Grey Knights - Part One - Characters

I had just finished off a Blood Bowl team, and needed a change from trying to paint 16 models in one project in one go. I always felt a little daunted initially and did 'just enough' to get them over the line.

I decided to do something else, so went into my 'cupboard of unpainted shame' knowing full well that there was a box of Grey Knight Paladins and a Nemesis Dreadknight that the Mrs had got me for Christmas just sitting there waiting for me. Just to note, I put in my request before any Psychic Awakening GK release made them stronger

Furthermore, I had just recently ebay'd a bunch of untouched Dark Angels. I had amassed enough over the years to make the whole idea just too much to start without it feeling like a chore... and the thought of all that green... No! Instead, Grey Knights are known for having a small model count for an army and this seemed like the right project for me. 

To add to the Christmas presents I bought a few things new and a few things off ebay, easily covered by my Dark Angels sales, including; Lord Kaldor Draigo, Grand Master Voldus, Brother-Captain Stern, Castellan Crow, a 'standard' Brother-Captain, as well as metal Terminator Captain and Librarian models I always liked the look of which I thought would make a nice fit.

As some readers may or may not know, the Paladin boxed set features enough plastic to either make a squad of Terminators or Paladins, or, like I did, you can make some characters, such as an Apothecary, Paladin Ancient standard bearer and others. I started with the Brother-Captain...

Brother-Captain

I got this before I realised I could pretty much kitbash a Brother-Captain from the Paladin Squad box, but hey ho. This is a Finecast figure and after preparing it I decided to paint the arms and torso separately which I've seen is common practise to help you get to the miniature details more easily, and then assemble once complete.

I had been researching the 'best' paints for Grey Knights, as there are lots of approaches, some for quick army schemes, and some more involved. As I was painting characters, I decided to go more in-depth for my characters and will probably re-evaluate for units.

Method

I prime with Ledbelcher spray. I then thin some Grey Knights Steel and pop it into the recesses/shadows of the miniature. Thinned Ironbreaker is then applied where the model particularly catches the light then washed with Drakenhof Nightshade and, it's finished off with thinned Stormhost Silver on the very edges and light-catching areas. Lastly, for the deep shadowy recesses and joints I apply thin lines of Nuln Oil.

Furthermore I noticed that a lot of Grey Knights seem to be silver with red trim, but I wanted something more regal looking and I thought a purple theme across the army which I think works quite well in hindsight.

This was also my first Nemesis Force weapon, well, not since my 1980's versions!...

Rogue Trader era Grey Knights

I had a go and a wet-blending technique I'd been wanting to try, and as a first effort it was okay, but I learnt a lot from doing it. I found it difficult rounding at the top of the Halberd. 2nd time's a charm! 

Lord Kaldor Draigo

As Draigo is the Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights, so I went looking for a particularly good stone to put him on. With his height on the rock I decided not to add his banner. 

Helms - I really like the helms for Grey Knights, both the Terminator and Paladin style helms. The Draigo model comes with a helmet and a face/head to use. Because I wanted to have the option to use both so I magnetised them using some thin disk magnets. I will probably go all-helms on the army where possible. Because Draigo is the big-cheese I thought I would give him a distinctively pure white helm, to match the white on his shield and back cloak.

Titansword - Because this is a special master-crafted weapon I wanted to give it a unique look to the planned blue of all the other weapons. So... what better colour than purple. I used the same wet-blending technique starting from black through the various blends of purple with a bright edge-highlight. I was really pleased how it came out. It gives the look of one half of the sword being in shadow and one half in the light.

Storm Shield - Draigo's shield is also unique to the range, so, like before I painted the separate pieces first before putting them together. I managed to get the look of the purity seals, book iconography and blank name plates that I liked too.

Gold - The gold lettering was achieved with a base coat of Brass Scorpion with a heavy dry brush of Retributor Armour, a thin wash of Agrax, followed by a very light touch of Auric Gold. Where deep recesses were, a line of nuln oil was added, for example around the outside of the lettering, for extra contrast/shadow. 

However, I wanted another tone of gold for things like the Crux Terminatus medallions etc, which I based in Liberator Gold with an edge highlight of Auric Gold too. This helped the different colours contrast a little bit and make it a bit more interesting.

Bases - I had been thinking about a contrasting colour to the silver/purple of the Knights and make them pop. I've gone with a red-earth-Mars-landscape theme. I found some great stones on our lock-down walks, including some nice small slate stones. Once cleaned, the stone is primed and base coated in Tuskgor Fur. I paint the stone itself is then covered in thin Agrax Earthshade and then drybrushed with Kindleflame. The base it sits on is given a thick layer of Martian Ironearth and I add Martian Ironcrust to parts of the base to give a rockier effect. This is particularly useful if it's a lower-profile character, like an Apothecary, which you'll see further down.

Grand Master Voldus

Aldrik Voldus is the Grand Master of the 3rd Brotherhood and also serves as the Chapter's Warden of the Librarius - ie their Chief Librarian and is armed with Malleus Argyrum - a Nemesis Force Hammer. I still wanted him on a suitable base, but, because of the height of the miniature & hammer I found a flatter rock, so as not to out do Draigo.

As you can see, I carried out a small alteration by giving Voldus a helmet, although I did think is face came out quite well in the end. I changed the hammer a little after this photo to try and make it look a little more 'electrified'.

Apothecary

A unique looking model to come from the Paladin Squad box is the Apothecary. He has to be able to treat his wounded brothers as well as recover the gene-seed of the fallen. The lenses came out well, and I was pleased with the lantern spotlight. I used the same method on the sword, but it came out a lot better than the Brother-Captain's Halberd. 

With green screens and syringe on his arm and blue liquid in vials on his belt he looks different to his brothers.

Paladin Ancient

Bearing the Sacred Banner and armed with a single Nemesis Falchion the Paladin Ancient inspires his brothers to fight on. The banner itself is embossed, so no freehand wizardry required! This was the second model from the Paladin Squad box. I've bought a second box to make an actual Paladin squad and will have enough spares from the first box to mix them up a bit.

What next?

As you can see I've prefer metal to Finecast, although it does make it harder for any potential conversions. I've got a Librarian to prepare, and I'll probably slice a Terminator helmet in half and slot it into the face area so I won't damage the existing model in case I change my mind or it fails miserably.

I've also found a nice Terminator Captain I like and will eventually get Brother-Captain Stern sorted too, but he's lower down to the list as I don't see him as particularly useful compared to other characters. I also have a metal Castellan Crowe as well, but I'm not sure if I'm going down the Strike Squads route yet.

Part Two will follow much later once I make similar progress. If you have any questions, hints & tips or whatever just post here. Overall it's been something a bit different to Blood Bowl teams and I've enjoyed focusing on one miniature at a time. I hope the blog was interesting! Look at what came next in Part Two & Part Three & Part Four.