Battle Damage ::
Introduction
With the fabulous article by Ron Kruzie in No Quarter Issue 4 on painting battle damage on his Nomad I've finally been inspired enough to finish my article on a similar subject. I love this article, as it shows almost the exact opposite technique to mine. I prefer to have actual damage to my mini, along with some simulated via paint, where Ron painted all of his damage after the mini was complete. There is no wrong or right way to do this. Just different styles.
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You might recognize this Kodiak from the same issue in the Guts and Gears section. I've had a few queries as to how I did the damage on this piece, so let's get to answering those questions.
Tools
While it's not absolutely necessary to own a Dremel tool or similar rotary tool, it really makes many aspects of the miniature hobby much easier. It is my primary weapon for creating damage on a mini and is capable of turning any fine piece of pewter into scrap metal in a hurry if you're not careful. ALWAYS wear safety glasses when using any rotary tool. They fling debris everywhere. Trust me, it's no fun going to an eye doctor to have a chunk of metal or resin removed from your eyeball. It's quite uncomfortable, I don't recommend it. Prevention is always better than treatment.
Secondary to the Dremel, a good selection of needle files will also assist you in your quest for a war-torn warjack. From top to bottom in the picture below are: Diamond, Triangle, Round (this one is actually oval), and Flat. There's many shapes and sizes out there. These are the ones I use the most.
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Other weapons I use are a sharp hobby knife and a pin vice with either a 1/16" bit or a 3/64" bit. For an in depth look at these and other tools used in the hobby, check out ArkenTyre's article: Time for Tools. Now that we're appropriately armed, on to the battle.
A Tale of Four Shields
I've chosen to demonstrate my techniques on 4 Vanguard shields. They've got enough surface area to work with, yet they're small enough that it won't take me weeks to complete this project. I've also decided to try an experiment that will be a first here at BrushThralls.com: video. I'll be filming small video clips of me attacking these shields with my various tools. There's no real audio in them as it's pretty hard to talk over a whining Dremel so you won't need sound. What you will need is QuickTime from Apple. If you don't have it installed or need to upgrade you can go here to get it: Apple - Quicktime. I've created "Hi" and "Lo" versions of each clip. Just pick which one to view depending on your internet connection speed. Modem users will most likely want to use "Lo". Hopefully I don't crash our host with this. :D
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I've prepped and cleaned these shields just as I normally would by filing down the mold lines and washing them in warm soapy water. As of right now, they're all basically identical. Little do they know how different their lives are about to become.
Shield 1 - For this shield I'm going to leave stock and simply paint some damage on it, so it's all ready to go.
Shield 2 - For this shield I'm going to demonstrate some simple slash marks from edged weapons: swords, axes etc. I start by using my triangle file with the corner facing the surface of the shield to make a "V" shaped groove.
Clip 1 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 1 - Lo BandwidthI deepen each groove by running my knife down through it several times. You can also cut notches using the knife along the edge by making diagonal cuts into the surface seen at the end of this clip.
Clip 2 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 2 - Lo BandwidthThe final damage:
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Shield 3 - For this shield I'm going to get a bit more aggressive. I'll start by using my pin vice to create some medium caliber bullet strikes.
Clip 3 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 3 - Lo BandwidthNow I'm going to add a small calliber bullet strike using just the tip of my knife. I'll expand one of the medium hits by cutting notches around it in a star shaped pattern. This simulates a round exploding on impact and tearing more chunks of the surface away in the blast.
Clip 4 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 4 - Lo BandwidthNow I'll expand another of the medium strikes in a similar fashion, only I'll use a cone shaped hi-speed steel cutter like this: Cutting Bit.
Clip 5 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 5 - Lo BandwidthWith the imminent release of HORDES, I think this shield needs a good set of claw marks. Using the same bit I'll make some roughly parallel gouges in the shield. These also work for Slayer claws and other similar weapons.
Clip 6 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 6 - Lo BandwidthThe final damage:
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Shield 4 - This poor shield is about to have everything but the kitchen sink thrown at it. I'm going to start by using another favorite bit of mine, a heavy duty cutoff wheel: Cutoff Wheel. This is the same bit I used to scuff up the paws on my Kodiak shown at the start of this article. I want to simulate damage from one of the more fearsome weapons in WARMACHINE: the Renegade's Shredder. I'll start by making some grooves for the path of the chain. Cutoff wheels pick up pewter in a hurry so don't expect to go very deep with one.
Clip 7 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 7 - Lo BandwidthNow I'll go back to the cone shaped cutter and deepen the grooves.
Clip 8 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 8 - Lo BandwidthNow it's time to pull out the big guns. I'll simulate a couple of large caliber strikes using my all time favorite bit, a small drum shaped cutter: Cutting Bit. You can really do some damage with this type of bit, so be careful and keep a steady hand. You'll see the pewter dust really fly. I'll also use this same bit to finish the chainsaw cuts by deepening and varying the cuts in the groove to look like multiple teeth ran through the grooves.
Clip 9 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 9 - Lo BandwidthNot satisfied with the amount of damage, I'll add some more medium caliber hits. This time I'll use a small ball shaped cutter: Cutting Bit. Unfortunately, my poor bit has seen some heavy use and is pretty dull. I need to work harder at this than I should. Once a bit gets to this point you really should replace it. Dull bits lead to slippage, which you will see towards the end of this clip.
Clip 10 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 10 - Lo BandwidthThe edges of this shield are still too clean so I'll tear into the left side with my diamond shaped file to dent and gouge it up.
Clip 11 - Hi Bandwidth Clip 11 - Lo BandwidthThe final damage:
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Painting Damage
Step One - Bare Metal
After the damage phase is complete, you'll need to wash the parts again to ensure you remove all the pewter dust and debris. Having that in your paint isn't too good for the finish. Once the parts are completely dry, it's time to prime them. I use Dupli-Color Flat Black Sandable Primer on all my projects these days, and these shields are no exception. Once the spray is dry, I'll touch up any missed areas with thinned down VMC 169 Flat Black.
Once the shields are as black as my Cryxian heart, I use GW Boltgun Metal to paint the areas of exposed metal. If you get too much on or in some place you don't want it, go back and touch it up with the black.
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Step Two - Base Coat
Now it's time for the base coat of the surface paint. I like the studio scheme, so I'll use it here as well. The base color I'm using is GW Catachan Green. Carefully apply your base color over the undamaged areas of the shield, making sure to leave some black around the metal. I've left a much thicker area of black here than what will appear in the finished version. I've found that if I get too close at the start, minor slips as I'm highlighting lose the line completely. By leaving more of it exposed, I can "creep" in on it with each highlight color until just a thin line is left.
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The reason for leaving the black line around the damage is to fool your brain. You've seen damaged metal before, such as a car. When damage occurs, the top layers of paint peel off and show the primer beneath, then finally the bare metal. Your brain understands the layers and their relationship to each other, so this looks natural to you.
Step Three - Highlighting
I've highlighted several steps up using GW Rotting Flesh. I've made sure to have a thin line of almost straight Rotting Flesh on the underside of each damaged area. This assumes that the light is coming from directly overhead and simulates the light hitting the edge of the damaged paint. I've also painted in the brass fittings.
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Step Four - The Elements
Unless your damage is really fresh, it will begin to rust quickly. If you want really fresh scrapes and gouges, highlight in the center on the metal area with GW Chainmail.
Rust:
1:1:2:6 GW Bestial Brown : GW Snakebite Leather : VMC Glaze Medium : H2O
Apply this wherever you want rust to appear. Exposed iron and steel will oxidize pretty quickly when exposed to the elements. For a realistic look, make thin streaks running down from a few or all of the rivets.
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Dirt:
1:1:1:2:6 GW Bestial Brown : GW Snakebite Leather : GW Scorched Brown : VMC Glaze Medium : H2O
Apply this wherever you want dirt to appear. I concentrated on the bottom areas of these shields. I figured the pointed bits are there to help dig the shield into the dirt to brace for impact.
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Blasts:
2:1:3 Green Ink : Red Ink : VMC Glaze Medium
Apply this or another dark thin color in and around blast marks that you want to be fairly recent. The soot from the explosion will stick to the surface for a while.
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Grime:
Add Black Ink and Brown Ink to a bottle of Tamiya Clear.
This is a favorite trick of mine. You can create a thin layer of grime using this mix. Keep the brush wet and lightly apply to areas you want to appear dirtier or oilier than usual. Using the Tamiya clear as a medium is useful as it won't dry with a haze like high concentrations of Glaze Medium can. If there's any shine, a coat of matte sealant will take care of it. I've applied it liberally over Shield 1 so you can see how it will change the colors underneath.
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Wrap Up
That's it! Battle damage isn't all that hard to do. The Iron Kingdoms are a rough and tumble place to be. Now get out there and mess something up!
Until next time.
--YW7--