An exercise in Aztecing a small-scale starship
One of the main questions I seem to get whenever I post pictures of my Terran Diplomatic Corps vessels up for show is "How do you do those patterns?". I had posted a very brief text tutorial on the Starship Combat News forum, but I thought it would be a good idea to try and document the process the next time I painted some vessels. Thus, when I recently painted the Embassy Assault Carrier, I took photos every step of the way, and the result of that is this article.
The main thing I wish to emphasize here is that this technique may look daunting, but it really is very simple. I will admit it is a little time-consuming, but the effort is well worth it at the end. From an arm's length, your model will look intriguing, then as you get closer, you will slowly be able to see all the intricate pseudo-detail pop out. And I emphasize it again, your ship will look very different at an arm's length compared to those which are simply drybrushed, and it will look immeasurably better on inspection.
Equipment:
Brushes (Size 3, Size 00 and Size 0000) - I personally use Winsor & Newton Cotman brushes, but any brush that holds its tip well will do just as well.
Paints:
Games Workshop Foundation paints
- Mechrite Red
- Iyanden Darksun
- Calthan Brown
Games Workshop Foundation washes
- Devlan Mud
Vallejo Model/Game Colour
- Negro Black
- Bloody Red
- Wolf Grey
- White
- Scar Red
- Sunblast Yellow
- Enchanted Blue
- Imperial Blue
Others:
- Halfords Grey Automotive Primer