Painting Tutorial: Sedition Wars Strain - Phase 2

Quasimodo

I hope you enjoyed my first tutorial for the Strain Phase 1. The Phase 2 models are a bit different and introduce some new techniques.

Unfortunately, I do not have as many photos of the actual painting progress, but often I find it that people are more interested in the steps required. The Strain are also more "organic" models - there is no exactly rules for which colors to apply where in the same way as the Vanguards. You just have to make them look cool and scary!

Some of the steps I did with my airbrush to save time and because I just love using it. You will be able to get the same result with a normal brush though.

Models where undercoated black. I use Vallejo Black Surface Primer with an airbrush. Any black primer is fine.

Phase 2 - Stalker

Basecoats

1.
I painted all of the metal areas with GW Leadbelcher. You do not have to be so careful in this step.

2.
All the skin was painted with a mix of Minitaire Fairytale Flesh and Minitaire Lust Pink. This gave a slight pinkish look. Be careful at the head, it can be difficult to separate skin from metal.

3.
Trouser was painted khaki and dark blue just to mix it up a bit.

Wash

4.
Apply Gloss varnish to the whole model. I used Minitaire Gloss Coat with my airbrush. This coat will make the wash flow better. Even if you decide not to use an Oil Wash, I would still recommend the varnish in this case.

5.
Apply an oil wash all over the areas:

Trouses: W&N Winton Vandyke Brown.

Skin: A mix of Crimson and a tiny bit of Black Oil paint.
For alternative wash methods - look in the first tutorial :-)

6.
When the wash is dry - it is time to clean the model. The wash will often tint areas you do not want it to.
Use the same solvent you used to make the oil wash. Use a cotton swab and remove the dried wash from any areas it should not be. All the raised areas should be cleaned!

7.

Wash the metal parts with GW black shade (Nuln Oil).

Highlights and details

8.
Highlight the skin with the basecoat and a bit of white. Continue adding white to it until you are satisfied with the lightness. The key is several thin layers to make nice transitions.

9.
The metal areas should be highlighted with GW Ironbreaker or similar bright silver.

10.
Paint the teeth with GW Ushabti Bone.

11.
Paint the eyes green. I used Minitaire Gremlin Green mixed with Minitaire Bile and mixed in more Bile as a final highlight. Remember the small eye in the metal part at the right shoulder.

12.
Highlight the trousers with a lighter variant of your basecoat. I used a single highlight on the raised areas and found it sufficient.

13.
To tie all the different parts more together, I applied several coats of GW Bloodletter Glaze on several areas. For example: the stomach, places between flesh and metal on the arms and the exposed muscle fiber. It especially gives a nice bloody effect on the metal parts and makes the overall appearance look more realistic.

Phase 2 - Quasimodo

Quasimodo was a super cool model to paint. It is quite large compared to the other Strain models, so I thought it deserved some more attention :-)

The general technique for the skin, trousers and metal was quite the same as Strain Phase 1, so I will not rewrite that part.

Object Source Lighting (OSL)

OSL was added to the glowing parts.

After the final highlight of the green parts was added, it was time for some OSL effects.

I added the final green highlight to some Vallejo Glaze Medium. It was applied in several thin coats around the areas you want the glow to hit. For example around the eye sockets.

To try something new - I painted the glow effect on the weapon with my airbrush. I might have been carried away, because the result got quite bright. Nevertheless, an airbrush is definitely a nice tool often used for OSL.

Blood vessels

Blood vessels was added different places to the skin.

I added blood vessels to the legs and arms to make a cool effect and give the skin more life. I used GW Guilliman Blue Glaze in several coats. Be careful not to make the veins too wide as they will look unnatural.
You will be able to undo the veins with alcohol, if you have used gloss varnish underneath in earlier steps.

You can try several colors for the veins and actually apply them all over the body. 

What about small purple veins on the entire left arm, to make it look more sick and infested? :-)

Stay tuned for a tutorial on Strain Phase 3!