The Flesh Tearers - Recipe Notes (Part 1)

I think that I had intentions of doing a step by step, day by day kind of thing.  Progress was steady, but very boring.  After a month of watching three nearly identical tanks going together, I feel like maybe I've stretched everyone's limits on boring.

Instead, I'm treating the models I mentioned previously as a sort of master recipe for all the rest.  Doubly important since I didn't write a bunch of stuff down and so there was far more queswork required than I would have liked (the acceptable amount is 0%).


Step 1:  Primer + Base Coat
Progress on these guys was halted last summer right after I had base coated them.  For posterity, I used a black primer, an airbrushed coat of the now OOP Mechrite Red and then a couple of airbrushed coats of the now OOP Red Gore.

In light of the paint changeover I'm switching to a red primer to phase out the Mechrite Red step since I can't easily replace that color.  Though I am sticking with the Red Gore and I have a lead on two current manufacturers of an alternative match.  There's also an added bonus of cutting out a step.  Something I am ALL ABOUT this time through my little red mans.


Step 2:  Basic Base Coat Highlights
Most of the model is gonna be done with hard line highlights, but they can leave a model looking pretty flat, so I'm adding a couple layering effects here and there for added visual interest.

a roughly 50/50 mixture of Red Gore and Blood Red is layered on to various areas.  I usuually go with: toes, knees, back of the ankles, upper thighs, upper chest, neck, elbows and hands.

Step 3:  Shading
The highlights from step 2 work to make the shading a bit more interesting as well.  A roughly 50/50 mix of Black and Burnt Cadmium Red is lined on.

Step 4:  Joints
All the joints and other appropriate ribbed areas get a base coat of black.  The ribs are painted with Boltgun Metal and then given a single wash of Badab Black to take the shine down.

Note, the back vents were done before the shading.  Same recipe as the regular metal below.

Step 5: Metal Bits
I try and get the messy steps out of the way before I actually get to highlighting the red.  All the metal areas are given a base of Boltgun Metal (after an optional black base).  A single coat of Devlan Mud is applied and allowed to dry followed by a single coat of Badab Black.  The metal areas are then highlighted with Chainmail.

Step 6: Black areas
While there are a number of black parts on the model, I leave a lot of them off the model for ease of work.  The stuff I can't leave off gets done first.  I base with VMA black so the areas will match the stuff I airbrush and then start highlighting with the Reaper Dusky Skin Triad.  In the past I had a custom mixed gray recipe that I used, but was very time consuming to make over and over again.  The reaper paints aren't an exact match, but I don't have to mix anything.  It also gets me used to the inevitability of my reds not being perfectly matched in the future.

Note, the dusky skin shadow is cut with black for a highlight like the one in step 2.

Step 6:  Highlight the red areas
This is the biggest time sink so far.  Every area of the model gets a line highlight with custom mix #1 (red gore and vomit brown).  Then custom mix #2 (lots of added white) goes on sparingly as an extreme highlight.

Terminator bodies done later.

I think that's a good stopping place for now.  I'll pick this up in part 2.