A Tale of Two Warlords – Skitarii Rangers
In part one of this series we saw the foundations of the skirmish between the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Drukhari. My cunning opponent, Dessie, used my own Squadary event against me to complete a squad of Dark Eldar Reaver Jetbikes
Normally I like to go with some brighter backgrounds for my mini photos but the black worked. Works for the Stygies VIII lore as well.
While I have not yet picked up the Warhammer 40k Codex for my Adeptus Mechanicus I knew I want two of the snipers. Thankfully I had a spare from, occasional author here, tOther. As I plan on using Stygies VIII as my army I knew I wanted to go for a darker colour scheme, without going with everything being washed out by Nuln Oil
As you can see I am going quite deep into the green OSL (object source lighting) with these. For me it really fits the mental image of the army I have. The bases on the other hand are simple Martian Ironearth. I still wanted that Mars feel, but I did try to experiment with a wash over it. It didn’t work.
Once again thanks to Alchemists Workshops who supplied the Starting Collecting Skitarii box set for this Tale of Two Warlords. I look forward to cracking on to my next piece and seeing if I can pull any further ahead of Dessie. So check this squad off as completed:
Skitarii Rangers
- 2x Ranger: 2x Transuranic arquebus
- Ranger Alpha: Galvanic rifle, Enhanced data-tether
- 2x Skitarii Ranger
Now to hope I don’t get distracted by any of the other projects buzzing around my head. Although that second edition Kharn in a NMM paint scheme does sound interesting…
=][=
Until next time!
Looking good! The heavy OSL works here, makes ’em look spooky.
What I (eventually) found kicks Martian Ironearth up a notch is some patches of Martian Ironcrust, and then some random light drybrushing with a couple of the lighter oranges and browns. Especially on larger bases, it really helps add some interest.
Cheers West. I will have to look into that for the next set. Especially with the larger base on the Ongar.
I first tried it on a ForgeFiend, because the IronEarth just wasn’t doing the job by itself, and was really happy with the results. The main purpose of the drybrushing is to help blend the two textures together, so it should cross between them.
Will have to give it a go.
Great work! I really like the heavy OSL. It words well on the Ad Mech.
Thanks for the comment. I initially went a lot lighter on the OSL but it didn’t capture what I was looking for. So I went back over the squad and am happy with the look now.
Perfect example of how simple can look great. It’s not about technique, it’s about composition, and you did well with these guys. Nice work.
Thanks chief. I will take look well any day of the week.
Could you give a quick rundown of the painting process? I think you’ve inspired me to do a dark theme for my army 🙂
I don’t have my paints to hand but the rough process was the top and bottom halves were base coated separate. Coats in a dark grey, legs in a dull metal.
Apply black to all the metal pieces on the top half before making them darker metal amd added some brass pieces.
Coats and hoods are brought up from a darker green to a lighter green.
Nuln oil and Army Painter light tone are used in different spots to add some variations.
Green OSL with a dot of white in the middle makes up the rest.