If you follow us on Instagram you may have seen the I’ve recently painted Plague Marine in the “classic” scheme. It is a fun scheme to paint with plenty of weathering effects to play around with. I have a Myphitic Blight Hauler that has sat on my workbench for a while now and would make an ideal, larger test model for the scheme. I’ve chronicled the steps below that I followed to paint the model that I have affectionately nicknamed Mr. Crabbo.
Preparation
Gap Filling
Mr. Crabbo has the honour of being the first and last Blight-hauler that I assemble without clipping the guiding pegs. To fill the terrifyingly large gaps in this model I used milliput. You could use greenstuff but I personally find milliput easier to work with.
Undercoating
I forgot to take a picture of this step but the undercoating is quite simple. I first spray the model with Zandri Dust and then hit it from a 45 degree angle with a white spray. This zenithal highlight helps sketch the model’s detail and establishes shadows in the recesses.
Painting Steps
1. Metallics
Before I tackle the interior of the armour panels I find it easier to first paint the metallic details. For this scheme I used AK Interactive’s bronze and gunmetal paints. Any overspill in this step can be tidied back up with Zandri Dust but I wouldn’t be too precious about it as the oil wash later will cover up minor mistakes.
2. Acrylic Basecoats
After the metallic details are dry, I basecoat the remaining areas with the following colours:
- Death Guard Green – Green Panels
- Zandri Dust – Bone
- Gal Vorbak Red – Flesh
- Blood Red – Eye and missiles
To take advantage of the zenithal highlight I keep these layers thin. When in doubt it is better to apply two thin coats than one thick coat.
3. Blending
I introduce a white paint to the pallet and mix it in equal parts with zandri dust. This mixture is then applied to the white armour panels where the light would catch i.e. the centre of the leg panels. I blend this up to a pure white on the most raised detail by introducing more white with each layer.
4. Oil Washes
To begin this stage I wash all of the armour panels and metallic details with burnt umber oil paint thinned with white spirit. Ideally the oil should cling to the model and not run into the recesses. Once I had covered the model the oil had settled and I wiped away the some of the oil with an earbud using the highlights applied earlier as a guide. Then I dipped another earbud in a small amount of white spirit and completely removed the oild from the most prominent details where grime is unlikely to accumulate. On a smaller model I’d recommend leaving the model alone for a few minutes after the oil has been applied and reflecting on Nurgle’s blessings in order to give the oil a chance to dry. Next I mixed burnt sienna oil paint with more white spirit than before to obtain a wash-like consistency and applied this sparingly to recesses on the metal details to imply rust.
5. Gloss Varnish
Once the oils had dried I applied a gloss varnish to Crabbo’s eye and the fleshy details to give them a wet look.
6.Weathering
The final step before basing is to apply weathering powder to the model. I use Forgeworld’s Aged Rust for this. I apply it in layers to the recessed detail to imply that Crabbo has been scuttling around a dirty battlefield. To set the weathering powder I used isopropyl alcohol taking care not to wipe the powder from the recesses. It is best to let the alcohol flow from the brush and into the recesses by lightly touching the brush to the powder instead of wiping it.
Completed Model
And with that, Crabbo is ready for basing! The scheme is quite simple but I am very happy with the result! What scheme do you use for your Death Guard? Let us know in the comments and be sure to follow us on Instagram @disordered_retreat!