Wolves In Space

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.

That is pretty much it for airbrushing all they need now is to paint in the mouths, teeth and paws with some details using a small detail brush and they will be ready to game with.  I will be posting an update when they are complete.