I have finished painting the first basilisk for my Rebel Grots army. I haven’t sealed it yet so there is still a bit of gloss where I’ve used washes but I don’t think it will change much in the pics.
Basilisk Gallery
This is definitely my best scratch build so far. I think it’s the best paint job I’ve managed on a vehicle as well. I’m quite happy with how this model has come out. Next I will focus on the crew. I need to build another loader then I’ll start painting them. With a little luck I’ll have them finished by next week.
I've been playing Warhammer 40k since 1991.You'd think I would have learned something by now!
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That’s damn impressive. If I didn’t know better I would not have guessed this was a complete scratch-build at all.
I agree, your best vehicle paint job and I think one of your best paint jobs overall. The weathering is great, the shading well done and the highlights are awesome. It all came together beautifully.
Thanks! I have to say that the templates I used (Griffon chassis and Basilisk upgrade from Build-40k.com) saved me a lot of time. They helped me get the basic build with the right proportions without having to create my own template.
The other big help was the airbrush. It allowed me to put on the base colors and highlight much faster and smoother than with a brush. By the time I’m done with that stage I’m usually so sick of a model that it’s hard to regain my motivation. In this case I was still so excited about the model that I was able to put much more attention into the weathering, details, and final highlighting.
This is freaking amazing. How did you go about making the weathering effect? I have always struggled with tanks making the weathering look realistic. It seems the airbrush really helps make clean base coating.
Thanks! For the weathering I started by airbrushing Iron Oxide (Delta) across the bottom edges. Then I airbrushed some light brown above the tracks, especially near the back, where dust might be kicked up and stick. Using a piece of foam from a blister pack I stippled Iron Oxide and black here and there. I drybrushed Bolt Metal where I thought the metal would be rubbed clean or scratched through. I partially filled some of the black/brown spots with Bolt Metal to look like fresher wear/ships in the paint while leaving many of them black or brown to look like older chips and rust spots.
I washed the whole thing with a mixture of brown ink, black ink, and floor polish. After that dried I went back and added some more around the rivets and some of the seams. Then I used a dark brown (I forget the color name, but it was another Delta paint) to add grime under each rivet and wherever I thought grime might build up. I used the same brown to indicate how far the shock absorbers travel when the gun is fired.
While I was line highlighting I used the same color to pick up the edges of some of the chips to indicate peeling paint. High traffic areas and older chips could be rubbed smooth around the edges so I didn’t highlight all of the spots.
The airbrush really does let you lay down a clean base coat, but it can also be used to create sun fading, light dust adhesion, and similar effects. As I get better with it I think it’s going to bring a lot of new elements to my painting.
Beautiful. It definitely doesn’t look like a scratch-build at all.
On a side note: why do people always seem to give ‘Grots a Russian/Red Star theme?
Thanks!
The Rebel Grots began in the Gorkamorka expansion Digganob. They rebelled against the orks and started their own community. Their symbol was the red star, and they were led by the Red Gobbo. Since many Rebel Grot fans are inspired by that origin the imagery persists. Some fans, including myself, consider the rebels to be like an ork clan that only emerges under certain conditions. Just as each of the ork clans has an icon that resonates in their genetic memory the Rebel Grots have their star.
Thanks for enlightening me. That makes great sense.