Skaven Painting Challenge

I had already splashed some Army Painter Weapons Bronze on the bell months ago when I had poured too much paint one time. Beyond that I wasn’t sure where to start.

My first move was to assess the build.

I found some big gaps in quite an important part of the model.

I had some gaps in the build and decided not to go down the greenstuff route.

I got some PVA, plaster, sand and black and green paint mix together and painted it on. It should cover the cracks and leave a nice rough rock texture.

A uniform colour over the whole area and some dry brushing should tie it all back together well.

I made enough of my paint, sand and plaster mix, so that I could make the ruins I planned on the base. I used some ‘sprue’ from MDF terrain kits that look like arches, plus flint stones and coffee stirrers cut into squares as slabs. I made some marks on the base to keep the debris out of for the wheels to sit neatly down later.

Using the PVA and paint mix means that it is less likely to chip and if it does flake it’s less likely to leave any nasty white marks from any knocks later on. (Thank you Gerry for that tip)

The actual edges of the base, where people will see the basing efforts, is not that big of an area. The wheels obstruct the view of anything done underneath so don’t need to focus too much attention under there. I will add some winter grass, maybe some discarded weapons, or something else of interest at the edges to try and gain some marks once it’s up for judgement.

The original studio paint job is impressive. I have seen other nice paint jobs and this makes it even more daunting a challenge.

Though it looks great in the pics I don’t think I want to do the green stonework under the ropes at the bottom of the arch. I think I want to do something with the runes. Maybe have the tone of the gold change from less bold at the bottom, to super poppy and bright just above the bell.

I think for the magic elements (the potion and the clanger) that I will fade from a green blue, to a pale blue, to white as a blend. Something similar to how I did some Nighthaunts.

To get the colour into the paint job I think I might add some skaven shields somewhere and do some freehand designs. Unsure on that yet.

The Shaman is an opportunity to go for some bold colours on his robes. I might go for reds and some freehand symbols on the cloak.

For the wood I think I can make each plank a slightly different tone of brown and use the great texture provided to get a good effect.

The big rat on the back seems a fairly easy prospect but we’ll see.

Not a lot of progress on the model apart from some Athonian Camoshade on the masonry. The base on the other hand is going great guns. Variety of washes and dry brush colours with the winter grass is looking pretty good.

I am glad to be given the opportunity to paint a big expensive model like this, but sadly as my friend bought it assembled already from eBay some shortcuts and easier painting options weren’t open to me.

I don’t usually enjoy a lot of building, but being given the opportunity to prime it brown and the opportunity to paint it as subassemblies would have made the task a lot easier.

I was able to mask off the stone work and use some rattle can Army Painter Leather Brown from the bottom, but was fairly cautious not to flood any detail or to test my masking skills.

I used aggaros dunes over all the wood areas, just to lose all the white base coat and hopefully have the contrast shading effect to pool where I might miss with additional paints and washes later.

I have decided that the shamen will be an albino and think the cloak will be Red and I will freehand the symbol of the brand on the big rat’s chest on the cloak somewhere.

I tried a fade on the runes above the bell. Going from Army Painter Weapons Bronze at the bottom to a Retributor Gold at the top. It came out fairly subtle but like the effect.

I highlighted some of the stone with a mix of Deathguard Green and Celestra Grey. It came out a bit too bright, so I went back with a little Athonian Camoshade in selective areas.

Progress report… Getting there.

Sorry report continues after this musical interlude…

?The big blind rat at the back said everyone attack and it turned into a bell tower blitz.

The robes will be next as he preaches out his hex as it turned into a bell tower blitz.

Bell tower blitz…?

Any way… I devoted some time to the ropes…

Zandri Dust base, followed by Agrax Earthshade wash, then Morghast Bone to highlight and Wraithbone to extreme highlight. Might tone it down to finish with some Army Painter soft tone wash.

The metal work on the bell assembly itself and the spikes above all had a bas of Runefang Steel hit with Cryptek Armourshade Gloss. Then a patchy dry brush of Leadbelcher followed by dabs of Nihilakh Oxide for a hint at verdigris.

Still refining it but got the urge to add an approximation of my own family tartan.

Was inspired by the efforts being shared at “Tartan painting on miniatures support group” on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1215511288627761/?ref=share

I used Macragge Blue and Deathguard Green and a wash of Athonian Camoshade, followed by the white lines in Wraithbone. I am hoping that I can add a thin dark blue cross in the Deathguard Green areas to push the complexity and look more like a tartan than just a check pattern.