Ironjaws Megaboss part 8

I mentioned earlier on that I was going to add some freehand designs to the Megaboss’s armour. But did I really want to cover up my hard work on the painted textures? I decided to go for it but my plans for the freehands had to change.

I’d originally intended to paint designs inspired by Native American artworks. Once the Megaboss was near completion, I could see this was not going to work. The type of designs I intended to paint would be too lightweight to stand out on the chunky textured armour, as I’ve painted it. Also the Native American designs would not be anything like ‘Orky’ enough for this model. 

The solution was, as is often the case, staring me in the face. I would use the established GW iconography for the Orruks. The jagged lightning/flame designs painted on GW’s Orruks were perfect. These designs are often painted in yellow and black. As I was painting them in a less contrasting bone white on red, I had to make the designs a little bolder. This also helped them to stand out against the textures.

In addition to the jagged designs, I decided to add a skull design to the back of the mini. I felt something bold was needed to break up this large area of red armour. In addition, the colour on the freehands tones in with the large skull and balances out the overall colour palette. 

With the freehands done, it was time to paint the Megaboss’s base, and I was ready for the challenge. I expected it to take quite some time and effort, but I didn’t realise how much! The last couple of weeks have been a hard slog at the painting desk. I’ve had to curb my impatience in wanting to see the job finished as, in order to do it right, I have put the hours in. Added to that I’ve struggled to get the overall colour balance right. I’m suffering from Megaboss fatigue.

I really want to see the end of this project and to move on to something new. But I’m not going to do a rush job just for the sake of finishing it off. I’m very pleased with the work I’ve done on the Megaboss and I’m now going to give him the base he deserves!