A change of scale as I talk about the first Questoris Knights I painted for the new Titanicus. House Vyronii.
Adeptus Titanicus 2018 remains faithful to its 1988 predecessor, focusing on the engine wars that took place during the Horus Heresy. It deliberately avoids being a revival of ‘Epic,’ which, in my opinion, is a positive aspect as it keeps the war engines at the forefront. This maintains their prominence, which was diluted when integrated into the broader combined arms approach of Epic. However, I would love to see a new version of Epic in the future, bringing together all the incredible kits that Titanicus and Aeronautica Imperialis have revitalized. It should be a separate game, offering more options.
Titanicus introduces Questoris and Mechanicum Knights to support the Titans. These miniature versions of their 30K/40K scale counterparts are exquisitely detailed and undeniably adorable. I can’t get enough of building them. While some feel that the focus on knights has become excessive, it hasn’t diminished the ability to engage in gritty engine-on-engine battles without any knights. Hence, I don’t see it as a problem. In fact, the inclusion of Knight households adds another dimension to the game, allowing for thrilling clashes between them. With most knight chassis now available in plastic and resin, I’m confident that more mighty engines of the legio will be introduced over time.
The fun part of painting the AT scale Knights is packing in variety and contrast in the metallics. There is such a density of detail in these kits it’s really worth lavishing time on the shadows and highlights, especially around the weapons and hip joints.
Big palette, tiny miniatures
When painting the Knight and Titan chassis, I follow the same method as their larger counterparts without any special tricks. The only adjustment I make is for the scale, ensuring that the textures I add to the frame are light and small in size. Apart from that, the process remains unchanged.
I begin with a base of Vallejo Metal Alchemy Emerald Green and shade it with Burnt Iron, followed by a mixture of Model Series Red Black and Games Workshop Rhinox Hide. To bring out the shadow areas, I use an airbrush to apply black and blue ink, adjusting the palette back to a colder hue. The final step involves adding highlights in chrome, focusing on key upper surfaces such as the tops of weapon barrels, hip, and waist joints. It may seem like a lot of stages for such a small miniature, but believe me, effort is entirely worthwhile.
Even with the different tones in the metallics it’s still quite monochromatic, so I picked out a few details in brass and copper to increase readability.
Weapon magnets
Out of the two banners painted in House Vyronii colours, totaling six knights, I decided to magnetize the weapons on the first three. Honestly, it’s not really necessary as the knights work perfectly fine without it. However, I was curious to see if it could be done and wanted to experiment with different weapon combinations. I used 2mm x 1mm neodymium magnets, sinking them into the shoulder sockets. It’s a fairly straightforward process, but in terms of rules, it doesn’t add much and might be considered unnecessary, especially considering the cost of the kits. However, if you’re up for some fun, you can give it a try.
This is just the beginning for my House Vyronii, as I absolutely adore the metallic green scheme and heraldry. In the future, I plan to add Cerastus and Porphyrion classes to create a formidable force worthy of the legions’ call. Since I spent several weekends in 2020 assembling all the knight kits released so far, you can expect more household banners to come. So don’t worry, there’s plenty more to look forward to!
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