How To Paint Ravenwing

Here's how I paint the Ravenwing. A note on these bikes, they are a commission, and were given to me in various states of disrepair. With a Ravenwing upgrade sprue, I made them better looking though I couldn't replace the bike's cowls.

First off, prime it black (duh). Undercoat the guns, seat and eyes with Scab Red, the areas that are going to be white or very light colored (such as the headlight) with Codex Gray, and purity seals/parchment/saddlebags with Bestial Brown. Paint the base Bestial Brown as well. In this post I explain how to do purity seals. None appear on this model, so check that post out if you want more information on how to do them. Since you're priming with black, you'll need to undercoat them with Bestial Brown so the Bleached Bone actually stands out.

Now paint the guns and eyes Blood Red.  It may take two coats to appear even.

Paint the saddlebags with Bubonic Brown. It will look terrible, but now wash it with Devlan Mud and you will see magic happen. While you're at it, wash the guns with Baal Red. We'll get to the metallics of the guns later.

Next, go over the white areas with Skull White. It may take two coats to be somewhat even but it doesn't have to be perfect. Make the headlight white, then paint it yellow, followed by a Gryphonne Sepia wash. Then, put a dab of yellow in the center of each section of the headlight. Scroll to the last picture to see a closeup of the headlight.

Now it's time for the metallics. Use Boltgun Metal to get all the trim and weapons, also drybrushing the engine area. This would have been easier if the rider were not glued to the saddle, but alas I did not assemble the model. Paint the frame of the headlight, but be careful because you don't want to redo your highlight. When done, wash the metallics, white and red with Badab Black (don't wash the headlight, you're done with that). Add any decals at this point.

Next, highlighting time! Use Blood Red for your first highlight of the guns, followed by Blazing Orange spot highlights (don't forget a dab on the eyes). I use Chainmail and then Mithril Silver for the metallics. Highlight the saddlebags with Bubonic Brown. For the black, I used a mix of blue and white for each highlight. I don't know my proportions, I just mixed until it looked good. I do remember that there's more blue in each layer so it gets cooler. The final highlight is more of a pale blue than a gray. I used four layers of highlight, but I probably could have gotten away with three.

Finally the weathering. I use the stippling brush and Bestial Brown to make mud splatters. I also use the Tamiya Weathering Powders for the exhaust stains and weapons bluing, you can see the effects in this post.

And that's it! I did the power sword later, you can see it when I post the finished squadrons later.