Consolidated procrastination/experimentation

So in a study induced fit of insanity I decided to throw the green washed Necron into the ultrasonic cleaner because I wasn't happy with the application of the wash (I wanted to try to paint it only into the recesses). The result was that 90% of the green wash was removed, striping the model back to either the clear kote or the polished aluminium (you really cant tell when the coat is dry if its there or not. There are two spots, one on the gun and the other on the shoulder where the metallic came off a bit too leaving the plastic exposed. The part on the gun I believe to be the result of missing that part with the clear kote, on the shoulder I think a scratch was at fault. I am not concerned about this as ill be painting over those bits in acrylic matte colours later.

Here is the striped model with a Black wash, using a wash brush to stop the black from pooling on any raised flat surfaces. Notice also that the sand on the base was annihilated.

Some little bits of green had remained. On experimenting on another model (a hapless space marine) I found that two rounds in the ultrasonic and then a little toothbrush action removed all of the wash over the Alclad.

For some comparison shots of the various experiments.

No wash

No wash, different angle and light

Thraka green wash
front view

Thraka green wash back
(with pools on the shoulders and blade)

Badab Black wash with bits of green still visible
in joints. No pooling

More procrastination

I gave the warrior a controlled wash of thraka green. It tinged and shaded the metal. Still undecided.

This is a random marine that I tested the dark aluminum with a controlled black wash.

Overall I am happy but I think I might paint the wash into the recesses only on the next experiment.

Polished aluminum Necron procrastination

I present the following accomplishments achieved during my study breaks over the last 2 days

Base coat Alclad2 Gloss black
2x light coats of Polished aluminum
1x coat of Alclad cleat kote (despite recommendations to use it on matte paints).

note: the blue reflection is my computer screen a few meters away

Next step is to try experimenting with Glaze Medium used to thin boltgun metal as per http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUyJDFZzyrQ&feature=youtu.be

Paint it gold

As a way of procrastinating I decided to try out the bottle of Alclad II pale gold. Over the weekend I consolidated and organised my hobby mess. Amongst my various works in progress was a fully build and prepared Necron C'Tan Deciever.

Since the model is metal I decided to give it an undercoat with citadel chaos black to prime the model before applying a layer of Alclad gloss black. I have no clue if the primer was nesessary first. On my experimentation list is to see how well the Alclad gloss black or black primer stick to metal.

I left that in a cardboard box to dry overnight. Protecting the model from dust for a few hours is important because the gloss black is sticky for a while after spraying and the Alclad metallic paints show up any imperfections in the surface.

Next step was a light and even coat of Pale Gold following the instructions on the side of the bottle.
 Here are a few pictures with different light source/angles.

The pictures don't really do it justice. Effectively one quick coat of the gold leaves an amazingly solid gold which really catches the light. It looks like gold from across the room. The next step will be to paint the cloth and details using acrylics. Then Ill seal the model with some varnish and will try out oil washes to further accentuate the gold. 

October Hobby Summary

Due to various issues (aka life) October has and will probably continue to be my hobby low point for this year :(

Luckily my exam schedule means that I will be free in time for the GW November release. The following video makes my spine tingle. November Teaser this really re-inspired me about potential new background material and was a nice break from the internets overwhelmingly negative droning. In preparation I have demoldlined ~40 Necron warriors. The pieces are currently in individual zip lock bags in case I can integrate some new parts with them soon. Otherwise they will very quickly go together as is.


I got around to fixing the air leak in my airbrush setup. Using my ear and then a sprayer bottle of water I found that my pressure regulator/moisture trap was leaking through all 3 connectors.

 Those parts where you can currently see blue used to use white Teflon (plumbers) tape. One of the problems I noticed when disassembling this configuration was that the white tape was being torn on the tops of the thread when the connectors were fastened.

 The solution was some $2 Fix-A-Tap that I picked up from bunnings. (previously I was using $1 generic Teflon tape from supercheap auto).

This seems to have worked perfectly. I tightened everything back up and ran my compressor to fill its tank...1 hour later there is no significant drop in pressure. Prior to this the compressor would have had to kick in ever 10 minutes or so to top the pressure back up.

Otherwise I have been looking forward to playing with the Alclad metalics again. I undercoated my Deciever model and am considering using the Titanium gold.

The Ultramarines returned from their tour of duty almost unscathed. Almost meaning that somehow one of the land raider front doors was pried open which should be an easy fix.

Rumour overload

Really exciting time. Been trying to follow the rumourfest since it first broke. Trying to refrain from judgment either way.

The main thing keeping me happy is thinking about how cool the Grey Knight codex is and that the same people were equally negative about that.

NMM Grey knight Nemesis Great Sword

So after watching a few tutorials I was excited to have a go at airbrushing the Nemesis Great Sword.

As luck would have it murphy had it in for me last week :(

Three days of rain prevented me from undercoating the sword. To follow that up as soon as I got it undercoated the thread on the nozzle of my airbrush gave out.

Having no local store and a long weekend coming up I placed my order on the Friday and proceeded to distract myself with my Necrons.

On a side note I was disappointed to find out the the superglue holding my Pylon together had become brittle and completely given up on holding the model together...ffortunately It looks like I can just scrape it off and use better glue. All of the pins were successfully recovered which I was happy about as half of them are 2mm steel fencing wire (which is a pain to cut and straighten).

Sooner than I expected on the following Tuesday the replacement part for my airbrush arrived and my Necrons got pushed to the back of my table.

This is the result of my first attempt:

I'm quite happy with how it turned out. A big thanks to everyone who has posted tutorials on the internet. I have a few ideas for improvment but think Ill come back top this another time.