Quest For Knowledge & Robo-Attacks: Cult Mechanicus Kastelan Robots

Life has been busy of late, and what started as a project to paint Kastelan Robots for the Cult Mechanicus ended up taking far longer then expected. They were still a pleasure to paint and allowed me to try some old and new tricks.

As with the unit my previous post, in spite of being part of the Adeptus Mechanicus, these represent more of the 14th Guards Mountain Infantry Regiment, formed and permanently seconded to their Astra Militarum colleagues.

The theme and colour process followed that of the Vanguard. The yellow signifying the colour of their Forge World, the red a tribute to the Cult of the Machine God, the green a symbol of their branch, the Mountain Infantry in the greater forces of Odyssey. Various purples represent the unearthly glow of the strange and arcane technologies of the Tech Priests of Mars.

Aside from that, I ended up adding an entirely second, thicker highlight of edging. Although by no means a realistic addition to my non-realistic robots, I think it made the armour pop.

I also decided to add some chipping, both by turning model imperfections into chips as well as ‘sponging’ some brown and metallic colours onto the model. I have honestly not used that method for years, but I think it helped the robots take a more ‘used’ look in an attempt to offset the vibrant highlights.

This project also saw me trying something completely new in adding scorched/burned/colour warped metal to the major weapons. I suspected that a robot of these types, with weapons of these types would fire hails of their ancient ammunition in volleys of relentless fire and wished to represent that accordingly.

This process started with Vallejo Gunmetal, which was followed by a complete wash of Nuln Oil. Then the front of the barrel received a wash of Drakenhof Nightshade, the middle received a wash of Druchii Violet, and the end received a wash of Seraphim Sepia; blending as needed. Finally, some barrels were given one extra coat of Nuln Oil just on the tips. I think it worked out very well.

Along with the scorched barrels, the other component I am proud of was the face-plates. I had lofty goals of creating a glowing affect that failed miserably. With many different colours of Vallejo and Citadel purples mixed with Vallejo Glaze medium I was able to recover and create something I feel looks good. The downside is if I ever build more of these robots the likely hood of matching their face plates will be very slim.

Thanks for reading, more to come and questions, concerns and conundrums are always welcome.

Regards,

Mr. Kalidor