So I did the same thing I did all those years ago at a manager training program- I chose an easy, low model-count army! Back then, it was Deathwing. I even played with doing nonmetal metallics (NMM). I was lucky enough to be able to ask the masters themselves, the Wappels, and got in trouble for the assumption that I was cheating. All these years later, I've chosen Adeptus Custodes. They're striking on the tabletop (and I am NOT doing NMM) and they have a relatively simple paintscheme. I'm using this force as a motivator- 25 models to a finished army!? Absolutely! So here's the force:
2000 Points consisting of Trajan Valoris, a Shield-captain in Terminator armor with Castellan Axe, a Shield-captain with Misericordia and Castellan Axe, 3 Allarus Terminators with Castellan Axes, 3 Wardens with Castellan Axes, three units of 3 Custodian Guard with Custodian Spears, a Vixilla with Castellan Spear, and two units of 3 Vertas Praetors- 1997 points!
But we're not here to discuss the army list, we're here to see how I'm painting these models.
It starts off with a priming of the models themselves. The bases were either the urban bases from GW or sanded bases (note the masking tape around the clear stems to save them primer) and plan to paint them gray, so black primer was the way to go. The models, on the other hand, weren't primed at all but just sprayed gold. My buddy warned me about the gold spray- he noted that paint didn't stick to it very well. I had this problem when I sprayed my Stormcast with a gold spray bought at Walmart (it was cheap). But I was willing to give this one a go because, well, it wasn't cheap and I had hope. So I used GW's Retributor Armor gold spray. The steps below seem to make sure that paint sticks to it, but you may find a similar issue. Otherwise, I quite like it. And I should- I spent almost $60 on two cans!
After a healthy amount of time letting them dry, I then washed them with Reikland Fleshshade. This adds just a bit of 'warmth' and shading to it without turning the gold a crazy color. I also have the Gloss version of this and was very tempted to use it. But I wasn't sure and stuck with the basics in this case. I was sure to let this wash dry for at least an hour before I moved onto the next step.
Next, I wanted take advantage of the large, flat details and bring the gold back to the basecolor. But I'm not going to basecoat the model again, so I chose to drybrush this step. I brought out the Retributor Gold paint, which actually does match very closely to the spray. Obviously that's important. I also believe that this is the step that shows whether the gold primer is an obstable or not. I drybrushed everything except the ends of the lances and I payed for that later, but I didn't have any problems with paint sticking to the gold otherwise.
Finally, I finished the gold with another drybrush, but with Liberator Gold. Its silverish tint and transition from gold makes it perfect. Again, I should have line-highlighted with it, but I'm going for fast and these models are beautiful even without the extra effort.
Now is where the work really has to start. I painted the pants, cloth, shoulder-plates, and plumes with Khorne Red. It wasn't always easy to get to everything, but it's worth it. Make sure that the color is strong and smooth because it will get the wash later.
Next is Doombull Brown, painted onto all the leather bits over their arms and legs. Again, the color has to be solid and smooth for the upcoming wash.
After the brown comes the black areas, including the lance, the bolter casings, and boots. I found this color to be the one that wouldn't stick. The boots and the ends of the lances did not accept Abbadon Black so I pulled out the Chaos Black (last 'edition' version of the color from the early 2000s). This definitely helped but still required many layers on the lances. It was good to work that long in order to have a smooth coat, but I don't want to have to waste so much time and paint doing that again. So the next batch I paint will receive healthy amounts of wash and gold drybrush in the beginning and I'll see if that helps.
The silver was the part I was dreading the most. Everything from pipes to ammo-feeders to exhaust pipes had to be gotten and not missed or it would show. After all, these models are already rather monotone (that's a lot of gold!) so the details must be obvious to break it up. Being careful not to spill any black or silver onto the gold was my biggest worry...
After the red, brown, black, and silver were done it was time to give it the good 'ol black wash with Nuln Oil. Every part that was painted, as listed above, gets the selectively-placed wash (no need to spill it onto the gold). Oh yes, now we're starting to see what the final models will look like. Admittedly, it's at this step that I usually move on because I consider this a "game ready" standard. But I want these models to look good, so there's more.
The reds needed to be brought back up. I rebased all of the cloth and plumage with Khorne Red, then layered with Mephiston Red, and mixed in some Troll Slayer Orange for the final highlight. Nothing fancy, just making it red.
All of the brown leather was line-highlighted with Gorthor Brown. It was the nearest light brown I had and leather isn't supposed to be that reflective. It did the job.
I highlighted the black with Dark Reaper and then a line highlight of Codex Grey, er, Mechanicus Standard Grey (they're almost exactly the same- yay!). I even drew a little line down the shaft of the lance to make sure that it wasn't just a massive black thing- I had to give it some love too.
Finally, I highlighted the black-washed Leadbelcher with Stormhost Silver, making sure to bring out the barrels of the Hurricane Bolters as much as I could. At this point, everything for the models is done as far as the main details.
But there's the additional details that make the model. Every Custodes has gems all over them, from the shoulder pads to the hip plates. Plus, they have power weapons of some sort, which is usually described with a blueish glow. So this was the final detail that needed to be done.
I based everything with Macragge Blue, then I used the gem technique from ages long past (found the Eldar codex from 3rd edition as many other publications besides) with Hoeth Blue and White Scar. The power blades were turned into five colors, each successively adding more and more white: Macragge Blue, Macragge Blue/Hoeth Blue, Hoeth Blue, Hoeth Blue/White Scar, White Score. Each of these colors was successively worked down the blade until the tips were white, being a very stark contrast to the gold and red blur that is the main model.
The rest is just the typical basing methods and painting the one guy's bare head- this is the Dawneagle Shield-captain when I so choose. There's also a ton more details that I could do, but I'm going easy and fast on this project. The models are so beautiful that I don't have to really go crazy to have a great looking force on the table, and I plan to take full advantage of that.
Let me know what you're working on. Happy Hobbying!
Very interesting job.
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