Hot off the Desk: KDM Young and Old Survivors

Finished models, enjoying sunset in the windowsill.

This is an interesting HotD to write.  On one hand, the actual painting process is straightforward.  I had the recipe from the Starting Survivors and will just link you there to get the full lowdown on process steps and colors.

Recap:  For my KDM set, I'm using an airbrush to provide shadows in a pseudo-statue paint scheme.  I'm using warm colors (creamy grays and buttery whites) for the survivors and cool colors (blue-grays and a neon blue) for the bosses.

After the starting survivors, the next set of heroes to paint up are Old Joe and Young Rachel, aka the Young and Old Survivors.  The paint scheme recipe was already established - now I needed a repeat performance that wasn't too dark or too light compared to the originals!  (I wanted to lighten them just a touch, but not so much that they looked out of place).

Note:  I did make a few process changes compared to the 4 starting survivors.  Changes are noted in the captions below.

The real challenge for these models was assembling Rachel.  I'd read enough to know that she was a challenge, but until I started getting all the pieces in a pile did reality set in.  I took my time here, referenced a lot of pictures online, and just walked through it step by step.

There's a Young Rachel in here somewhere.

Here are some Rachel stats:

• The young lady's head is actually 4 pieces (face/head and 3 pieces of hair)
• Her skirt is 3 pieces attached to the torso
• The arm holding the lantern is 3 pieces (arm, lantern, lantern base)
• The mating surface between the lantern and her fist is microscopic
• Getting the whip to sit correctly is dependent on judging the left arm angle accurately
• Vibrant Lantern and the Official Build instructions show two different build orders (!!!).  I used the Vibrant Lantern order, but only by staring at the official page did I understand how her skirt was supposed to work.

I spent a lot of time getting started with her.  I dry fit, and dry fit, and dry fit.  Through luck and skill (snort) and patience (snort/giggle), I managed to get a result with few gaps and the whip sitting flat.  I glued the whip in place to keep it secure to the base.

But you came here for the airbrushing pictures - so here you go!

Young Rachel assembled and about to go on the base.  I attached the whip AFTER she was on the base.

Assembled figures with their buddy the Butcher.

Primed with Vallejo Surface Primer, Black

First shadows - AP Necromancer Cloak (one of my favorite colors!)  Start shooting straight down and then sweep until you're shooting parallel to the table.

50/50 Mix of AP Necromancer Cloak and Skeleton Bone, shooting straight down to about 45 degrees from the table.  I hit this middle tone is a little harder to bring the brightness of the models up a bit compared to the starting survivors.

Final shot - All Skeleton bone shooting mostly straight down.

The lanterns are bigger and more detailed than on the Starting Survivors, so I filled the recesses with AP Phoenix Flames before the wash.  (Joe got a little messy but won't show in the final result).

AP Soft Tone Ink - still wet (!!) - I mixed it with a little water (1 drop of water to 5 drops ink) to make it less opaque than the Starting Survivors. The result is brighter and I like it better.

AP Soft Tone ink is dried, took advantage of the natural light. 

Dry brushed with AP Skeleton Bone, and gave the lantern a glow with AP Phoenix Flames.  The models were already at the brightness I wanted so dry brushing was minimal.

Same as above, but in the bench light. 

Reverse view, with the airbrush booth light on.

As a final step, I'll shoot them with some Vallejo Matt Varnish for protection.  They'll stay on top the pill bottles until I have a few more models ready for varnish.