New Grey Knight project...

About a week ago, I was at my local hobby shop, Huzzah Hobbies, and the owner Chris invite me to stay for my first game of 40K.

 We had some time to kill waiting for some more players and he asked me when I will bring in some of the models I've painted. I've been buying from him for about 4 of the 6 months I've been in to the hobby (I quickly learned that GW shops are too pushy and expensive). Since I came straight from work, I had nothing with me except my phone. I showed him some pictures and he seemed genuinely impressed by my work. He then asked me to submit an entry in the painting contest for his shops' birthday. So this long winded story is how we get to Grey Knights...

 I love the visual aspect of Grey Knights. The lore behind them is cool too but the mix of medieval knights and science fiction is what does me in. It is a perfect blend of what I enjoy; fantasy and science fiction. Now I have limited experience (on most things really) painting these guys but I love the old school knight-in-shinning-armor look to them. So that is what I went with here:

Ready for battle!

 As far as painting this model, I followed a simple procedure. The model is primed with Vallejo Grey Surface Primer. That was followed with a mix of VMA Black and VMA Gun. I chose to mix these because my VMA Black Metallic was acting funny in my airbrush and i also didn't find it dark enough for what i wanted. I then did a zenith highlight using VMA Gun followed my VMA Aluminum. The gold detailing was done with Vallejo Liquid Gold: Old Gold followed an satin varnish. I opted to use only satin varnish on the model because using a matte or dullcoat ruins the effect of shinning armor. The other good reason to use satin is it helps any wash flow over the surface much better. The gold details had Vallejo Red Wash plus a drop of Liquitex Flow-Aid applied to them. I prefer this red wash to the brown one used by the 'Eavy Metal painters because it adds a little more color. The recesses of the armor were then washed with a homemade wash using glaze mediums, VGC Night Blue, and VGC Black. I used alcohol to clean up any excess. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the storm bolter and the shaft of the NFW are painted from a 1:1 mix of VGC Black and VGC Turquoise. The storm bolter was then line highlighted with pure turquoise and the shaft was given a slight lightening effect with turquoise as well. The blade of the halberd was done with a gradient from VMA White, VMA Sea Blue, VMA French Blue, to a 1:1 mix of VMA Blue and VMA Black. The eyes were layered up in the reverse.

 The base is cork mat painted in VMA German Grey highlighted with VMA Light Grey and then dry brushed with Citadel Space Wolf Grey. The snow is a mix of PVA glue and baking soda spread with a modeling tool. The grass is Army Painter Battlefields Winter Tuft while the fallen leavers are a mix of Secret Weapon Miniatures Masterclass Scenics: Fallen Leaves - Fall Mix and Fallen Leaves - Brown. It was edged with Citadel Foundation Chardon Granite.

 All and all, this was a fun miniature to paint. I have the next member of the squad done and awaiting a base. I also have a Table War unit tray and diorama washers head to me in the mail to tie the whole display together.