Knight Models Iron Man [Completed]

Crawling over the finish line just about sums up the completion of my attempt at painting the Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition white metal model kit. After finishing the main parts comprising the red and gold armour, I had procrastinated on putting the finishing touches to the miniature namely the arc reactor, hand repulsors, eyes and base - partly but not entirely due to laziness.

Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition [Completed]

Perhaps at the back of my mind I felt that I could have done much better painting the non-metallic metal (NMM) effects - especially the gold portion of the armour. But I eventually let it go and moved on as it was my first try at painting NMM. There will be plenty more NMM projects in the future.

Pure white highlights helped to enhance the NMM effect

For Iron Man's eyes, hand repulsors and arc reactor, I decided to use pure white with some light greyish blue as the shadows. Object source lighting (OSL) effects were kept to a minimum because most photos of Iron Man showed that the light from the eyes, hand repulsors and arc reactor did not really affect the armour around them. Majority of the OSL effects were on the ground which isn't very clear from the photos due to the angle of the shots.

Gold armour on the back thigh came off grittier than I had intended

To me, the colour transitions on the red armour turned out better than for the gold armour. One reason could be that I have had more practice painting red than yellow. Moreover I was trying out a new colour combination for the gold armour - comprising of yellows and browns -  and my inexperience with the colour mixture contributed towards a less than satisfactory result on the gold armour.

Back view of the Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition

One of the things that I like about this miniature is the pose that Iron Man has. It reminds me of a fight scene between Iron Man and Thor in the Avengers movie, specifically of Iron Man being pegged back after he was on the receiving end of a head-butt by Thor.

From this angle, the red armour makes Iron Man look like a lobster

Meanwhile, I used muted colours comprising varying shades of grey for the ground so that one's focus is directed towards Iron Man without being too distracted by the base. Though I flirted briefly with using brownish hues for the ground, I felt it would have been too similar to Iron Man's colours.

Side view of the Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition miniature

Other than letting me practice NMM, the Knight Models Iron Man miniature also gave me the opportunity to try a variety of painting techniques such as wet blending and layering with the help of a wet palette. In fact, I now no longer use a dry palette as I find it to be extremely limiting, especially in the warm weather I paint in which results in the acrylic paints drying up very fast.    

Arc reactor was predominantly white with some light greyish blue for the shadows

All in all this miniature was a pleasure to paint and put together. Although assembly of some small parts made this miniature a bit of a challenge, it also made the feeling of achievement more palpable. 

I love the pose adopted by this special edition Knight Models Iron Man miniature

360 view of Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition
For a 360 degree view of the Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition, please check out the video of the miniature below. For other videos, check out my YouTube channel FourEyedMonster Miniatures.

So my first superhero is now completed. It has certainly wet my appetite to work on other characters from the Marvel Universe. Up next in my Marvel project will be Logan and The Hulk. I can't wait to get started. With so many stuff in my to-do-list, it is indeed a great time to be a miniature hobbyist.

Knight Models Iron Man [WIP - Gold Armour]

Continuing with my non-metallic metal (NMM) work on the Knight Models Iron Man miniature, I was now faced the task of trying to paint the gold portions of the armour. Referencing the same triad of light sources as described in an earlier post, I proceeded to tackle painting non-metallic gold. My main challenge was trying to maintain a fine balance between having a smooth transition and having a stark contrast between the colours. A task complicated by the many angled surfaces of Iron Man's suit which made predicting how light reflects off the armour extremely difficult.       

Knight Models Iron Man - Work-in-Progress (WIP) on gold armour

Using only four Citadel colours namely Scorched Brown, Bubonic Brown, Snakebite Leather and Skull White, I tried to achieve non-metallic gold to somewhat mixed success. To say that NMM is a very difficult technique is a huge understatement. It not only requires a painter to have good blending skills (something I am working on) but also know where to put the highlights and shadows which is basically a good understanding how light reflects off metal (my knowledge is rudimentary at best). 

Colours for non-metallic gold

If you Googled for images of 'Iron Man Mark 3', you would have been bombarded with loads of pictures showing how light reflects off the armour. But rather than helping it actually makes things more confusing as you can only roughly guess at where the actual light source is coming from. Nonetheless, it did provide some surprising images that showed light reflecting in ways that I did not anticipate. That was something I consciously tried to incorporate when painting NMM for Iron Man.

Knight Model Iron Man's thigh gold armour

As with the red armour, the brightest highlight had to be pure white to simulate metal. Of the two colours - red and gold - the latter is much easier to paint as NMM. There are perhaps still some sections of the armour - both red and gold - that I could revisit to improve the NMM effect. Some parts may need a higher contrast gradient between the highlights and shadows but more research on my part is needed to determine for sure or I would just make things worse than it already is.   

Back view of Iron Man's armour, with the gold portions painted

Angled sideways view of Iron Man's armour, with the gold portions painted

To get a good idea of whether the NMM has achieved its desired effect, it's best to see how both the red and gold armour look together as a whole - in terms of the much sought-after metallic effect (see last photo below). While I am generally happy with the results so far, I am under no illusions that I should do much better to get a more realistic NMM effect. The solution to that is more practice.   

Right side of the right thigh gold armour received the least highlights based on light sources

Overall shot of how the gold and red metallic armour interplays with each other

Other than touching up the NMM effect, work remains to be done on the base, arc reactor, hand repulsors and some minor object source lighting. It feels good to be making further progress on my Marvel Universe project, and I hope to post more updates on Iron Man in the coming weeks.   

Knight Models Iron Man [WIP - Red Armour]

Akin to jumping into the deep-end of the pool, trying out the non-metallic metal (NMM) painting technique for the first time was made much more challenging by the many reflective angles provided by Iron Man's suit of armour. Without a doubt, this has been my toughest challenge yet in miniature painting and I was initially overwhelmed by the task I faced in painting Iron Man using NMM. To make things more manageable, I decided to break each task up into small digestible pieces and tackle them one at a time. I have a ways to go before I master NMM but at least I have made a start.

NMM light sources for Knight Models Iron Man

Firstly, I decided on where my light sources were going to be (see above). In this case, I imagined light coming from three different sources spaced roughly 120 degrees from each other. Secondly, I tried to paint NMM layers on Iron Man's suit of armour by treating each small section as separate geometric shapes and paint them based on how I think light would reflect off a metal surface. Things were made easier by the use of a wet palette which helped in blending paints, a key component of the NMM painting technique. It also allowed me to work for longer stretches during a single painting session as the wet palette prevents the paint from drying up to too fast. 

Using a wet palette for NMM helped ease blending of colours

Work on the red armour is by no means finished as I will most likely have to rev-visit it once I completed NMM layers on the gold sections or Iron Man's suit of armour. This is to ensure that light reflections of the gold armour is consistent with how light plays off the red sections of the armour. Nonetheless, I guess the bulk of the NMM work on the red armour is done.

Knight Models Iron Man (WIP Red Armour) - facing Light Source 1

Pure Skull White was used for the brightest highlights to make it look like metal

Back of red armour most likely still needs further touch ups for the NMM to work convincingly

In the case of Knight Models Iron Man, a lack of patience is one factor that can derail my efforts at painting a presentable NMM effect. The many individual armour panels on Iron Man means light reflects slightly differently from each one. A tendency on my part to paint too fast can mean overlooking small details that will cause the NMM effect to look wrong to the human eye.    

Knight Models Iron Man (WIP Red Armour) - facing Light Source 2

Knight Models Iron Man (WIP Red Armour) - facing Light Source 3

Still at basecoat stage - the arc reactor, hand repulsors, gold armour and base

Knight Models Iron Man (WIP Red Armour)

Hopefully when I have finished painting NMM on the gold sections, the overall metallic look of Iron Man will be more convincing. Additionally, object source lighting effects of the Arc Reactor on Iron Man's chest and repulsor weapon's on his hands will enhance the NMM effect, assuming I can pull it off. Well that's it for my progress on the Knight Models Iron Man miniature. Many hours of work lie ahead and I will need every ounce of my willpower to not rush things as per my usual (bad) habit. 

Marvel project begins with an introvert and an extrovert

To add to the considerable pipeline of miniature painting projects on my workstation, I will be starting yet another long-term project in the form of superheros and villains from the Marvel Universe. This new endeavour will take centre stage along with my current Game of Thrones project which I am enjoying immensely due to the myriad of colour schemes and freehand heraldry designs involved. Other stuff in my to-do list are some stand-alone character pieces, possibly board game minis as well as my badly ignored W40K armies. Phew, talk about having your cake and eating it too.

Iron Man and The Hulk

My journey into the Marvel Universe, in particular assembling and painting the Avengers, begins with a contrast of two characters namely an extrovert in playboy Tony Stark aka Iron Man versus an introvert in the mild mannered and soft spoken Bruce Banner aka The Hulk. With the Iron Man movies into their third iteration, it is widely accepted among Marvel fans on how well Downey carries the Stark character. On the other hand, Mark Ruffalo is the third actor to play the movie version of Bruce Banner. And in my honest opinion. Ruffalo is by far the best Banner yet.   

Mark Ruffalo (left) as Bruce Banner and Robert Downey Jr (right) as Tony Stark

So where do I stand in terms of progress in assembling the Avengers? Using miniatures from Knight Models for both The Hulk and Iron Man, the former has yet to be assembled. The Hulk from the Knight Models Marvel Universe range comes with a few assemble options which includes three heads as well as two left and right hands each. It allows for three versions of Hulk - Red Hulk, Grey Hulk and Green Hulk. In line with the movie versions, I am planning to paint a green Hulk.

Knight Models The Hulk - a 1:22 scale resin model kit

At first glance, both Iron Man and Hulk seem like easy projects but the actual size of both miniatures - The Hulk stands at 90 mm from the base to the top of  his head while Iron Man comes in at 75 mm - as well as an intention on my part to paint both Iron Man's armour and Hulk's skin in extreme detail and hopefully with depth means it will be harder than it looks.

Knight Models Iron Man primed with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer

As for Iron Man, I have managed to get a few initial layers of basecoat on the miniature after priming him with Tamiya Fine Surface Primer. My current painting style is fairly fluid with repeated shifts between basecoats, shadows and highlights so even now the basecoat layers are incomplete. My starting point tends to be the mid-tones which will be blended accordingly with the shadows and highlights. Meanwhile, Iron Man will also see me try to paint Non-Metallic Metal for the first time.

Iron Man - Very early work-in-progress with initial basecoats done (front view)

Iron Man - Very early work-in-progress with initial basecoats done (back view)

Constantly shifting from one colour scheme to the next (as well as challenging myself with different miniature types) helps to stave off the monotony that sometimes plagues me in this hobby. Keeping things fresh also helps me to improve my painting skills ... one miniature at a time.

Debonair Tony atop lazy Susan (in my first video)

After searching for what seems an eternity since I first started my journey as a miniature hobbyist, I finally got my hands on a solar powered rotating display stand, or an automated lazy Susan if you will. This hobby accessory allows me to display my painted miniatures in their full 360 degree glory thus enabling me to post videos of my miniature collection, either completed or work-in-progress.   

Pepper Potts wasn't too amused with the play of words in my blog post title

On a  shopping trip to a local IT mall, I chanced upon a shop selling collectible anime and sci-fi/fantasy figures (the painted kind) which happened to also sell the solar display stand. Although it was selling for a rather pricey RM28 (about US$9), especially considering it was unbranded, I got it anyway as I had been looking everywhere else for it without success.

It was unbranded and a tad overpriced I feel

Solar powered rotating display stand (unboxed)

I don't intend to replace the photographs that I normally put up in my blog posts. That means any videos that I manage to record will be complementary to what I have been doing.

Tony Stark aka Iron Man atop a solar display stand

So where is my first video you ask? Well you can check it out by clicking the play button below. It is also my first ever uploaded video. I guess I am being dragged kicking and screaming to the age of social media. Despite being a tech enthusiast since the days of Apple IIe and Sinclair Spectrum, I have largely resisted social media except for blogger. I don't really use Facebook or Tweeter (oh the horror) but I have started on the former at least. And YouTube was just something I watched rather than participated in. But I guess resistance is indeed futile.  

Well I guess the days of 'Skynet' are approaching us. For now, hope you enjoy my little video above.

Iron Man Assembled

After what has been the longest prep work I have ever done for a miniature ... this is the pride and joy of Stark Enterprise after all ... the Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition (S.E.) miniature is done. Being a metal miniature, he already looks super awesome without a paint job. But as tempted as I am to just leave Iron Man just as he is on the display cabinet, the call to paint him is just too strong.

Knight Models Iron Man S.E. assembled

One thing is for sure, painting the Knight Models Iron Man S.E. will afford me plenty of practice to perfect the non-metallic-metal paint (NMM) technique. That is one painting technique that I have never truly tried so I need to do some research before layering on the first paints.

Iron Man's Arc reactor offers a possibility for some object source lighting

Putting in the hours necessary to carefully take out the mould lines and giving it a good cleaning up / polish with some fine steel wool was important to ensure that the next step (i.e. priming) has every chance of coming out with a smoother finish.

Having the various parts of its armour open up makes Iron Man look that more dynamic

So for the next step, I now have to decide which primer to use. It is a toss up between Citadel Chaos Black undercoat spray and the Tamiya Fine Surface Light Grey Primer. While the former would perhaps give a very smooth finish, the latter would require less layers of paint to cover up the initial undercoat / primer layer. Both are valid advantages in the painting process.

Small armour parts on Iron Man's upper back and lower leg / ankle required patience to glue on

Putting together the Knight Models Iron Man turned out to be easier than expected seeing that it doesn't come with any assembly instructions.Initially I was a bit apprehensive in having to figure out where all the small pieces of armour accessory were supposed to be glued to. But in the end, it was fairly easy to figure out what went where by looking at detailed pictures found on the Knight Models website. Based on those pictures, there was actually two small extra parts left over which I believe are an optional / alternative parts (second, clockwise from the right in the picture below). 

Iron Man prior to having his accessories glued on

Working on Iron Man also improved my handing of small metal parts. With time, my patience in gluing small parts together or on to bigger pieces has increased thus resulting in faster and better work.

Behind the scenes prep work on Iron Man
In my usual prep work for metal miniatures I rarely used fine steel wool to polish up the surface. That stems largely from laziness and a tendency on my part to rush through the prep work in order to start painting as soon as I can. This time around I have been more patient and thorough with the prep work so I hope it pays off in the later stages of the painting process.

Using fine steel wool to polish or clean up imperfections in the metal miniature

White metal parts before (left) and after (right) some not too rigorous cleaning with fine steel wool

Below is a picture to compare the relative size of Iron Man with another warrior in armour, the Chaos Space Marine. Now wouldn't that be a sight for sore eyes ... Tony Stark versus W40K armour.

Who has the better armour?

While assembling the Knight Models Iron Man S.E. 1/28th scale miniature has provided me with a pleasant diversion from my usual painting routine, I had better get back to my other Knight Models project i.e. Zombie Girl if I am to make the Halloween deadline for finishing her paint job.

That's it for now until my next work-in-progress pictures of the Knight Models Zombie Girl.

Quick look at Knight Models miniatures

Throughout my journey as a miniature hobbyist thus far, I am slowly discovering that many popular characters I would like to see produced as miniature model kits for painting either may not yet exist ... or are extremely hard to locate. For example, miniatures in my paint-wishlist range from anime characters such as 'K-On!' or 'Soul Eater' to sci-fi stuff such as the Star Trek Original Series cast members. With Knight Models miniatures, I can at least check off two things on my wishlist i.e. a zombie child (weird I know but I will explain the why later) and comic book superheroes.

Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition packaging

Tony Stark in an iron suit, what is there not to love. The missus digs the goatee while me, I love the armour that he rides in. It is ironic that the Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition (S.E.) comes as an all white metal model kit ... iron ... metal ... get it? ... but it felt right to have an Iron Man miniature with some weight to it as is expected of metal miniatures. The Knight Models Iron Man S.E. will give me the opportunity to try out the non-metallic metal (NMM) technique, a skill I initially dismissed as being unnecessary but I have come to realise that NMM has its place in a painter's repertoire.

Iron Man Special Edition un-boxed

White metal parts of the Knight Models Iron Man Special Edition

Meanwhile, another Knight Models miniature that I will be working on is the Zombie Girl from its Terror Series. I have been searching for a long time for a miniature that I felt best portrayed all that is  terrifying about a zombie namely the perversion of what we hold to be normalcy in our everyday lives. To me at least, nothing depicts that better than an innocent child who has become a zombie. Is a huge zombie monster scary? Meh. But for a child to become a zombie is both sad and creepy.

Knight Models Terror Series featuring the Zombie Girl

Knight Models Zombie Girl un-boxed

The Zombie Girl also comprises white metal parts

Moreover, ever since that zombie girl scene (see below) from Season One of the Walking Dead series, I have been completely sold on the idea of a zombie girl miniature. While the Zombie Girl stands at around 60 mm being at 1/28th scale, most of the other Knight Models miniatures range from 70 mm to 90 mm, also at 1/28th scale. 

A scene from the Walking Dead, Season One

So far, I have only managed to assemble and prime one of the two Knight Models miniatures that I am currently working on. This time around, I got a reasonably good primer coat sprayed on so hopefully that will translate to a smoother painting experience in the later stages.

As she was only dry fitted to the base, the Zombie Girl actually started to tilt sideways as this shot was taken

Knight Models Zombie Girl - primed and ready to be painted

Fingers crossed, I will be able to get some work-in-progress shots taken soon so I should have those photos up in a future blog post soonish. Till then, stay well and happy!