Painting Hot Rod Zeds

Now that the scum ships are done I can finally concentrate on the paint tutorials for them. This time I'm going to reveal how I painted the Hot Rod Zeds. Just like the Scyks, the methodology was quite similar for all of them so here's one big ass tutorial for the lot of them. Since I'm a lazy bastard I'm going to use the same layout as the Scyk tutorial and also use some of the same text again. Recycling is good for the environment or so I've heard.

Red Zed

To make the flames stand out as much as possible I airbrushed the model with white primer. I then airbrushed the nose of the ship with Army Painter Daemonic Yellow. Next I masked off the front and painted the rest of the ship with a 1:3 mix of VGC Bloody Red and VGC Gory Red.

After removing the masking tape I painted the red mix in a reverse flame pattern. This is a much easier method than first painting the red colour and then painting the yellow flames as yellow colours generally a true PITA to paint.

Before spraying varnish on the model I also painted the engine exhausts and cockpit frame with a 1:1 mix of VMC German Grey and VGC Cold Grey. With the base colours in place I used gloss varnish to protect the model and prepare for the shading step. The shade was a dark brown oil paint (Vandyke Brown), which I carefully painted into all recesses and panel lines. When dry I used some cotton swabs, dipped in white spirit, to clean up any excess wash. This was then left to dry a full day before I sprayed the model with matte varnish to seal the oil paint.

The fuselage was highlighted with the following colours:

1. Pure Bloody Red.
2. 1:1 mix of Bloody Red and VGC Dwarf skin.
3. 1:1:1 mix of Bloody Red, Dwarf skin and white.
4. 1:1:4 mix of the previous step.

 The nose was instead highlighted in the following manner:

1. 3:1 Daemonic Yellow and white.
2. 1:1 mix of the previous step.
3. Pure white.

With the highlighting done, all that remained was the engine exhausts and cockpit. These I carefully highlight using Cold Grey, while also gradually mixing in VGC Stonewall Grey. For the final highlight I used pure white.

The cockpit canopy was painted with German Grey with a small amount of Gory Red mixed in. To achieve the reflection I added small amounts of Bloody Red to the German Grey mix until I had pure Bloody Red.

To get the engine glow I started by applying thin glazes of Gory Red which I mixed with small amounts White until I had a nice pinkish glow. For the middle of the engines, I used even more White mixed into the Gory Red, until it was almost white. Unfortunately, due to the narrow and deep exhausts, the brightest glow is barely visible.

With the details done I could seal the model completely, first with a coat of satin varnish followed by another coat using matte varnish. To finish the model I painted some gloss varnish on the cockpit canopy to give it a nice shine.

Black and green Zed

Basecoats

1. White Primer.
2. VGC Fluo Green front.
3. 1:1 mix of German Grey and Black.
4. Reverse flame pattern using the same mix as the previous step.

Shade - Black oil paint using the same method as the Red Zed.

Fuselage highlights

1. 3:1 mix of German Grey and Black.
2. 2:1 mix of German Grey and Cold Grey.
3. 1:3 mix of the second step.
4. 1:2 mix of Stonewall Grey and Cold Grey.

Nose/flame highlights

1. 1:1:1 mix of Daemonic Yellow, Fluo Green, and White.
2. 1:1:3 mix of the first step.
3. 1:1:5 mix of the first step.

Details

1. Exhausts and canopy frame - Same as for the Red Zed.
2. Canopy - German Grey with a little Sick green mixed in. Fluo Green was used to create the reflection.
3. Engine glow - Same as for the Red Zed.

  

Purple Zed

Basecoats

1. White Primer
2. Fade effect using White first, Daemonic Yellow second, 1:2 mix of VCG Hot Orange and Daemonic Yellow third and pure Hot Orange as the last layer.
3. Pure (Old range) GW Liche Purple.
4. Reverse flame pattern using the same mix as the previous step.

Shade - Black oil paint using the same method as the Red Zed.

Fuselage highlights

1. 5:1 mix of Liche Purple and White.
2. 2:1 mix of the first step.
3. 1:2 mix of the first step.
4. 1:5 mix of the first step.

Nose/flame highlights

1. Starting from the front, pure White.
2. 1:2 mix of White and Daemonic Yellow.
3. Pure Daemonic Yellow.
4. 1:2 mix of Hot Orange and Daemonic Yellow.

Details

1. Exhausts and canopy frame - Same as for the Red Zed
2. Canopy - German Grey with a Liche Purple mixed in. The fuselage highlight colours and were used to create the reflection.
3. Engine glow - Same as for the Red Zed.

 Blue Zed

 Basecoats

1. White Primer
2. Fade effect using Daemonic Yellow first, 1:2 mix of Hot Orange and Daemonic Yellow Second, pure Hot Orange third and a 1:1 mix of Bloody Red and Hot Orange as the last layer.
3. 1:1 mix of VGC Magic Blue and VGC Falcon Turquoise.
4. Reverse flame pattern using the same mix as the previous step.

Shade - Black oil paint using the same method as the Red Zed.

Fuselage highlights

1. 1:1:1 mix of Magic Blue, Falcon Turquoise and White
2. 1:1:2 mix of the first step.
3. 1:1:4 mix of the first step.
4. 1:1:8 mix of the first step.
5. Pure White

Nose/flame highlights

1. Starting from the front, 1:2 mix of White and Daemonic Yellow.
2. Pure Daemonic Yellow.
3. 1:2 mix of Hot Orange and Daemonic Yellow.
4. Pure Hot Orange

Details

1. Exhausts and canopy frame - Same as for the Red Zed
2. Canopy - German Grey with a Falcon Turquoise mixed in. The fuselage highlight colours and were used to create the reflection.
3. Engine glow - Same as for the Red Zed.