Sunday 18 August 2013

Sunday Painting - Eldar flyers

As part of my recent Eldar update, I purchased two of the Eldar flyer boxes - these became one Hemlock Wraithfighter and one Crimson Hunter. I have already used them both in battles but I really prefer to play games where all my models are painted.



The paint scheme for my Army is based on Biel Tan - green and white. However, I'm getting a bit bored of painting and shading green so I decided to paint the Crimson Hunter in red and black (I know, very imaginative). I still want the Wraithfighter to tie in with the rest of the army so that will be in green with white trim.

Now, I'm not an expert painter - far from it - but I thought I'd share my approach with you all. Feel free to comment with your techniques and experiences.

I started by spray undercoating both models with Chaos Black. I then did a couple of coats of the core colours making sure that both models were completely coloured. For the Wraithfighter green, I use the old GW Orkhide Shade green which I have managed to source from Good Games in the city. The white is the GW Ceramite White base colour as this has the best coverage on a black undercoat (it still requires a few layers). The main base colour for the Crimson Hunter was Mephiston Red with black as the alternate colour.

The layering and blending can be a real pain, especially with greens. For the Wraithfighter, I started with some of the core green then added a little GW Warboss Green to make it slightly lighter. I then use a dropper to add some Lahmian Medium to thin the paint - this means more layers but makes blending a lot easier. Then, it's just a question of painting over the highlight areas with a big brush, adding more Warboss Green and thinner, and repeating. You end up building up the lighter colours while maintaining a smooth gradient (with practice). This is harder on vehicles with lots of flat panels but works well on smaller models.

For the Crimson Hunter, I decided to try some new paint. I took the core Mephiston Red and added some Game Color Bloody Red to the mix. I then again added some thinner. This paint was great to work with as it allowed me to use the big brush to 'wet-blend' the paint into the base colour. I added the paint to the brush and covered the highlight areas. Then, without adding any more paint to the brush, I painted towards the shade areas. This produced a good gradient without having to repeat the layering process.

I am happy with the initial results and I think I'll need to purchase a Game Color light green for highlighting the Wraithfighter further. I am also unsure as to whether to have a white underside for the Wraithfighter or leave it green - feel free to comment your thoughts.

6 comments:

  1. Some great tips there mate! Both flyers are looking great - the green will really stand out with some edge highlighting!

    You've made the white look really smooth, which is something that I've always had problems with on my models. Look forward to some more of these!

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  2. Red one is looking great man! Really nice! The green one...well, you already know my opinion about that green...lol

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    1. They are both awesome! Don't listen to Ruben.

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  3. You red one is identitical to mine save for the front panel and the part that goes around the cockpit which are black in my case. Otherwise. The same!
    Good job!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Dominique, great minds think alike. I'll post more photos when I manage to work on it some more. So far, I have added the canopy and painted the bases for both flyers. Now I just need to finish all the highlight and it's good to go.

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  4. Sunday painting of Eldar Flyers is a testament to artistic dedication and passion for the Warhammer universe. What Good Internet The attention to detail and skillful brushwork bring these miniatures to life, showcasing a labor of love for both the hobby and lore.

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