Painting Sector Mechanicus Bases

When planning my narrative project as a whole, I came to the conclusion it was going to be on Necromunda. Shortly thereafter I started planning what mini projects I wanted to do and I knew Iwanted to have the bases be the same to tie them all together. After dauntless base research I decided to go with the Sector Mechanicus bases.

First I primed the sprue using Games Workshop Mechanicus Grey spray and then a heavy dry brush of Games Workshop Leadbelcher.

Next was a heavy wash of Games Workshop Nuln Oil.

This provided much needed texture and helped bring out the details underneath the grating. I find that this would have been a satisfactory look for what I wanted to achieve, but I just wanted to play around with it more. I wanted to try a brown wash to have an "exposed to the elements" look and not just a dirty look, but I don't have a brown wash. So I did a 2:1 mix of Games Workshop Casandora Yellow and Carroburg Crimson shades and did a medium wash over the top. The coloring is more visible in person but in the pictures you can see a slightly warmer/browner tint to the metal. Next, Hazard Stripes!

So hear I applied three very thin coats of Games Workshop Flash Gitz Yellow. At this point I am thinking "man I have heard yellow is miserable but I expected it to go on better than this." Especially with how impressed I have been with Games Workshop's "Base" line of paints. I have two yellows from Games Workshop and when I picked up the first one I didn't even look at the name I just saw that it was a layer so I assumed the other was a base, it wasn't ... it was Flashgitz Yellow, which is also a layer. This is when I realized I do not have a yellow base paint. So I add a medium wash of Nuln Oil and let sit.

When I comeback to it I add a fourth layer of Flashgitz and do an additional round of touch ups. It is still semi-transparent, but hey maybe it is weathering or maybe Necromunda just has some shitty industrial painters. Next I started adding the stripes with Games Workshop Abaddon Black. This is when I realize that I do not have a steady hand and that I can not paint a straight light. Zero consistency between my line work. But hey, shitty Necromunda painters right?

After letting it dry I came back with another layer of Abaddon Black and was able to touch up a few lines. I was going to add paint chipping affects but I was kind of teetering on whether I was happy with the striping or not. I decided that the solution wasn't adding more paint, so I just clipped them off the sprue and added a layer of Abaddon Black around the lip.

From a tabletop perspective and if you do not look at them for too long they look pretty good, I am happy with them overall. Once they get a mini on them they will help provide a background for the mini (again, from a tabletop perspective) and will hopefully emphasize the theme of Necromunda while tying the project together as a whole.

What will I do differently on the next sprue? I will probably poke some Vallejo German Grey into the nooks and crannies before the Leadbelcher dry brush. I am ordering Secret Weapon Miniatures Parchment Wash and Tamiya 3mm Masking Tape, which I hope will meet the needs of a "dirty wash" and help with more consistent hazard striping. Oh yeah, and some Games Workshop Averland Sunet base paint!

Lastly I just want to say that I have been messing around in this hobby for 20 years now and this is my first completed painting project. Crazy I know! It is not an amazing quality, but I am feeling both very pleased with the work and very proud of myself. I hope I can ride this feeling and keep the motivation high! Small battle won in this eternal war!

Modeling Atlas-Class Ferrojacks

A couple months ago when I was planning what I wanted to do for GSC I got some crazy inspiration and in my head everything clicked so I decided I had to do it. I have named it the Atlas-Class Ferrojack and written fluff about it (PLEASE see post below!). I named it Atlas to kind of be a mnemonic and keep the same nomenclature as the Goliath truck (I know one is a Greek titan and the other Judaeo-Christian giant but it makes sense to me and I like it!). I named it a ferrojack because it is a mining vehicle and jack brings to mind both lumberjack and some animes have referred to grunt mechs as jacks, and ferro is just a fancy way of saying iron.

The Atlas-Class Ferrojack will be a counts-as Armored Sentinel and it was inspired by combing Acolytes and a Goliath truck. Weird I know, but let me explain.

In this picture is the Goliath truck mining laser, cab and exhaust. This was the Goliath spark of inspiration.

In this picture is the Acolyte spark of inspiration. I wanted to mimic the silhouette of the left most Acolyte and give visual cues using the heavy mining equipment that would create something unique and feel at home in my project. What would that look like?

Behold the Atlas-Class Ferrojack! I am very happy with how it turned out. The cab mimic's the Goliath cab and it has the silhouette of a 1st/2nd gen hybrid. It has a mining laser, heavy rock saw and heavy rock cutter, which will count as a multi-laser/lascannon and a chainsaw. Here are some more pics.

It has the ladder, railing and handle from the truck kit. I am hoping this will visually tie it in with project, especially when next to a Goliath and especially especially when they are both painted in the same scheme. I removed all of the spikes in addition to adding the railing in an attempt to make it feel more imperial and feel like an actual construction vehicle. 

Please go read the fluff post, I think it kind of ties everything up in a neat little package.

I will leave you with a couple more pics. I magnetized the saw arm and the laser arm using 5mm x 2mm 3/16"x1/16" N52 Strong Rare Earth magnets. I didn't magnetize the cutter arm as the magnet was too big for joint and I didn't come up with a solution at the time. I learned a lot about modelling with magnets with this project and probably would do things a little differently if I were to ever build another one.

I also did some more painting. Trying to decide if I want to do a post on the progress. Hmm ...