Need Help on a Paint Scheme

[The Unseen]

So, locally were kicking off another escalation league, and I figured it would be a good opportunity to get the small number of sisters I have out of their grey. I have my starting list, plus what its going to grow into already laid out, which wasn't difficult since I knew I wanted at least 1 Exorcist and the Triumph in there, because I couldn't live with myself if I didn't include the pipe organ artillery piece, and the Triumph is peak sisters in my opinion.

But now as I prep the first 750 pts for priming, I realize I have no idea HOW to paint what I have in my head.

 

I have an idea of the "Order of the Silvered Saints", a sister initiate is granted armor in a grey color, like tarnished silver, as they ascend in rank the armors color is slowly transitioned into pure silver, with the last piece (Haven't decided what piece will be last yet, any ideas?) only being silvered upon her death/martyrdom. Of course, my Celestine will be some other Living Saint, and will be painted in entirely silver.

I'll admit I have basically zero experience painting anything that isn't red, black, or gold (Thank You Blood Angels), so I don't even really know what color would be best to even prime these ladies. I usually do grey, just because you can work your way to anything else from there, but painting bone shoulder pads (Like my icon) is a bitch and a half over black, and white makes my marines too bright.

 

I'm a slow painter who doesn't have a ton of free time, so I was hoping I could get opinions on using a dull metallic silver as my basecoat color over black primer for a dull silver look, and go back over the silvered sections with a brighter silver by hand, as I have no airbrush. That would save me a ton of time basecoating all the basic sisters, and would spend more time on the elites+HQ's. My accent color will be a dark royal purple, as I just think silver and dark purple look really good together. (See goonhammers how to paint sisters for an example I like, but I don't have nearly enough time or the airbrush to replicate that process)

[AlexAbroad]

One really quick option could be to spray with leadbelcher and wash with nuln oil for the armour. Then highlight up to brighter silver using ironbreaker then stormhost as your units progress.

 

It’s a cool idea - as they gain experience they also learn about polishing metal :)

[Brother Zeal]

It certainly seems like you have a clear vision of what you hope to achieve, which is always the best way to start a project. Here’s hoping you end up exceeding your expectations!

 

GW has quite a few silver paints on the go, so there should be enough variation to get the sort of effect you’re looking for. As AlexAbroad suggested, Leadbelcher with a wash of Nuln Oil is a quick way of getting a dull and worn metal look on a model. Iron Hands Steel washed with Basilicanum Grey produces a similar effect, and has become my preferred method of basecoating bolters and other simple metal objects.

 

A dry brush of Leadbelcher or IH Steel over Warplock Bronze is another simple way to get that sort of old battered metal effect, and is a good method if you’re not keen on washes or weathering.

 

If the Sister’s rank is denoted by the sheen of her armour, using the highlight of a lower level as the base colour for the next tier might help tie the varied degrees of silver together. I’d personally try something like:

 

First Tier Sister = Leadbelcher base, Ironbreaker highlight

Second Tier Sister = Ironbreaker base, Runefang Steel highlight

Top Tier Sister = Runefang Steel base, Stormhost Silver highlight

Epic Tier Sister = Grey Knights Steel base, Stormhost Silver highlight

 

Others may have greater experience with non-Citadel paints that might do the trick, and I’m no expert at painting so I’m sure there’s better ways to achieve the effect you want. When you do decide to put paint to plastic, let us see how you get on!

[Lemondish]

One great finish you can get out of the silver metal is running a 1:1 mixture of Nuln Oil and Nuln Oil Gloss over Leadbelcher. This recipe produces a really cool look that I encourage you to try. 

[The Unseen]

One great finish you can get out of the silver metal is running a 1:1 mixture of Nuln Oil and Nuln Oil Gloss over Leadbelcher. This recipe produces a really cool look that I encourage you to try. 

Do you happen to have a photo to show what you mean?

[Lemondish]

 

One great finish you can get out of the silver metal is running a 1:1 mixture of Nuln Oil and Nuln Oil Gloss over Leadbelcher. This recipe produces a really cool look that I encourage you to try. 

Do you happen to have a photo to show what you mean?

 

 

It's hard to in just still shots - the slight sheen catches the light in a way that gives it a natural highlight without much work. You can see some of what that looks like in this showcase on WarCom for the Iron Ravens: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/08/12/successor-chapter-showcase-paul-nortons-iron-ravensgw-homepage-post-1/

[MithrilForge]

speaking of iron ravens I did it on this guy here...

But that may well be iron hands steel though...

and this grey Knights steel with the same wash...

Mithril

Edited March 16, 2021 by mithrilforge

[jaxom]

Here's a test mini I did a while back using Chris Peach's grey-metallic recipe (he uses it for his SoB)

 

 

Step 1: Gryph-charger Grey CP over Leadbelcher

 

Step 2: Dry brush Leadbelcher

 

Step 3: Dry brush Runefang Steel with emphasis on edges

 

 

Doing it without the drybrushing, but an additional coat of Gryph-charger Grey or perhaps using Basilicanum Grey instead could get a result similar to what you're describing.

 

Edit: removed the double quotation

Edited March 20, 2021 by jaxom