A SEASONED VETERAN

We have a figure entry from the Conquest: The Last Argument of Kings range painted by Paul Cooke. “I thought you might like to see my Seasoned Veteran mini for Conquest TLAOK. After priming, I airbrushed the whole figure with a layer of Vallejo Steel from their Metal Color range. This was then shaded with a thinned 1:1 mix of Citadel Nuln Oil Gloss and Naggaroth Night Shade washes and highlighted with Mithril Silver. The gold details were picked out with Citadel Retributor Armour, shaded with purple wash then highlighted with Liberator Armour and edged with Mithril Silver.

“I then blocked in all the red areas with Khorne Red and added the diamond pattern to the shield. To get the basic layout I used a stencil from Fallout Hobbies (originally bought to help me with the Eldar Harlequins I’ve been working on). I coated the metal rim of the shield with Vallejo Liquid Mask, then cut a slit in a sheet of paper and positioned it directly behind the shield, covering the slit with masking tape. This completely guarded the rest of the figure from any overspray. I then placed the stencil over the shield (it’s self-adhesive and reusable) and airbrushed Zandri Dust for the lighter diamonds before gently peeling the stencil away. I then worked into it to add the highlights and battle damage.

“The red areas were shaded with purple and highlighted with Mephiston Red and Firedragon Bright. All the leatherwork was basecoated with Rhinox Hide, shaded purple and highlighted with Dryad Bark and Rakarth Flesh. For the face, it was a basecoat of 1:1 Bugman’s Glow and Kislev Flesh, shaded with Reikland Fleshshade and highlighted with Kislev flesh, adding in a bit of white for the final highlight. The base detail is mainly birch seeds bought from Fenris Games, and tufts from Rival Craft and Gamers Grass.