Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Curse of the Alabaster: First Arbite painted

The Emperor's work is never done.
While it has been a long time in coming, I am happy to say that the first of my converted Arbites is painted! I started trying to paint three of them at once and when I got to highlighting their jackets I had to stop and paint them one at a time; otherwise I feared that the quality of the painting might suffer.

Similar to the models that I painted for the Pilgrym event, I wanted the Arbites to be characterized by a drab and realistic color scheme. This meant a lot of browns, greys, and blacks. Despite this, I did my best to incorporate some nods to the color schemes seen in classic Judge Dredd, like the blue fatigues and even a hint of red on the helmet with the stripe (the green boots and gloves were a bridge too far, ha ha).

The blue fatigues and the red stripe on the helmet are subtle nods to the color schemes of the 2000AD Judges. 
Since the Arbites in this squad are on an extended operation, I took special care to make the armor and coat weathered. 

I am particularly pleased with how the base turned out on the model. The rusted metallics gave me a great excuse to play around with different rust effect paints from the Vallejo line (from the Rust & Chipping Effects set and the Special Effects Paint Set). My favorite of the paints was Dry Rust, which applies like a standard wash and dries a wonderful dark brown orange color. To the Dry Rust I was able to add some other browns and oranges as spot colors  (Orange Rust, Rust, Light Rust). These were finished off with a few washes of Citadel washes (Nuln Oil, Agrax Earthshade).

The Arbites' base is heavily rusted and weathered, fitting for the battered hive they will be stationed at for the Alabaster event.
With the first arbitrator finished, I am confident in my color scheme, and excited to tackle the remaining four.  With the event rapidly approaching, it is going to be a little bit of a stretch to finish them all, but, one way or another, it will get done!  Let me know what you think!


- Adam Wier

15 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. I am glad you like the first of the Arbites! More are on the way.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. Thanks! I am really happy with the overall color scheme.

      Delete
  3. Quite good. I think you have achived all your color design goals, and it easily reads as "police officer".

    (although seeing it painted, I now want to see one without the coat pinned back)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was a little worried that the blue was going to come off as too bright and in your face, but I think paired with the rest of the model it looks good. :)

      Delete
  4. Brilliant! I have to admit I am a little disappointed not to see the green gloves and boots, but otherwise perfect!

    Looking forward to seeing more....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was really torn about the green gloves and boots. I think a drab military green may have actually been workable...

      Delete
  5. That is fantastic! I absolutely love the subtle Judge Dredd feel to the paint scheme, awesome work, man!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words! I have been eager to make some Judge Dredd inspired Arbites for years now. It feels good to finally have created a few.

      Delete
  6. Beautiful aesthetic! I don't think I have seen you use the color blue too much over the years (or for that matter the cream color of the coat), so seeing it in use and done so well is quite impressive. The model further invokes a sense of grimdarkness (lol) by the rust spots on the base and the smudges and combat damage on the Arbite's attire, and the stripe on the helmet evokes a WWII-esque feel (I'm in charge, but there are countless others like me). Last but not least, nothing says "justice" like a wheel gun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is no arguing with a .44 caliber revolver. :)

      Only very rarely have I painted models with a lot of blue on them. The last I really remember was an old Warhammer Chaos lord. I find the color a little tricky to paint, the highlights often come off as looking too extreme in my limited experience.

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. I am glad you like the first of the Arbites! She will not rest until all the psykers in the hive city are put to justice!

      Delete
  8. Oh my these feels like... "twenty years!" But of course... "I knew you'd say that!"

    ReplyDelete