But How Strong is the Shield? - Part 1

Possibly my favorite feature of the Liberators are their shields.  I wanted to make these shields appear used so they needed to have damage and all that.  I used a hobby knife to add some deep grooves and depended on paint to do the rest.  The back sides were painted black with gold trim, I left it dark because that part will likely be in the shadows or unseen.

Main shield:  Vallejo Black, Vallejo Black/Grey - 3:1 (core), Vallejo Black glaze (shading), Vallejo Black/Grey added to base at different levels (highlight).

Main Sheild Part

Armor part:  Vallejo Hull Red (core), Carb. Crimson (shading), Vallejo Carmine Red added to base at different levels (highlight).

Added Reds

Much more to do but this is what I have so far.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

I was able to squeak in a bit more time over the weekend and yesterday.  We are experiencing unheard weather for February so I've been spending more time outside.  60's in February in Michigan?  I got the rest of my armor and shading based.  Monday I dry-brushed over the base and shade to bring back some of the shine.

Front guys have been dry-brushed

Hopefully I'll have more time soon.

The Good Left Undone

I got about 3 hours over the weekend, not straight, but that was unexpected.  My green stuff work is done on all but one model so I decided to work on basing.  I viewed a lot of Stormcast Externals online and decide to give them an astrogranite-like base.  The table I made last year has a rocky-type look to it and I figured they should look good on that.  I made up a slurry of fine grit and white glue and spread that across the bases.

Slurry

Globbed on then spread with a brush

When the glue dries it appears clear and the grit was held down very well.  At this point I primed the basic Liberators.  I used black gesso mixed with a touch of white paint to make a very dark grey brush on primer. Since it's too cold to spray prime reliably this is what I tried.  As for the results, I think I'll prime this way from now on.

Grit spread and dry and Gesso primed

As I stated previously, I finagle some more time than I thought.  Since I had the time I used it to start a test model.  Basecoats were blocked in and intial washes were done.  No detailing or highlighting was done hence the title.

Terrible photo but the scheme shows

The dark metallic armor was based with a mix I made from three colors: Vallejo Gunmetal Grey, Vallejo Black, and Vallejo Dark Sea Blue.  Roughly 2:1:1,  I made a lot of this mix and put it in an old pot.

Armor: Dark Metal
Shoulder Things: Vallejo Black/Grey
Hammer Head: Vallejo Gunmetal Grey
Citadel Nuln Oil Shade

Loin Cloth, Weapon Grip and Shoulder Edging: Vallejo Hull Red
Citadel Carb. Crimson Shade

Halo, Loin cloth scales, Accents: Vallejo Gold, Citadel Dryad Bark 2:1
Citadel Reikland Fleshshade

Script Cloth thingy: Vallejo German Camo WWII Beige
Citadel Agrax Earthshade

I think I'm happy with that start.  I might mix in black to the black grey to make it a bit darker on the shoulders and the scabard.  The main armor will brighten up a bit too after the highlighting so that might help it too.

You Can Shine All the Buttons on Your Green Shirt

I had 1 hour to work on modeling last night.  I wasted 15 minutes looking for the right brush to apply some liquid green stuff.

I haven't had much luck with LGS in the past so I took my time on this.  I filled very small gaps in the liberators' shoulder joints and by the end I found a method that worked for me.

I took a small glop of LGS on the tip of a brush and deposited it on the gap.  Then I cleaned the brush and used a towel to remove the excess water.  I then brushed over the deposit of LGS and that smoothed it out.  If there was too much after that, I cleaned up the excess with a wet brush and a paper towel.

After giving it some time to dry it looks as though I'll need to do another layer.  I also found some mold lines I missed, so I'll clean those up when I do the second layer.

Only in a World So Cold

The build is done!  I finally got the gluing and clipping and scraping done.  Here is a pic of the whole clan.

I used blue tack to attach the Lord to the Dracoth and the shields to the liberators just for the photo.

I thought the Lord Relictor was going to be the single toughest model to build but he was a piece of cake.  Then I tried the Dracoth.  He was not  I used mostly plastic cement for the build.  I heard it worked best if you let the cement go on the model for a couple of seconds before attaching the other side, which had cement too.  However this caused the little guide nubs to melt, so I had to guess how to join some parts.  I did dry fit everything before I glued it but still.  Hopefully, I learn from all the mistakes I made.

My next step is green stuff some weak points.  Then I'll use a hobby knife and do some damage.

Here's where the cold comes in, priming.  I'm doing some test with using gesso to prime so I can maybe prime inside.

My family has decided to make some changes in how certain rooms get used.  Now that the army building is done I need to get back to some work around the house so hobby time is going to be a bit harder to come by.  If I get free time I'll use it to play.  I'll be the "uses grey models" guy for a while.

On the Backpack Loaded Up with Things and Knickknack's Too

Backpacks on.

Last night, I put the backpacks on my Retributors.  Taking pictures helps me see where I need to do some more clean-up and future green stuff application.  

I also built the Prosecutor Prime but haven't attached the wings yet.  The last two models I need to build are the most difficult, but the end is near.

I've decided to try to finish these builds by Friday, so my post with a schedule is now void.  I'm still deciding a basing theme as well.  I'm going to search images and such, figure out what needs to happen before priming.

I can see painting on the horizon.