EXT: Industrial Sector

Future scenery! Just in time for Newty K.

A twin set of Shadow War: Armageddon scenery for General Kas. This daunting great block of pipes, gears and walkways was easily the largest and drudgiest looking part of my latest set of commissions, so I decided to blitz it out of the way.

It's a good kit, I think. Lots of versatility in how you connect and arrange the sections. At the moment, it's mostly unglued, so all the handrails, pipes, chains, etc are all loose. I stuck two larger sections of floor together, as there aren't quite enough supports and ladders to connect everything together.

Making a few more permanent choices would be worth doing, as well, I suspect. Although it's nice to be able to rearrange it all, it's also a bit fiddly to clip it together. Not great for the paint job, either, the clips are tight fitting. It'll be more durable and easier to use with a few more chunks in set configurations.

It's a bit smaller than I expected, mind. A single set would probably just about cover a square foot of table, maybe a little more if spread out. Not quite the dense underhive ruins you're led to expect from the photos. Lovely and detailed for all that, lots lifted straight from the Necromunda rulebook art from back in the day.

The big spider cranes particularly. Alarming looking things. Bet the crane operators don't sleep much.

If I was better at photography, I bet you could get some great dingy mood lighting shots of this stuff.

The flash tends to wash everything out rather. 

This is how it should look in my head, but I'm not going to be investing in the lights and studio I'd need to get the right photographic effects!

I used to live near Ellesmere Port, and if you've ever driven past the petrochemical works there at night, with all their gantries lit up by spotlights, that's what I was thinking of when I painted it. 

In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millenium, proper hazmat warning symbols are still important

The rusty look is done in equal parts with Typhus Corrosion, Ryza Rust and a random pot of red-brown pigment powder bought from a local art shop. A massive tub costs seven quid, enough for years of happy hobbying. I used a variety of applications, from dusting to stippling to washing the model with solvent and then sprinkling it on before leaving it upright to dry so it ran a bit.

Messy stuff, though, my hands have been Trump Tan for the last few days. And even a hefty coat of varnish hasn't totally fixed some of the heaviest bits, so it still rubs off a little if you aren't careful.

Engineer Squatty here for scale

Fun to paint? Well, no, not exactly. A two-week long haul, each of my evening sessions being spent doing something exciting like all the blue bits or lots of monotone washes. It got more fun at the end, adding detail like lighting effects, screens and warning symbols. Even then, going through a long production line of nearly identical bits was rather gruelling.

Classic warning markings done with Averland Sunset and Laundry Pen

This is the whole lot, almost. There was a handful of hanging pipes and ladders I didn't use, plus a few hatches. It's about two square feet total, I reckon, and almost a foot tall in the tallest places.

Having it finished is fantastic, though. Now I can not only get back to something else more normal, but I can also rack up all 120 pieces for my annual painting progress!