Over the last couple of weeks I have put aside other projects to work pretty solidly on the newly released Adeptus Mechanicus Kastelan. I decided this would give me the opportunity to add to the forces to my Legio Ballista force. Legio Ballista is a Legio I came up with in the early 90s and I painted all my Epic titans in that scheme. Legio Ballista is a tribute to the band Bolt Thrower (Ballista is Latin for Bolt Thrower). During the process I also found a way to make it super-poseable giving me the chance to show the unusual colour scheme off & poseability on a decorative base. The look is quite different to the usual Games Workshop scheme so was a bit of a gamble to see if it would even work. But did it? + + More After The Jump + + |
The chevrons were pretty easy, using the Tamiya Masking Tape to mask off the areas I needed red.
The Kastelan was painted in sub-assemblies (Head and Torso, arms, legs and groin) then glued together after painting. This is the best method and one I can heartily recommend.
The green vision screen is layered from dark green to a lighter green towards the centre. Then four coats of thinned 'ard coat were applied. Once dry, Nuln Oil was used around the outside.
I did the pipes a different yellow so it wasn't too similar.
Blue was used as a contrast to the other colours in the vents at the back.
The knees are also yellow to go with the other yellow areas.
The black areas were highlighted sparingly to keep them as a stark contrast to the white and red. This shot also shows you some of the weathering of the white and red areas.
You can see the ankle is at a much more exaggerated angle after modification and the leg is swept quite a way back. The Kastelan looks a lot less stiff now! | The base was done by gluing a piece of slate I found on the side of the road to the base, then Agrellan Earth was applied followed by the excellent bushes from Gamers Grass. |
The red was layered up in 3 stages from a Khorne Red base to a 70% Mephiston Red/ 30% Khorne Red. Bit hard to see here, but it's a soft effect. The outside highlight was then just straight Mephiston red.
The white is Ceramite White then I washed the edges over with a mix of Mechanicus Standard Grey and white. This was then leached away from the rest with a wet brush. A line of Ceramite White was then used around the edges. You can see around the armpit how this leaves a really dirty look to the white.
This was done on all the white areas, more heavily around the shoulders.
The metallic of the guns was washed with Nuln Oil and left pretty dark - a thin line of Leadbelcher around the edges and the Balthazar Gold was repainted fully and that's it!
With white I like the metallics to be very dark, even multiple washes can work a treat.
The rhino also has plasticard armour and a scratchbuilt shield and mountings made from plasticard. I personally prescribe to the theory that these vehicles don't rust because they are made from Plas-steel and Ceramite, but the extra armour has rust streaks to show it is metal. The large "3" on the back is a vehicle recognition sign for the huge Titans above it, as is the white stripe on the head of the Kastelan..
It goes together well and looks great - try the super-poseable tutorial I put up. It really does make a difference to the overall look. Not as stiff and boxy!
Be warned though, the head gets very easily glued in place even if you want it to move afterward. Mine moved perfectly until I painted the head - then it was stuck solid! Booo!
Interested in trying your own colour scheme out on a Kastelan?