Pre-Heresy Iron Hands: Paint Scheme

Hello everyone,

So I'm back with a post on what paint scheme I've been using for my Iron Hands. Now this is my first stab at producing a paint guide, but it should hopefully give you all an idea of how I achieve a simple but effective scheme :).

Before I start I will just list the paints and washes I use to hopefully make it easier to replicate:

- Chaos Black Spray                                                
- Abaddon Black                                                      
- Leadbelcher
- Nuln Oil
- Ceramite White
- Runefang Steel
- Runelord Brass
- Astrogranite Texture Paint
- Dawnstone
- Standard Mechanicus Grey
- Agrax Earthshade
- Guilliman Blue Glaze

So I begin by undercoating the model with GW's Chaos Black spray. I personally like to keep the arms and back pack off of the model to begin with so I can reach all of the hard to reach places. I then use Leadbelcher for the base coat on the silver parts of the model. I try to make sure I get every rivet on the MkIII armour with the Leadbelcher, as well as all of the cog designs on the legs. As for the face plates, I tend to switch between black and silver for variation in the squad. The final step of this stage is to give the entire model a medium wash of Nuln Oil. As you can see I did change my mind on the face plate of this model halfway through! lol.

Next I apply Ceramite White to one of the cogs, as I think it gives the model something that draws the eye away from the black and silver and ties the army together as Iron Hands. It's important to apply the white in multiple thin layers over one of the cogs which will already be silver. I choose a different cog on each model or free hand the cog on a chest plate for variety. I have also used this on some of my vehicles which you will see in future posts :). The other area I use the Ceramite White at this point is on the eyes, this isn't hugely important on the Meduson Immortals but it works really well on a contemptor.

Then I use Runefang Steel to both edge highlight the model and give it its chipping effect. I start by carefully highlighting the edges of the Leadbelcher parts of the model such as the face plate, cogs and gorget, followed by each bolt rivet. Once this is done I edge highlight the armour plates but make sure to break it up so that it works as a chipping effect too. It can be a time consuming job but when I get it right I really like the results. I try to strike a balance as I don't want it to look too bright or too chipped. I find if you use a sponge to add chipping on the small armour plates, you get the chipping effect but lose any edge highlight and if you apply both there is just too much going on. Hopefully you can see this on the photos.

I then mix some of GW's small pebbles with the texture paint Astrogranite before applying it to the base. Once dry I wash the base with Agrax Earthshade into the recesses and then lightly dry brush with Standard Mechanicus Grey, dawn stone and then most importantly Longbeard Grey which really picks out the rocks nicely.

Next I do the same process with the silver on the arms, shoulder pads, shield and back pack as I add them to the model. I do also use a sponge to add a chipping effect on large areas of black plate such as the shield. As for the volkites I use the same techniques but just add some Runelord Brass to the guns piping to add another colour. After the gun has been washed with Nuln Oil, I just reapply it as the piping's highlight.

The last the parts I do are to paint the shields visual feed and the inside of the volkites gun muzzle with Ceramite White. It is at this point that I then use the Guilliman Blue Glaze to wash the white once its dry, to produce the blue shading. I also apply the glaze to the eyes. It is important to be careful as to where the glaze sits, because you want the brightness of the white to still show through to create the glowing effect, but to also shade the recesses a darker blue. This works really nicely on plasma weaponry.

So that's it! Hopefully some of you may find it useful :). It feels like it has taken an age to complete, so please ask any questions you have about the scheme. A few points I will add, are that I do dry brush my walkers and vehicles with s
Standard Mechanicus Grey and then Dawnstone before adding the Runefang Steel. I do use a sponge more on the bigger models to apply the Runefang due the larger armour plates, but I still use a detail brush to add it as a highlight intermittently along the edges of the armour.

Thanks again for reading!

Aveinus Kaane