Starting out part IX

 So we added metal in the last post. And now that you are looking at your models it should come as no surprise why we based the metal parts with Coal Black. It has a nice effect doesn't it?
So what will we do now? Well we finish up with the metallic paint first and then we can move on to the highlights. Now is also a good time to think about what light angles you want to simulate or exaggerate.  In all game and display situations you will have good ambient light so it becomes all the more important to think about at which angle you will be exaggerating the highlights. This gives an illusion that there is a dedicated light source pointed at your model. I, however, am digressing and will return to the main subject at hand. finishing the metal bits with more pictures.
As an aside because the highlights haven't been added we will be using the midtones ie Pig Iron, Khador Red etc.
So lets see, what do we do next.

Here you can see that I have already added brass to the shoulder spikes and the boiler itself. 

In addition I have already taken the liberty of adding a thin coat of Pig Iron to the piston on the fore arm that holds the axe. The elbow end got a few more coats as it is exposed to more light and thus it can look a little more shiny. I also made sure to touch up the fittings of the pipes on the carapace with Coal Black. This is because I decided to break up the monotony of the carapace's color with, you guessed it, brass. I also gave the covers of the smoke stacks a thin coat of Brass Balls to match it with the artwork as well. Although you can't see that in the preceding image.

This is a better view of a partial coat. It helps to show off the effect of Coal Black base coat on Brass Balls.
While that is all well and good I still need to finish both models so as to move on to Sorcha.

This picture was taken after quite some time. The photographer was focused on her Lancer. What I did here was in no particular order: paint brass on the bottom spike on the axe after making sure that it was coated with Pig Iron. I gave the edge of the axe another light coat of Pig Iron at a ratio of 2 parts water to one part paint. the brass was a little more watery at a 3 to 1 ratio. I also applied a 1:1 water to brass  coat to the rivets on the feet. And finished the smoke stacks as well as touching up the spikes on both shoulders and the fist. The same was done on the Juggernaut as well. Further more the boiler got another coat of brass. I wanted to make sure that it was shiny enough before I shaded it with a mixture of Coal Black and Brass Balls. That image is posted further down. As you can also see I painted the feet and the upper arm. What you don't see is that I painted most of the other pistons on the body as well. For that I used a 3:1 ratio of water to Pig Iron in successive coats to control how light those parts looked. The more shade the piston got the less metal it received. I wanted to keep those parts looking dark.

Here is the Juggernaut. It's time to give him a little attention, don't you think?
I can do this jumping around between the models because they have a near identical structure. What i did on the Juggernaut was to touch up the blacks and reds. Then, like the Destroyer I finished off the smokestacks, brassed up the fist and shoulder spikes. Added brass to the boiler, foot rivets, and face plate. Though the face actually got a second and third coat of brass. You will aslo notice that the big screws on the shoulders look metallic. I gave them light coats of Pig Iron at about 3:1 blend of water to paint. Giving the tops more coats. The handle was painted with Cold Steel.

 Here, I can give you a better view of the rear. I did the same thing on the screws on the back as I did with the front ones. And like the Destroyer I painted the boiler in Brass. As for the pipes on the carapace I opted to use Pig Iron to offset the Brass from the smokestack. Another thing that I did was to paint the raised bit at the top of the smokestack with Pig Iron. For that i used the fine detail brush.

 Moving back to the Destroyer. I painted the ammunition and that back bit at the end of the bombard in brass. One to one ratio of water to brass paint. I also took the time to give the chimney/ smokestack a couple of more coats of brass as well. On occasion I switch colors, and do a little touch up here and there as well.

Here is a shot of the belly of the beast. I opted to give the piston joints a brassy finish to balance out the Pig Iron pistons.  I also painted the face plate as well. This was done in Brass at the top grill like part and the bottom part was painted with the darker Pig Iron. I also painted the Collar above the head in Coal Black. I did the same on the Juggernaut as well.

And while I was at it. I also painted the rivets in cold steel. Wait it was brass. I put Cold steel on the Destroyer. I get the two mixed up at times. Another thing that you cannot see is the coupling where the upper arm pistons attach to the shoulder. I painted it with a thin coat of brass, and I will have to take some better pictures an post them later. The toes will be left black and I also cleaned up the black edges on the leg armor plates with the fie detail brush that I had recently obtained. One reason to remove mold lines and flash is so that you can keep more control over your painting. While I am looking that the model i am also thinking about where the final highlights will go. Which also helps with placing the shadows as well.

So now that I am fairly happy with the placement of metal paint. i give the models one more look to see how they look before mixing some Morrow white and water. on a two to one ratio. Then I gingerly add it to the eyes of the Destroyer.

At this point I am also wondering how the light from the eyes will reflect on the face plates as well. And how to handle the shadows for a more dramatic look.
Well that is it for this post. I will post the next one soon. I have to spend a few hours editing and organizing the next batch of pictures. But we are close, and the next post is all about the highlights. I might even cover the shadows as well.