Coming of Dawn(guard)!

Taking pictures with a DSLR is a lot different than taking pictures with a cell phone.  The cell phone is a heck of a lot easier.

I'm getting ever closer to being able to field a Dawnguard theme force for either incarnation of Vyros.  I spent last week working on the Dawnguard Sentinels, and learned a few good lessons from airbrushing them.  I think I'll be even more pleased with the second unit that I paint, and the blends and highlights will be even smoother.  

After completing that unit, I looked in my display case at the unit of Destors that I painted the week after they were initially released.  I don't know if I wasn't feeling the Retribution at that time, but I lost all interest about halfway through.  I also applied the airbrush to the models like a sledgehammer.  I just sprayed, expecting the airbrush to do all the work for me, without actually paying attention to how I was applying the paint.

So, I pulled them out of the case, deepened the shadows and intensified the highlights and they looked one hundred percent better.  A quick application of dirt and mud via the airbrush, and five base mountings later, they were done and truly ready for the table top.  

The Destor Thane was the first guy that I experimented on so many weeks ago with an airbrush.  You can tell he looks quite different from the previous models because I didn't go in and do too much work on the white paint with a brush.  His armor is much more blue than the previous models, and his rank plate on his shoulder is metallic, rather than white with red details.  I noticed, when I was painting the Sentinels, that the white plate with red rank markings looked much better than what you see here.  The little bit of red really pops on the white.  I rationalize the difference since the Thane is of such elevated rank that his plate is different from the others.  A second Thane will have a white rank plate, however.

  I've really enjoyed working on the bases I made as well.  They're quick, look nicer than just plain ballast and go a long way to provide a unified look to this fledgling force.  I'm currently working on two Dawnguard Scyirs and they will be able to join this regiment very soon.  All that's really left are their arms, swords and bases.

Metals are still giving me some fits.  I'm not very pleased with how the mix from the Retribution book looks with my particular scheme.  I'm going to keep playing with them until I get something I like.  I'm not sure if I will go with a more traditional metal look or mess around with the book formulas until I get something I like.  Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

I apologize for the long post, and if you're still with me now, thanks for reading!  A post of this length was a long time coming since I've got a buildup of models that I've been working on and only just now got around to setting up my light box.  Thanks again for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear them!