looking forward to see these finished!

[Inarah]

I'm impressed that you're tackling large pieces.  I think the mystic circle is going to make great concrete ruins for a sci-fi table.  Add some low straight walls and maybe a surviving wall with a door way and you have yourself a ruined building or settlement.   I like the purple on the crashed ship.  I've got a few pieces of wreckage I don't know what to do with, so I'll be watching for ideas. :) 

 

 

[Kuroneko]

Looking great so far! 

 

Make sure that you give your airbrush a thorough cleaning after using anything metallic or colourchange, it's not great when you get random flecks of gold in your lovely dull terrain.

 

Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything 

[WhiteWulfe]

3 hours ago, Inarah said:

I'm impressed that you're tackling large pieces.  I think the mystic circle is going to make great concrete ruins for a sci-fi table.  Add some low straight walls and maybe a surviving wall with a door way and you have yourself a ruined building or settlement.   I like the purple on the crashed ship.  I've got a few pieces of wreckage I don't know what to do with, so I'll be watching for ideas. :) 

Oooh, building some walls to go with it also means there are options to add in more things, and/or make it bigger too. Definitely a tempting idea. 

 

As for the purple, I agree, I'm rather happy with such. I originally was looking at a ghost ship idea (or Space Wolf grey-blue), but then as I was looking at my rack the purple just felt... Right.  I'm glad too, because that purple is going to hopefully stick around, as the weathering will hopefully add even more contrast (assuming I don't go totally overboard on rust and streaking effects) 

 

2 hours ago, Kuroneko said:

Looking great so far! 

 

Make sure that you give your airbrush a thorough cleaning after using anything metallic or colourchange, it's not great when you get random flecks of gold in your lovely dull terrain.

 

Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything 

I think I'm going to go with option b: buy a second airbrush specifically for metallics and such.  $30 for that let's me "sneak in" another $30 worth of basing material into the same box, so I won't have to be as thorough about it - or I could be nuts and get two airbrushes, and have the second extra one for sealing but now we're just getting excessive 

 

Thanks for the warning on such, it's greatly appreciated. 

[WhiteWulfe]

This afternoon's focus has been on laundry a bit of progress on the Aquila Lander, specifically adding in a few extra accents of colours here and there, and of course making the engine bays look a tad more... Lively.

^Wings and engine bay first....

 

^And the main body, where I'm slowly working on bringing colour into the glass.  Hoping those five will help sell the effect it's older glass...

[Glitterwolf]

I love the purple!

But you already knew that..

[WhiteWulfe]

On 11/30/2020 at 2:32 AM, Glitterwolf said:

I love the purple!

But you already knew that..

Purple is a rather beloved colour, especially in our house

 

So!  More work done on the Aquila Lander!

Colours used: 

Windows had 73422 T-Gel Blue (CAV paint), 9683 Morning After Blues, and 9461 Vampiric Mist

Other colours: 9426 Charred Brown, 9433 Mountain Stone, 9089 Cloudy Grey, 73407 Blitzkrieg Gray (mainly used on window frame, as well as engine and pipe accents)

Also used: Citadel shades: purple, blue, and Agrax.

 

^So... A number of things have gotten more attention, although in some ways, it also feels like not all that much was done, yet more things just feel like they're popping out.  Main goal today was to get that glass looking nicer, and while it isn't perfect, or near what I was hoping for, I'm also not going to complain.  It feels like it has this almost aged look to it while also giving away that it is indeed glass, which works for me.  Same with the cockpit frames.  Not the best of highlighting, but it sells the effect, which is good enough in my thoughts.  Besides, once you're a foot away it just works, so eh, I'm not going to sweat those details all too much.

 

Also got some colour in the various accents in the engine bays as well as the various broken pipes in some areas, and then hit up some of the rocks and rubble with a wash (with the large tail section getting almost all of the ground washed with Agrax).  I like the extra depth it has compared to the others, but I'm definitely going to have to go back over that with a few layers of drybrush to get the highlights back, but I strongly suspect I'm going to wind up doing the same to the other four pieces, because I'm rather happy with how it turned out, even if it means I have to bring the highlights back.  It was an experiment, and it wound up being a double edged one, but one that I'm happy with in the end, so screw it, I'm sticking with that win.

[WhiteWulfe]

Additional progress on the crashed lander, as well as mystic circle!  Pics are somewhat brighter than how things look in the real world as my phone decided they needed to be brighter, but I'll live - it shows off more of the detail that way, and I strongly suspect that not everyone has a living room that's as dark as mine is.

 

Paints used: all the previously mentioned paints for drybrushing, Agrax Earthshade, Nuln Oil, Reaper Bones Dragon White, 9463 Eldritch Purple, 9296 Malvernian Purple, and 73421 High Guard Purple

 

^so, first up we have the Mystic Circle.  The two pieces up front are the ones I did pigments on, and in the end, I found them to not quite have the look I wanted, so I hit them up with Agrax Earthshade, let that dry, and then re-applied the ground drybrush I'd done previously.  Six steps takes a bit, but I've gotten relatively quick about it so it didn't really take all that long in the grand scheme of things.  Not sure if the colour difference between the pigment and the non-pigment ones is because I missed a drybrushing step, or if it's that extra step offering more detail.  Truth be told, I do prefer the look of the two up front, as there does feel like there's a lot more semblance of life to them versus the back ones, so I'll have to think about that next time.  I strong suspect since it's only an hour of work or so, that next time I will do the pigments, fix the pigments, hit it up with a wash of some description, and then drybrush on top of that.  It's "only" an extra 1-1.5 hours, but it does have extra subtlety to it that I rather like.

 

I was originally planning on hitting these up with some of my Oilbrushers in order to get used to them, but the more I look at this mystic circle... The happier I am about how it looks now, and that it could just use a few tufts, and maybe some of those enamel weathering effects I have to fully seal the deal (and add in age).  It's a tough call.  Do I call it now, seal, and add in a few things like tufts, or do I go that extra 1-1.5 hours, tie all four pieces together fully, and then do the final seal.

 

Oh yeah, before I forget, I wound up adding in Dragon White as a final drybrush layer, since the stone veins weren't quite popping out how I wanted them to with Bleached Linen.

 

As for what's left, after a coat of gloss varnish I'm thinking the following is what's left to sell the last little bits how I want to...

• Extra details to the stones with the Oilbrushers
• Enamel weathering effects, specifically Ammo's Slimy Grimy Light/Dark, as well as AK Interactive's Moss Deposits and Grime Deposits.
• Seal with matte varnish, add in some tufts, then call it done

 

^So, next up is the crashed Aquila lander.  Second set of drybrushing was done to the ground, followed by three layers of my interpretation of stippling using two different Monument Bomb Wick Artillery brushes - first was the BAB (a flat brush, more or less), and then the subsequent two colours were done with the DB2 angled flat, as it's noticeably smaller, and the angled bristles allow for a few different things.  I'm personally not all that happy about how the small broken off wing section is looking (on the far right), but I've had a few people already comment that they like how it looks a lot more weathered, like the elements are taking apart the factory paint job, and looking at it that way... I can see where they're coming from.  It definitely does help sell that look, that's for sure.

Close-up/detail shots of each piece behind the spoiler.

Spoiler

 

^Better/closer shots of the cockpit section

 

^Close-ups of the broken off engine

 

^Close-ups of the broken wing

 

^Closer photos of the tail section

 

^And the final close-up of the small bit that I'm still honestly debating about what my thoughts are

 

 

I'm starting to think this is building towards the end stretch of it all, with plans for pretty much the following steps...

1. Sponging (or stippling) of Spectral White to try and really sell the faded purple paint, at least in a few strategic areas
2. Sponging of a few rust-like colours (I'm thinking Reaper Bones Dragon Red, Reaper HD Burning Orange, and then Vallejo Game Color Hot Orange, although it's also tempting to go at it from a slightly different perspective: 9426 Charred Brown, 9462 Succubus Kiss, 9458 Kobold Scale, then 9402 Heraldic Red, then 9405 Volcanic Orange mixed with Heraldic Red)
3. Tempted, but not certain yet: Vallejo Mecha Gloss Varnish, then Tamiya Black Panel Liner Accent to help some details come out better
4. Seal with Vallejo Mecha Matte Varnish, then AK Interactive weathering pencils, specifically using the wet method and adding in more rust, chips, scuffs, scratches, grunge in the engine and electronics bays, and maybe a few other details (extra love to the rocks perhaps?)
5. Seal with matte varnish again, and call it done

[WhiteWulfe]

Time for some weathering, to get rid of the one comment I've heard numerous times - it doesn't look like it's been there for as long as the ground has piled up around it, paint looks too close to "factory fresh!"

 

Paints used:

9296 Malvernian Purple

9680 Spectra White

73421 High Guard Purple

 

^Yup, back to shots of the painting desk.  World isn't going to end ^_^;;;;  Anyways, started with sponging on Spectral White, and while I was initially using a GreenStuffWorld 8mm weathering stick, I quickly found I really didn't like not only the pattern it was leaving, but also how it operated.  Sure, it was easy to hold, but just didn't quite feel as nice as the second thing I used - basic makeup wedge sponges randomly torn up.  Second pass was with High Guard Purple, and then followed up with Malvernian Purple.  I could have gone to my fourth purple (Eldritch Purple), but I liked how the effect was looking, and decided I'd rather keep moving.

 

I have hit the model up with 9462 Succubus Kiss and 9458 Kobold Scale, but haven't taken pics of such yet as I had to let the paw cramps die down first.  Something about pinching a sponge and jabbing repeatedly causing muscles to throw a fit...

[WhiteWulfe]

Better pics in the morning, but here's some room lighting (and more or less kinda close to how it looks in the living room) pics of the whole setup....

 

^Mystic circle is first!  Turns out I forgot to drybrush the ground on two of the pieces, which is why there was such a noticeable difference in the colour.  Oops *laughs nervously*

 

^Room lighting pic showing how it more or less looks under room lights, although the pic's darker than the real... Oh well.

 

Only way I'm getting this under lights all in one piece is by clearing the assembly desk, which I'll probably do in a day or two, but in the meantime, here's an unedited better photo of the cockpit under my painting lights...

[Glitterwolf]

Yes, that's even better!

 

[WhiteWulfe]

Totally haven't edited those pics I took of the crashed Aquila Lander.  Or the nicer ones of the Mystic Circle.  Oops.  Coated everything with Vallejo Mecha Matte Varnish, and then out came the AK Interactive Weathering Pencils....

 

^Since I hadn't quite gotten everything along the bottom, as well as the fact that some things had rubbed off and I had no experience as to how these pencils would react...  I went with Black, Sepia, then Earth Brown to tidy up along the edge of the bases.  A drop of Golden Acrylics Water Wetter was added to the distilled water in order for things to flow more readily, and y'know what, for what I was asking of it I was rather happy with the results.  I'll tidy them up tomorrow morning as I'm rather tired.  Three of the pieces have had this done, I'll try to remember to take before and after pics on the last piece.

[WhiteWulfe]

Quick edit phone snapshot of how things change with the process...

^First pic is how it starts with the bare plastic showing, from either me either missing painting it, or from rub-off...  Second is after the three layers, and third is after blending.  What I really like is that these don't require anything fancy (no airbrush booth sucking out fumes), and I can continue them later on provided I haven't sealed them...

[Glitterwolf]

10 hours ago, WhiteWulfe said:

Quick edit phone snapshot of how things change with the process...

^First pic is how it starts with the bare plastic showing, from either me either missing painting it, or from rub-off...  Second is after the three layers, and third is after blending.  What I really like is that these don't require anything fancy (no airbrush booth sucking out fumes), and I can continue them later on provided I haven't sealed them...

 

If you use Reaper Brush on Sealer, you can just paint over that again and reseal.

 

I've done this a few times when paint kept coming off a mini, sealed it so i wouldn't rub it off anymore.

Than continued the next layers and sealed when finished.