Paintin' ma Stompa!

[Jay Biga]

Hi folks,

Finally started painting on my Stompa. First thing I painted up is the big skull plate that goes on the "belly" of the Stompa. I don't like the way GW painted theirs, all multicolored and all. I figured the Orks mounted that plate as sort of a scary totem, using the skull to boast about their prowess and also scaring the opponent by having this huge death's head bearing down on them.
So it made sense to me that this plate would be somewhat skullcolored...

But I also wanted the thing to look Orky, so I did two things. First, I made it look old and dirty. Lots of grime and rainy streaks running down, because hey, this thing has been outside since building it began! So what was once a bony color, is now a dirty grey.
Second, I imagined that during some battle, part of the totem was blown off. This piece has now been replaced, using a piece of burned up armor from some vanquised foe, but the Orks haven't had a chance to paint the replacement piece yet.

And so this is the result so far:

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0008-3.jpg

Hope you guys like it. Next up I'll start working on the head.

[Le Scriv]

This looks absolutely awesome! I can't wait to see more, now.

I'd love to know how you painted that.

[Aldramelech]

That looks fantastic.

[fuzzbuket]

NICE:D
any fancy conversions?

[Cryl]

Looking forward to seeing more of your Stompa, you've got some nice effects on that totem

[Jay Biga]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the comments.

As far as conversions go, nothing major. The Stompa has plenty of fun stuff of it's own, but I do plan to add a display base and lots more Grot riggers, just because the little fellas are fun.

Painting the totem was actually easy. Working from a black undercoat, I first painted up a layer of codex grey. Once this was dry, I added several layers of highlighting, by mixing in more and more skull white and the final highlights on the ''sticky out bitz'' were done with pure skull white.

Then the real fun began, since what I like doing most is the weathering.

First I painted on small dots of burned sienna oil paints in random places as well as underneath bullet holes and little corners, where you can expact some rust colored streaking in real life.
Using a wide, flat brush I then blended out the dots to create the streaks. To do this I dipped the brush in odourless white spirit and rubbed off most of the white spirit on a cloth, so that the brush was damp at best. This way it's easy to blend the streaks until you are satisfied with the effect.

The next step was mixing the burned sienna oil paint with a red enamel paint and a drop of white spirit. This formed the basis for the rusted plate and was painted on straight. This doesn't have to be smooth, as rusted areas aren't smooth and it also makes it easier to do the rust later on.

Once the oil paints were dry (which takes several hours), I hit the whole thing with a layer of satin varnish, to protect the paint against the layers coming next.

For the next step I added pinwashes to the panel lines and around details like the rivets. Labor intensive, but fun to do. Once dry I applied a filter, which is a VERY thin wash and unlike a pinwash, is applied to the entire surface of the model. That finished the basic color.

So all that was left to do was do the rusty area. This was simple enough. All I did was tap on some pigment powders. First I covered the entire rusty area with a rusty red powder, then I hit a few spots with a slightly lighter red. The top of the plate I hit with a tan colored powder and the bottom of the plate with black.
Using an old, soft brush I then blended the powders by tapping them and slightly twisting the brush every now and then (hard to explain, easy to do).
The pigment powders were then fixed in place by saturating the area with a fixing agent. I used a specific pigment fixer, but you can just as well use acrylic resin or acrylic thinners, which are available at good model stores.
Once the fixer was dry, I added some oily and damp spots using some washes. Easy really. :)

I'll keep you guys posted on the developments of this rather large model.

[Jay Biga]

Almost forgot! I also painted on some scratches in the paint, or chips as some people call them. This is just a thing ragged line of white with a thinner ragged line of a dark grey in the middle. This was done before the weathering started.
The chipping was painted at random spots on the plates, as well as around a few places on the edges of plates.

[Cryl]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the comments.

As far as conversions go, nothing major. The Stompa has plenty of fun stuff of it's own, but I do plan to add a display base and lots more Grot riggers, just because the little fellas are fun.

Painting the totem was actually easy. Working from a black undercoat, I first painted up a layer of codex grey. Once this was dry, I added several layers of highlighting, by mixing in more and more skull white and the final highlights on the ''sticky out bitz'' were done with pure skull white.

Then the real fun began, since what I like doing most is the weathering.

First I painted on small dots of burned sienna oil paints in random places as well as underneath bullet holes and little corners, where you can expact some rust colored streaking in real life.
Using a wide, flat brush I then blended out the dots to create the streaks. To do this I dipped the brush in odourless white spirit and rubbed off most of the white spirit on a cloth, so that the brush was damp at best. This way it's easy to blend the streaks until you are satisfied with the effect.

The next step was mixing the burned sienna oil paint with a red enamel paint and a drop of white spirit. This formed the basis for the rusted plate and was painted on straight. This doesn't have to be smooth, as rusted areas aren't smooth and it also makes it easier to do the rust later on.

Once the oil paints were dry (which takes several hours), I hit the whole thing with a layer of satin varnish, to protect the paint against the layers coming next.

For the next step I added pinwashes to the panel lines and around details like the rivets. Labor intensive, but fun to do. Once dry I applied a filter, which is a VERY thin wash and unlike a pinwash, is applied to the entire surface of the model. That finished the basic color.

So all that was left to do was do the rusty area. This was simple enough. All I did was tap on some pigment powders. First I covered the entire rusty area with a rusty red powder, then I hit a few spots with a slightly lighter red. The top of the plate I hit with a tan colored powder and the bottom of the plate with black.
Using an old, soft brush I then blended the powders by tapping them and slightly twisting the brush every now and then (hard to explain, easy to do).
The pigment powders were then fixed in place by saturating the area with a fixing agent. I used a specific pigment fixer, but you can just as well use acrylic resin or acrylic thinners, which are available at good model stores.
Once the fixer was dry, I added some oily and damp spots using some washes. Easy really. :)

I'll keep you guys posted on the developments of this rather large model.

erm... yeah... easy :p

I wish I had that kind of patience... I tend to get bored around the first stage of highlights on the codex grey, maybe that's why I have such respect for people who do get results like this, keep us posted.

[Jay Biga]

lol :D

Funny you mentioned that. When people that hardly know me (or not at all) see me working, they always go "Ooh, you must be such a patient person!" (I guess many of you get the same thing)
I am however one of the most impatient people on Earth. :D

[Shadow Queen]

lol :D

Funny you mentioned that. When people that hardly know me (or not at all) see me working, they always go "Ooh, you must be such a patient person!" (I guess many of you get the same thing)
I am however one of the most impatient people on Earth. :D

I know that feeling, I get bored if I have nothing to paint or type on the 'puter. Fantastic paint job.

[Aldramelech]

Thats some serious dedication. Oils are a big challenge for most and the patience required for that whole technique is impressive. The results speak for themselves.

[Jay Biga]

Thanks man. Having seen your Guard, that means a lot to me.

The thing about oils is that they are actually very easy to use and create effects with once you've seen it done and done it yourself a few times. The real trick is just having the patience to allow it all to dry, which takes forever. My personal trick is to have a few side projects going on that can keep you occupied, rather than watching paint dry.