Monday, May 30, 2011

Steel Legion Tank Painting - Heroes of Armageddon


Last post I mentioned that I was heading over to my friend Brien's place on Saturday for a day of Steel Legion tank painting. Well, thanks to Brien and Joe (pictured below, left and right respectively) and their airbrushes, we managed to get the vast bulk of painting for the 13 tanks done in a little over six hours.


Stage One - The first step was to spray all the tanks with Vallejo Model Color (VMC) Redleather.


Step Two - As each tank dried, I stippled certain areas of the tanks with Citadel Foundation Solar Macharius Orange (too add depth to the rust we would reveal later).


Step Three - This was the BIG experiment for us. We sprayed all of the tanks with hairspray, then sprinkled them with salt, particularly in the lower track areas. None of us had tried this at all before, but we'd checked out a few videos online, and chatted withe Justin from Secret Weapon Miniatures. Then we talked it through and just went for it, on all 13 tanks.


Step Four - Spraying on the basecoat of VMC Dark Grey. Getting a nice, even coat was very important.


Step Five - We added a good amount of VMC Light Grey to the previous basecoat and then sprayed on the highlight.


Step Six - The final spraying stage. We sprayed stripes of Citadel Rotting Flesh to form the classic Steel Legion camouflage pattern.

More photos to come in the next few days, where I'll show you how the salt flaked off and the results of the hairspray weathering, along with the detail painting I've done on the tanks so far.

Cheers
Dave

PS. How many models do you think a tanks equates to for my little "Hobby Tracker"? Just one, or maybe as many as five?
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17 comments:

  1. grey_deathMay 30, 2011 at 6:49 PM

    Looking good Dave! Digging the assembly line you had going. I'll have to do the same should I ever get around to doing an IG army! Unless I win this one of course ;)

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  2. SC MikeMay 30, 2011 at 7:19 PM

    gosh, you really had me hooked. I was expecting the final picture to be.......argh. I have to wait?
    Great stuff, exciting and well worth the wait it looks like.

    Mike
    SCWH

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  3. SpeedyFrenchyMay 31, 2011 at 1:21 AM

    Given that it's all airbrushed, probably only three minis worth.

    Great painting though!

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  4. DimmyKMay 31, 2011 at 2:58 AM

    AWESOME! Now I really want to win them... :D

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  5. davetaylorMay 31, 2011 at 5:42 AM

    Thanks guys!

    @Grey Death - I'll have a few tips for you should you want to try it ; )

    @Mike - What, a teaser, never. ; )

    @SpeedyFrenchy - Aaah, but this is only the first step, detailing and pigment weathering are to follow.

    @DimmyK - Just wait until the next post : )

    Cheers
    Dave

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  6. JoeMay 31, 2011 at 5:42 AM

    I'm stoked to see the final pictures, with the weathering powder, chipping, and stowage painted. Had a good time Saturday, thanks for lettin' me hobby with you guys!

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  7. JawaballsMay 31, 2011 at 7:02 AM

    Looks sweet Dave! Maybe in the future I can come down and we can paint an army. There is a lot I can learn from you.

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  8. The Inner GeekMay 31, 2011 at 8:57 AM

    I can't wait to see how the salt technique turns out. I've tried it in the past with strange results. Everywhere there was a grain of salt the paint around it (top coat) was discolored. Like something leached out of the salt? I may try again using hairspray and sand as I've heard that may give the same effect.

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  9. ZerloonMay 31, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Very nice job, I hope to see the result very soon!! :D

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  10. davetaylorMay 31, 2011 at 1:22 PM

    Thanks guys!

    @Joe - Thank you sir, for your assistance and company : )

    @Jawaballs - Could be a good thing! Let's chat at Games Day.

    @InnerGeek - My next post should have my "review" of the process.

    @Zerloon - Hopefully you'll see the next stage (detailing) in the next few days. Final results after weathering pigments will be after the weekend.

    Cheers
    Dave

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  11. Brandon GriffithMay 31, 2011 at 1:42 PM

    It should count for around 8-10... maybe 20 for the baneblade.

    Great to see this coming along; I usually use liquid latex for my tank weathering, and haven't tried the salt method yet, but it always seems to yield good results.

    You gonna make it down to Tx for WarGamesCon again this year?

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  12. GMSNMay 31, 2011 at 2:14 PM

    Hopefully this will inspire all those IG players go out and get an airbrush!

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  13. chochiJune 1, 2011 at 5:20 PM

    hey dave I´m mauro from argentina and I a fan of your work!!! love de adeptus custodes!!!!! I have a cuestion!! wath did you used for the chipping paint in the baneblade????
    thanks and keep the excellent job!!!!

    mauro

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  14. davetaylorJune 1, 2011 at 5:56 PM

    Thanks for the comments guys!

    @Beamo - I'm not sure 1o is really fair , but thank you ; ) Unfortunately I won't be making it to WarGamesCon as I'll be working at Historicon in PA.

    @GMSN - Hopefully it will. I'm sore;y tempted now, and will be looking into small spray booth set-ups too. Maryland weather is too humid and fickle to get much outdoors spraying done.

    @chochi - I used the "hairspray and salt technique". Keep an eye out for my next post and I'll talk more about it.

    Cheers
    Dave

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  15. AnonymousJune 1, 2011 at 6:17 PM

    Looking great, Airbrush is a wonder for tanks and even troops. Can't wait to see the next stage, maybe it could convince me into taking the dive and trying it myself.

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  16. Brandon GriffithJune 1, 2011 at 8:21 PM

    Ah... oh well. You'll be missed I'm sure. Maybe I'll see you up Chicago for Gamesday.

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  17. AnonymousJuly 8, 2024 at 1:05 AM

    Great job on capturing the metallic sheen on the Steel Legion tank! It's a fantastic example of how to paint a vehicle. social media promotion agency gwalior

    ReplyDelete

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