Genestealer Hybrid Step-by-Step

Yarg! Last time I listed out a bunch of projects I wanted to finish up before tackling a larger project like Burning of Prospero, and instead I've gotten sidetracked painting more Genestealer Hybrids for a small cult. The minions of the 4 Armed Emperor have insidiously woven their tendrils into my painting queue  and now my entire desk is over-run with them. Thankfully, I really REALLY like these models so the painting has gone quick, but I managed to take photos for a step-by-step of how I tackle doing so many so quickly.

These techniques are designed to paint ARMIES to high standards quickly. As much as I like seeing an individual model painted nicely, its legions of them that thrill me; ergo my painting style has evolved to reflect this. I don't come to the table with unpainted miniatures, and the ones I bring are nicely done with extra time spent on centerpiece models. For troops, I want something that gets them done quickly and to good standard. Quantity has a quality all its own.

STEP 1.
The model is assembled and primed White with a spray.
Base colors are laid in:
Flesh - VGC Dwarf Flesh
Jump Suit - GW Trollslayer Orange
Gun/Gloves/Boots/Tubes - P3 Greatcoat Grey
Tongue - VGC Pink
Lights - GW Yriel Yellow and/or Lothern Blue
Metals - GW Leadbelcher
Neatness is helpful here but not 100% critical.

STEP 2.
The whole model is washed with Army Painter Strong Tone Ink.
I use a brush to make sure that the ink is spread evenly, otherwise it can pool and dry
in big dark patches.
My technique is very similar to a "Dip Technique" except
that the shading isn't the final step. We'll be going back in and
working our color up so we don't have a muddy looking figure.

STEP 3.
After the first ink wash has dried, I go back and apply
a wash of Army Painter Dark Tone ink over all the areas that were grey.
This will result in a dark, almost black, grey on these items later.
The features of the face and the tongue were also given a thin wash of GW Druchii Violet.

Step 4.
With all our washes dry, I use GW Trollslayer Orange to work the raised areas of
the jumpsuit back up in color. I also then use a thin amount of VGC Dead White to highlight the
edges and broad areas of the armor/respirator.

Step 5.
The skin is painted VGC Dwarf Flesh, leaving the recessed areas in as much shadow as possible.
The tip of the tongue is also painted VGC Pink again, leaving the area towards the mouth alone.

STEP 6.
The metals are highlighted with GW Runefang Steel.
The cheekbones, eyebrows, nose, forehead ridges and cranium are all highlighted
with a 50/50 mix of VGC Dwarf Flesh and GW Ushabti Bone.
A stripe is added to the gun by painting a line of GW Trollslayer Orange and then another
over it in GW Yriel Yellow when the first stripe is dry.
After this, the model will be taken off its pedestal and pinned onto a resin base.

And that's it. I tend to paint models in batches of 3-5, working on one step on multiple models at a time. I know of people who work in larger batches, but the smaller number makes me feel like I'm making progress as I add finished models to existing units. Over 3 days off during my winter break, I managed to get 14 of these guys done with plenty of breaks for bad movies, trips to the dog park and visiting friends. The key here is remember that you are painting troops who will take a single hit and be off the table in no time. Reserve techniques like blending, picking out eyes, freehand designs, ect. for models like heroes or monsters or tanks that will stick around for most of the game.

I've got a handful of models to finish before calling the army done, and this arrived on my doorstep yesterday:

Vroom.

So I guess you can figure out what you'll see next on this blog.

Cheers!

Genestealer Coven Limo

"Yo, Dawg! We heard you liked Genestealers, so we put a Genestealer in your… ALL HAIL THE HIVEMIND. GLORY
TO THE FOUR-ARMED EMPORER!"

Back in November I posted some pictures of a taxi model I got from the crew over at Warex-minis. Having really enjoyed painting that kit and working on a burgeoning Genestealer Cult army, I decided to grab another of their sculpts - the Genetic Coven Limo. The model is based on the original limousines that Games Workshop made for the 'Stealer Covens but never made commercially available. The moment I saw it, I knew that I wanted this kit.

Pimp that ride. This vehicle is a hover variant. 

That's a helluva cow-catcher on the front of a luxury vehicle.

I really dig the whole 80's Batmobile-esque engine on the back.

The sculpting and casting was really crisp and the whole thing arrived very quickly from across the globe to my house in Seattle. I can't recommend this company and its models enough. Even if I don't use the model in-game, it makes and awesome addition to my scenery collection. I can just imagine using it in an under-Hive scenario in Necromunda. Awesome stuff.

Cheers!

Crimson Fists Complete!

Stand proud, noble Sons of Dorn!

When I made the decision to paint the Orks for the Assualt on Blackreach set and step back into the universe of Warhammer 40.000, I knew I'd eventually get around to painting the Space Marines in the box. Space Marines are like potato chips - you can never have just one. I've owned several armies of the big armored lunks over the years, but my last was a force of Crimson Fists that is sitting  in cases somewhere back in New Jersey. I did bring a couple of the tanks with me to the West Coast, so I figured I'd just add some models to them and BLAMMO! - new army. Working on these guys made me nostalgic for my college days, when I and my roommates would cobble together stray Space Marines into a new army to spring on one another over the course of a week. Fun times.

Force Commander Hektor Ibanez

Squad Koteas - Terminators of the 1st Company

Squad Matias

Squad Alejandro

I've always liked the Crimson Fists. From their appearance on the cover of the original Rogue Trader rulebook, to their penchant for doomed defenses of lost causes, to the simplicity of their color scheme: they are what I think of when I hear the words "Space Marines". The Spanish naming conventions of the Crimson Fists also drew me in - it added a little more dimension to 40k than just everything thing being fake space-Latin. 

The Land Raider is always a centerpiece for a Marine army.

I added a bunch of freehand work on this guy back in the day. 

I didn't do the interior on this one for reasons I can't remember now.

Always loved the AdMech insignia on the engine cowl.

I don't think I'll add much more to the force. Right now its a nice little army to introduce friends who want to try 40k out or to play games in an evening with. I don't foresee adding Drop-pods, Assault Marines, Attack Bikes, et all to these guys anytime soon in the future. It does feel really good to have these models finished and not just languishing on sprues taking up space in my cabinet. Now they can take up space elsewhere, I guess. :)

Man, that's an old Rhino chassis; huh? And with a metal turret and extra armor bits, it weighs a ton.

Ancient Brother Rodrigo rounds out the army.

I'm also making some progress on my new 15mm Scifi army, I'll post some shots of those soon.

Cheers!

Mixed Bag 5 - Zakus and Napoleonic Naval Ships

Lately, my hobby projects have been pretty scattershot - I feel like I'm cleaning up several small projects while trying to prep for a couple bigger ones in the future. At the moment I'm working on a new 15mm scifi army, finishing up a Space Marine force from Assault on Blackreach, expanding my Genestealer forces from Deathwatch: Overkill into a full army, and trying to find the time to start assembling my copy of Burning of Prospero. And that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. My desk is boiling over with a myriad of other little projects that I want to get around to. I thought I'd share two today.

A pair of Zeon mobile suits ready to cause trouble for Earth.

First up is a pair of Zakus from the Mobile Suit Gundam universe. While I've always like the Gundam aesthetic and I've started several of the model kits in the past, I've never finished one. I find them way too intricate and tedious to build. My enjoyment comes primarily from the painting of models, and the longer this is delayed, the less interested I am. These Zaku kits solve that problem for me by coming pre-built and pre-painted. Technically, they are 1/200 scale toys (they stand about 4" tall)  and come fully articulated with multiple weapon load outs. All I really need to do is grime them up with some weathering and then attach them to a gaming base.

A basic Zaku II carrying a machine-gun and a pair of missile pods.

These models were given a shot of Dullcote to provide some "tooth" for
washes and dry-brushing to adhere to before adding paint.

The idea of a giant robit carrying bazooka strikes me as such
overkill that I end up loving this guy most of all.

I opted for mounting them on clear acrylic bases from Litko so that I could use them
in ground or space battles with no work.

I've got one more Zaku to do (the infamous Red Comet piloted by MSG villain extraordinaire Char Anazable) and a few Earth Force mobile suits on the way. I plan on creating some quick and simple rules to use for a multiplayer game. Hopefully that should be a lot of fun.

3 French Frigates on the prowl. I still need to add rigging to the models, but for now
they are certainly game ready.

I've also been working on some 1:1200 Napoleonic sailing ships for use of Osprey Publishing's Fighting Sail rules. While I've always wanted to play naval games set in the period, most of the rule systems are hobbies unto themselves and I really just want to dip my toes into the water, so to speak. Fighting Sail seems simple and abstract enough that even a land-lubber like me can grasp them and have a fun afternoon of quoting "Master & Commander: Far Side of the World" in my best Russel Crowe impression.

The first two ships are metal castings from GHQ. The last frigate is a plastic pre-painted model that
I shaded and highlighted from the Sails of Glory game. Both manufacturers mix pretty well.

I've still got two more French Ships of the Line to paint before working on some scenery. My buddy Ron is going to squeeze a British naval force into his painting queue so we should be able to try the game out eventually.


Cheers!