Finally getting a Black Dragon shoulderpad sculpted, a mold made of it and then casted was a big accomplishment for me. Taking that shoulderpad and building a model around it was a fun challenge and a great way to put a few techniques I've been working on to the test.
This guy fits how I imagine the Black Dragons looking. You're not quite sure if he's a loyalist or traitor by looks alone. He certainly doesn't fit the profile of a good guy.
Before I built him, I knew I was going to incorporate the Dragon Claw idea on him. There was no was I was going to skip out on that little bit of fluff. Of course it meant finding a suitable arm and adding some "spikey things" to represent the blades.
I think I pulled it off. The only other thing I stole from the Index Astartes artwork were the little Dragon type wings he has attached to the sides of his knee pads. At least that's what they look like to me.
I opted to leave the primitive weapon in his hand and not replace it with a chainsword or power weapon. It fit with the ruined basing and the skulls I added to his waistline. Kind of gives him a headhunter look I think. Fitting for a Veteran Sergeant I imagine.
The armour is the P3 Coal Black technique I'm working on. Keeping with the zenithal approach, I only hit the upper portions of the armour to give it a tiny bit of color. The majority of the model is black.
The weathering is where I really worked on this guy. I used a metallic weathering powder to dull down a few spots on him that would see a good bit of wear and tear. I followed that up with a pencil application to his more prominent armour plate edges.
The skulls on his waist and the base come from Secret Weapon Miniatures. The little bag-o-skulls make it so easy to add things like this. I just wish they were resin and not metal, but having a ton of them handy makes it worthwhile. I just hate working with metal.
The base turned out a bit darker than I would have liked, but it's alright. I like the little bits of grass and leaves I added to it for some color. I need to work on my leaves though. They aren't the best.
I think the one part I like the most are his Dragon Claws coming out of his arm. After reading the background on them, I had no idea how I was going to paint them. I decided I'd try the metallic weathering powder I had to make them look like they were Adamantium like it says they are in the text. I think it turned fairly well. If that hadn't worked, I'm not sure how I would have painted them.
All in all, I like this guy. I think he turned out alright. My favorite part is the weathering effect achieved by combining the metallic weathering powder and the pencil. It gives you the worn down look and the bare metal edges together at the same time.
That and my press mold Black Dragon shoulderpad doesn't look half bad either. At first glance, you wouldn't even know I made it. That's the best judge I suspect. If you don't recognize the conversion in the first place.
Make sure to check out these posts as they might help:
Using metallic weathering powder
Using a standard pencil for weathering
My struggle with learning how to paint black
