I am a man that walks alone

[cowboy3569]

So here we go, I have finally started work on some on my initial batch of HH Night Lords, they are assembled and ready to go.

Cant wait to put some paint on them, however, as you may notice if you choose to follow this topic, my painting schedule and therefor accompanying posts are at best .... erratic, still I hope to get plenty of constructive C&C as this small start develops into my traitor force for gaming with, so expect this post to contain some pics of the painting as well as questions and posts regarding Army list setup, force org and tactics

Also, points (in a completely unrewarded competition) to the person who can decipher the riddle in the Topic title.

Ave Dominus Nox brothers.

[helterskelter]

Do you sometimes feel a little strange, a little anxious when it's dark? Don't tell me you're afraid brother ;) I look forward to your progress

[AlanofAngels]

YAHOO! Someone finally posting some pictures of the contemptor! How's the kit look, man? Out of curiosity, are the trophy heads on his torso (near his shoulders) separate bits from the body itself? Because I really want to get 2-3 of these bad boys but I don't want them all to have the same trophies! Nice work man keep it up! 

[Valkyrion]

Sometimes when you're scared to take a look in the corner of the room you sense a contemptor pattern night lord dreadnought.

 

Yep. Fear of the dark. No doubt about it.

[cowboy3569]

YAHOO! Someone finally posting some pictures of the contemptor! How's the kit look, man? Out of curiosity, are the trophy heads on his torso (near his shoulders) separate bits from the body itself? Because I really want to get 2-3 of these bad boys but I don't want them all to have the same trophies! Nice work man keep it up!

 

@AlanofAngels it is absolutely freaking amazing, as with all contemptors it's a dream to pose, the kit fits together naturally and feels solid once together. The extra detail is what really makes it IMHO, the skull is menacing as you like and the sculpt on the sarcophagus is spot on. Those trophy clusters are indeed seperate but you only get those two so you'd have to source alternatives, they have little tiny bobble recesses to aide in fixing them in the right position. I genuinely can't wait to paint it... Check back In Six months and I might have managed to undercoat it.

 

@valkyrion @helterskelter: :-) awesome well done have some points.

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement so far all.

[AlanofAngels]

"Check back in 6 months and I may have managed to undercoat it".... Dude that's basically my mantra as well. Check out some of my WIP threads; there are solid months where nothing is done because I'm just painting whatever flutters into my head hahahaha

That kit does sound pretty awesome so I may very well be giving it a try; it was between that and the FW Mk IV Ironclad (which I will be running my contemptors as anyways provided no one gets butthurt over it ). Great to hear you like it so much! I feel like FW rarely disappoints.

[spu00sed]

Love the contemptor, looks so menacing

 

The only way he could look cooler, in my eyes, would be to replace the magazines with some belt fed ammo dangling down. Not sure why, but in my minds eye that is more scary.

 

Can't wait to see paint on them

[cowboy3569]

Love the contemptor, looks so menacing

The only way he could look cooler, in my eyes, would be to replace the magazines with some belt fed ammo dangling down. Not sure why, but in my minds eye that is more scary.

Can't wait to see paint on them

I hadn't even thought of that. You are absolutely right. I love that image. I don't think I'll do it as it's possibly a little beyond my converting skills but By everything evil that would look great.

[Daemon2027]

Awesome start. Looking toward to seeing this develop

[cowboy3569]

A quick update, not a big one mind!
 
Working a lot at the mo so all I had time to do was base the Contemptor. Still, pretty happy with how it turned out.  now to get a basecoat on them all.
 

 

 

[Russ Brother 92]

They're looking good... I shall follow this to it's conclusion (which by your estimate may be the end of heresy - at which point I might be able to have a full force as well haha), it's good to know the trophies can be changed out as I plan to have one as homage to our twisted brethren on the VIII Legio.

 

Also massive props for Maiden :D

[Slips]

Question: How is the Contemptor Chain Fist in person? 

 

To me it still looks silly and that he's flipping someone off with it :\

[cowboy3569]

@Slipstreams:  I like it to be honest, I get what you're saying though, I think its very much down to how you position the rest of the arm in relation to the torso.  I think  as well that you could spin the fist so that the blade is on a different facing, that would probably really help reduce that effect.

[Durfast Spiritwolf]

Coming along nicely :)

[cowboy3569]

So a quick update, have managed to get a basecoat on the models shown above and have been trying out a colour scheme, its not gone perfectly but I'm generally happy, just needs tweaking.

 

so first up - primed black, Zenith highlight Grey and then a few coats of Candy Brite Blue gets me here:

 

 

This was supposed to be then end state but because I ballsed it up a bit I felt the need to darken it down a little and so I did a blue/black oil wash

 

 

And that got me to here:

 

 

pretty happy overall, just need to tweak to get exactly the effect I want.  First two of those last shots are natural daylight shots, second two are inside at night.

 

I apologise for the crap photos but I will only bust the light box out for the finished products lol. 

 

As always constructive C and C welcome.

 

Also if anyone has any tips on editing the entries here they would clearly be appreciated lol

[Brofist]

Really digging what you are doing with these. The highlights are coming through great and you have pretty good contrast on that basecoat.

 

If you're looking for feedback, consider pushing your highlights even more aggressively when you are Zenithal priming. Go from black to grey to white on the upper parts of the model. Then, after the blue drys, hit the bottom portions of the model with a black wash. That would really make these guys pop. Then you can use an oil pin wash later to add contrast after you block out your other colors.

[AlanofAngels]

Since I know about airbrush painting what I know about astrophysics, don't take anything I say seriously

I really like the guy so far; I think the wash really gave him much more depth. I actually have really nothing other than praise for him! To offer one piece of food for thought: washing models can get really tricky when using a washed color as the primary armor color. Especially if you mess up on an already washed area, you then have no color matching the area to touch it up (since the wash changes the tone). I know this can get really annoying on army-wide projects; having to touch up areas that have been washed and having no color that matches.

Another thing to keep in mind is how washing effects larger surfaces like tanks. I'm not a wash expert but it definitely pools on larger areas and can look funky (where on smaller armor panels can actually look kind of cool) so just something to be aware of. *end of semi-informed tips*

Anyways, this first guy looks excellent! I'm curious to see how you do lightning! Keep it up man!

[Brofist]

For larger areas, if you use an airbrush, it won't pool unless you lay it on thick. If you're using a brush, mix in some gloss varnish and it'll keep it from pooling :)

[AlanofAngels]

Well there ya go! Like I said, "semi-informed"

[cowboy3569]

looked at these washes now they are dry and in the daylight and I think they actually came out real nice :)

@Bulbafist, thanks very much dude. I know what you mean about the highlights, having considered it a bit and then seen your reply I think I defo need to do that.

@AlanofAngels thanks very much :) nice to hear it looks good, I tend to be very over critical of my own stuff and having seen your VIII legion guys it means a lot. I was thinking about the whole retouch issue myself, guess I am just gonna have to make sure I have a steady hand lol.

I know what you mean about the wash on the tanks but with the oil wash I'm wiping the excess off after an hour or so, this should avoid the effect your talking about I hope.

and you know what? I'm also interested to see how I do lightning lol, haven't got a clue ha ha.

For larger areas, if you use an airbrush, it won't pool unless you lay it on thick. If you're using a brush, mix in some gloss varnish and it'll keep it from pooling

So here's a question Bulbafist, do you use oil washes through an AB? I currently put them on using a normal wash brush. Was worried they would clog the AB up.

[AlanofAngels]

For sure man! Lightning can be tricky but in my experience less is definitely more! I know I do mine different to a lot of people, mine being more stark and some people like more blended effects. Whatever floats your boat, just go for it! Might be worth trying out the effect on some older models if you're worried about it; I did that and ended up making a couple tweaks so it seemed worth it! Also, in terms of the retouch issue, you could always try mixing up a color that looks like your blue+wash, to use as a touch up. Looking great so far though, man. I'm really curious to see the contemptor!

[Brofist]

Oil pigments tend to be smaller than arylics thanks to the fluid they’re carried in (spirit vs water). You won’t have any problems shooting them out of your airbrush. Caveat- wear a respirator and understand that vaporized spirit is highly flammable. If you have a fan or vapour hood in your room, chances are the electric motor creates sparks when you use it, so don’t aim directly into it or turn it off while spraying.

 

Personally I use acrylic washes when I airbrush, but I brush on my oils on since I use them exclusively for pin washes and weathering.

[cowboy3569]

For sure man! Lightning can be tricky but in my experience less is definitely more! I know I do mine different to a lot of people, mine being more stark and some people like more blended effects. Whatever floats your boat, just go for it! Might be worth trying out the effect on some older models if you're worried about it; I did that and ended up making a couple tweaks so it seemed worth it! Also, in terms of the retouch issue, you could always try mixing up a color that looks like your blue+wash, to use as a touch up. Looking great so far though, man. I'm really curious to see the contemptor!

Good advice, got that spare torso seen above so that'll be my test piece. I cant wait to do the Contemptor either once I'm happy with getting the base colour done that will be next as a reward lol

Oil pigments tend to be smaller than arylics thanks to the fluid they’re carried in (spirit vs water). You won’t have any problems shooting them out of your airbrush. Caveat- wear a respirator and understand that vaporized spirit is highly flammable. If you have a fan or vapour hood in your room, chances are the electric motor creates sparks when you use it, so don’t aim directly into it or turn it off while spraying.

Personally I use acrylic washes when I airbrush, but I brush on my oils on since I use them exclusively for pin washes and weathering.

Thanks mate that is really good to know.

[AlanofAngels]

You have the same plan as me then! I'm either ordering a contemptor or a predator for a little fun after my first squad gets finished! Or maybe I can do both... YEAH a predator chassis on contemptor legs!

[cowboy3569]

@Alan

 

 

Noooooo much better -  CONTEMPTOR torso on a Predator Chasis - like some kind of messed up, killing machine centaur!!!!