THE SISTERS OF THE EMPEROR’S MERCY

I think I need to mix it up at this point and try a vehicle.  I’m thinking I’ll start with one of my basic, old school Mad Max rhinos…

My first squad of Seraphim done.  The hardest part was the bases.  Even though they are weighted, they are still very teetery!

Nearly done with these.   The bases are going to take a bit more work…

I have never painted a squad of Seraphim ever.  These girls have been in a box in a closet for 25 years…

Mithrill silver for a final dry-brush over the armor – yes I still have an original pot of it.  Then, I added white over the tabard areas, because red goes over white much better!  Then Red Gore as a base red for the tabards.

My typical thing – Warplock Bronze and a heavy drybrush of Leadbelcher.

Finished the first of my new old school metal sister squads.  In the third and forth images you can see a comparison with my original models I painted 25 years ago.  Obviously I couldn’t match all the colors with the current GW line, but I think the main difference is the grime that the Nuln Oil gives the new models.  It should be easy enough to give the old models a wash of it and match them up a bit better.  Also I have to redo the old bases at some point.

Not much work has got done on the sisters because the pimps over at TTCombat keep putting out stuff I can’t resist.  I will be making a new project to handle my Dropfleet obsession at some point…

So, I am using the same painting techniques I used on the original squads I painted 25 years ago.  I started with a base of Tin Bits and then a heavy drybrush of Boltgun Metal, followed by a light drybrush of Mithril Silver.  I don’t have any more Tin Bits or Boltgun Metal, but I still had an old pot of Mithril Silver.  So I substituted with the closest thing I could get.  This method really brings out the depth in metallic armor, as apposed to just slathering on a layer of Leadbelcher.

It’s been a few weeks since I last posted.  This is due to two factors – firstly I was remodeling my home office.  I have been working from home for a year and a half because of covid and there seems no end in sight, so I figure I might as well just accept that I will be working from home from here on out.  I bought one of those desks that you can raise up to work standing up to give my sciatica a break, and I got an ergonomic chair.  But getting that in place required tearing out my old setup.  A fair amount of work over a couple weekends…

The second issue was my choice for the next models to paint.  I like to get the hard stuff done first, which meant all the various heroes.  I started painting them in my typical batch style, but I quickly realized they were too individual to batch paint.  I would have to do each of them as a single project from start to finish.   So, setting these aside, I have decided to just paint a squad or two of basic battle sisters to get started.

Got one model done this weekend.  Progress, am I right?

This model was actually fairly difficult…

This model is a Raging Heroes – Dark Elf I believe.

So. I was thinking about doing the wings in black, but I think the white pops much better.  These were more difficult than I was expecting.  They are all individual, with lots of details.

These are Armorium Cherubs.

Forgot to do the black rim on the basses…

Okay, I realized I had more models that had skin prominent.  Primarily all those freaky cherubs!   Also I had some of those Raging Heroes figs that were basically running around in bikinis.  So, my plan for my next bit of painting is to get the models with a lot of skin out of the way…

I think I’m going to continue with getting the most difficult units out of the way.  That means The Triumph first.  Then probably the penitent engines…

Actually, on second thought.  Because GW is going to be kicking out a lot of new units.  I think I will just stick with painting core infantry units for now.  Kind of boring, but there it is.

Pretty happy with that for my Spring Cleaning Challenge.

Still plenty to do for next year!

Painted in the same basic colors and techniques as the Repentia.

Yes, they are running around in their underwear, but when you have been fitted with pacifier helms, subdermal stimulant pumps and ophthalmic goads, who really cares…

So, the Repentia are finished, except for the Superior.

I am very satisfied with how they came out.  Holy cow, how good do the autum leaves look!

Okay, I should try to explain how I did this…

Once the skin was done, I went in and hit the metal bits with Leadbelcher and then highlighted it with Mithril silver, then did a Nuln Oil wash over that.  Added brass bits where necessary, highlighted those with Mithril silver and washed with Nuln Oil.  The tabards I did with a base of Red Gore, highlighted with some white mixed in, a heavy wash with Flesh Tearers Red and a little Nuln Oil in the recesses.  The wraps were complicated – based in Wraithbone, and then washed in contrast white, then highlighted in white, then washed in parchment, and highlighted again in white.  Lastly I did a drybrush with Fortress Grey over everything.

The leaves came from Shadow’s Edge Miniatures.  Took a long time, but they eventually arrived.

Oh, and the check pattern on the blades:  a yellow base, made 2mm marks along the blades, drew lines down the sides and back.  Marked lines down the sides, then filled in the boxes with black.  Not that difficult, if you have a steady hand…

Typically I only hobby on the weekends.  I got my second covid shot on Friday.  I spent all day Saturday on my back with side effects.  Starting to feel better on Sunday, then my HVAC takes a dump!  It’s 92 degrees in my house – that’s 33 C for you weird people!

Started blocking in colors.  Decided to try a check pattern for the eviscerators.  I must say, even though my eyes have gone to crap, I still have a relatively steady hand.