Friday SOTU: the 6th

"GENTLEMEN. I LOVE THE NIGHT LIFE, I LOVE TO BOOGIE."

You just never know when a SOTU is going to sneak up on you. On this week's painting state of the union, I go into the sordid details of  First Sergeant Kallistus' cape, plus an almost finished Veteran Sergeant Daceus who has a penchant for fine cheeses. 

Is it even possible not to read on? Yeah, I didn't think so either. 

For when one Ultramarines symbol just doesn't cut it  

Wanting to do a snazzy looking cloak but possessing all the freehanding abilities of a crazed emu farmer with no hands, I once again turned to that great tool of cheaters and scoundrels: transfers. Picking out one of the two pattern lines from the Forgeworld sheet, I cut it up into small sections and carefully laid each section along the base of the cloak, with small gaps where it was unavoidable. 

I think the only part here that I brutally messed up was the last segment on the right. I should have cut it in two, since it goes over a dip without the proper appearance of bending inwards. Not a huge deal and after some further finicking about it came out okay looking anyway, but it's a lesson for next time.

This way... to the dry cleaners! 

And like all the great TV cooks say, here's one I prepared earlier. So after the decals dried I carefully joined up the missing segments with some white paint. It came out a teensy bit sloppy in places since it involved a bit more freehanding than I anticipated, but fear not! The next step was dry brushing on some dirt along the bottom of the cloak, and like the cunning weasel I am, I used this to cover up the worst of the blemishes. For the dirt I first used Calthan Brown, and then a very, very light brushing of Snakebite Leather.

Finally I gave the red highlights a bit of a boost, ran over everything with gloss varnish to seal it all in, and then gave it a last coat of matt. I think the end result is pretty decent.

Handshake?

Veteran Sergeant Daceus is also close to being finished now. Here he is looking resplendent in blue and gold with some of the same patterned trim along one of his shoulderpads. 

The sand is white because the glue is drying.
In case you were wondering. 

 And here is some more detail.


There you have it. I am actually hoping to develop some freehanding ability at some stage. Right now I'm still rocking the pain medication from a fairly extensive toe injury, so once I'm off that I imagine it'll be easier to get my hand in.