Friday 31 July 2020

"I'm A Ghost Now..."

"A spectre of the moon... The moon's knight of vengeance, and I got work to do."
This 28mm scale plastic model of Moon Knight is produced by “Wizkids” and is miniature number 062 from their Marvel "Heroclix" Avengers/Defenders War Booster Set. Ranked by "Wizard" magazine as the 149th greatest comic book character of all time, Marc Spector's alter-ego was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin for the August 1975 issue of "Werewolf By Night" by "Marvel Comics".

Resurrected by the Egyptian moon god Khonshu following his murder at the hands of the mercenary Bushman, this sculpt actually depicts the costumed crime-fighter whilst using his Mister Knight persona, and initially had me reaching for a sharp modelling knife in order to remove him from the stone gargoyle he was perched upon. In the end though, I decided to leave the model attached to the rooftop cornerstone, as otherwise I thought the figure might look a little small lurching low across a bare 40mm circular base.
"Adeptus Titanicus" WIPs - The small crane tower has been dry-brushed and weathered
The entire ensemble was actually partially primed with "Citadel" Abaddon Black and "Vallejo" White. I also originally started layering the gargoyle-shaped base with a couple of coats of "Vallejo" Heavy Bluegrey, but then swapped this acrylic colour out for the much deeper Dark Grey so the masked vigilante's bright suit appeared all the more contrasting. The stone work was later drowned in "Citadel" Nuln Oil, before being thoroughly dry-brushed in (more) "Vallejo" Dark Grey.

I had hoped to get away with a similarly straightforward approach to Moon Knight himself. However, the miniature's squat stance meant I had to be particularly precise with my brushwork if I didn't catch his already finished basework. As a result I carefully applied two more coats of "Vallejo" White over Marc Spector and then strategically dropped in some Pale Grey around all the folds in his clothing, footwear and gloves.
"Adeptus Titanicus" WIPs - The crane tower has been dry-brushed and had its walkways and ladders 'picked out'
This approach seemed to work far better than my usual technique of simply drenching the figure in "Vallejo" Pale Grey and subsequently fuming that the wash had bubbled up in some of the detail's deeper recesses. Disappointingly, the softness in the super-hero's sculpt didn't lend itself to being dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" White. So in the end I actually had to 'pick out' a lot of the millionaire's costume, such as his collar, shoes, tie and buttons with a delicate application of pure "Vallejo" White, as well as the odd bit of edge highlighting.

As I'm determined to get my "Games Workshop" Manufactorum Imperialis scenery set completed before the end of next month, I have additionally managed to make some more progress on my two crane towers. The vast majority of paintwork on these two formidably-sized pieces of machinery is almost complete; albeit I have perhaps somewhat foolishly decided to 'pick out' one of the constructions' metal walkways and ladders with metallic paint, rather than simply leave the entire ensemble in the same colour.

12 comments:

  1. Mister Knight turned out really well Simon, and great progress on your crane towers, actually like that you've picked out the walkways and ladders in silver helps make them more visible

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks very much indeed Dave. I thought the extra touch on the walkways and ladders would be worth it in the end.

      Delete
  2. A great paint job on Moon Knight. The white looks very clean and I think your new method has paid off here big time. Also good call on the roof top colour because, as you say, it just makes the white stand out all the more. The crane tower is coming along nicely too, can't wait to see it finished. As an aside how big is it compared to one of the Titans? Just wondering what sort of cover it gives.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Undercoat. Even the smallest crane towers over my Warhounds, so I'd have thought they'd give such mechs plenty of cover. They really are excellent models, and I'm thoroughly enjoying working my way through them.

      Delete
  3. lovely work all round mate, I like the dark grey on the rooftop, I would never have thought of that but it looks a treat!

    Going the extra mile on the crane towers too should pay dividends. Looking good already.

    Cheers Roger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Roger. Hopefully I'll have the crane towers finished soon enough and then crack on with the cranes themselves.

      Delete
  4. Another great looking character piece Simon, not one I am familiar with though. Those terrain pieces look awesome as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Michael. I'm pleased with how Moon Knight turned out, and am loving the Adeptus Titanicus scenic pieces.

      Delete
  5. thats one thing i cant do, paint a almost pure white miniature.
    kudos to u man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mr Martin. Just a "Vallejo" Pale Grey wash and a bit of highlighting tbh. Straightforward stuff.

      Delete
  6. He looks like he needs a little sun. :)

    Fab work on those whites! And I really like the AT buildings - that rust effect is very nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers Dai. I'm enjoying the AT buildings quite a bit so should have a few more scenic pieces to post over the next week or so.

      Delete