More Dreadfleet Progress

I've been making more progress on the final ships and I'm in the home stretch now. Here's where I am on the Heldenhammer and the Bloody Reaver:

Solving the Bloody Reaver's Assembly Puzzle

A few posts back, I talked about my concerns about how the Reaver was going to be able to assemble the model with all of its seams puttied and still be able to paint its recessed areas.

 

 

 

It turns out that with a few cuts, the assembly isn't as complicated as it looks. First I glued the center halves of the ship together and puttied the joins around the skull.

 

I also cleaned up the walkway on the prow. The peg in the middle of the dragons was left unglued so that I can slip the sail in there after it's painted.

 

The castle halves were the real issue, however. My solution was to cut the castle free from the support beams. (These castle bits would be great for a Mighty Empires map, by the way!)

 

The castle was then attached and the joins puttied, creating a solid centerpiece for the ship.

 

 

 

The masts have ball-and-socket attachment points that prevent them from being inserted after the ship halves are glued together. I shaved the ball and ring away to make the flag a straight post that can now plug into the hull. (I honestly don't know why the model wasn't designed like this in the first place; it's not like there are any pose options for the masts.)

 

With all the parts assembled, the painting doesn't look as intimidating as I had initially feared.

 

Painting the Heldenhammer

Speaking of intimidating painting... The Heldenhammer, despite it's small scale is about as complex as a regular 28mm character model. The deck was simple enough– a simple drybrush and wash, some metal to pick out the cannons.

 

 

Then came the gold trim and gun ports. I drybrushed all the gold and then went in with some red to meticulously paint the spaces between the gold. This was then washed with Agrax Earthshade and the gold given a touch-up highlight.

 

Next the silver bits and cannons were picked out and washed with Nuln Oil. A dab of the Nuln Oil was applied to each of the gun ports to blacken them in. Once dry it's not completely opaque, so I'll have to add another touch of black below the guns.

 

So. Many. Cannons.

 

The sails were painted the same way I painted the Swordfysh's sails– Light primer, basecoat and wash the icons, then highlight them and paint the background color. You can see the sail step-by-step in the Swordfysh post here.

 

The sails are finished except for the text and masts. I'm so close!

 

'Til next time!

Painting Tutorial: Meteorites from Skull Forge Scenics

My latest release for Skull Forge Scenics is a pair of resin meteorites, available here in my online store. I sculpted two different styles, one with a pockmarked and pitted surface, and the other rich with metallic or crystalline deposits. They are perfect for battlefield embellishments or objectives. The Age of Sigmar scenario Gifts from the Heavens in the General's Handbook has the players battling for control of two fallen meteors. I know my Skaven are always on the lookout for fallen chunks of warpstone!

 

 

In this tutorial I'll show you four ways to paint the meteorites. The paints used are Formula P3 colors with a few GW washes and Liquitex Burnt Umber Ink (called Brown Ink in the tutorial). Black spray primer is used as an undercoat.

 

Painting the Ground

You should paint the ground to match your own battlefield, but here's the process I used for my own pieces:

To start, drybrush the ground with successive layers of Battlefield Brown, Gun Corps Brown, and Rucksack Tan. Finish it off with a final drybrush using a mix of Moldy Ochre and 'Jack Bone.

 

Next, basecoat the individual rocks with Bastion Grey.

 

Wash everyting with Brown Ink. Use a paper towel to blot up any spots where it gets too heavy.

 

Once the ink has dried, use a small drybrush to carefully brush more Bastion Grey on the rocks. Then drybrush 'Jack Bone over everything for a final highlight.

 

Once the meteorite is painted, finish the ground by drybrushing some Thamar Black and Greatcoat Grey in the furrow behind and around the meteor to represent the scorched earth where it impacted. Add some flock or static grass to match your battlefield.

 

Iron Ore Meteorite

Basecoat the meteorite with a mix of equal parts Bloodstone, Skorne Red, and Battlefield Brown. Then, wash it with a mix of Brown Ink and Sanguine Base.

 

When the wash has dried, drybrush the color back up, first with a mix of equal parts Bloodstone and Skorne Red.

 

Next, add some Khador Red Highlight (aka orange) into the mix.

 

Dryrush some highlights around the edges using a mix of equal parts Bloodstone and Moldy Ochre .

 

Then, add a final highlight with straight Moldy Ochre.

 

Finally, soften the bright highlights by painting a glaze over the surface areas with a thinned mix of Bloodstone and Khador Red Highlight.

 

Warpstone Meteorite

Basecoat the meteorite with Gnarls Green.

 

Then, wash it with GE Coelia Greenshade.

 

When the wash has dried, drybrush the color back up with Gnarls Green and Iosian Green.

 

Then drybrush with a mix of Iosian Green and Necrotite Green.

 

Add a final drybrush with straight Necrotite Green.

 

Highlight the edges with a mix of Necrotite Green and Morrow White.

 

Finish off the edge highlight with straight Morrow White at any of the points and corners.

 

 

Obsidian Meteor with Gold Deposits

Basecoat the meteor with Coal Black.

 

Then wash it with GW Nuln Oil.

 

When the wash has dried, drybrush the color back up using Coal Black.

 

Apply successively lighter layers of drybrushing by by mixing in a little Thrall Flesh. Keep the mix dark, and bring up the brightness at the edges with more Thrall Flesh.

 

Add a final highlight along the edges with a mix of Thrall Flesh and a little Morrow White.

 

For the gold deposits, basecoat them with Rhulic Gold.

 

Then, overbrush the metal with Shining Gold.

 

Wash Brown Ink into all the recesses on the gold.

 

Add a final highlight with a mix of Shining Gold and Quick Silver.

 

 

Moon Rock with Crystal Deposits

Paint the entire meteor with a mix of Thamar Black and Greatcoat Grey.

 

Then Drybrush the meteor with straight Greatcoat Grey.

 

Mix Underbelly Blue into the Greatcoat to lighten the levels of drybrushing until you are brushing almost straight Underbelly blue at the edges.

 

When the drybrushing is finished, mix a wash of GW Nuln Oil and Brown Ink and paint it in patches on the surface of the meteor. Don't coat the whole thing, just add a little deep brown shading here and there.

 

For the crystals, this process will work with any color like red, blue, or purple. Just go from light to dark with final white highlights. For this meteorite I'm using greens to represent deposits of warpstone in the rock.

Basecoat with Gnarls Green.

 

Brush the color up with Iosian Green.

 

Highlight the edges with Necrotite Green.

 

Add a final edge highlight with a mix of Necrotite Green and Morrow White, and then a spot highlight of straight white at the tips.

 

 

And that's it! When precious stones come crashing from the heavens, make sure you're the first one to get them! You can pick up these meteorites and more in my online store:

www.skullforgescenics.etsy.com

 

 

 

'Til next time!