Citadel Contrast Paint - "I Have A Use for You"

This Saturday GW are releasing their new Contrast Paint range. GW have promoted the new paints very well, creating hype in the past month. There have been a numerous video reviews online and in the last three days I have watched over 20 of them.

I'm going to say upfront I am not a big fan of the finished models I've seen. There is the odd 1-2 that compare with other painted models GW promotes but generally I find the finish washed out and lacking in colour saturation. I suspect that this is a consequence of them being largely pigment in matt medium.

My view is that there are two markets for these new paints:

1. People who generally don't paint their models and will use these paints because it speeds up the process. 
2. People who will find a specific niche use.

The first is commendable and will lead to more painted armies on the table but without wishing to sound like a paint snob - I am a functional painter at best -  the quality of the paint job compared to the current average will be lower. I think as you stray from small organic models to Monsters/industrial/armoured models the paint job gets exponential worst.

The second use is where most people who currently paint their minis will be interested. I believe that these paints work well on organic models lacking armour plates - horrors, humans, plaguebearers, nurgling, grots etc....but largely restricted to skin. Do they achieve better results than a coloured spray plus a wash...I don't think so but they are probably quicker. Where they do look to have specialist utility is as washes over metallic undercoats - I have seen some very nice Alpha Legion effects created.

To test this theory I went into my local GW this morning and checked them out. I was particularly interested in skin tones so directed my activity towards that. I was able to paint a poxbringer undercoated in the recommended Grey Seer. This is the cooler of the two primers.

This is the fruits of my labour. First up, the paints flow really well and this was all done with a medium wash brush. I was encouraged to put the paint on liberally, but I was trying to achieve a muted skin so I was more controlled. The flesh on the torso/head is painted in Darkoth Flesh straight from the pot. As I said I worked it around rather than slapping it on.

This gives a closer view. I think the effect is very good and the Contrast Paints appear to be a very good way to paint large areas of flesh quickly and importantly act as a base for further non-Contrast work. There are two other Flesh colours - a human one "Guiliman Flesh" and a Dwarven one "Fyreslayer Flesh".

I also played around trying to create a realistic crab claw effect - "Flesh Tearer Red", "Blood Angels Red", "Magos Purple" and "Skyish Purple". I think that I may be better served with traditional Citadel Paints but we'll see.

The final thing I did was to mix colours into the Darkoth Flesh to try and change the hue - I wanted a cooler purple/bluish skin. The legs are painted that way but the effect is marginal. I think this will be a more successful use once we get hold of some of the medium.

So I can see a use for them - outside the need to get grey plastic coated quickly - and I will be looking to use them in the next few months. I have 100+ of the Juan Diaz Daemonettes I have put off painting because of the amount of flesh. This looks a great way to get a functional base on them before I start with traditional Citadel Paints.

I'm picking up a spray primer, 2-3 pots of paint and some of the medium on Saturday.

40K - The Solar War

Recently I purchased the audiobook of the latest Horus Heresy novel "The Solar War". This is the first in the Siege of Terra series and sees the Heresy accelerating towards its culmination.

It has taken the series 13 years to get to Terra - longer than it took Horus - and at times the books have meandered. The two least enjoyable storylines were the "Person" narrative and especially anything to do with the Shattered Legions.

I'm pleased to say that I really enjoyed this book. Certainly felt it was as good as anything that has gone before and surpasses my other favourite books - The First Heretic, Betrayer and Pharos.

Why is it so good? It is conflict on a macro scale. The assault on the Solar System is many faceted and we have the invaders and defenders trying to second guess each other in punch and counterpunch.

I don't want to give away the plot but the scale and breadth of Horus's invasion is breathtaking. The narrative is written from the different viewpoint of the main protagonists but none know the entirety of what is unfolding.

Well worth a read/listen - the series is back on track.

Hobby - Jentastic's Brush Cleaner

While I was at Adepticon I picked up a pot of Jentastic's Drunken Brush Goop from one of the vendors. I think it was about USD 5-8.

Prior to this I had been using Masters Brush Soap for cleaning my brushes and found it really good - so I wasn't strongly motivated to change.

This is described as a "natural brush cleaner and conditioner" (though I don't necessarily believe it is made in Arizona by unicorns). I've been using it over the past couple of months and it is phenomenal - it is really, really good. Recently I had switched from my workhorse Citadel brushes to Windsor & Newton Series 7. I had received them as a Xmas present from the boys so I felt motivated to look after them.

I use the "Goop" about once a week with a little warm water and rub the brush against the palm of my hand. It suds up and you'll notice any pigment is removed from the hair. I keep going for 5-10 minutes, rinsing the brush and reapplying the Goop and you start to notice flecks of dry paint coming off the brush. It seems as though this does a deeper clean and removes any residual paint in the bowl of the brush and I suspect down to (possibly in the ferrule). It is quite amazing what comes out of a supposedly clean brush. Cleaning definitely takes the W&N brushes back to new.

I've also used it on my Citadel and Army Painter brushes. It certainly appears to breathe new life into them and these are the workhorses I use for basecoating, terrain etc.

I can't recommend this highly enough. It is likely that you'll need to source directly from the USA as I suspect it is a small scale manufacture.

Buy some....and get me some more while you're there 😀

40K - Cat Lady

June 1st saw the end of my "Month of Terrain" and I ended getting a lot done.

For June I've decided to move on to my Adeptus Titanicus force. I've accumulated three Warlords, two Reavers, two Warhounds and six Knights. The Titans are going to be painted up as Legio Vulpa and I'm hoping to start them later in the week.

First though, I want to paint up Yvraine (Cat Lady) for my Dark Eldar. The new Ynnari codex gives two ways to play her. She can be in a Ynnari force - but as we know "Ynnari aren't a proper army"(tm) - or she can join a proper Eldar army. I've painted her to use in my Dark Eldar and Harlequins and possibly she'll make it into my Ulthwe at some stage.

I picked her up off eBay (as she isn't sold separately from the other Ynnari SCs) and she hit the postbox on Thursday. On Sunday evening, yesterday and this morning I painted her up.

Happy with how she turned out. I used my own colour choice rather than the "codex" palette. Got to use the GW gemstone paints as she must have around 30 gems on her.

Currently painting up the mandatory cat as a stripey ginger named "Spike".

Fields of Blood Warhammer 40k New Zealand Open

40K - Pikewerx Terrain Painted

Local gamer Ryan Pike has started producing MDF terrain for 40k under the "Pikewerx" banner. A few months ago I purchased a selection of his buildings. I was attracted by the functionally - they actually block LOS - and their robustness. They also look good.

Below are a series of pictures of the pieces painted up. There are three different bastions - two of which are ruined variations. In addition, there are two strongpoints.

I have placed a Genestealer on the pieces to give an idea of scale.

The pieces are quite sturdy and will take the wear and tear of regular play. I use Rustoleum 2x Flat Grey Primer as my basecoat and then airbrushed with various greys, inks and washes. The MDF takes the paint really well.

The detailing on the buildings was all hand painted and then I used the airbrush to weather the pieces.

I'm really happy with how they turned out and would recommend "Pikewerx" to any of those who like MDF terrain.

40K - Scatter Terrain Painted (Titan Terrain/GW)

With May being my terrain month I have completed some industrial scatter terrain to go on my tables.

First is the container hauler from Titan Terrain. This should work well with my warehouse.

I had three dumpsters thrown in my Titan Terrain order so here they are painted up. Averland Sunset is great colour for things you intend to "weather".

Games Workshop have their galvanic server which is in effect an industrial crane.

It comes with two tractors. These small vehicles can act as obstructions on the battlefield. I like them because they look cool and give some character to any industrial zone.

40k - Titan Terrain Done

If you remember a couple of weeks ago I posted regarding some MDF terrain I had purchased from Titan Terrain in Dunedin.

The last post showed that I had employed the rattlecan to prime them. Well now the 4 main buildings are finished. These are the Workshop, Shop + Apartment, Dispensary and Warehouse plus the bridges to link them together.

Here are some pictures of the near-finished product (they need weathering but I wanted to use them today):

On the left is Shop + Apartment linked to the Dispensary and the Workshop.

Close up on the Shop + Apartment

The Warehouse is great in that it really does block line of site. It is about 14" x 6" and at least 16" high. I can see myself picking up 1-2 more.

Here you can see the airbridge across to the Workshop. This has a dumpster out the back for all your old Ynnari Indexes.

I made up the canopy on the Dispensary incorrectly - it is upside down. However works well as a firing parapet for 40k. 

Another view of the Warehouse. It really is a wonderful building in game terms.

The modular nature of the buildings means you could create a fantastic table for Necromunda or Kill Team. It fits in well with my Gamemat.eu Industrial Terrain as well.

To give it a 40k feel I downloaded a series of posters off the net and printed them off. This breaks up some of the grey walls.

In the foreground is one of Kim Styles 3-D printed pieces. Again it is complemented by these Titan Terrain pieces.

Here's a shot down the table. Combing the various pieces creates a nice "industrial" feel.

It also provides the necessary cover to make for an interesting game.

Fully recommend Titan Terrain...great quality at a great price. And NZ-designed and made.

40k - Gamecow's Guide To Getting Started With Kill Team

Recently I was contacted by a couple of gamers who asked if I would post a link to a guide to Kill Team that they have written.

I know a few of the locals play Kill Team and enjoy it and thought it might be of interest to others looking to get into the game.

You can find the guide here

Adeptus Titanicus

While I'm not a fan of super-heavies or Lords of War in Matched Play games of 40k, I am intrigued by the battles between the so-called Gods of War.

Last year GW released Adeptus Titanicus an update on their old Titan Legions game. Set during the Horus Heresy, the background really appeals.

Recently I picked up a set of the "Grand Master Edition" which has all the rules, terrain, counters plus two Warhound Titans and six Imperial Knights.

This arrived this morning and gives me the entry into the game I was looking for.

I'll be painting my models up as Legio Mortis.