Pre-Heresy Iron Hands: Ferrus Manus WIP

Hello everyone,

I'm back with another work in progress post for Ferrus Manus! I decided to squeeze this post in after a few of you asked about how I painted Ferrus's arms. It was actually the most enjoyable part of the model I have painted so far as it was a bit of a step into the unknown for me. Unfortunately I have been quite focused on getting this model right so I couldn't break concentration to do a step by step painting guide, but I will talk you through how I painted his arms.

To start with I will just list the paints I used below:

- Chaos Black Spray
- Runefang Steel
- Nuln Oil Wash
- Guilliman Blue Glaze
- Rhinox Hide
- Rakarth Flesh
- Reikland Fleshshade

So this is the first picture although due to how shiny his arms are I couldn't get a brilliant shot. I began by applying the Runefang Steel on to the base coat of Chaos Black in multiple thin layers so no black was remaining on the lower parts of the arms.

I then used Rakarth Flesh in multiple thin layers over the black on the upper parts of his arms. I wanted to paint most of the arms silver so it would be the most eye catching part of the model, although I did leave enough skin so it is possible to see where the change occurs. It is at this point I also painted the straps on his gauntlets with Rhinox Hide.

I should also mention that where the Runefang Steel and Rakarth Flesh meet on the arms, I did not make the edges uniform. I did this so it is possible to see where the metal and skin are almost blending together. Next I washed the silver parts of the arm and the straps with a light wash of Nuln Oil. There should still however be enough wash applied so you can make out the arms muscle definition. I also applied a light wash of Reikland Fleshshade over the Rakarth Flesh.

It was important to ensure the two washes were very light around where the silver and skin meet. Next I applied a layer of Rakarth Flesh over the muscles of the upper arm leaving the Reikland Fleshshade in the recesses. I then used the Guilliman Blue Glaze as a light wash over the silver parts of the arms. I made sure I only applied it lightly around where the silver and skin meet so it enhances the blending effect where the two colours meet, again try not to make it too uniform so it looks quite natural.

The final steps were to highlight the silver part of the arm, over the fingers, hands and muscles to keep the arms from looking too blue. I was worried about applying too much of the glaze, but I do really love how it has came out. It should still look predominantly bright silver but with a blueish hue to it. 

I particularly like the blue because I think it makes the metal look alien and like its almost fighting with Ferrus's body to gradually creep up his arms turning his skin blue and then to silver. Obviously if you would prefer his arms to be more silver then just apply less glaze :).

So I hope you all like it! please feel free to ask any questions below. 

Thanks again for reading!

Aveinus Kaane