How many titles can I get chrome in to, really?
A speedy quick update for you all today as I've had a little time today to get some paint on the Destroyer Overlord I've been working on.
The more I spray this, the more little tricks and techniques I'm practicing and trying, the more excited I get about the finish and the look of the miniatures.
You no doubt saw the converted Destroyer Overlord in the last couple of posts and over the last few days when I've had a few minutes I've been polishing the flat surfaces.
3200 grit is about as fine as I'll worry about going
One of the most important parts of the chroming process is the preparation of the model. A good shine to the chrome comes from a smooth gloss black primer which in turn comes from a smooth plastic surface (or in the case of the C'Tan, smooth white metal surface. That took an aaaaage to polish!) .
I have a number of varying grade abrasive pads and nail files for this ranging from 180 (mostly used for flattening sprue gates and bad mould lines) up to 8000 (barely ever used but I did give this Overlord a final rub down with 8000 grit... just to make sure). Up to 400-600 is usually absolutely fine for regular areas on the Necrons like their shoulder pads.
This evening I moved my airbrush down to the garage and set it up ready to get some paint going on. It was just too windy to take it outside. I will usually spray up in my office/hobby room but with the chrome paint being a lacquer it's important to get a little more ventilation than just opening a window. I open three windows and the main door to get a good air flow through the garage.
Airbrush had a clean before spraying tonight - I use an Iwata Revolution BR
Airbrush had a quick clean to ensure the paint would flow as best it could and I grabbed a couple of extra models including a little Immortal Chosen conversion I did. I'll use him as my Shadow Wars Kill Team leader and just as a Champion-esque model for a squad of Immortals in my Warhammer 40,000 army.
Airbrush, paints, thinners and cleaner and the models ready to be sprayed
The Immortal Chosen having its first coat of gloss black primer
It's important when spraying the larger models that the last coat is over the most important part so the underside is done first. The important last coat was to be the rear of the Destroyer body.
Underside had a couple of thin coats of the primer. It dries very quickly so it's easy to apply slow thin coats
Very thin and light coats were built up in the depths of the Destroyer body. Notice I haven't touched that rear body section yet.
Slowly building up the coverage. The torso and head are next.
I made sure I applied the primer from above and below to avoid missing any crevices
And that is why I polished the plastic whenever I had a spare few minutes. That shine will translate in to a great smooth chrome finish.
Gorgeous smooth wet and deep finish
That is exactly the finish we need as a base for our chrome. And that was next up. I left it to flash for a little over 30 minutes so that I could get a good black chrome finish to shade the model before a final full shine over certain areas when it's fully cured tomorrow. Areas like the shoulder pads, ribcage and that rear body section.
Here's the chrome applied. It's actually darker than it looks but it doesn't half reflect the light!
I LOVE the way that scythe looks in chrome. I can't wait to get some detail on there
And here's that rear section, again left until the last pass
Once the chrome had flashed the models have a quick coat of the lacquer and they're now being left to cure over night before that final highlight of chrome on the 'important' areas like the ribcage and head as I mentioned.
Here's the dual wielding Praetorian, too. Very John Woo!
Up on the paint table having an inspection before being put in the dust free cabinet over night
That's where the Destroyer Overlord is at. He'll be painted up along with the rest of the Armies on Parade force and then will be slowly taken to a level to enter in to the Golden Demon competition at Warhammer World in November. I'm starting to get a little impatient now, I really want to get some details and shading on all these models, their prep work is killing me!
While the chrome is curing fully I dig out some of my old putty to start doing two bases - one for the Destroyer Overlord and one for the C'Tan! I'll 'practise' with the C'Tan base and test a few of the ideas I have before turning my atttention to the hopefully show stopping Overlord!
Plenty of putty. There will be a LOT of scarabs on the bases, too. And skulls. Loads of skulls!
I'll keep you all up to date, as this little corner of the internet is helping keep me energised and excited about what I'm doing. Before I go, I'll leave you with one photo, a pic that highlights that I stumbled on a tonne of 'new' (well, they're new to me) army sculpts! They were nothing like this when I left the hobby. Suffice to say I fell down a HUGE rabbit hole of jaw dropping realisation that I really want them as my second army!
Dark. Eldar. Are. Stunning. Stunning. Sculpts. Wow.
I couldn't resist picking up the basic warrior box when I was at Alchemists Workshops on Monday and I was rather glad I did.
Until tomorrow, have a great day and I'll speak to you again very soon!
Chris