Warhammer Quest: Darkwater - Heroes Part 1
Having gotten through a lot of the enemies in the Warhammer Quest: Darkwater box, I needed to focus some attention on the heroes. So I got them assembled and decided which ones would be first up for painting. I chose Edmark, Bren, Drolf and Drasher as they looked like they would be the most fun.
Edmark Valoran, the Manticore Knight
Backdrop by Jon Hodgson Backdrops
Edmark is more or less the poster child for Darkwater, so it made sense to start with him. And to get started I primed him with Colour Forge Raven Black as being a Knight he is going to have a lot of metallic details. With that in mind I painted the armour and weapons with a couple thin coats of Scale75 Thrash Metal. The trim meanwhile, I painted with Scale75 Dwarven Gold.
With the metallics done I switched to the non-metallic basecoats. The largest area of these is the cape, which I painted with a couple coats of Vallejo Scarlet Red. I then painted the undersuit/skirt with a couple thin coats of Pro Acryl Ivory and the parchment tassels on the helmet with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. Lastly for the basecoats I painted the haft of the axe with Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth.
For the washes I gave all the gold details a coat of Reikland Fleshshade to give them a rosy appearance. The parchment meanwhile I washed with Army Painter Strong Tone and everything else was given a coat of Army Painter Dark Tone.
From there the model just needed a couple of highlights to finish it off. Rather than get bogged down highlighting everything I chose to focus on the armour and cape. For the armour I highlighted the edges with Scale75 Speed Metal and the gold details with Scale75 Elven Gold. For the cape, I decided on a different approach, something I’ve seen a few times on social media. Rather than use a brush for the highlights and worry about blends, I decided instead to use a makeup sponge. That way I could build up the layers slowly, a bit like doing a million coats with a brush, only much faster. For my first layer I used Archive-X Caboose Red, covering much of the cape and leaving the recesses the deeper Scarlet Red. I then sponged on some Army Painter Fiery Vermillion in a smaller area and along the edges of the cape.
Bren Tylis, the Renegade Saint
Backdrop by Jon Hodgson Backdrops
Bren is a sword-for-hire rather than a fully fledged knight like Edmark, and as much her appearance is a little more ramshackle. With this in mind I primed the model with Colour Forge Raven Black, as she would have a lot of metallics, and basecoated the armour with Army Painter Heavy Metal. The darker tone would help to distinguish her from Edmark. I then picked out the sword hilt and decorations on the shoulders with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. The spear tip and sword blade.
For the remainder of the basecoats I painted the cloak with Two Thin Coats Royal Robes, again to provide some visual difference with Edmark. I then painted the undersuit with Pro Acryl Ivory. Well, I had intended to but accidentally grabbed Archive-X Reefer White and didn’t notice until I applied to the model. I decided to double down and gave the face a basecoat of Reefer White before correcting my mistake and painting the undersuit with Ivory as I had intended. I finished the basecoat off by painting the hair with Two Thin Coats Cuirass Leather and the wood with Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth. And then picked out the parchment and skull with Army Painter Skeleton Bone.
As I had given the face a Reefer White basecoat I figured that it was an ideal time to crack out the Scale75 Flesh paint set and go a little crazy on the skin. To get started I first painted the skin with a coat of Basic Flesh, which over white actually has good coverage. I then mixed in progressively more and more Indian Shadow for the shadows. For the deepest recesses I used pure Indian Shadow thinned down to a glaze consistency. For the highlights, I mixed in more Light Skin, eventually using pure Light Skin on the nose and brows. To make the face a little more feminine, I mixed Army Painter Fiery Vermillion into Light Skin and glazed this onto the lips. The result was alright, I may have chosen too bright a red in all honesty.
For the washes, it was business as usual; Army Painter Strong Tone for the bones and parchment and Dark Tone for everything else (aside from the face). From there I did a few highlights on the armour with Scale75 Thrash Metal. For the cape, it was a similar process to what I did for Edmark. I started by using a makeup sponge to dab Royal Cloak onto the higher areas, before using Two Thin Coats Sword Hilt Burgundy to in a smaller area and finished it by using Sword Hilt Burgundy mixed with Army Painter Matt White on the highest areas and edges.
Drolf Ironhead
Backdrop by Jon Hodgson Backdrops
As the dwarf lacks the full suit of armour like Edmark and Bren have, then I figured that I could get away with a more “slapchoppy” approach to painting. So with that in mind I primed the model Colour Forge Raven Black. I picked out what little of the face is showing through the beard with Two Thin Coats Dwarven Skin before giving the model a zenithal highlight using Liquitex Titanium White acrylic ink through the airbrush.
With the lights and shadows sorted I moved into the colours. I started by giving the skin a coat of Reikland Fleshshade and the beard a coat of Army Painter Speedpaint Gravelord Grey. For the clothing I painted them with Army Painter Speedpaint Royal Robes, although it did turn out a little desaturated, and the trim with Snakebite Leather. I also used Snakebite Leather for any ropes on this dwarven explorer. For the remaining details, I painted any leather details like the boots and satchel with Gore Grunta Fur, and the haft of the axes with Wyldwood. From there I picked out the axe heads and shield with Army Painter Speedpaint Silver before giving them a wash of Army Painter Dark Tone to bring out the texture a bit more.
Drasher Vorn
Backdrop by Jon Hodgson Backdrops
Last up was Drasher Vorn, chief of the Arak Klor tribe of Ghur. Like Drolf, he is all texture so I figured that a slapchop approach would get him to the tabletop in no time.
With that in mind I primed him with Colour Forge Standard Grey and painted that rippling chest with Vallejo Forest Skin. Like Drolf, I then gave him a zenithal highlight with Liquitex Titanium White acrylic ink through my airbrush. From there I mixed Vallejo Deep Forest Skin with a whole bunch of Lahmian Medium, something like six parts medium to one part paint, to create a wash and then painted this over the skin areas. The result was… bad.
So I started again on the skin, repainting the tops of the muscles with Forest Skin and reinforcing the shadows with unthinned Deep Forest Skin. I then built up highlights on the muscles with Forest Skin mixed with Scale75 Light Skin, and applied a final highlight with pure Light Skin. Lastly, I gave his nose and cheeks a rosy highlight with the same Fiery Vermillion and Light Skin mix that I had used for Bren. Somehow it looked better on Drasher. And overall I was much happier with the skin.
For the remaining details, I painted the hair and beard with Gryph-Hound Orange and the leather with Gore Grunta Fur. The orangy tones of these colours contrasted nicely with the brown-green tones of the skin. For the fur tunic, I gave it a coat of Garaghak’s Sewer and the wraps on the weapon handle I painted with Snakebite Leather. For the metallic details I picked out all the trim on the belt and the circlet on his head with a couple coats of Scale75 Dwarven Gold. For each of the gems I first painted them with Scale75 Speed Metal before giving them a coat of Warp Lightning. In keeping with the general forest themes, I painted the claw of the weapon, imaginatively called the Ebon Claw, with Scale75 Peridot Alchemy. To give the metallic details a greenish hue, I gave them a wash of Army Painter Voodoo Shade.
Bases
With the models done I moved onto the bases. All of them have some scenery that they’re standing on so the first thing to do was to get that painted. Any rocks I painted with Two Thin Coats Dungeon Stone and any grass I painted with Death Guard Green. As with all Warhammer models there are a few skulls dotted about, so I picked those out with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. For the raised patches of earth, and to blend them into the base, used Stirland Mud texture paint. The model has sculpted earth but the texture paint helps to sell it a little better I think. To blend all these areas together I gave them a wash of Army Painter Strong Tone. The remaining flat areas of the base I painted with Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth.
I then covered the earth areas with PVA glue and sprinkled on some Geek Gaming Scenics Base Ready Patchy Plains, that I then locked in place with some Geek Gaming Scenics Matt Sealant. To finish things off I painted the rims with a matt black.