My final post for this year, but don't worry. Plenty more to come in 2025. I've a backlog you wouldn't believe. Oh, wait. You probably would.
The Reaver is done. No kill banners yet; I'm going to add them at the same time for all three Titans, so they are consistent. It also makes sense because I can paint them all same time on a single sheet of paper. This is the first of the three re-imagined Metalica engines, inspired by a battle report in White Dwarf issue 179 as promised.
Unusually for me, I've not had to name this one, as it already had a name given in the article; "Carnivore".
The middle of the three engines at the back, I've tried to retain as much of the original's colour and markings as possible. The slightly different profile, especially in the leg armour made this tricky, so I took a couple of artistic liberties where the knees were concerned. Was really pleased with the updated 'Opus Titanica' on the left knee plate with the classic black icon on a yellow circle.
Like the Warmaster, the palette had to sit somewhere between the original metalica red and the new scheme seen in the recent books. Because the Reavers are intended to represent the original three shown in the batrep, I've leaned heavily into the old school palette. They look very different to the style I used for Mortis, Solaria and Astraman, which makes me even happier about how the project is taking shape. These really feel like they have a connection with '1990's Titanicus' in a fully modern kit.
The base however, is entirely modern. I used one of the new Unreal Wargaming Studios 'Titan Wars' resin base toppers. I chose it because it works aesthetically with the recently released Civitas elevated plaza tile. The significance of that will be clearer in a future post.
I'm still playing around with different palettes for the bases. Like the Warmaster, I want to keep the focus on the armour colours, so sticking with a light grey palette and very desaturated light earth pigment tones.
I simplified the metal textures and tones from what I did on the Warmaster and Fureans Reaver, just so I could get this one painted quickly. I have three to do in total, plus the Knights, so don't have the luxury of as much time. Efficiency is my watchword with this engine. So I used a lot of dry-brushing, stippling and washes to build up a quick patina that still had lots of interest, but was quick to execute.
The trim as usual was the most time consuming part. There's no escaping it on any of the Titans, so just had to pop an audiobook on and push through.
So that's 'Carnivore' down and two more to go. I think I may try to sneak a bit of hobby in over the last couple of days holiday before returning to work. See if I can get the next one at the very least built and ready for painting in the new year. That would be a result.
Before I sign off, I'll leave you with a picture of 'Carnivore' and 'Chimaera Invicta' together, as they both got their weathering done the same time. Two different styles, but I'm equally happy with how both came out. See you in 2025.
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