Painting December: Talos Completed!

Probably should have waited and called this post “Day of the Talos”. Ah well. Done now.

Mierce Miniatures Talos, Colossus of Bronze

Mierce Miniatures Talos, Colossus of Bronze

Aside from my agonising over how to get the verdigris done, the model was quite an easy and low-stress paintjob. Certainly the painting was much more pleasant than the assembly, which destroyed 2 drill bits.

Mierce Miniatures Talos, Colossus of Bronze

In the end I went for a direct inspiration from Ray Harryhausen’s Talos from Jason and the Argonauts (1963) regarding the dead, dark eye sockets as well as (and more importantly) the weathering and verdigris, though mine is more “gold-brass” than the “copper-brass” of the film.

freehand Greek shield

The colourful shield adds a spot of interest to the base, as do the flowers and the reddish wood of the spear. The freehand dolphin design is based on images of Greek shields, and provided me with something fun to add to the model, since it’s the sort of thing I really enjoy doing. I considered adding some damage to the paintwork, but decided against it. Naturally, I didn’t notice the errant hair when I took these photos. Luckily, it’s not stuck to anything. I’ll have to fix the small tide mark on the bronze shield, though.

freehand Greek shield, Mierce Talos

freehand Greek shield, Mierce Talos

The discarded helmet, shields and spear were chosen to add a sense of scale to the figure without being too specific in the same way that a crushed orc or Greek would have been. The wargear could have been left by friendlies, opponents or might even be a messy offering to the gods. This model might end up being used as scenery occasionally, what with being a gigantic bronze statue…

Mierce Miniatures Talos, Colossus of Bronze

Finally, a scale shot. This model is easily the largest miniature I’ve ever painted. I really need to get more of my impressive centrepiece models done in the coming years. When used in KoW which uses square bases, I found that the giant 100mm round base fits neatly into a movement tray, so I’ll just park it in there when I need to.

…and yes. I just ordered a bunch of Argonauts from Foundry this evening!

Painting December: Day of the Talos

I spent a bit of time today on the Talos. Touched up the black primer from last night, then went over it with Vallejo German Red Brown Primer. Next I found I was base coating it, and a bit later I was drybrushing the metallic layers, painting the slate and finally the dirt. So it’s (almost) finished.

I mean, I could call it finished. Spray varnish it, and then add some flock or tufts for colour on the base and it’d be quite a decent model.

So now I’m at the point of working out what more to do with/to/for it. And that’s where feedback is always welcome – even if I don’t use all of it.

Couldn’t resist a scale shot – he’s a BIG boy.

Now – as Cash mentioned in the comments when I was looking to work out which models I’d do for December, this figure wasn’t a stretch of my skills by any means. The assembly was a bit trying, so I could say I learned a little there on the use of my Dremel, which I was given as a birthday gift from Marouda several years ago but have barely used. But the figure… well, he’s just carefully drybrushed in layers. It’s a big, rough-cast bronze statue. Drybrushing is the perfect technique. Sure it was careful, and there are spot highlights, but drybrushing is drybrushing. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Now, though – I need to work out what to do to properly finish him.

I’m planning on giving him glowing bluish eyes, as I did with the Brass Bull. That much is easy.

The harder question is verdigris. And if so, what type and how much?

I think this is the “official” artwork for the Talos. They’ve applied the verdigris very sparingly – as almost a light spot wash.

There’s the dark (angels?) green wash that GW used to use on everything before they came out with a verdigris paint wash. Not especially realistic, but it looks good.

There’s also realistic, but that often doesn’t look so good. When it’s heavy, you end up with the Statue of Liberty’s distinct look. I’m after bright metal underneath, rather than dull.

Thoughts?