Greetings!
Below is the project break down for an Inquisitor model I worked on this month for a painting competition over on the Mengel Miniatures Forum.
The Inquisitor was built from a Forgeworld Legion Praetor model with weapon swaps using parts from the Forgeworld Warhammer 30K line to represent a more antique and baroque version of a thunder hammer and combi-melta. The Praetor model provided an older look for terminator armor. This all combined to give what I hope is a very different look from the standard 40k line. After all, an inquisitor's kit is likely old and unique!
Now with more bling!
and from the back...
Next I airbrushed a coat of Vallejo German Panzer Grey surface primer over the whole model. Then the real fun began with the first painting session...
and the back...
Trying some new things with the black armor that I haven't played with before...basically building up increasingly grey highlights, rather than starting light and washing/shading down with inks. Thanks to my mediocre photography and all the shiny gold, the subtleties of the black armor don't really show here.
During the next sessions I base coated and shaded most of the remaining model, except the base. Some highlighting is applied and I experimented with text on the scrolls. Not very happy with the text at this point so I may have to redo the scrolls...
and the back...
The model starts to come out looking like an Inquisitor now with more definition of the various areas of color and texture. I'm looking forward to the base which will be a mid-tone earth with light highlights to help the darker figure stand out.
Below I have made progress on the base, head and other details. I could call this done at this point, but I expect I'll do a bit more. I'm going to seal the model in a flat coat before completing the last detailing/cleanup. Should be done soon!
I experimented a little on the head with some mottling to represent age spots. Hadrian Russ is an old dude and more practically, I didn't want a large bald uniform head and simple washes weren't gettign me where I wanted the look to go. I'm thinking he needs eyebrows, but every attempt kept coming out like a couple woolybear catepillars crawling over his brow...so I bailed...they were no doubt scorched off countless times and covered in scar tissue so they don't grow out any longer. :)
Oh, I added a couple spent bolter shells on the base to tell more of the story. In my mind, the Inquisitor has just stepped from his ride onto the battlefield into the teeth of the fight, first opening up with his bolter and possibly aiming to fry some hard target with the combi-melta!
and the back...
Another pass at highlights and shading. We're pretty much on the last mile now....the model is complete as things go, but I haven't been able to give up looking for areas to improve. The flat coat varnish from Army Painter that I airbrushed on dramatically changed to look of the armor. For fun I started experimenting with backgrounds other than white as well...
Following some advice I dulled down the red of the combi-melta so it doesn't stand out quite so much and draw the eye away form the Inquisitor's head and face. Here is the final set of images that will be submitted for the contest.
All in all a very rewarding project. I have been thinking about and planning for a custom inquisitor model for a long time. I have enjoyed the project and the chance to really explore my painting skills and try out some of the stuff I've been reading and thinking about.
Happy Gaming!
Nice work! Thanks for the detailed process description. I like reading about how you made your choices.
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