Not only since I last posted but since I last saw (or bothered reading) the entry for a skyray. The current train wreck that is the skyray is still a damn beautiful model and a joy to assemble and paint.
Tau vehicles have enormous open spaces with sweeping lines and graceful curves. The open spaces can be intimidating but benefit from crisp lines and an even paint job. I've often struggled in the past to create a paint scheme that looked believable given the size of the vehicle. Taking a technique from my recently painted tyranids I decided on a more organic camouflaged appearance, this is how it was achieved.
Base - Celestra Grey - applied across the whole model and then washed with nuln oil.
The wash created strong tide marks as it was heavily applied.
The technique is Stippling to create the mottled effect.
The GW stippling brush I find to be too hard for a good effect, I use a dry brush cut back to about 3mm and then a fine brush cut back to about 4mm. Collect a light amount of paint on the brush and dab it (twisting slightly) randomly across the surface. Start with a base layer and then progress through the shades to the highlight shades (as you progress the finer brush). My progression was celestra grey - ulthuan grey - skull white.
Dry brush - Praxeti white heavily stippled along raised edges and edges formed a highlight (rather than a solid edge highlight to avoid the tron effect.
The block colors continued the highlights along the lines but with a more solid highlight. The surface orbs were painted as gems to create contrast. Once done return and wash directly into the gaps and crevices. A few other techniques across the model but this was the main one, used in the same way as on the tyranid carapace from earlier posts but to produce a similar organic and muted effect, ideal for a tank trying to lose itself in the snow.
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| The finished Sky Ray for Tau |
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