Thunderwolves Part 4: Test Wolf

I've not had much time to work on my new Thunderwolves yet. I've been busy with work and getting my tournament army for the GW doubles ready. However, tonight I've had a quick go at painting one of the fenrisian wolves as a test piece for how I'm going to paint the fur on the rest of the fen wolves and also the thunderwolves. I'm pretty pleased with the result. It definitely needs a little something more but for a first attempt I don't think it's bad.

I'll do a full stage-by-stage once I've perfected the technique but basically I undercoated Chaos Black and then painted the whole wolf with Deneb Stone. This was followed by a heavy drybrush with Skull White. The bionic eye and leg were painted Boltgun Metal. I then washed the upper surface (including the metal) with Badab Black followed by Devlan Mud once it had dried. The brown wash was put on so that it covered a slightly larger area that the black to give a more blended appearance. I outlined the mouth with Chaos Black along with the claws and nose, painted the teeth in with Skull White and then washed them back with Devlan Mud. Finally, I used some Tausept Ochre for the eye with a dot of Chaos Black for the pupil. In terms of actual time spent painting it can't have been more than an hour. Obviously it was longer because I had to let the washes dry but I passed the time with some Blood Bowl on the 360. 

Anyway, as I said it needs some improvements. For starters the cream bits of fur need a bit more definition. I was thinking of a Sepia wash but I'm worried this will darken it too much. The alternative is to use something a little darker than Deneb Stone as the basecoat and then drybrush with Bleached Bone and then Skull White as a thin drybrush highlight. I'm not sure whether I want the fur to be quite so brown so I might see what it looks like with just a double Badab Black. Alternatively I might try and put some grey on top of the model before the washes to give it more of a transition. The eye needs to be brighter so I'll use a bit of Golden Yellow on top of the Ochre next time. Also I've just noticed I've not done the lens on the bionic eye so that'll need a spot of red. Perhaps the cables should be done in brighter colours so they're a bit more noticeable.

I have to say the model was an absolute joy to paint. The washes sink into the crevices nicely and the detail really shines through. The bionic sections give them a truly futuristic feel and you can imagine an Iron Priest repairing a limb to help them stay in the fight. I'm confident that, including drying time, I could get the rest of the fen wolves done in a day. 

Stay tuned for my first attempt at painting one of the Tunderwolves themselves. As always comments are welcome!