Jump to content

Painting Mantis Warriors


appiah4

Recommended Posts

I want to go back to painting figures but painting red marine after red marine kind of burned me out a bit, so I'm thinking of doing a pet project.. A Mantis Warriors (*GASP*) Primaris Marines force. Nothing big, probably start out with a combat squad of Intercessors from the Dark Imperium Box, then another combat squad and a lieutenant, then the Hellblasters and the rest of the characters. This will probably be a year long project and I'll probably have a blog for this as well..

Anyway, the Mantis Warriors colors I will go for are the Badab War ones:

200px-Mantis_Warrior.JPG

I'm kind of tired of dealing with craft paints and their crappy coverage and consistency; I'm considering moving to VGC for my Blood Angels at some point, but in the meantime I thought this could be an opportunity to get acquainted with the line. So I sat down to plan how I should paint the armor.

I have two methods I think could work:

1. Basecoat VGC Heavy Khaki

2. Recess Shade with Army Painter Strong Tone Ink Wash

3. Clean up with VGC Heavy Khaki

4. Higlight with VGC Desert Yellow

5. Highlight with VGC Khaki

gallery_60983_13750_9179.jpg

Now this was my first idea and sounds but I have a feeling it could end up looking too.. yellow?

So my second idea is to:

1. Basecoat VGC Heavy Khaki

2. Recess Shade with Army Painter Strong Tone Ink Wash

3. Clean up with VGC Heavy Khaki

4. Higlight with VGC Khaki

5. Highlight with VGC Bone White

gallery_60983_13750_4782.jpg

Which do you think looks better and more fitting, and what colors would you have used from the VGC line to reproduce this scheme?

Edited by appiah5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel like the whole point of the Mantis Warriors scheme is to have the bright green and yellow evoke colors of insects and nature, while the clear distinction between green and yellow add that trademark visual FW contrast (see Minotaurs bronze and red, Red Scorpions grey and yellow, Carcharodons grey and white, Executioners blue and bronze).

 

I think it's an important part of the color scheme to be able to easily see the difference between the green helmet and the yellow mouthplate or shoulders. If you use too similar shades of color such as in the first example, it will look similar and muddled, which is the great for camouflage and the whole point of the concept, but bad for contrast, pop, and easy instant visual recognition of the FW style.

 

For that reason, I would choose the second option, unless you are specifically aiming for a desert camo theme where they are using their trademark ambush tactics and lying in wait, hidden. The color swatch in the first option really looks more like different shades of a single color, such as if you were blending or highlighting just khaki. IMO, you want to have a clear distinction between the shoulders and mouthplates, and the rest of the armor, and that's where the bone color from the second option will help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For what its worth I want to go for the muted khaki/olive look rahter than the bright old look. Something like this:

 

http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m33c2iuTmB1rr0yjho3_500.jpg

 

the_badab_war__mantis_warriors_combat_sq

 

Paint choice suggestions are welcome.

 

I also prefer this green over the traditional bright green and it's how I would paint Mantis Warriors as well. I believe this shade would be described as an olive drab, rather than khaki. Vallejo should have many varieties of this color, especially in their military range, but also in VGC/VGA and VMC/VMA. I think it's even a primer color from Vallejo under US Olive Drab, although try to gather some photos from Google to make absolute sure it's the right shade of olive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can also go to their products page here http://www.acrylicosvallejo.com/model-paints and then click on each section to open it. Underneath the Presentation paragraph there's a link to a downloadable PDF colour chart for that range. 

 

Whilst colour representation may vary based on the device screen this is viewed on, it should help identify the colour that suits you best.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well then, Heavy Khaki as a base certainly does not seem to fit the idea I had in mind, but I was misled by Vallejo's own color compatibility charts.  Those charts are basically crap.  I've had a chance to look at the paints myself, and decided on this:

 

1. Basecoat VGC Heavy Green

2. Recess Shade with Army Painter Strong Tone Ink Wash

3. Clean up with VGC Heavy Green

4. Higlight with VGC Camouflage Green

5. Highlight with VGC Dead Flesh

6. Wash with Army Painter Green Tone Ink Wash (Not sure, depends on how yellow/brown it turns out after highlights)

 

For the yellows I will use Vallejo Game Color Gold Yellow, recess shaded using Army Painter Soft Tone Ink Wash.

 

Watch this space for how (terrible) this idea turns out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I agree on the AP Green tone; I would mix it with a little Soft Tone to dull the colour a touch and apply it sparingly.

 

For the yellow, maybe try basecoating in ivory, lining in the recesses with Strong Tone, and then glazing with a couple of thinned coats of GW Lamenter Yellow until you get to a shade you like. Final highlights can be with ivory again.

 

For the rest, I agree that starting with a nice olive is a probably the best way to get the look you want; brown washes, adding in some grey/tan/khaki are all good ways of desaturating the green as you highlight up to your brightest edge tones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice everyone.  I'm having second doubts on my current plan, and you can kind of read about why here; I will put trying to come up with a plan until I have some generous souls help with getting some color swatches for these colors..  As is, I can't really pull the trigger on ordering the paints.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.