Step-By-Step Tau Devilfish

I'm on a bit of a transport vehicle kick right now, so out comes the Devilfish.

Step 1: Astronomican Grey

My previous paint pot of Space Wolves Grey was extremely thick.  I got quite a few comments about how many coats I claimed I used vs. how many other people had to use in their experiences.  Having a new pot, I feel their confusion.  You don't want to paint Space Wolves Grey on black.  So this is a bit of a basecoat so I don't have to do so many SWG coats.

Step 2: Space Wolves Grey

My Tau roll Bork'an.  The codex describes their color scheme as Space Wolves Grey with Hawk Turquoise highlights.  The accompanying picture was a flat out lie.  No way in hell that was Space Wolves Grey.  Turns out though ... I like the SWG and Hawk Turquoise scheme better. ;)

Step 3: Asurmen Blue

I paint my Tau differently than I do my other armies.  I usually paint everyone very bright, then wash them down.  With the Tau, I'm going for a bit of a brighter, cleaner look than is usual for my armies.  The Asurmen Blue is used in crevices to add a bit of shade and form definition.

Step 4: Skull White

In contrast to the Asurmen, this is edge highlighted to give the other side of the definition.

Step 5: Boltgun Metal

While you're getting all the actual metal bits, lay a few streaks down in areas that look like they'd take some hits.  I'll admit, I had a few to drink at this point and got ahead of myself.  This step really needed to come after the next one.  You want paint scratches to go over any possible paint.  I remedied this by adding the turquoise accents to non-scratched areas.

Step 6: Hawk Turquoise

Interestingly enough, the codex has a phonetic translator for the Tau alphabet.  I don't know the word for devilfish, so I just spelled out "devilfish - 1" using Tau letters.  Close enough.

Step 7: Chaos Black

Not to disparage anyone who chooses to use transfers, but they're just not my style.  I like to try and free-hand any logos I come across.  It's part of the challenge to me.  The key to any insignia is to just break it down step by step.  I'm going for a Bork'an symbol here (I know vehicles are supposed to display the T'au symbol, but whatev), so first, I want a black circle.  Don't worry about screwing up an edge... keep going, finish the circle, then pull out the Space Wolves Grey and touch up.

Step 8: Skull White

Smaller circle inside the black one.  Same idea here: if you mess up the edge, just get out the black afterwards and touch up.

Step 9: Chaos Black

Do each shape one at a time, touch up, move on to next shape.  For the Bork'an symbol, I found it easiest to start with the small circle, then the large area, and lastly the two filler areas.

Step 10: Badab Black

For all the metal bits.

Step 11: Devlan Mud

Ok, this I used on areas where there were metal scratches to dirty it up a little.  Also along the steps under the back hatch.

Step 12: Blood Red

Screens and sensors.  I'm going to do my usual 4-step gem tactic here.  Blood Red is the mid-tone.

Step 13: Scab Red

This is our dark area.  I'm applying this in the upper left area of the lenses as a large blob.  Should take up 1/3 to 1/2 of the lense.

Step 14: Blazing Orange

This is our highlight, and it goes in the opposite area as the dark.  I applied this in the lower right area of the lenses, as a line.

Step 15: Skull White

Depending on the shape of the lens, you'll want this as either a thin line or a dot in the dark area of the lens.

Well there she is; all trussed up and ready to act as mobile terrain for my Hammerheads ;)

Step-By-Step Eldar Waveserpent

Still in an Eldar kinda mood, I painted up a Waveserpent as I am in sore need of some transports.  I took some pics along the way for those of you who are interested ;)

Step 1: Mordian Blue

I am assuming a basecoat of black before this, actually, so I guess there's a step 0.  Mordian is a foundation paint, and is thicker than your typical Citadel paint.  They're amazing for first coats.

Step 2: Enchanted Blue

I'm going for a mottled effect that's unique to the Alaitoc vehicles ... if the various examples in the codex are anything to go by...  There's not much of a plan here, just irregular shaped blobs, more round than sharp.

Step 3: Ice Blue

Smaller blobs, and try to break up the others... i.e. have them hug edges and break the lines between mid and dark blue.

Step 4: Asurmen Blue

The wash is here to not only bring some depth, but to tone down that Ice Blue, as it is actually too bright for what we want.

Step 5: Dark Angels Green

This is specifically for the pilot.  I'm going for an effect that looks like he's illuminated by his screen.  Do these in a heavy drybrush upwards along the body, so he looks a little under-lit.

Step 6: Snot Green

Same as step 5, but not as thick.

Step 7: Scorpion Green

Same as step 6, but lighter still.  We should be good to put the canopy down now.

Step 8: Dheneb Stone

For anything bone, this is our base.

Step 9: Devlan Mud

Dowse the bone.

Step 10: Bleached Bone

Staying out of any crevices, this is to work up the bone again.

Step 11: Skull White

This is a drybrushed highlight along the bone edges.

Step 12: Gryphonne Sepia

This is put in the creases and middle areas of the bone to bring some color back.

Step 13: Boltgun Metal

Drybrushed over the various metal areas of the ship.

Step 14: Snot Green

Ok, here we're starting on some of the various gemstones on the ship.  Any you want in green, first cover with Snot Green, our mid-tone.

Step 15: Dark Angels Green

The next step is to have a darkened area in the gemstone close to where the light-source is.  For simplicity's sake, I've chosen the "upper left corner" if I'm looking down at the front of the ship.


Step 16: Scorpion Green

The highlight should be a thin line along the "bottom right corner" of the gemstones ... or the opposite side where you put the dark area.  Normally the next and last step is to put a tiny dot of white in the middle of the dark space for the reflection ... but I'm going to work up a second color of gemstone first.

Step 17: Blood Red

Our mid-tone for any red gemstones.

Step 18: Scab Red

For the dark areas of our red gemstones.

Step 19: Blazing Orange

For the highlight line of our red gemstones.

Step 20: Skull White

Ok, apply your dots in the various gemstones ... and while the white is out, get any runes you want down.  I have a waveserpent rune on the side, and the sword of Khaine on the front ... the beginnings of the Alaitoc craftworld symbol.

Step 21: Iyanden Darksun

Yellow is a notoriously thin paint, so even for runes, I need to lay down a foundation paint first.  For the above, there is the crescent moon behind the sword, and a set of random runes down the left wing ... as it wouldn't be Alaitoc-y enough without more yellow ;)

Step 22:  Sunburst Yellow

Brighten up anything first done in Iyanden ... and there you go. 

Let me know what you think of the mottled effect and how it came out in the end.

Converted Eldar Storm Guardians

I'm looking to build some Storm Guardian squads for my burgeoning Eldar army for a few reasons.  One, they're highly flexible, given their ability to take fusion guns and flamers as special weapons while also being scoring.  Two, I have a feeling given the feel of the newer codices that this kind of squad is more likely to remain useful in a future Eldar Codex release so, to me it's a safe investment.

However, I don't want them to look like the normal Guardians.  I want them to stand out in their own way.  The idea to do this is not my own, it came from page 226 of the BRB where an example Eldar army is shown off.  The Storm Guardians were given hoods and capes from the Wood Elf Glade Guard kit.  I thought it was a fantastic idea, so here we are...

Upon receiving the bits, I came to the realization that the quivers on the cloaks would be a problem ... but promptly decided they were scabbards for the close combat weapons and added chopped hilts to those holding special weapons to drive home this intention.

Step-By-Step Grey Knights

A 5-man Strike Squad with Psycannon ... to be mounted in a Razorback.

Step 1: Boltgun Metal

I toyed with the idea of using Mithril instead, but for one, I'd be left with nothing to highlight, and for another it's just not grim-dark enough.

Step 2: Badab Black

Ok, maybe a little too grim-dark.  With the depth added, I'm going to highlight in silver.  I usually highlight before a wash, but in this case, the silver actually gets lost in the wash, so it will come afterwards.

Step 3: Mithril Silver

Note that I did not do my usual line-edge highlighting.  This was more of a drybrush effect, and I tried to highlight only areas that stood out and from the top down, to emulate a kind of subtle source lighting.

Step 4: Asurmen Blue

For creases and low areas, to add further depth and break up the monotony of an all grey model.

Step 5: Shining Gold

These models have so much detail it's insane.

Step 6: Mithril Silver

Very lightly drybrushed over the golden parts.  This would be followed up by a Devlan Mud wash, but we're going to set up a few other colors that will also use the same wash first.

Step 7: Mechrite Red

GW's team paints the bolter casing black, but I think that's boring, there's not enough red.

Step 8: Blood Red

Covering anything in Mechrite.

Step 9: Macharius Solar Orange

I used to highlight reds with Fiery Orange, but that's been discontinued.  I tried Blazing, but it was too dark, so this foundation paint has taken up the role.  The reds are now ready for Devlan Mud.

Step 10: Dheneb Stone

Purity Seals, Cloth, Scrolls, Skulls.

Step 11: Vermin Brown

Sword handle (and if he had any belt pouches)

Step 12: Devlan Mud

Used on all the gold, reds, creams and the sword handle.

Step 13: Bleached Bone

Moving on with the skulls, scrolls, cloths and purity seals, we're bringing back the color a bit.

Step 14: Skull White

A few things happening here...  The skulls, scrolls, cloth and purity seals are lightly drybrushed along edges and raised areas, the eye-lenses are picked out, and there are now bolts of lightning painted onto the blade.

Step 15: Gryphonne Sepia

To finish off the skulls, scrolls, cloth and purity seals, this was added to the recessed areas.

Step 16: Asurmen Blue

In the eye-lenses and on the blade.

Step 17: Skull White

I've dotted the eye again to make it look like it's glowing, and partially re-traced the bolts along the sword.  You want some of those bolts to remain covered by the wash.

Step 18: Chaos Black

This is for scribbles on scrolls and barrel-holes in guns.

Step 19: Calthan Brown

We're almost to the end, just doing the base now.

Step 20: Basing sand

Step 21: Devlan Mud

To finish off the sand.

Well, there we are.  The method is actually quicker than with some other armies, probably because I don't have to line edge the armour.  Awesome, that means more time to spend painting more models (I'm such a glutton for punishment).

Bonus Draigo!

With one exception, Draigo was painted using the exact same method...

...that exception being the little bit of Thraka Green at the end of his blade to make it interesting/unique.