How to Paint Queek Headtaker

Queek Headtaker leaps into action.

"Between the line of Greatcannon, the Reiksmarshall and his assembled commanders surveyed the battlefield from atop the low hill. 

Where only moments before he had been able to review the lie of the land, now it seemed that same earth had been carpeted by a rolling sea of dirty flesh and fur. The motion of the horde and the various hues of pelt before reminded him of a heaving sea ("but by all the gods, a sea of vermin!")  Unlike the ordered waves that crashed upon the shores of his homeland, this sea seemed to twitch, shake, and constantly skitter with a nervous energy. Already, he could feel that energy begin to infect some of his men and their animals, causing both man and beast to look this way and  that. The levies in particular seemed nervous ("damn the lower orders")

Preparing to give his final orders he turned to his party.

"Sir. SIR!" Came an urgent voice. "Look!" 
Turning to pass his good eye over the enemy, he at once became aware of a different motion. 

In the distance, the brown tide seemed to magically part as something came towards them...moments later (the distance being great) he could also hear a cacophany of high pitched squeeks and calls from the direction of this phenomenon. At last the front wave of vermin parted, and the cause of the commotion was revealed. 
A lone figure, clad in red armour. Upon his back a crest of...was it... carved totems?

"Lieutenant, my spyglass" 

With practiced east the Reichsmarshall swiftly raised and extended his family heirloom, and shortly the creature came into view. It was not totems that adorned him, but skulls and body parts, some...fresh. Most disconcertingly, he recognized what appeared to be (due to perhaps being the least decomposed) the most recent addition to this macabre collection... 
...Captain Valetius. 

"Lieutenant." 
"Sir?" 
"Pass the word. There shall be no reinforcements this day."

How to Paint Queek Headtaker
I think that this process is good enough for "tabletop quality" (I.e. acceptable when viewed from a couple of feet away)  Also, as I painted this guy a couple of weeks ago and I didn't take any notes all mixes are approximate.

EDIT: Following the launch of the latest Citadel Paint range in 2012, please note that the colours listed below are from the previous range. I hope to have time to rewrite in the future, but for the time being, you can use the conversion chart/ list I made here or use the official Citadel Conversion chart here.

Step 1: Preparation.

1. Remove the model from its sprue.
2. Carefully file or trim any excess flash from the model. (If the latter, use caution!)
3. Glue model to base.

Step 2: First basing.
I like to get the application of materials to my base done at this point to save trouble later. Doing it now allows you to correct any troublesome issues with sand or glue without worrying about any painting you might have done...

1. Sand or trim any flash from around the edge of the base. (It really shows up when you paint it...)
2. Paint PVA glue, optionally watered-down, onto the base, carefully avoiding getting excess glue onto feet or shoes (also claws, paws etc.)
3. Sprinkle a few pieces of crushed coral onto the base. (Obtained at the aquatic section of any pet shop) I find that 2-3 is enough.
4. Sprinkle sand over the base, so all remaining areas are covered.
5. Allow to dry.

Step 3: Priming/ Undercoat.

1. Prime the whole model. I use Citadel Chaos Black spray. Black is ideal for a model that will overall be darker in tone (and more forgiving for beginners like me as if you miss painting anything in hard to reach places it just looks like shadow.)
2. Allow to dry.

Step 4: Basecoat.
Here is what I ended up with after basecoats:

With basecoats only

basecoats only

In this step you will add the basic colours to the model. I used the following colours from Games Workshop (I haven't tried any other brands simply due to not having easy access to them.) 

Note that I usually do the skin first, then cloth, then armor. I believe this is called "Inside Out" painting. It works because you are painting the hardest to reach places first. They are often small and difficult to reach, so you are likely to make mistakes. The good thing with this approach though is that when you work on the next layer out (often cloth) you get the chance to paint over any mistakes.

• Mechrite Red: Armour.
• Boltgun Metal: Weapons.
• Chainmail: Chainmail highlights
• Dwarf Bronze: Crosspiece on swords
• Tallarn Flesh: Skin, tail, ears etc.
• Bleached Bone: Loincloth, Teeth/ bones on helmet, skull pommel of sword.
• Ice Blue: Edges of chain mail "skirt".
• Snakebite Leather: Straps on vambraces, half of weapons.
• Dark Angels Green: Jewel on clasp.
• Calthan Brown and/ or Codex Grey: Rats on base
• Codex Grey: Stones on base.
• Shining Gold: Edges and chain of Warpstone pendant. Earrings.
• Dark Angels Green: Warpstone on pendant. (not in the picture as I forgot to do it 'till later!) 

Step 5: Washes. 

After washes.

After washes.

This step adds shadow and depth to what (at the moment) will look like a very "flat" model. 
I use Games Workshop washes, again only because these are a known quantity for me.

• Devlan Mud: Weapons. Breastplate/ armour. Rats. Chainmail etc.
• Ogryn Flesh: Skin, tail, feet etc 
• Gryphonne Sepia: Loincloth/ cloth. 

Note the following optional washes. I often do these after everything else is complete, but I list them here as they are washes.

• OPTIONAL: Use a very watered down Vermin Brown if you want a rust effect on weapons etc. Immediately after applying, I dab at this with a tissue to vary the pattern of the "rust".
• OPTIONAL: Use a very watered down Ice Blue on raised areas of Dwarf Bronze if you want a blue "Patina" effect to add some aging (especially around raised areas.)

Step 6: Highlights. 
In this step, we build up the colours ("layering") in progressively lighter shades on raised areas to achieve more greater variation between light and shadow. This could be using progressively lighter,but separate colours (Tallarn Flesh ;Dwarf Flesh; Elf Flesh) OR by adding Skull White in ever-increasing amounts to a single colour. 
I'm not great at it yet, but you can find a good guide at "How to Paint Miniatures".

• Boltgun Metal: Reapply to edges of weapons etc.
• Dwarf Bronze/ Shining Gold mix (1:1): Edges of crosspiece on swords etc.
• Tallarn Flesh/ Dwarf Flesh mix: (1:1) Skin, feet, tail etc. then...
• Dwarf Flesh/ Elf Flesh mix: (1:1) on the same areas, leaving some of the previous darker shade.
• Bleached Bone/ Skull White mix: (2:1) Skull on pommel  teeth, nails etc.
• Snakebite Leather/ Skull White mix: (2:1) belt
• Dark Angels Green/Goblin Green mix: (1:1) mix for the Jewel on clasp. Follow this with Goblin Green, and then Goblin Green/ Skull White mix (2/1). 
• Calthan Brown/ Vermin Brown: (1:1) Rats on base
• Codex Grey/ Fortress Grey: (1:1) Grey rats on base
• Blood Red: Eyes

(In this case, I think I went over the main areas of the armour in Mechrite Red using drybrushing  as mentioned in the next stage, rather than hightlighting)

Step 7: Drybrushing.

Another step that adds highlights. 

Put some of your highlight colour on your brush.Run your brush over kitchen paper (or a tissue is OK) until there is almost no paint on the brush. Then run the brush very lightly across the raised areas of the model to which you want to add the highlight colour. This should leave the highlight colour only on the raised edges. (Again, information on How To Paint Miniatures is a good guide!)

• Mechrite Red: Raised areas of armour.
• Chainmail: Weapon edges, edges of armour plate (where, if real, movement of the armour/ friction between plates would rub away the colouring)

Step 8: Final Basing.

The last step (phew!) adding colours to the base.

1. Calthan Brown drybrush across the sand (not the rocks/ crushed Coral)
2. Calthan Brown/ Skull white mix (3/1) drybrush across the sand.
3. Codex Grey: drybrush across the sand. Paint onto the rocks.
4. Codex Grey/ Fortress Grey mix (1:1). drybrush across sand and edges of rocks.
5. Fortress Grey: Drybrush across sand and edges of rocks.

Done!

I think that is it...

*Squeek*

p.s. You can see that I didn't use the back-banner for this model as it feels too extravagant to me. Instead I used some Green Stuff to cover the hole where the back-banner would be placed and I am saving it...possibly to adorn a War-litter?

Queek Headtaker finished!

*Squeek!*
If there is one Skaven "Hero" that truly lives up to that word, it is probably Queek Headtaker, of Clan Mors. Aside from having some pretty good stats for a Skaven, I like the fact that he is just simply an evil killer!


Hope to have a step-by-step painting guide up over the weekend, but in the meantime, a few photos! (more comments below)

The original Games Workshop model:

Copyright Games Workshop: www.games-workshop.com 

Colours: 
As you can see, although similar to the Games Workshop colour scheme used for packaging and on their website it isn't quite the same. I originally intended the Mechrite Red used on the armour to be a darker base colour, onto which I would add Blood Red. However, after getting through the washes the Mechrite Red started to grow on me. As it is darker, it seems (to me) to suit the Skaven more than a brighter shade.


Like the GW model, I used a lighter colour on the cloth between the legs, in this case a Bleached Bone (washed with Gryphonne Sepia) and then drybrushed in lighter shades.


Finally, on "my" Queek I have part of the cloth edge to the armour in Ice Blue, which ties in a bit with my Warlord Clan - quite subtly I think.


Finecast:
I've mentioned this before, but my limited Finecast experience so far has been pretty dire...
...and regrettably, this Queek Headtaker casting only reinforces that experience. Painting the model has only made the poor casting more noticeable. Although difficult to see in my photos, the horns on the helmet are quite deformed, and where the crest joins the main part of the helmet is also odd, with some bubbles.


Given more time I might come back and file them back to decent points and repaint them, but I'll leave them alone for now.


Back Banner:
I left this off totally. 
Holding the model together before gluing I found it difficult to reconcile just how large the back-banner is with my image of Queek! In battle, I figure him being incredibly fast - a strange combination of Skaven skittishness with deadly efficiency, something that I couldn't really imagine with that huge back-banner. Maybe his back-banner is removed by an underling before battle?
Using Green Stuff, I covered the hole on his back where it would have been positioned.


As always, all comments and criticism welcome!


Cheers,


*Squeek*


p.s. I added Queek to my Warlord Clan page.
EDIT: I have now added a "How to Paint Queek Headtaker" page

Deathmaster Snikch Finecast Update, Bubbles,and More!

*Squeek*

Managed to get some early work done on Queek Headtaker and Deathmaster Snikch, as well as some assembly on Scar-Skath.

I hadn't worked with any Citadel Finecast before this, so I was very interested to see how this new material would be to work with. 

• Would it live up to GW's claims about crisp detail?
• How would the moulding be?
• What kind of preparation would be necessary?

Well, first impressions upon opening Deathmaster Snikch and Queek were a mix of the good and the bad.

First, the good:

-Detail is quite good.

-Easy to glue.

-Easy to file.

That's about it.

Next, the bad:

Bubbles...

-Bubbles. Some significant detail lost from the casting process meant lots of time working with Green Stuff to fill in unsightly gaps. Maybe I was just unlucky, but these missing chunks seemed to be in particularly obvious places - not something I have ever noticed on metal or other plastics. 

Sure, I have seen plenty of gaps between parts before, but these were whole areas missing on limbs etc.

-Fiddly to remove from the sprue. (Lots of bits that take a bit of time to work out whether they are part of the model or not.

-Thinner areas of the material felt very prone to breakage. (I didn't do anything extreme to see if they were!) A case in point being the Deathmaster's cape.

-Detail didn't seem that much better than metal or regular plastic to me. In fact, some fine detail was broken or miscast.

Hmmm, not so good to my eyes, but what do you think? Let's take a look at the Deathmaster first...

(Sorry that these are a bit difficult to see. I don't have time today to edit the photos with arrows and pointers etc.)

Notice the hole in the leg, above the knee.

Missing material in the center of the cape.

Rats head on the bottom facing us (just above base) is deformed and missing

 On Queek Headtaker, nothing quite as serious, but still annoying considering GW's claims to amazing detail...

Front legs of the rat on the base - at right - miscast/ partly missing.

MASSIVE ISSUES? DEAL BREAKERS?


No. 
In fact, some might argue they are all part of the hobbyist's life. 


That is fine, but as GW charges (I seem to remember) significantly more for these than their metal equivalents, I can't think that the quality being worse would be acceptable to most people. Personally, I want to paint and display/ wargame, not patch and fix. 
BTW, although many people say that metal has less detail, it doesn't seem to be a huge difference to me.


...but maybe I am just disappointed at the time of writing from having to get busy with the Green Stuff...

(It was still sticky at the time of the photo, so I will file it a bit tomorrow.)


Anyway, I also started to work with Scar-Skath, from the Banebeasts range, who I am planning to use as a "counts as Vermin Lord". If you remember, this was the model where I didn't receive a base with the kit when I received it from Maelstrom Games (but I did receive the run-around before everything worked out just fine.)


Note the replacement Micro-Art base that in the end Maelstrom kindly sent me.

 And although I had to greenstuff some gaps on Scar, these were gaps between parts, not filling in chunks of missing model!


What have your experiences been with Finescast and resin models in general?


Cheers,


*Squeek*

Skaven reinforcements - completed!

*Squeek*
Following a very quiet Christmas (in painting terms at least...) I spent some of last week working on more Skaven Clanrats to reinforce my current core units. I managed to finish these up tonight.


By themselves, 15 clanrats don't add up to much. However, put them with my other Clanrats and I am now up to about 135 Island of Blood clanrats. Not a huge number by some standards, but enough for three units of 45,  which I don't think is too bad. (I also have old, 4th generation clanrats, but I prefer to use them as slaves as they have an even more subhuman and degenerate look to them.)

I tried one or two new things this time around:
Firstly, a more extreme highlight on the edges of cloth items. I wanted to see how this would look from "Tabletop distance". Actually, I don't think it looks too bad! Here is a close-up:

Detail: Blood red edge highlights on cloth.

Secondly, as you can see in the unit images above, I have kept in a couple of Clanrats using different colours to add just a touch of variety among my units. In this case, the Blood Red used could mean they could be from Clan Mors or possibly Clan Moulder (I wonder what their stories are? Renegades?) What do you think?


Thirdly, I followed a different process for rust. Usually I use a very watered-down Blazing Orange wash. This time though I used a very watered-down Vermin Brown and then (for some models) stippled on a bit of (again watered-down) Blazing Orange. Kudos to the My Wargame blog for the tip. You can see how it turned out below on the clanrat's blade.

Detail: Vermin Brown and Blazing Orange rust washes.

Next project is decided...
...Queek Headtaker!
My first ever Finecast! Looking forward to finding out with my own eyes (and ratty fingers) what working with this new material is really like...

*Squeek!*