ScrapYard Armory

This lance of Locusts in Black Widow company colors was a commission piece for a fan of the site.  While I am satisfied with the end result, it took me too much time to come through to the end.  I don’t think I will be able to take future commissions until I am more confident in my ability to find the time required to finish a project in a reasonable timeframe.

That said, here is a quick brief on how I got from bare metal to the painted lance you see above.

Construction

These things are tiny!  Lining up the legs was a beast of a task.  I took extra care and spent a few evenings making sure they would be dead on so the upper body of the ‘Mech ended up level.  Nobody likes an oddly leaning miniature.

One of the Locusts I modified to show a more drastic bend in the leg.  I’m not the best modder out there but after a few layers of paint, I am satisfied with the result.  Not ecstatic.  But it will do.  It helps to break up the monotony of the lance.  Variety is the spice of life, on the tabletop and otherwise.

Black Base Color

The Black base was a simple base color and a series of dry brushing steps.  Not much to comment on.  This was the easy part of the paint job.

Black	Cold Grey	Stonewall Grey

Red Highlights

When I first laid paint down on the highlight portions, I used a simple base color and a panel line to accent.  After a day or two to look it over I was very dissatisfied with the result.  The panel line was far too harsh.  I ended up laying down several glazes to smooth the transition.  The difference between high and low is less noticeable but for the small accents they are, I am pleased with the result.  I went just a bit outside my comfort zone for this one.  If I had chosen a more drastic peak-to-mean color palette to start with, the fade would have been fantastic.  At least I think so.  Can’t wait for the next opportunity to try it out.

Gory Red	Scar Red	Bloody Red

Cockpit

I’m very comfortable with a blue jewel for cockpits these days.  The small surface on the side cockpits were a bit of a bear to get into.  Those area have a less gradual fade to them, but the focus is usually going to be on the front facing cockpit panel anyways.

Stormy Blue	Magic Blue	Electric Blue

Details

Details for this lance were limited to gunmetal on the laser ports and decals from Fighting Pirannha Graphics.

Base

The base was made using my standard basing mix and several drybrushing steps.  The extra rock under the modified Locust came from a simple cork.  The drybrushing I gave the underlying terrain came out slightly different when applied to the cork, which worked out well.

Beasty Brown	Filthy Brown	Dead White