Saturday, March 7, 2015

Iron Sleet Invitational: Painting Inquisitor Soljic, Ordo Xenos

Inquisitor Anton Soljic - Thorian
In the 15+ years that I have been a part of this hobby, I have always been building and converting models.  Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about painting them.  There were a few good years were I was consistently painting, and managed to enter some models into the Golden Daemon painting competition at the Baltimore Gamesday, but that was over 7 years ago.  Since then, I put the brush down, citing a lack of time due to graduate work (which is the truth!).  But over the last two years since starting this blog, my desire to take up painting again has steadily increased.  After an absence of so many years, it is a difficult thing to start up again. In fact, all of my paints were dried or misplaced, along with all my brushes! Despite this, I began to collect new supplies towards the end of last year, including getting my first airbrush!  With new painting materials gathered, all that was left to wait for was some inspiration to trigger my foray into painting again.  As it turns out, that muse was being invited to participate in the first Iron Sleet Invitational.



When painting the models, I wanted to stick closely to the story/theme that I had in mind for each of the characters.  The scene that I am trying to create is a confrontation between two Thorian inquisitors who do not see eye-to-eye on the God-Incarnate enigma  (if a man (the Emperor) can become a god, could not a god become a man?).  The power armored one, Lucanus Molnár is fixated on the belief that through genecrafting and the uncovering of techno-arcana from the Dark Age of Technology, he might create a vessel for the God-Emperor to be reborn, or failing that, perhaps repair the fabled Golden Throne (hence his position in the Ordo Mechanicum).  He is the more bombastic of the two inquisitors, quick to extol the virtues of his beliefs, and display his Inquisitorial rosette. The other, Anton Soljic is a more conservative, practical man who still believes in a second coming of the Emperor, but thinks it is great folly to think that anyone would bring this about directly.  As such, he is almost an Amalathian at heart, believing everything is proceeding as the Emperor sees fit, and seeks to maintain the status quo of the Imperium.  He is more discreet, and rarely displays his credentials (over the years he has found that many people act differently when they know an Inquisitor is in their midst). The two inquisitors’ divergent views have always put them at odds, but they have never come to blows.  This might change, however, as they meet in a recently uncovered tech-vault that appears to date back to before the Age of Strife...

I opted for a traditional and reserved color scheme for Soljic to emphasize his reserved character and methods of operation.

The new 32 mm base gives Soljic more of a sweeping dynamic presence than what would have been afforded by a standard 28 mm one. 

Deciding on the first model of the trio to paint was quite simple; I painted the one that I finished converting first, Anton Soljic.  Ultimately, I did not have much choice in the matter, as I was waiting on an order from Forge World to come to start creating the other two!  Wanting to emphasize the inquisitor’s circumspect way of going about official business, I wanted to paint him in drab military colors, functional and unobtrusive, with no obvious signs of his rank. Aside from using an airbrush to prime and do an initial coat of black, the rest of the model was painted with an Ichiban brush and a range of Vallejo Model Air, Minitaire, and Games Workshop paints (Vallejo makes some awesome military colors! ex: Olive Grey, US Dark Green, Dark Green, olive drab, etc.).

Confrontation!
I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about beginning to paint again. After so many years, I thought that I might struggle to get back into it. I am happy to say that this was not the case, having finished the first inquisitor. It was a joy to use a brush again, particularly painting the model’s face, and really bringing the character to life. Only two more models to go, ha ha! Thoughts or comments are always welcome.

- Adam Wier

20 comments:

  1. This is good mate ! love the pale coulors... Just a little thing, IMO, he's not enough extravagant for an inquisitor... maybe an ][ on the coat... just my two cents.... Exept that detail, it's a really good mini !

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    1. Thanks for the kind words! I too like the pale colors on him. They give him a different vibe from what you commonly see in an Inquisitor. I will consider painting an =I= or two on him. Potentially on his body armor...

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  2. Looking great! He both look like they've stepped out of the Inquisitor sketchbook! I also used a forge world commissar as the basis for my inquisitor, the models lend themselves so well.

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    1. Thanks I am glad you like him!

      The Forge World Death Korp models are wonderful. They are one of the best sources to get cool looking trench coats for conversions (which are surprisingly rare in 40k models...).

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  3. Nice work. I really like the muted color palette.

    Faces have always been my weak point in painting - I like what you did here - any tips?

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    1. Thanks for the comment!

      Skin can be pretty tricky to paint. Since it had been so long since I had painted anything I looked around online for suggestions on how to paint skin. There is a great tutorial on Dante's Inferno about it (http://www.cmdante.com/search?q=painting+skin).

      The main color I used was GW's Rakarth Flesh, followed by successive highlights with more and more white added. To help get really thin coats I water down the paint and used a Flow Improver solution. Winsor & Newton make a Flow Improver that can be directly added to paint to help it apply easier and prevent it from drying immediately (really helps painting eyes too).

      Additionally I gave the skin a wash or two about halfway through the highlights. The wash was made with a mix of GW’s Seraphim Sepia and a tiny amount of Xereus Purple and Khorne Red. To prevent the wash from coming off shiny (a common problem with many washes) I added a drop or two of Vallejo Matt Medium to the wash.

      Hopefully that helps a little and was not too unclear…

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    2. Odie, here's a quick an easy recipe for flesh/faces that might help you:

      1. Use Rakarth Flesh as the base colour, as pointed out by Adam. That stuff is the best possible base colour for flesh in my book.

      2. Wash liberally with Ogryn Flesh or Reikland Fleshshade, and make sure that the wash collects in the recesses of the face that you think are important for the look you want.

      3. If it's pale, sickly looking skin you want, you can add some accents on the raised parts with the original Rakarth Flesh (or even Pallid Wych Flesh), and you're done.

      4. If your character is supposed to be a little more healthy, overbrush the face with a very thin coat of Cadian Fleshtone: The colour is very transparent, so it will change the hue of the face to something quite a bit more healthy, but it will also let you keep the shadows and highlights from the earlier steps.

      5. If desired, add another, final highlight with Rakarth Flesh or carefully apply some red and/or purple wash into some of the recesses to create bruising, distressed flesh, bags under the eyes, scars or what have you.

      Hope this helps! :)

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    3. Thanks to both of you for the advice. I'll give both techniques a shot, but after 25 years of casual painting, faces have always eluded me, so who knows if I can pull it off after a couple years hiatus.

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  4. Very nice. Subtle and muted but with great attention to detail.

    I do have to echo Manus comments - an =][= or two is needed to set him off as an Inquisitor. Otherwise he will just look like an officer. There's room for subtlety in the 40k universe but there's still a limit - a certain extravagance is more or less expected...

    I'd put one on his collar or pehaps even a tattoo on his forehead to offset his modest appearance.

    Stellar work anyhow and great to see you painting again!

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    1. I am happy to be back to painting again; it has been far too long, but it is never too late to start again. I think I will probably add an =][= somewhere on the model, although it is not a high priority at the moment (I have the other two models to start!).

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  5. He came up looking great - its so odd seeing an actual painted mini on your blog - I'm so used to seeing lots of grey and green from the conversions you guys get on with.

    I love the leather work on the boots and the trencher, and you're right about the Vallejo line of muted, military colours, they have a great range that removes a lot of the need for mixing as the steps within each colour are bang on.

    Glad to see you managed to pick out that cable on his neck - was worried at the build phase that some of these finer details wouldn't make it through to the end state.

    Given you're going for a less brash/brazen Inquisitor, having the =I= poking out from behind his jacket on his chest plate would be a subtle way to reinforce who he is, without resorting to stenciling the symbol in a major way on the jacket or elsewhere. If you had half a design in red visible, people would be able to construct the rest of the image mentally - I think most people would associate burgundy/red over black along with the =I= or a legible part of that with the Inquisition.

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    1. It is hard for me to believe there is a painted model on the blog myself! Hopefully it is a sign of things to come ;)

      I am really impressed with the Vallejo line of paints. It is wonderful they make so many military colors, allowing one to easily achieve a gritty realistic look. And not having to be constantly mix and thin paints is excellent. I am glad you like the leather; I think his boots were the aspect of the model I was most satisfied with how they turned out.

      I am glad I was able to pick out some of those details too; it would have been a shame to lose them. And it allowed me to get some much needed red on the model.

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  6. I appreciated reading your thoughts on getting back into painting! Thank you for reminding me that i am not alone in digging out dried out paint pots :)

    The three Inquisitors are amazing. Very, very elaborate and detailed builds. The flowing robes of both Anton Soljic and his officer tie them well together (I would also consider adding a small touch of =I= here and there - on both of them). Lucanus Molnár is one hell of a excentric. Brilliant build. I love his pose, the shoulder mounted lasgun and handgun.

    Quite a threesome!

    The colours makes sence in how you describe him. A golden =I= on the corners of his green jacket maybe?

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    1. Yeah... so many dried paints...It is always nice to read about people’s experiences with painting, as it is a very personal exploratory process.

      I am glad you like the trio of models and see the unifying elements within the models. Sometimes it can be hard to convey ideas into model form. Molnar really turned out far better than I predicted, and really is in stark contrast to the other two models. I was really pleased with both his handcannon and the shoulder mounted laser!

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  7. Congratulations on getting back into the painting side of things! It doesn't look like you've been out of it for 15 years at all -- great job!

    He has an even stronger Eisenhorn vibe, now that he's painted, but that's always a good thing in my book ;) I do however have some suggestions for your consideration:

    1. I agree with some of the other guys regarding the need for an =][= symbol or two

    2. Personally, I think the brown colour of the trenchcoat may just dominate the overall model a bit too much right now, even though the garment itself has been beautifully painted. Here's what I would do to tone it down a bit:

    - give him dark grey gloves instead of brown ones. Right now, they are looking kinda unfinished, due to being the exact same colour as the trenchcoat.

    - what about painting the lining of the coat (and the lapels) in a different colour. That would add a certain ostentatiousness without compromising your vision for the character. Personally, I'd go for a dark red (because I think the model really needs an additional dash of red), but dark grey should work equally well.

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    1. Yeah, I am pleased that I was able to fall right back into painting again. The advance in paint technology (pre-thinned airbrush paints), really helped allow me to get right back into it again without having to spend an inordinate amount of time just trying to mix for needed paints.

      I am pleased to hear he reminds you of Eisenhorn, in fact I cannot really think of a better complement :)

      You have a bunch of intriguing suggestions, which I will have to consider. I will certainly try to get an =][= on him somewhere. When painting the coat, I was strongly considering making the lining a different color, but was worrying it might distract from the rest of the model. But a dark red might be suitable. Any of these things will likely be saved until after I finish the other two models, however (running out of time, ha ha).

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  8. I think that this is a great piece where the paintjob and build goes hand in hand. I'm very excited to see this one alongside his colleague as I can imagine he will be more grandiose in comparison, flaunting his rank and power.

    If you where to add an =I= why not as a subtle tattoo, in his neck or something.

    Oh and I'm glad there's more people showing their work as they go along and not just me :)

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    1. He he, yeah, ever since I finished painting Soljic I could not wait to show people pictures! After so many years, it is exciting to actually show a painted model on the blog. I am happy to see others, like yourself, showing painted models from the Invitational. Waiting until April is so long ;)

      I am really excited to start painting the other two models, and try to get them to capture the different themes I am working with. If I can pull it off, I think it will be quite a cool scene!

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  9. Super excited about this. Getting you back to painting and th creation of three stunning miniatures are already a highlight of the whole invitational for me!

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    1. Thank your for generous words! Thanks again for inviting me to the Invitational. It did wonders getting me motivated to start painting again. I had planned to start sometime this year. I had no idea it would be so early in the year!

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