Welcome to another Lesson from the Chief Slave!

This time around we gave the Chief another epic kit from the Warhammer range, the massive Khorne Bloodthirster and we also hooked him up with some of the AK Interactive True Metals to have a play with.

So lets hand it over to the Chief himself…

Bloodthirster Tutorial

Yet another amazing kit from Games Workshop. They really are nailing their latest range of large plastic kits. The sculpt itself has some amazing details and textures that respond really well to specific techniques. As always I have tried to approach this tutorial to show techniques that are approachable to any painter.

The slight spin on this tutorial is that I have gone back to my airbrush to speed up the process, given the huge areas to cover on the wings. I have also experimented with the AK Interactive True Metals and have a sub tutorial/review of these in step 6.

All up I am really happy with the overall effect achieved in just under 15 hours painting time.

Assembly and Conversion

The one thing that I do not like about the Bloodthirster kit are the foot mounting options. Leaping from a stem or flame or skulls erupting from the ground just seems a bit too comical. So I decided that I would create a base that allowed the removal of these options. In the end I decided to have the Bloodthirster ‘running’ down the side of a small hill, to create the image of swooping in to attack. Also I really wanted to create a dual axe variant, because I have always loved the idea of Berserkers and dual axes. So using the handle from the whip, sculpting up some skulls and the spare axe head from the kit I created a dual axe variant. One unexpected downside of this conversion is the model became front heavy so I balance the composition by weighting the base towards the rear. I also decided to go for the bone crown head choice as a nod to Hero Quest which was my gateway to hobby when I was 12 years old.

Painting

Prime the entire miniature black. Overall I am not a huge fan of the GW team schemes on the Bloodthirsters with red skin, they just don’t convey a raw feeling of evil like the model should. I decided for my take on the model, I would try to create the feeling of a vicious rabid dog/bull on the charge.

Step 1: Skin

Airbrush base with GW Dryad Bark (leaving the darkest shadows black). Then spray VGC Liche Purple from below and GW Mephiston Red from above to create a base zenithal highlight. GW Cadian Fleshtone for general highlights and primary mid-tone colour.

GW Screaming Skull for extreme highlights where light would hit the flesh. Dry brush GW Screaming Skull, making sure that this is a very light dry brush so be patient and slowly build up the edges. Detail brush veins Sotek Green.

Note: All airbrushing paint is thinned 2:1 with Vallejo Thinner. Pre mixed on my palette prior to putting in the brush (do not mix in the cup) and applied at 18psi.

Step 2: Wings

While airbrushing the skin I also worked on the wings. VGC Liche Purple went on first leaving the spines black. GW Mephiston red was applied as the mid-tone. Then progressive highlights with GW Troll Slayer Orange, GW Yriel Yellow and GW Screaming Skull final highlight. Now for probably the tricky airbrush part, Black to the spines and Celestra Grey on the highlights of the spines. Dry Brush with Screaming Skull.

Step 3: Wing Talons/Hooves

Re-base with black, highlight GW Celestra Grey. Screaming Skull dry brush.

Step 4: Straps

Re-base with black. Dryad Bark dry brush and screaming skull dry brush.

Step 5: Washes and Glazes

Now this is where all the magic of those airbrush layers and careful dry brushes starts to pay off. The whole miniature is going to receive about 7 glaze layers. The glazes will be made from a 4:1 of medium and the washes below. These washes are applied to all four of the previous steps as follows:

• GW Reikland Fleshshade: Brightest highlights.
• GW Crismson Carsbourg – Midtones.
• GW Druchi Violet – Shadows.
• GW Agthrax Earthshade – wing talons, hooves, straps.

Make sure that you focus on one area at a time, the glazes MUST be completely blended while wet. If you allow one colour to try before starting on the next you will get lines in the transition that you won’t be able to get rid of (i.e. start again).

Step 5: Bone

The bone was done entirely with brush. Starting with a base of Rakarth Flesh the entire area was based. Then a very board highlight of Zandri dust was applied across the Rakarth flesh only leaving the darkest recesses untouched, I advise using a big brush and gliding it over the surface.

A wash was then applied of 4:1 glaze medium to VGC Umber tone wash. The purpose of the medium is to increase the translucency of the wash and ensure pooling does not occur.

This is critical, if you use an undiluted wash you will get pooling, the shadows will go too dark and the bone will look messy.

After the wash is dried a highlight of Screaming Skull is applied, follow by a further highlight of Pallid Wych Flesh (this has a hint of warmth, tricking your eye into seeing the bone as having some life to it) and finally spot highlights of pure white.

Step 6: Metal

A real experiment here! The Hobbies Gorilla kindly sent me down some AK Interactive True Metals Brass and Iron. Having never worked with these before I did what every true hobbyist does and slapped them right onto a work in progress without applying to a test piece first! Not advised. The concept behind this product is that it applies with a matte finish which you then buff to a natural highlight (using your finger, cotton bud, cloth etc.).

To start off these are a great product once you get the hang of them, but they are certainly a display miniature only product and take time and patience to make work. After playing around with a few approaches (applying straight from the tube) or thinning with white spirit first and applying a few thin layers.

I can confirm the latter is by far the best, but you need to be aware of a few things. Seriously fail to follow any of these steps and get ready for the Rage of Khorne inside you.

Always matte varnish the entire miniature before applying the AK Metals. As they are now white spirit based they will strip all of the acrylic paint immediately without the varnish.

When thinned metal fleck will go everywhere on the miniature, so you will need to use a cotton bud and patience to clean up once the applied.

When thinning with white spirit they provide perfect coverage over any colour surface on the first pass.

However if you start to buff the metal immediately it will show the primer. So you need to apply a couple of coats and leave at least an hour to dry. Ideally leave in the hot water cupboard to ensure temperature (I had this issue) doesn’t slow the dry time.

Once dried you can buff the metal to obtain a natural highlight and it looks amazing.

Be sure to seal the metal with a varnish when done to prevent further wear while finishing the miniature off. This stuff is not made for handling.

Once the brass AK Metal was applied, I then went over and applied the AK Metal Steel as a highlight on Brass and buffed that up as well. Once naturally highlighted I applied a wash of brown oil to recesses to create an aged look. I then further highlighted with various acrylics metals. I then applied a final targeted Verdigris wash.

Step 7: Blood and Basing

The base was created using cork, Vallejo Dark Pumice coating on the cork, Skulls from Secret Weapon and Winter Tuft from The Army Painter.

Blood was created using a mix of VGC Smokey Ink, Tamiya Clear Red and UHU glue in some areas. Final touch ups were done using GW Blood for the Blood God (as this can be applied with more accuracy). It is important to not just throw the blood at the miniature, but think where a raging animal would natural have blood fall during battle. So all talons, claws, teeth, knees, weapons and some arterial splatter to the front of the miniature. The blood really does create the feeling of complete battle fury.

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And here's the completed model in all its glory. Once again the Chief has delivered an outstanding miniature and we look forward to his next project.

As always simply click on any of the images to see them in full size.