Painting Van Saar Hystrar Pattern Energy Shield

On my Van Saar I wanted them to be mostly metallic with a striking color for minor details, and because of the RoboCop (2014) inspiration I knew I wanted a laser-like red for the detail color. The energy shield is one of my favorite aesthetics of the Van Saar kit and I wanted it to be red in addition to remaining translucent. In order to achieve this affect I used Testors Gloss Red Spray Enamel. I have also seen it called Candy Apple Red, and it is suppose to mimic a candy coat paint-job on model cars. 

 

I started with one light coat on the front of the shield, because honestly, I didn't know what to expect. Here is the front and back after spraying only the front once.

At this point I started to question what I was even doing (I am sure this will come up every painting post). I could see potential but it also looked a little weird and I thought I was ruing the beautiful bit. I fought back the insecurities and flipped it over and gave the back a light spray.

It still looked a little weird to me but I decided to do another coat, front and back at the same time.

Wow that is beautiful and exactly what I wanted! So I thought I was finished and went to bed. The next day I looked at it under natural sun light and it looked blotty in ways not visible in the pic and I started second guessing myself. That night I sprayed a third coat over it.

This made it look like a thicker version of the single coat. I believe an additional coat would even it out, however it will also likely remove the translucence. I am satisfied with how it looks, though I prefer the second coat. 

It is possible there are other circumstances that affected the appearance of the third coat, but I sprayed at the same distance for the same length of time in the same temp/humidity. I had residual spray hit my hand and it did the same thing, it just doesn't coat evenly. I believe (with my little anecdotal experience) that the next coat would even it out and that it isn't environmental. 

What will I do differently on the next shield? Plan for two coats, have some Simple Green ready and be more patient. I didn't have any Simple Green at the time and was so anxious to see the model put together that I just glued it on. I have also heard of a Tamiya Red spray that is supposed to be very similar, might give that a shot.

Big lesson for me from this particular project as small piece of my broader project, EXPERIMENT AND DON'T BE AFRAID TO FUCK UP. I am doing this for me (and you, if there are any of you), I am doing this to have fun and create a world and test myself. I think I was never able to complete anything in the past because I thought "that it had to be perfect, and if it wasn't perfect then why bother." Well how could it be perfect if I never even tried, if I never failed, if I never learned any lessons. I know it will be a struggle every time I sit down to paint something, I will have to fight my anxiety and my insecurity, but I have to trust myself and be prepared to fuck up. I will come out more patient, more considerate and hopefully more creative and more skilled.

Painting Van Saar Leader

It has been a couple weeks since my last update, I had a respiratory infection for a little under a week and then went on vacation for a little over a week, over 4500 miles and 50 hours of driving! I have been back a few days and started painting my Van Saar. 

I am huge 80s kid, especially when it comes to science fiction and dystopian future! One of my favorite movies from back then was RoboCop and I am big fan of the 2014 remake. I have watched Dredd, RoboCop (2014) and Mad Max Fury Road every weekend except one since I started modeling again. RoboCop (2014) was my inspiration for my Van Saar gang. My leader will be in the black armor and the rest of my gang will be in the silver armor.

I started off with an alternate model for my Van Saar Leader, he has a Plasma Pistol and a Hystrar Pattern Energy Shield. His primary model has a Plasma Pistol and a Las Pistol. In an attempt to achieve the metallic black affect of the armor I used Reaper Miniatures Adamantium Black over a Games Workshop Mechanicum Grey spray.

I was very happy with the look of the paint, however it is very thick out of dropper and dries quickly. At this point I had a lot of anxiety and was not sure how to move forward, this is the point in the past I would have just given up. I wanted the model to look metallic but not silver and I think the paint accomplished that but I didn't know how to highlight it. I decided to apply a light wash of Games Workshops Nuln Oil in an attempt to give it some definition.

I do think it helped to show definition but it greatly reduced the metallic affect. The plan at this point was to apply another layer of Adamantium Black to the larger smoother surfaces. After that I attempted a highlight and used Games Workshop Leadbelcher on the edges and raised areas of the armor. Also at this time I used Games Workshop Ceramite White on all of the ares I wanted to be red and flesh.

Next I started on the Hystrar Pattern Energy Shield, scroll to the next post for info on how I painted it.

I knew I wanted to have a laser-like red for the secondary color on my Van Saar. I used a combination of Reaper Miniatures Clear Red and Green Stuff World Fluorescent Red. I started with a 1:1 mix of Fluorescent:Clear, then applied a light wash of Games Workshop Carroburg Crimson and a very thin layer of 1:1 mix, next was a tiny highlight of pure fluorescent. On the plasma coils I did an additional highlight of 1:1 mix of the fluorescent and Games Workshop White Scar. Here are pictures with the energy shield attached.

The model is not finished, I still need to paint the crate he is standing on and his flesh, but since I am just starting out I still very limited on the amounts of paint I have.

You can see by the picture that it is just various monochromatic colors, metallics, yellows and reds. I am very pleased with him overall, he achieves the feel of the character I wanted. At this point he is the closest I have ever come to finishing a model and I am highly motivated to do so.

What will I do differently on his primary model? I will definitely attempt to thin the Adamantium Black a little more, I am getting more comfortable applying thinner and thinner coats. I doubt will use a black wash over the armor and skip straight to edge highlighting and I will likely start with a 2:1 mix of fluorescent:clear for the red.

Riding a high right now and trying to stay motivated!

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!

crossbonesx11 learns to paint ...

I did a lot of research and consumed a lot of content in my preparation for my journey into painting. A few of my current inspirations are Uncle Atom over @ https://www.youtube.com/user/tabletopminions *pachow* and James Wappel @ https://wappellious.blogspot.com/. Also quick shout out to my long long time inspiration, the mad scientist himself KrautScientist over @ https://eternalhunt.wordpress.com/.

I have decided on a yellow and gray scheme for my GSC. I think the yellow will be a good contrast with the pinks/purples/blues of the GSC flesh and chitin. I will get more into the fluff of the cult in another post, but they are from a mining colony outside of Hive Primus on Necromunda. I want to really invoke a miner/construction worker vibe, so I am going to attempt a neon yellow suit and a sort of reflective gray for their armor. I am hoping to achieve this affect by mixing Vallejo's Fluorescent Yellow with Reaper's MSP Clear Yellow for their jumpsuits and a mixture of Reaper's MSP Pearl White and various GW grays for their armor. Thanks James for the advice!

I dug out a few old MKVII Space Marines and partially assembled them so I can ruin them trying to get the techniques mildly in control before I start painting the GSC. I primed them with Army Painter's White spray and then brushed on a thin coat of GW's Ceramite White. As it dried I started clipping, cleaning and sub-assembling the GSC. Next I mixed the fluorescent yellow and clear yellow at 2:1 and applied the first coat.

I am happy with the color, even though it is under some harsh harsh light in these photos (will look into proper lighting and photography techniques as I go). It is much more fluorescent and less warm in person. As that dried I continued prepping GSC and sprayed a few more old marines. Then I applied a second coat, mindfully thinning my paints with water even though you can still see pooling in certain areas (this will be an ongoing struggle).

I essentially achieved the look I wanted, even though it doesn't come through in the pics under the yellow light. Hopefully I will be able to get better pics going forward. I also had few paints from a failed attempt to get back into the hobby in 2016, so I decided to goof off a little with them in hopes to gain a little xp. I applied GW base paints Abaddon Black and Mephiston Red to a couple places, and after they dried, I brushed GW wash Nuln Oil over one side of the model just to experiment. The black wash on yellow looked predictably bad (unless you want a soot covered armor look) but it was the only wash I had at the time.

While packing up my work station, I realized I had a pot of GW's Lahmian Medium which I would have mixed with the Nuln Oil at 2:1 or 3:1 before applying to the one side of the model. My application of the minor colors was awful. Struggled with getting the right viscosity of the paints by thinning with water (I really hope this gets easier as I go). I think trying to paint over the fluorescent/clear mixture was also part of it as they are both high pigment high translucence paints and meant to be a top layer, not a base layer. Here are a final couple pics under a little bit better lighting.

You can see the yellow affect a little bit better. I have some more paints incoming, one of which is GW's Casandora Yellow wash that I will play around with. I am planning to buy Secret Weapon's Parchment Wash to experiment with as well. I am not sure how the fluorescent/clear mixture will react with the typical layer-wash-layer method, but we will see. Also incoming are GW's Sector Mechanicus bases, so be on the lookout for more yellow test marines and my start in molded base painting.

I used a wet palette I constructed on the sage advice of Uncle Atom. Your videos helped push me back into the deep end of the hobby!