It seems to me that lots of people seem to
like to paint models in pieces and stick them together when they are done. I'm more of the school of thought that says
completely glue it together before painting, this is a hang over from my 14 year old self who found that the glue was rubbish and if you didn't glue your models together first their
arms fell off half way into the 1st game. Of course glue, paint and plastic have all massively improved so it is not an issue
anymore but it is a habit that has stuck with me. In my opinion the models just look
better if they are glued and posed before painting.
That said, last night I decided to
try airbrushing my Fenrisian Wolves and the first thing I learned is don't stick them to their bases before airbrushing! you can't get
at the underbelly and it makes everything more difficult.
I haven't been using an airbrush for long
and this is the first time I have attempted to do more than undercoat / base
coat modals. I must say I’m pretty pleased with how my first attempt turned
out. The more I practice the more I learn so I'll probably write a post about
using the airbrush in the future.
For the wolves I used only 4 colours all from the Vallejo Model Air range (Ochre, Mud Brown, White, Black).
First I undercoated in Ochre mixed with a
little Mud brown, this needed to be pretty heavy to cover the grey of the model
but model air paint already premixed for airbrushing doesn't obscure detail so
you can get good coverage even if you are a bit more heavy handed.
I then switched to neat Mud Brown and
sprayed most of the upper body and head.
Then I darkened the mud brown with a little
black and shaded the top and run a strip down their spines and then just a touch on the
wolves’ forehead area.
Once dry I lightly highlighted the feet and muzzle
area with pure white, it does looks a bit bright at this point but the next step dulls it down and the white ensures a good base. Using a white / mud brown mix of about 50/50 I lightly blended the white
highlights back in.
