When presented with the first three light beasts of the elemental persuasion, I was afforded several opportunities to break with the usual muted color scheme I'd been going for. This meant using some different painting strategies than normal, and my first foray into literal model fire.
Pyre Down Below
The Pyre Troll is a moderately modified build from the original model, giving it a unique look with the fiery mohawk down his entire spine. Such modeling called for a similarly striking paint job. This is all a fairly standard fiery paint job, but the one thing that I urge people to remember is that the whiter areas are towards the center of the flame. So This is built up with a series of drybrush layers on top of a white base coat, ranging from GW Flash Gitz Yellow, up to two shades of orange including Troll Slayer and finally reds.
The skin is a bit of a different story, this guy was based in GW Mournfang Brown, then washed in a few layers of GW Nuln Oil to darken and muddy the texture. I used similar amounts of shading when it came to the metal bits he has on him as well. The other little tidbit I tried to put into this model was using some of the paint to singe the grass underneath where the Pyre troll was ostensibly running before it got trapped in stasis for our collective amusement.
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| Liu Kang just can't compare |
Swamp Troll Me Away
Next up is the Swamp Troll, which fit right into the muddy color scheme. Hell we downright lean into it. This gave me some time to experiment with how I could modify the color grey in different ways, but it was also one of the best opportunities to use GW 'Ardcoat.
The main color scheme is achieved through GW Mechanicus Standard Grey and Skarsnik Green. I painted the warts in a darker green, I believe GW Waaagh Flesh. The tongue however, is the star of the show. This was painted using the same GW Skarsnik Green, then washed in GW Athonian Camoshade. However, the 'Ardcoat really brings the look out. Using more than one layer of this paint brings the plastic from a glassy sheen to a thick slimy drool, perfect for the discerning slobbering nightmare.
Other bits on this model were a hodgepodge of various colors. I went with a blue for the fish, I thought it served as a nice point of contrast on the model compared to others in the army. It also got a slathering of GW 'Ardcoat, as did the water I painted on the base.
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| A thick, viscous saliva is a good sign of your Swamp Troll's overall health |
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| And it went wherever he....did go |
Working on the Night Troll
Here's where I got into something that was a bit more tricky. The color scheme here needed to be dark and I felt the standard color was a bit too bright for my taste. Instead of basing the model in a dark blue, I based the model in GW Abaddon Black. After this I drybrushed the whole of it in I believe GW Altaioc Blue to define the features. Then the whole body went through a series of washes with GW Drakenhof Nightshade and Nuln Oil to deepen the colors and shadows.
The spines were my first attempt at wet-blending to get the shine right. I went from GW Altaoic Blue, to Hoeth, to Teclis, and up to Corax White. Aside from this wet-blending i tried to fleck some of the lighters blues onto the back to try to give the impression of some ambient light hitting the skin on its back as well. This was a paint project from a while back however, I have since gotten into experimenting with GW's Glaze Paints for glow effects since these were painted. Still, I feel the darker scheme lends itself to a more night feel for the Night Troll who would likely be working on it's night moves.
Overall, these were a fun time to paint, resulting from the unique builds I was afforded as well as the chance to throw some splashes of new and exciting colors onto those models. These are prime examples of my partner's work and are poster-trolls for the real heart of this project.
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| Here, you can pick one before my grandson. |
