A little while back I started painting some 40K space marines to add to a squad that I painted many years ago. One thing I had to do to match my new models with the old ones was go back to using colour mixes I perhaps wouldn't choose these days along with a brighter colour palette. For a long time I've gravitated towards muted colours and tones and that has resulted in my 'go to' colours becoming quite limited. I've got paints that I haven't used for maybe ten years or more in some cases. Using old colour recipes though ended up being rather enjoyable as I started to rediscover alternative shades of one colour or another and found mixes that gave really nice results.Vallejo's Stormy Blue got used for the first time since maybe the mid 2000's and the Electric Blue highlight I mixed with it used to be my default blue highlight back in the early 2000's and earlier than that when I was using the GW equivalents. This all seemed to be a really good thing as I was enjoying painting a bit more so I decided to order some new colours and expand what I'd got for the sake of variety. With new paints in hand I had the perfect commission to play with some of those colours on so here's what came of all that.
Most of these models needed their integral bases removing so they could be mounted on the flagstone bases (plastic sheet with lines scored) but I forgot to make a note of some of the manufacturers so if I call them wrong let me know in the comments. :)
First up is what I'm told is an Asgard dwarf lord although someone else mentioned Metal Magic. It's certainly an old sculpt and one I really like. I was given the option of painting his dragon helm as either part of his helmet or maybe as an actual little dragon sitting up there. I decided to paint it red and leave it open to interpretation. Maybe it's just a painted helmet crest or it could be a pet dragon.
That red was a break from what has been my usual red for a number of years. Normally I'd use a GW Khorne Red base, highlight with VGC Bloody Red and then either orange or white highlights depending on where I wanted to go with it. Khorne Red covers really well which is why it became a staple of all my reds. In this instance though I returned to a colour I used to use which was VGC Gory Red possibly with a little black added for a darker colour. It doesn't cover as well so needs more coats but I wanted a change and it's how I used to do things. I used a new shade of red for me to highlight the Gory Red as I wanted to try something different so went with VMC Vermillion. That's become a firm favourite since. That was further highlighted with VGC Heavy Orange, an odd colour from their Extra opaque line that when I bought it some years back I thought 'WTF' and never used it. It's got a salmon orange colour going on with it which like I say is just a bit odd but it turns out to work pretty well with the Vermillion. I resorted to type and used a little VGC Bonewhite for sharp highlights.
I think I used VMC Royal Purple on the cloak, possibly with a touch of black for shade. Similar to an old favourite from years ago, VGC Hexed Lichen. VMC Purple was the initial highlight followed by adding VGC Squid Pink.
The face was a slight change from my usual skin tone recipes. The familiar VGC Beasty Brown base coat that I like for dwarves but I then used VGC Heavy Skintone which I don't think I ever made use of much like the orange. The usual VGC Bonewhite highlights followed and it came out quite nicely.
This is a Prince August knight and I'm guessing a fairly old model. Quite a nice one but lacking detail in a few spots, specifically the face which required careful painting. The sword was a separate piece. As far as the paint job went I was asked to do something a bit House Lannister from Game of Thrones. I again used a different set of colours for the red tabard but on this occasion I can't remember all of the exact ones unfortunately. It was a base of VMC Burnt Red and I think I highlighted that with VGC Bloody Red but beyond that is anyone's guess. The shield did have sculpted detail but I was asked to file that away and paint a lion. Thankfully I had a suitable homemade decal that fit the part and may be familiar to the especially eagle eyed as it was what I used on my Bretonnian foot knight hero and command. The armour needed to be a brighter gold than I have used for a while so I used the same recipe that I used on my space marine chainswords. VGC Brassy Brass, highlighted with VGC Glorious Gold, VGC Polished Gold and then VMA Silver and even a little Vallejo Metal Medium for edges. Washed with GW Agrax Earthshade and then a little re-highlighting.
More Prince August but clearly a later sculpt, a necromancer. Lots of black.
Jumping forwards in time to a much more recent figure this is a Reaper Miniatures elf and quite clearly a Werner Klocke sculpt. This one came mounted on the cork rock base. Have to admit I was completely stumped when it came to a colour scheme for this one. The one stipulation was that she be blonde haired but other than that it was up to me. Some figures I know what colour scheme I want immediately, others might need a little thought and some I just draw a blank on for whatever reason. Had a quick look online to see what others had done with her and I quickly started to get an idea. The cloak again was where my new paints came in, this time a base of VMC Purple and a very simple VGC Squid Pink highlight. Made a really nice purple that contrasted well with the hair. Blonde hair is something I try and keep a little more naturalistic although this is still a bit more yellow. base of VGC Heavy Brown highlighted with GW Zamesi Desert, VGC Bonewhite and a little VMC Ivory.
Finally the dragon. According to Instagram a Ral Partha model. I tend to avoid these kinds of monsters as they can be a bit big but also because I sometimes struggle with them. This one wasn't too big thankfully. Used the same red recipe as on the dwarf's helmet. The cream was VGC Desert Yellow highlighted with VGC Bonewhite and then a little white.
That's everything for now but I do have more stuff to show and waffle on about.