Saturday 9 January 2016

Imperial Assassin - better watch out !

(a little soundtrack is always welcome isn't it ?)



After my wizard and apprentice for Frostgrave I thought I'd paint something a little different for a change... a Jes Goodwin model... I actually had planned to finish something else before that but this one got finished earlier than I thought so why wait any longer to present it ?

This model is obviously the iconic assassin that defined the look of what stealthy killers ought to look like in 40k.



All later assassins got inspired by this guy and you can find elements that will lead to each of the 4 later temples :

Picture taken from the Sho3box
Now despite all that, this model was not the first assassin model for 40 k, the previous available model was already taking its inspiration from Japanese Ninjas (se the imperial assassin in the bottom right corner) :



Only element that wasn't kept was the pair of Zori he's wearing :


Painting wise, I've opted for something very quick and effective as I don't think too many colours would look appropriate on an assassin. I've added a tripe in the right shoulder pad and some checkers on the left one just to say "hey, it's the 40k universe!" but apart from that I only painted a quick (and a little messy) OSL in the backpack and that was all.

For a very quick and effective black, I've used my usual technique :

Black priming followed by a zenithal spray of grey :


then pick up raised areas with a bright grey (don't try to make things too neat, no real use, you just want to add contrast.


Equal parts of black and matt medium :


Add a little water (about the same quantity as the previous mix) :



Make sure you cover the whole model evenly and don't miss any place, then take a fresh brush and remove any excess in the crevices and wait...



I hesitated painting the Zori another colour but I suspect 40k assassins have special bulletproof kevlar thongs which are most probably black like the rest of their gear...

- I have a new assignment for you, your target is noted, any questions ?
- ...
- Good
 I've had this model for ages ans it's always been a solid favourite but for some reason, a couple of years ago, I stripped the pretty decent paintjob (for a paintjob 15 years old) and have left this model unpainted until now (I've actually done the exact same stupid thing to countless other models).
Now I feel I've made a wrong right again...


- I suppose you all know who I'm coming for ?
- ...
- ...
- ...
- ...
- Nice.
So here we are, I really hope I have something really new to show you soon and in the meantime I'm going to pick another barbarian to speedpaint and add to my growing frostgrave warband.

Oh and just in case you don't like Iron Maiden :


24 comments:

  1. You know, you should google image the word "thongs", just for the sake of it ;)

    Don't do it at work though :D

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  2. Classic model with a classic color scheme, very nice.

    I'm going to have to try that black technique, thanks for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. I really didn't aime at any kind of originality I admit ! On such an iconic model I thought it was funny to just go fully in the tracks. It's also an hommage to the paintjob I had done 15 years ago and which got lost.
      This technique is quite cool but this time I have to say I added a little too much black and lost a bit of contrast.

      Delete
  3. You have achieved a great balance of sensible assassin-wear with numerous points of visual interest - I think he looks bad. Bad as in bad-ass >:( \m/

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    Replies
    1. You know he's bad ! He's bad ! You know it ! Shamone !

      Delete
  4. Very nice too JB. The flashes of red and checks do just the right amount of contrast to avoid him being a black shadow. Those poor innocent civilians...!

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    Replies
    1. That was the most important thing to me, didn't want something too fancy but wanted something you could spot. Those poor civilians surely know what they've done wrong !

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  5. Great work on a real classic dude! Still my favourite assassin to date

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    Replies
    1. Same here, the other really are only declinations of him after all so for me the original remains the best.
      Thanks !

      Delete
  6. Nice, the black looks realistic and the red contrasts just enough without overpowering the figure. Looking forward to the next in your RT assassin force.

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    Replies
    1. I actually have an eldar assassin in mind but not much else, I won't be painting any of the later ones. ^^'

      Cheers !

      Delete
  7. Spot on mate, nice details with the cheques & the red, and I love the way you do black... I may well copy that approach ;-)

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    Replies
    1. It's a speed painting technique I was taught by commission painters and it's really useful, it's pretty easy an can be applied to a huge number of models in the blink of an eye. Try it on a metallic basecoat and you'll get extremely nice armours for instance.

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  8. Another technique you've shared with us that I'll definitely be trying out.

    Cheers JB :)

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    Replies
    1. I must have shared it earlier but maybe not with pics and all (damn failing memory). Loads of uses for this one !

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  9. Cool, thanks for the tutorial! The problem is that, my poor eyes being limited to the 16bit colour spectre as they are, I find it terribly difficult distinguishing different shades of black! :D

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  10. Great job :) I am painting that same model at the moment also in the classic colour scheme! Thanks for showing the steps you used.

    W

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I usually try to get away from conventional or traditionnal paintjobs but every now and then some models just tell you how it is. This is one of those, it's just asking for no non-sense. Looking forward to seeing yours now !

      Delete
  11. Classy fig with an appropriately classy paintjob.

    Going to try your method for painting black int he future I think, thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Cheers, sometimes the best of things are the most simple ones ! The technique is meant to be played with, many applications really and the good thing is it save a lot of time on big batches as well as on small projects.

      Delete
  12. Your blacks look great and that's no mean feat. Excellent!
    What's there not to like about Iron Maiden, you gotta love em! ^_^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The black is using a cheap and quick method, it would surely look better with blendings and all but at least it's a way to get good looking blacks in no time !
      Up the irons !

      Delete

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