One small head for big robot knight kind

So late last year I was kindly gifted with a rather large model know as a Knight Castellan https://elothsendeavours.wordpress.com/2021/12/04/its-a-bigun/ and I’ve started to chip away at painting it now. So first off I chose to do the model in parts (not something I normally do but something I think was required for a model of this size and complexity). I also have chosen to pain it in parts, the reason for this is that I hope it will keep me motivated as I can complete something, rather than just spending hours and hours doing base coats an not feeling like I’m getting any wear. And as such here is the first part done the head and front of the torso.

All of this also still comes apart, as I’ve not stuck things on, I’m actually thinking about getting some small magnets so that parts can be taken off as there is actually a fair bit detail behind it all.

This is with the face plate removed, but also the join the head sits on can also come off and that is how I painted behind it. Now I’ve tried a few new things here firstly I’ve tried a bit of object source lighting, as I wanted the blue areas to look like powered sections, and on this point a big thanks to Tubal for the descriptions he kindly gave of how he painted so amazing Necrons with great OSL https://tvcgartist.wordpress.com/2021/12/30/glowy-sandstone-necron-warriors-40k-indomitus-necrons/comment-page-1/#comment-562.
I did found OSL tricky to do even with the great suggestions, but for a first go its ok, much of the parts will be relatively hidden in the finished model so I thinks its good enough.

One thing I did want to do with this model is try to get a bit of realism in there, and yes I know that is silly to say about a massive Sci-Fi robot but hear me out! In Warhammer 40K (for those not knowledgeable in the setting) mankind is very much in a Dark Ages, any form of true understanding is almost gone from mankind and instead all technology is kept work via processes that have become truly ritualist. So for example a solider in this setting would certainly know how to strip down and clean their gun but they would “know” that they had to say certain phrases / blessings at the same time and that skipping either part would result in the weapon not working. So when it comes to a huge bi-pedal fighting machine I figured that its would be extremely well cleaned, I imagine many serfs would polish this technological master piece day and night. But the actually maintain of this 1,000s of years old relic would be a bit worst, as generation after generation of technicians simply “fix” it in the exact same way the generation before showed them. Anyway what this means to my painting is that the front amour parts will be really clean, but some of the inner workings will be showing signs of corrosion after centuries of needing a good oil change! So the marking near the heat vents on the sides and the oil marks on the pipes/pistons above the head.

The amour sections I want to keep all the same and wanted a very light looks with the metal here being much lighter, I almost thinking chrome, rather that the steel the rest of the body would be made from. As such hear is how I’ve done those sections, mainly to help future me as I’m fairly sure this is not going to a quick model to finish.

The amour panels are base coated Rakarth Flesh then a wash just in the rescess and around the metal work is applied using Seraphim Sepia, then layered with Karak Stone and a final highlight of Ushabti Bone.

The metal around the amour is first painted a very light silver Plata Silver from game colour, then I very gently washed around the bolts and just in the recesses with contrast grey called Gryph-Charger Grey which is a blue shade grey. Then I highlight the metal with Speed Metal from Scale 75 which is the lightest coloured metallic I have ever come across and was a kind present from https://hereticdeb.com/ and seems to work really well as a highlight for light metals. Finally I dot the bolts with Dwarven Gold again from Scale 75 and again a well received Christmas present. And I’m fairly happy with the final results on this actually.

I suppose I best now get to painting the rest of it!