I've been building and painting an Imperial Knight! This has been a whole heap of work...!
I decided to go with House Terryn - the most common GW scheme - because I haven't used the darker GW blues so far and liked the red and blue interplay. It was a choice between Terryn or a free blade in the end, but I couldn't stomach the additional cost for the transfer sheet!
I was initially going to use an airbrush on the metal skeleton and armour plates, but eventually went with standard brush work. The model is just about manageable with a brush, but keep your paints diluted and do multiple layers. I actually used Army Painter Platemail on the metallic parts, because it takes washes so nicely and highlights well with a dry brush of Necron Compound.
I added weathering all over the model. The gold was weathered with Runefang Steel, and all exposed areas were treated with MIG weathering compounds. I especially added pigment to the feet and the banner - this would be totally drenched in mud in reality...
The battle cannon was treated with black soot and other brown pigments, and has a kill-sign on the base of the barrel.
I used Tamiya masking tape to achieve the stripes of the shoulder - it was easy to do, and I added chipping with a sponge. Worked well!
Here's the upper carapace. I added lots of weathering here, but in a different style to the lower portion. Here, the paint is chipped and fluid has dripped from pipework. The ladder rungs are chipped and rusted in places.
The huge chain blade - note the weathered arm sections. I used the new Tyhus Corrosion in places - this is a nice semi-wash paint, which looks good against silvery metals.
The back of the model highlights the weathered metallics. Note the extra resin pieces of the base - taken from the old Planetfall resin objectives set.
A close-up of the legs - some metalwork was picked out with Runefang where it would naturally be exposed.
Another view of the battelcannon. The kit comes with a very nice A3 transfer set - these era high quality, easy to use and have lots of variety. The main Knight Houses are covered. I found it easy to apply even the larger decals on the legs and shoulder pads, then used Vallejo Decal Finish to seal them (a great product). Chipping was done with a sponge.
The metalwork of the battle cannon arm.
Another view of the banner, listing the Knight's many battle honours.
Another view of the head - the eyes are just visible under the mask.
The shoulders - note the very weathered striping and battered gold effect. I used Vallejo Liquid Gold (Old Gold) on all gold portions, but on very large areas it can look a little unnatural with just a wash, so I added silver chipping.
Finally, here's a view alongside the Riptide and Nemesis Dreadknight - highlighting the enormous bulk of the model. This kit was a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it. The process was a bit of an endurance test at times, but a logical work attitude yields good results.
Is it worth £85 from a GW retail store? Probably not. The Riptide is £45, and just check out the difference in size. I wouldn't pay retail for one, but there are plenty of online stores with deals on these models. Check out Darksphere for a decent price and reliable service.
What's next? I'm going to do a piece on my Imperial Guard, aka Astra Militarum, army soon. Looking forward to the new codex, even if it will have some changes. Also have a large Tyranid commission from a loyal client of mine - expect some posts on that very soon as well...