Welcome back friends! This week I finished yet another complete unit! Surprising I know, but it is the holidays! This time it was a three groups of three ripper swarms for Aegis's Nids.
So much work in these guys, when you realize there is four per base!
So let's start off where we last left. I stripped the rippers, based them, primed them, and painted the bases. (I love painting bases first). The next step was to try and match the blue table painting scheme of his other nids.
I DID NOT PAINT THESE! (Blue table painting did!)
The nid scheme follows a bone sub surface (I don't know what to call it), and a purple carapace, with light green and turquoise highlights. Since I don't know the actual paints used, I'll be doing my best to match it!
Close but no cigar! So I start out by trying to match the bone. I go for a Rakarth flesh. It's not exactly right.
So many.... Painting these guys is a very slow process. Because they were adhered to the base I could not remove them without damaging them, so I'm forced to play brush dexterity games finding ways to hit all the nooks and crannies.
Right is after the stone wash. It takes out the fleshy tones, and brings back the detail! Jeremy suggests some Khaki camo colors, which I don't have. I decide to be a bit creative. I recently filled out my secret weapon washes when they had a 20% sale on black friday. One of those washes was a stone. I do a test, and not only does it match the blue table color perfectly, but the wash helps pop out the detail without tons of work.
At this point I realize it would probably be a good idea to have a plan. I decide to pull one base to the side, and work on matching it perfectly to the blue table models. I use a base of liche purple, followed by a blend/dry brush of warlock purple. For the green, I do a light Skarsnik, and for the turqouise, I do a light skarsnik, followed by a P3 Arcane blue glazed wash (I made).
It turns out great, and I'm really happy with it.
It turns out great, and I'm really happy with it.
But back to work! I hit all the rippers with liche purple, using the finished one as inspiration, and to make sure everything matches!
Finally looking like a swarm! Putting down the green layer on the tongues and claws. First I tried blue first, then green, and it didn't look right. So I settled with green, then a glaze I made with the P3 paints to get the turqouise effect.
Now where it finally comes together. The warlock purple drybrush/blend. (I say blend, because it was nearly impossible to dry brush, so it's kinda of a mix between the two)
For the last step, I did some ard coat on the bone section, some mud wash on the bases (to add some brown back), then some blue glazing on the claws. And here you go! Finished rippers! I'm really happy with how they came out, especially because of how difficult it was to get a brush in there! (And the fact I didn't know what colors were used!)
I have been looking forward to painting this one!
I hope Aegis likes them! Now onto the final project. Shantz Haemonculus! I spent a long time figuring out how I would be assembling this guy. I made sure to basically plastic melt him to the base, so that thing should never come off. It is far sturdier then it looks, but just to make sure....
Most expensive mini ever!!!
And with that, I will end this weeks post. Hopefully the Haemy will be done next week! Until then, thanks for all your wonderful comments and for visiting! Have a good one!
