Necromunda Zone Mortalis Tiles

[cronevald]

Well, I finally got some. I'd held off due to price and availability, but I do like them quite a bit. No pictures yet as this isn't Facebook and there's no social capital to be gained by posting unpainted or unopened images. I knew they were larger than the Underhive card tiles, but I didn't realize just how much. I had planned to mix them together to make a 3x3 surface but there's a pretty significant gap. I think it will still work but it will be a bit more obvious than I'd hoped. I'm going to try to keep them simple (famous last words) so they shouldn't take long to paint. I may grab some cheap spray primer as priming such a larger flat surface with my little airbrush has proved a bit slow going so far. There is a slight but noticeable bowing towards the center but the weight of terrain seems to flatten them out. I'll try to get some pictures up when they're done. I hope to keep this project simple and fast (unlike all my other projects).

 

[cronevald]

Some progress. Had to go to the store because I ran out of Skavenblight dinge, picked up some Stormvermin Fur and Dawnstone to finish off the base color. All the boards are primed and drybrushed with Skavenblight and Mechanicus Grey. One has a nice layer of Stormvermin now. I'm liking the way the shades show through each other.

zm board 1

• cronevald
• Jan 25, 2023

zm board 2

• cronevald
• Jan 25, 2023

zm board 3

• cronevald
• Jan 25, 2023

zm board 4

• cronevald
• Jan 25, 2023

 

[cronevald]

OK, now things are starting to look a bit more real. Time to add some washes and grime on top.

zm board 5

• cronevald
• Jan 29, 2023

zm board 6

• cronevald
• Jan 29, 2023

 

[Tiktaalik]

The grey tones look very nice built up like that. Looking forward to seeing more

 

[cronevald]

Things have been held up a bit while I wait for some AdMech decals to arrive form Ebay. In the meantime I've been hazard striping away. I'm getting really impatient to start the washes and weathering.

zm board 7

• cronevald
• Feb 15, 2023

zm board 8

• cronevald
• Feb 15, 2023

 

[cronevald]

Not tiles but instead testing decal techniques before I apply them to tiles. Mr Hobby decal solutions are my current favorite thing in the world. The Mr Mark Softer has made the lining film almost completely disappear. Not happy with my chipping on decals this small but that will just take some more patience and practice. I think this will work very nicely on the tiles as long as I don't overdo it and use too many.

bulkhead decals 1

• cronevald
• Feb 17, 2023

And one day I may run out of old bulkheads to test things out on but that day is a long ways off.

 

[cronevald]

Ambition has led to an evening of sponge painting. I'm pretty happy with the results. The lines are a bit too clean but washes and weathering should solve that. I've got some decals picked out for the big white triangle to add some character and context. I having a lot of fun challenging myself with this project.

zm board 9

• cronevald
• Feb 20, 2023

zm board 10

• cronevald
• Feb 20, 2023

zm board 11

• cronevald
• Feb 20, 2023

 

[cronevald]

OK, here I am finally playing with oil washes for the first time, testing on the bulkheads before I use it on the tiles. I think the mix and my technique is not quite there yet but I'm having fun trying it out.

bulkhead 2

• cronevald
• Feb 28, 2023

bulkhead 3

• cronevald
• Feb 28, 2023

 

[Punktaku]

I don’t know what effect you were hoping for, but I like the touch of rust look.

 

[cronevald]

I don’t know what effect you were hoping for, but I like the touch of rust look.

I think I was going more for centuries of dirt and grime, and not really for rust. I do like the result though. It's good enough for a single dirty bulkhead. I also just wanted to see what would happen as it's my first time with oil washes. I suspect I've overworked the remove with white spirit stage so I'll be playing around with that. I've got three more bulkheads painted up in this style so plenty of room to practice before I start covering the tiles with oil wash.

 

[MusingWarboss]

The beauty of oil is that you can go overboard and then bring it back. They look pretty nice and I think the grimyness does come through somewhat.

What may help is a touch more brown and possibly even a little green, which will send it more towards an olive. Then once dry a satin varnish will protect the oil and give that slight sheen.

 

[cronevald]

The beauty of oil is that you can go overboard and then bring it back. They look pretty nice and I think the grimyness does come through somewhat.

What may help is a touch more brown and possibly even a little green, which will send it more towards an olive. Then once dry a satin varnish will protect the oil and give that slight sheen.

Yeah, I'm loving the room for experimentation and play here. I've got a big set of cheaper oils from the craft store. The tubes may be tiny but I've got a full range of colors to mess around with. I'll be trying all these suggestions.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Im impressed with the direction in which you are taking this project. The tiny decals combined with the color scheme, hazard stripes and subtle corrosion combine to form a convincing hive environment or the interior one of those huge imperial navy frigates. Just from this one tile I can sense in my minds eye how huge and terrible these places are. Thank you

 

[cronevald]

Alright, I feel like I'm much closer to unlocking what want from oil washes with this attempt. As @MusingWarboss suggested, adding in some green really helped to get some nice grime to work with the grey. I also added in some black and cut down on the brown. I kind of like it like this without removing or cleaning it up with spirits, but I'm still going to go ahead with that. The point of these bulkhead experiments is to learn the full process and then take that to the tiles. Now I know I can leave the wash heavy in some places for some random spots of really grimy buildup.

bulkhead 4

• cronevald
• Mar 3, 2023

bulkhead 5

• cronevald
• Mar 3, 2023

 

[cronevald]

I like elements of both the before and after. I think this will work well on the tiles. It seems like exactly the kind of millennia old grime I want to portray.

bulkhead 6

• cronevald
• Mar 3, 2023

bulkhead 7

• cronevald
• Mar 3, 2023

 

[Punktaku]

Yeah, six and seven have just a touch more depth in the shadows. Those look really good.

 

[cronevald]

Im impressed with the direction in which you are taking this project. The tiny decals combined with the color scheme, hazard stripes and subtle corrosion combine to form a convincing hive environment or the interior one of those huge imperial navy frigates. Just from this one tile I can sense in my minds eye how huge and terrible these places are. Thank you

Thanks. It's been a while since I've taken on a big painting project and I'm really reminded how much fun they can be. I wanted to challenge myself both to try new things and also not worry about staying in the lines too much. So far I think I've successfully done both.

 

[cronevald]

I think I now love oil washes more than any other technique I've used in many years. That green has really transformed the whole look, and I love the scuffing on the decals and hazard stripes. It really feels like things are coming together now.

zm board 12

• cronevald
• Mar 7, 2023

zm board 13

• cronevald
• Mar 7, 2023

zm board 14

• cronevald
• Mar 7, 2023

 

[MusingWarboss]

Your tile looks fantastic! Bet you’re glad you added that green in there now!!

Yes, there’s a whole world of difference between the clean tile and the distressed one. It does actually look used and worn.

Nice work! Would be fun to see some other other bits on them in a similar style.

 

[cronevald]

Your tile looks fantastic! Bet you’re glad you added that green in there now!!

Yes, there’s a whole world of difference between the clean tile and the distressed one. It does actually look used and worn.

Nice work! Would be fun to see some other other bits on them in a similar style.

It really added the perfect touch. I don't think I could be happier with the result. I've got a few more bulkheads I've added the same batch of oil wash to and I will definitely be using this technique on future terrain. I've got a small selection of base coated sector Mechanicus pieces I plan to use with the tiles. I think the oil washes can tie them together.