Miniature painting
As well as digital design, one of my other creative outlets over the last couple of years has been miniature painting, specifically of wargaming miniatures. These give a chance to explore modelling and colour within both science fiction and fantasy settings.
At the end of the 2021 I shared a series of posts looking back at my personal favourite models that I’ve painted throughout the year.
Dour Cragan from ‘Khagra’s Ravagers’
When I first picked this guy up I knew I wanted to go with a really grimy, dirty feel, while at the same time not feeling devoid of colour. After playing around with different ideas I finally came up with this one, taking a naturally bright gold and darkening it down with a combination of washes, adding some real vibrant spots with the blue patina effect. I absolutely love how the effect came out.
Toofdagga from ‘Hedkrakka’s Madmob’
Apart from the fact Toofdagga is a generally cool model, he represents why I love the scheme I came up with for the warband. I paint all of my ‘greenskins’ blue, but wanted to try something different with these guys. I ended up settling on using a zenithal basecoat with purple undertones, finished off with a pale blue contrast paint to achieve this purple to pale blue transition. While the effect isn’t perfectly smooth (would have benefitted from an airbrush), the colour tones are exactly what I was looking for.
Space Marine conversion
I actually painted quite a few Space Marines through the year, having painted one model from each Dark Angels successor chapter.
After finishing the list, I realised I had one Space Marine Intercessor left, and didn’t know what to do with him. After looking for a bit of inspiration, I decided to convert him up as some sort of grizzled veteran, in the combat zone for a long time. I gave him a proper loadout with a slightly more realistic array of pouches and tools absolutely everywhere, as well as a pretty ‘tacti‑cool’ gun scope conversion. This model was also a little experiment with some new styles of subtle weathering, with his lower body looking more chipped and dirty than my usual ‘clean’ style.
Most importantly though, the guys over at Games Workshop (the manufacturer) loved it enough to show it off in one of their hobby round‑up streams, which was absolutely brilliant.
Elathain Ill‑Fated from ‘Elathain’s Soulraid’
In the past I experimented with a ‘dark’ Idoneth scheme, with charcoal‑skinned Namarti, and absolutely loved how they came out. So when they announced this Warhammer Underworlds warband, I knew that I’d be picking them up straight away.
Part of what I love about this scheme is the darkened metals and robes, which Elathain has plenty of. Part of my original scheme involved ‘spirit’ weapons that feel almost ghostly or summoned. In the process of painting the warband, I decided that I would paint up the sea creatures in the same way. I really love how this model came out, especially the contrast between dark & light as well as realistic & ethereal.
Luxa Stormrider from ‘Xandire’s Truthseekers’
This is actually a fairly recent model, but I absolutely loved painting it, and really like how it came out. I forced myself into a few challenges that I usually stay away from ‑ the colour green, Non-Metallic Metal (NMM) style white armour and Object Source Lighting (OSL).
Morathi‑Khaine
Daughters of Khaine are one of my main armies when playing warhammer, so taking my scheme and upscaling it to a much larger model was a really fun challenge. There are so many small elements that just can’t be captured in one photo ‑ the base which features different areas of Object Source Lighting (OSL), the scales which each got several rounds of highlights and the wings painted in a really organic way.
This model is the best possible representation of my Daughters of Khaine army.
Flayed One conversion
It started out as a quick conversion of a Royal Warden to fit in with my other converted Necron Flayed Ones, influenced by some other great examples I’d seen, and a creative interpretation of the flayer virus. I modelled this guy as a Necron whose madness has flipped a switch in his mind to systematically hunt down a more dangerous foe ‑ Space Marines. Along with the flesh he adorns himself with, he takes a trophy from his quarry.
It ended up being one of my more popular posts this year, which is pretty awesome.
Prince Duvalle from ‘The Crimson Court
The Crimson Court were my first ever serious attempt at Non-Metallic Metal (NMM). It was a hell of a challenge, especially on Duvalle who has an insane amount of detail.
The scheme isn’t perfect, but I really love the vibrant colours of the robes and the general feel of the metals, which have inspired me to try and expand on the scheme further. Some more Soulblight are already on the list for 2022, and I’m going to try and pack in a little more colour and work on those NMM skills a little more
Szarekh, The Silent King
Szarekh is one of the most impressive models that Necrons have to offer. At the time this was the biggest and most complex model I’d painted to date. There are so many parts and small details that it took several weeks of regular hobby time to get it all done.
That’s all for now, but feel free to head over to my instagram page instgram.com/ajb_minis if you want to see more.
Arron Barnett 
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