Colorshift Paints: An Experiment in Paint Wizardry

 

Hi folks,

There is something about metallic paints that has always fascinated me. Back when I was a kid, I used to build and paint aircraft models with my Dad. Painting the metal parts was my favourite thing, the silky quicksilver of an enamel gunmetal grabbed my imagination. Perhaps it was the conceptual alchemy of it all, as you watch matt plastic turn into a shiny and reflective surface, or the way it helped with the suspension of disbelief; making the models look that much more life-like. What ever it was, I kept my metallic enamels long after the other paints were thrown away. I even used them on my first 40K miniatures.

More recently, I have continued to be a sucker for metallic pigments. Many of my projects have involved a significant metallic component and I have avoided non-metallic metallics for most of them (though I have sometimes used the technique with true metallics). My Iron Snakes and Knights have both explored the weathering of copper, whilst other projects have featured oxidised iron. My Tyranids are all glazed metallics, which allowed me to paint them very quickly.

When colourshift metallic paints started hitting the market they caught my attention. Like me, you have probably seen some amazing Tau and Tyranid models painted with these paints and, when done properly, the effects they can achieve are eye-popping. During the holidays my wife and I bought some to play with. I purchased a set of 6 from Green Stuff World for about $50 AUD. If you have never taken a look at Green Stuff World, I highly recommend their products. They have amazing paints and other hobby tools.

If you are thinking about trying these out for yourself, here is some advice that may save you some time. Foremost, the instructions on the back are exactly how you should use them. Wifey and I played around for hours and following the advice provided on the packaging yielded the best results.

1) You will most likely want to undercoat the area in black.

2) Adding a gloss varnish coat to the area enhances the effect.

3) Use ultra-thin coats. This feels weird, as the paint itself has the consistency of a wash/glaze, or perhaps a thinned varnish. To describe how it feels to apply with a brush, I would say you are dry-brushing a glaze! Let each coat dry completely before adding the next. 

4) The colour it has as it leaves the bottle has little bearing on how it will look on the figure. If it pools, however, the pooled area will be the same colour as the bottle contents with no effect. This is the main issue with painting coats that are too thick; they will have a cloudy finish in the same colour as the bottle, killing the effect. Remove any excess paint with a clean brush before it drys.

5) Sometimes you can hardly see it go on the figure; tilt the figure and it will appear!

Some words of warning: the bottles come with little ceramic balls inside to help agitate them, but they can get stuck in nozzle when you go to put paint on your palette. The whole nozzle is removable (easily...) so if you apply any pressure the whole nozzle pops off and you get $8 AUD worth of colour shifting paint on your kitchen table. Thankfully, I had the tools needed to recover it!

Here are some photos showing the step-by-step process I am going through to give my Tyranids a colorshift make-over:

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two schemes. The colorshift paints used were Martian Green for the layer and Emerald Getaway for the highlight. It shifts between metallic purple and metallic green with a light blue, yellow or purple edge. At some angles, the figures look very dark and maroon in colour; the layer and the highlight shift to match each other. Walk around the table a few steps, and suddenly they flare bright green and turquoise!

A few random thoughts: as much as I love this product (I really do), it would not feel right entering it in a painting competition. I think you would be leaning really hard on a gimmick to earn points. Some artists are able to mimic such an effect using standard paints; they get a huge amount of respect from me, as do those who paint amazing NMM. Finally, if your display area or gaming area doesn't have great lighting, most of the effect is wasted. You just don't see it. The most fun is having these in a game, where you are always moving the models and around the table.  

The wifey has been using a different scheme to paint her Necrons, but I will let her tell you about that ;-)

See you across the table,

Marc

DreadTober: Knight Preceptor Construction Completed

 

Hi folks,

DreadTober has begun! I have just finished the first week of the Spring break here in Australia and, in true hobby butterfly fashion, I have been flitting between projects. Over the past couple of days though I have knuckled down and constructed all of the sub-assemblies for m Imperial Knight Preceptor "Achilles" Aeternum. This is the last big Imperial Knight from my 1500 pt Walls of Ithaka army list (just an Armiger Warglaive to go...).

It may seem like an awful lot of sub-assemblies, but I have enough experience with these knights now to know what is hard to get at. The next step will be to apply the undercoats in different colours (black for metallics, white for reds and blue free-hand). I have the airbrush which I can use this time as well; I am going to try and apply the light blue that way.

The head I have chosen for this knight is the last one I have kept for myself, out of all of my spares. I sent the rest "across the ditch" to D power who uses them for Terminator shoulder pads! This one is from the Warden/Crusader kit that Dave Weston gave me a few years back; it features (what I call) the Death's head helm of the Mechanicum on one half and a skull on the other. As I have done previously with my Sternguard Sergeant Thanatos, the skull references the role the underworld plays in Greek mythology and the character of Achilles:

I have converted a multi-laser for the auxiliary weapon, similar to the load-out Canis Rex has. It doesn't have any rotary features but I figure it is different enough to everything else my usual opponents won't mind.

Of course the main stand-out feature of this built is the las-impulsor.  The resin parts are from Taro Modelmaker which I originally found on Etsy. The parts were not expensive and shipping was very quick. I think you will agree that the sculpt itself is just amazeballs. If you are interested in converting your knight, or just checking out amazing conversion parts in general, check out the website. The pieces are stupendously good.

Alright, so that's the easy part done. Now all I have to do is everything else!

See you across the table, 

Marc

9th Edition Battle Report: Blood Angels vs Iron Snakes

 

Hi folks,

Today Wade and I played our 2nd game of 9th Edition 40K. We played another 1000 pt game, which saw Wade's Blood Angels taking on my Iron Snakes. We would be fighting to control four objectives in an urban battlefield, with units scoring 1 point per turn if they control an objective uncontested. Wade's Blood Angels list is fairly straight forward one, featuring two small squads of Intercessors, one armed with bolt rifles and the other with stalker bolt rifles. For fire support he fielded a small squad of Hellblasters with plasma incinerators and a squad of Aggressors with auto boltstorm gauntlets and fragstorm grenade launchers. His HQ units include Mephiston and a Librarian Dreadnought, both of which are brutal in close combat. Mephiston in particular has a habit of wrecking my backline, starting turn 2, using the Wings of Sanguinius psychic power. To round out the force he also took a squad of Sanguinary Guard, held in reserve.

My Iron Snakes, on the other hand, are quite irregular. To write the list I have used the Iron Hands Codex, allowing me to use The Flesh is Weak to reflect the use of their shields. I also burn a lot of CP to reflect some of the head-cannon I have for the army. The list includes an Intercessor Squad (Damocles) armed with a plasma cannon and sergeant with a lightning claw (not a Codex choice, but paid for), which I combat squad. A small Sternguard squad with combi-plasma weapons (Lakodeme) provides some extra high strength rapid fire action in the absence of Hellblasters. I have included a Relic Contemptor (Nestor) with the March of the Ancients Strategem for a bit of extra close combat punch and Leadership, with the option of giving him a warlord trait in other games (-1 CP). Nestor is armed with a heavy plasma cannon, plasma blastgun and a dreadnought close combat weapon. To support Nestor (and stop him from supercharging himself to death) I have Odyssean, a Techmarine with servo harness, power lance and the Master of the Forge Strategem (auto 3 heal for Blessing of the Omnissiah, -1 CP). I have also made him the Hero of the Chapter (-1 CP) with Target Protocols (providing a re-roll to hit, wound and damage to a unit within 6"). I also gave him The Endurant Protector for a 4++ save and +1 T.  In support I have a Centurion Devastator Squad with hurricane bolters, heavy bolter/plasma cannon combos (again, not Codex but paid for). To lead the force I have taken a Supreme Command Detachment with a Primaris Captain Chapter Master (Seydon) as the army Warlord. With Relics of the Chapter (-1 CP) I armed him with The Burning Blade to represent his battle lance (Tiborus). The warlord trait I chose for him was All Flesh is Weakness to represent his extensive cybernetics. So...  -4 CP before I start the game, but with a bunch of characterful special rules. 

I failed to seize the initiative, so the Blood Angels took the first turn. Mephiston advanced quickly, enhanced by Wings of Sanguinius during the psychic phase. It placed him in a great position for a turn 2 charge. The Librarian Dreadnought did the same, with the Hellblasters sticking close and sniping through a gap in the buildings to kill some Sternguard. One of their member also supercharged himself to a crisp. The Intercessors, not wanting to get hammered by the Centurions, hung back.

In return, I managed to take 6 wounds of the Librarian Dreadnought, narrowly missing taking it out with a Hellfire round. I pushed forward on the far right flank to take some wounds off the Stalker Intercessors, killing a couple of them with plasma fire from the Contemptor. I also pushed my two Intercessor combat squads forward to grab two objectives, netting me some early victory points at the end of the Turn.

Turn 1

Blood Angels: 0 VP

Iron Snakes: 2 VP

At the start of Turn 2 Wade found a tiny corner to deploy his Sanguinary Guard into, right behind my Centurions and Chapter Master. I had thought I had denied all of that space, but moved up to to engage the Librarian Dreadnought (would have been worth it if I had taken it out!). Both Mephiston and the Librarian Dreadnought moved forwards in preparation for a charge move, whilst the Aggressors moved forwards to capture an objective. 

The psychic and shooting phases managed to take out two of my Centurions and some Intercessors. The Hellblasters were unlucky with their shots and lost another two to supercharging. Both Mephiston and the Sanguinary Guard made their charge move against Seydon and the Centurions. Seydon was brutally cut down without a hope of responding, but the Centurion was left (miraculously) on one wound thanks to his shield. The Librarian Dreadnought attacked my Intercessors and wiped them out as well.

During my turn I switched targets to address the Aggressors, managing to take one out with fire form my Contemptor and manoeuvring for a potential charge next turn. I sniped the last two Hellblasters, removing them as a threat. The remaining Sternguard charged the Librarian Dreadnought and took it out with a well placed Krak Grenade, consolidating closer to the Sanguinary Guard and, crucially, within 3" of the objective. They would no doubt die next turn, but playing the objective wins games like these, so that's what I did.

Turn 2

Blood Angels: 2 VP

Iron Snakes: 4 VP

With revenge in mind, the Sanguinary Guard descended on the Sternguard. Mephiston used the Wings of Sanguinius power again to launch himself across my backline towards my Dreadnought and Master of the Forge, which were preparing to threaten the Aggressors. The Aggressors and Stalker Intercessors poured fire at my own Intercessors holding objective 4, managing to kill two of them. The second squad of Blood Angels Intercessors manoeuvred  around objective 1.

Mephiston charged my Master of the Forge and Relic Contemptor, taking the Master down to 1 remaining wound but failing to scratch Ancient Nestor. It was a fairly abominable set of dice rolls to be honest! In return, the Contemptor killed Mephiston outright and consolidated even close to the Aggressors. 

During my turn the Relic Contemptor poured supercharged plasma fire into the Aggressors. Helped by the Target Protocols, they were softened up sufficiently that I was able to wipe them out in close combat, though this left my Master of the Forge vulnerable. He himself took out the last Stalker Intercessors.

Turn 3

Blood Angels: 4 VP

Iron Snakes: 6 VP

Starting the last turn, it was clear that the Sanguinary guard would have to expose themselves to contest objective 4 (and ultimately, the game). They jumped close and managed to take out both the Master of the Forge and contest objective 4, but were not able to kill the remaining Intercessors, whose sergeant took some revenge with his lightning claw. 

As it was, I knew if I stood still and did nothing, Wade would probably earn 2 victory points (objective 1 and 4), I would earn 1 victory point (objective 3) and win the game 6 points to 7. If I attacked with the Relic Contemptor and failed to contest objective 4 for some reason, it could end up a 6-all draw! I decided to go for it, withdrawing my Intercessors from objective 4 and getting the Contemptor in. The combination of the supercharged plasma blastgun and dreadnought close combat weapon were enough to wipe out the Sanguinary guard, leaving the Iron Snakes in complete control of objective 4.

Turn 4

Blood Angels: 5 VP

Iron Snakes: 7 VP

Overall, I was very happy with the synergy between the Master of the Forge and the Contemptor Dreadnought. The Centurions were a bit a disappointment,  though I never expected to get much from them. They are a prime target for getting nailed in close combat and the Blood Angels have just the right tools for the job. Some of the special rules I gained access to at the start of the game, particularly Target Protocols and Endurant Protector, played a key role in the game. Everything I paid for on the Chapter Master was essentially a waste, however. I am not sure at this stage if there are some efficiencies there that I could take advantage of, or if playing more games would even things out. It would require me to protect my Centurions better, which is darned hard to do when you have a Space Vampire flying behind you in Turn 2!! 

Anyways, it was a very fun game and it seemed like Wade had a good time too (though perhaps not when Mephiston duffed all of his rolls in that 2nd combat). It is time to get the ball rolling on my Dark Angels army, I think.

See you across the table,

Marc

P.S. The objective markers were dice given as gifts at my mate Ben's (and Liz's) wedding. Sooo much more useful than sugar coated nuts...

2nd Edition Army Challenge: Deathwing Squad Ramiel TO-DONE!!!

Hi folks,

I think it goes without saying that these models are fairly old school. My mother purchased most of them for me from my FLGS when I was 15 years old, just in time for Christmas. I can remember telling her what I wanted and, because she didn't drive, walking with her for 45 minutes to the store to order them in. It was a walk we used to do fairly often and I talked all about what Deathwing and the Dark Angels were. 

Like all good parents, she suffered in silence 😉 

Now the folks at Megohm were a loveable but crotchety bunch of neckbeards. They were used to me dropping in after school and pouring over the blister packs, scheming army lists and such. The guy who owned the joint scowled at me when I said I wanted to order some Terminators; he was an Imperial Guard player and hated Terminators. The lady who worked there seemed happy to meet my mum though, if a little intimidated. My mother loved... fiercely. When they rang up the total price she looked at me and said "Are you sure you want these little men?" with that look in her eyes. "Yes, I do" I said solemnly.

I remember painting them at the kitchen table while mum cooked dinner, because in those days I could paint a squad in one sitting. They looked terrible, but yeah, all in one night! I distinctly remember painting the holes at the end of the assault cannon barrels, by blobbing black on the whole thing and wiping around the edges with my finger! I never removed the metal mold lines and flash either; I still found some when I was prepping these models, 25 years later.

This time around, I spent about an hour on the assault cannon arm alone. The eagle-eyed among you will recognise that it is actually a Wolf Guard assault cannon, packaged incorrectly in my original blister pack. I had a whole backstory about how this could happen, involving an allied force of Dark Angels and Space Wolves conducting a Wolf and the Lion trial on the eve of a battle. The Wolf Guard wins the fight, but during the battle the next day he is struck down. The Dark Angel champion, Ramiel, picks up the assault cannon and defends the prone Space Wolf until help arrives: they both end the story with their honour satisfied. It seemed right to name the squad after that champion, with the assault cannon being a fitting memento of the battle.

I also remember having a wretched time with the lightning claws. I particularly enjoyed repainting them, now that I have a better idea of how to do it. When 3rd edition changed all lightning claws and thunder hammers into power fists, I was gutted. I never really used them anymore after that, and they ended up in my bitz box for over two decades.

I am so glad that this army challenge has come along and given me the push I needed to do these venerable old models justice. Now I feel like honour has been satisfied; they were worth the walk.

See you across the table,

Marc