"Traitor Scum" - Traitor Guard

A Heretic may see the truth and seek redemption. 

He may be forgiven his past and will be absolved in death. 

A Traitor can never be forgiven. 

A Traitor will never find peace in this world or the next. 

There is nothing as wretched or as hated in all the world as a Traitor.

- Khrysdam (Lexicanum)

Greetings, and welcome to The Art of Caesura!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I am not an army painter. Batch painting is not my jam. As a time-poor dad (soon to be father of two!) I prefer to spend my precious hobby time painting one model to a standard that I'm happy with, rather than ten similar sculpts to a...lower standard. But sometimes you're staring down the barrels of 14 Traitor Guard... 

...so, in the words of Nike, sometimes you've got to "Just Do It!"

It's funny, the reason I took a break from Reichbusters was because of the prospect of what would have been next on my painting list for that game, namely a whole ton of Nazi Soldiers. So I moved on to these guys...Nazi Soldiers...IN SPACE!!

Due to the shear number of these guys (and gals) and my uncharacteristically diligent photographing of the work-in-progress, there are quite a lot of photos today (and indeed next week), so let's launch straight in!

I used a few different strategies for these guys to try to speed things up a bit. I started by laying down all their base colours - trying to keep a limited palate to make it look like they had originally come from a unified regiment, while mixing colours of the rags to emphasize their "chaotic" nature. Limiting the palate also streamlined the painting process. 

Once it came to the shading step, I tried two different techniques to see which would be easiest / fastest. First I just shaded each component using mostly Agrax Earthshade and Nuln Oil. This is what I did for the running soldier above. In the first photo they are pre-wash and in the second photo each area has been carefully washed (blue, black and metals with Nuln Oil and reds and browns with Agrax). 

Then I tried the reductive technique with enamels that I had used for my Reichbusters, you can see it on the grenadier below:

I forgot to take a "before washes" picture, but above he has been given an all-over wash of Dark Brown enamel wash from AK Interactive. Below I have removed the wash from the prominent areas with mineral spirits. 

And just for continuity on this model, below is him pretty much finished with a few choice highlights and his base topper on. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the latter technique was MUCH faster and produced similar results, so I went on to do the rest of them with enamel washes. 

Another decision to be made was how to do their helmets. Above is a soldier with just the black of the primer colouring their helmet. Below I have painted it Leadbelcher.

And below again I have coated the Leadbelcher with Contrast Black Templar for a metallic black look. In retrospect it is a bit subtle for all the extra work (remember every step is multiplied by 14), and I should have either used a brighter silver underneath or just painted them matte black in the first place.

Below is the other one in the same pose for whome I used an ochre (Averland Sunset) as the secondary colour instead of red. 

I coated one model (below) with Streaking Grime to see what that would like instead of the Dark Brown.

Below is the Streaking Grime dried but before I have removed some with mineral spirits. 

Here we have some group shots of the soldiers awaiting their enamel bath.

And lastly, I have a few photos of the models once I had begun to work on some of their details and highlights. 

I used a lot of stippling for many of the highlights (see the cape above) to give a sense of a worn texture. 

Fwoosh! We did it! All fourteen of them done and looking not too shabby (well actually very shabby, but that was the point). 

For a reminder on how I'm doing my bases, you can check that out here. 

See you next week for a more atmospheric look at these traitors, right here on The Art of Caesura!

Reading: Jervis' send off in White Dwarf 466

Watching: Jack Ryan

Listening: West Cork Podcast (audible)

Next Week:

A darker look at the dark side...