Contrast - The Emperor's New Clothes?

Ok so i got to try out Contrast today. My main aim was experimentation as opposed to just getting something painted and the Primaris Marine was first. I'm intending to do an old school Ultramarine army so the first thing i did was try Talassar Blue over a Grey Seer undercoat. Honestly, i was underwhelmed. I found it very blotchy and once it pulled it was very difficult to work with. The fact that the undercoat was so light it really provided a lot of 'contrast' didn't help. The paint doesn't act like a normal paint. It's like a thick glaze mixed with an ink or shade. One thing i would have liked to have done was to mix it with some medium to see if i could get it to behave 

differently but alas none was available. 

I tried a variety of different techniques on the different halves of the model. One side received a carefully applied thin coat. The other side a thick one as suggested by GW. The results were disappointing. The thin side was patchy and the thick side blotchy with heavy pooling. It was here that i tried a few different things.

ONE thick coat

First i used the capillary action on a dry brush to remove some of the pooling. Contrast cannot really be manipulated once it is on the model, because of its viscosity you will just leave marks everywhere. This made things a little better but it was still pretty uneven.

One thin coat. 

Secondly i used a second coat over the first thin one in selective areas to dark the middle of some of the panels, kind of a reverse highlighting. This worked reasonably well but the paint was still really sticky to work with. Ho hum.


Next i used some Wraithbone base paint to pre-highlight areas, kind of a manual zenithal highlight. When i went back over these areas i would get a gradient, though again it was difficult to control the gradient. This worked well in some areas and not so well in others, on the helmet it was a bit of a disaster but on the arms it was pretty good and i got a blended effect.


The last thing to do was to add some shading with a successive coat of Talassar Blue. This worked OK but in general i was still left with a fairly blotchy model, especially on the shoulder pads and leg greaves. I put a lot of this down to the undercoat though, i would be interested in how a dark undercoat with a zenithal highlight would change things.

a bit let down by the Talassar Blue i decided to switch it up, i repainted the shoulderpad rims and chest eagle and Bolter in Wraithbone. I then hit the Bolter with (2nd Ed FTW) a thick coat of Blood Angels Red. This preformed more as i would have hoped. I needed to do nothing else with it. Happy with that i used Iyanden Yellow on the shoulder pad rims. This was a REVELATION. It looked great. one coat and i got a bright clear yellow. Painting yellow has officially been solved! Buoyed by this i used some Nazdreg Yellow on the chest eagle which gave me a very passable shaded golden yellow that i would have had to use multiple paints to achieve normally.

Chalking that down as a success, i used Black Templar on the ribbing between armour plates, which worked well, and Snakebite Leather on the pouches which acted more like the Talassar Blue and pulled too drastically. I tried to water down the Black Templar with water to use on the metallic sections of the Bolter and was interested to see how the water affected the paint. It doesn't really mix with it, it tried to separate from the water. Still i slapped it on and it behaved kind of OK on the model, Blood Angels Red on the eye lenses a bit of Skeleton Horde on the base and i was done with the marine. Not entirely happy but curiosity satisfied.

I then picked up a Stormcast, this time undercoated in Wraithbone. I have a Stormcast army and its not grey but it is just undercoated, could Contrast provide a quick way to get them done? I am a slow painter by nature.

First up was the purple robes that my Stormcast have, i used Shyish Purple, which was very rich if a little dark. Still, it was behaving very well on the folds of the robes and i was pleased by the possibility of future applications. I then used Black Templar on the armour, this gave me a dark grey with natural highlights on the edges where the paint pulled away. Again, i hit it with a second coat. ET VOILA! I don't think i will ever paint black armour another way. It looked superb, and it was so easy to do! This in itself made Contrast worth it to me, so it's a real shame that GW have once again failed to anticipate demand and sold out immediately. Bravo Black Templar, hope you return to availability soon.

I was nearing the end of my available time to play about with paints so decided to just hit the model with some different colours to see what happened. Apothecary White on the shield resulted in no discernible difference, the flat surface giving nowhere for the Contrast to work. Nazdreg Yellow as gold on the decoration worked though as did a brown i cannot remember the name of on the scroll. Gulliman Flesh on the face and more Nazdreg for blonde hair did the job there.


I tried Basilicum Grey and Gyrph Charger Grey on the hammer head and and trim of shield respectively, some dark red (again sorry i don't recall the name) on the haft of the hammer and Wyldwood on the leather parts and she was done. I was a lot happier with the Storm Cast than the Marine but when i picked up the Marine i did realise that, fully dried it had evened out the finish a bit, even if it was still a bit shiny for my liking.

The last thing i did was use some Athermatic Blue on the crystal at her belt, as you would expect this worked really well, looked like it was glowing. I called it a day there. Mixed results overall but a lot learned.


Final Thoughts:


Contrast is interesting. It doesn't really work like paint at all, it is a thick ink/glaze. The way it works out of the pot is something that, for the most part i really don't like, it's a real shame that there was no medium to thin it down with, i would have liked to see if it made it more workable. Never mind.


I also found that some colours worked better than others, some were a dream and others really were difficult to work with. The Talassar Blue in particular was a disappointment although i must admit that it may have been as much to do with the model, Snakebite leather was another that undewhelmed, as did Basilicum Grey. Some of the Contrast Paints are thicker than others more unwieldy and difficult to apply.

However, the gains outweigh the negatives in my opinion. Black Templar and the Yellows have changed the way i will paint those colours. Forever. I also found a few other colours that will certainly form part of my paint range in the future.


So overall, i think that Contrast is a decent addition. More experimentation is required, and i need use the medium at some point but for the most part they do what they are meant to. They certainly work on models with a lot of recesses and detail and depth more than large flat panels. Texture and intricate detail allow Contrast to to do what it does best.

The finish is also a concern with me, as with inks and heavy glazes it dries a little shiny. Not gloss exactly but still more plasticy and patchy than i would like. It is worth saying though, that a second coat and/or matt varnish can probably negate these problems. It is also worth noting that i did not use as much of the paint as i had thought i would,. it certainly goes quite a long way.

Still a lot of people will use contrast as a quick way of painting armies and for hordes and those that will only be concerned with a force that good from a distance they will certainly be a boon. For others their use will be limited but i am sure we will be finding new possibilities and potential for the range for some time yet.

Brotherhood of the Yellow King: Cult War - Chapter Three

III

Sefina De'ath leaned back in the luxurious highbacked executive chair, rolled her eyes and sighed for what must have been the hundredth time. For not QUITE the hundredth time she wished she had accompanied the Inquisitor on his mission to Endomaw, hell, been sent with Wraithchild squad to hunt down the Genestealer. Anything would be preferable to this interminable mindnumbing tedium.

"Emperor Save me" she muttered for what MUST have been the hundredth time, she'd have so dearly loved to have had Ralscon back here so she could kick him in the gut again, repeatedly. She had been all too aware that he had been up to no good and concealing things but she had been astounded by the scope of his devious machinations, she was actually kind of impressed. To conceal and falsify so much data spoke of some innate talent, it was a shame that it had been so very severely misdirected.

"Damn you Ralscon " she swore, consoling herself with the fact that wherever the former Supervisor Prime had been taken it was likely to be wholly unpleasant for him. The Inquisition were not gentle to heretics. The first stage of retrieving the information was a thorough data sift. In this at least she had been able to secure assistance. Her time undercover in the Administratum had allowed her to identify the most competent and trustworthy personnel and it was no coincidence that these were those that tended not to indulge in the narcotic known as 'Emperor's Caress' that had paralysed so much of Narthley. These individuals had ceded quickly to her authority when she had brandished Garanthe's Inquisitorial sigil. All throughout the Imperium knew and feared the Emperor's Holy Inquisition even if they seldom expected to encounter them in their lifetime.

She found herself considering the drug for a moment. That it had originated in Endomaw was very clear but for what purpose? Control? It seemed likely but then why suddenly curtail the supply as they had? It made no sense. Then again it HAD reduced Narthley's readiness and productivity to practically zero. Could Endomaw be planning an attack? They were a long way away, they would see them coming well in advance and despite the increased activity in Endomaw there had been no signs of any advance or indeed any increased presence for a week or more now. It was true however that every facet of Narthley had been affected by the prolificity of the drug. Industry, security, productivity, not one element had escaped. However, the withdrawal symptoms and problenms that came with them would surely be short lived. By the time any invasion force made it's way over from Endomaw Narthley would surely be recovered. The worst addicts in the Administratum had been removed for 'processing and even now local civil enforcement operatives (those that were not also corrupted by the Narcotic) were rooting out anyone else who might be under the influence of the Emperor's Caress. This was a gargantuan task in itself for they were much reduced in manpower and Sefina was under no illusion that ALL users could be eradicated, the city would quite literally cease to function in any meaningful way. No, they must all be 'Processed' but they could not all be executed or even imprisoned. At least not till replacement workforces could be sourced. Needs dictated that she must operate in a slightly less drastic manner than usual, it chafed her that her hands were tied in this manner. There was something she was missing, what was it?

Shaking hear head as if to clear it, she returned her focus to the screen ahead of her. There were reams and reams of data to analyse and check. In the Emperor's name why had the Inquisitor taken the Savant with him? Throne knew hew would have been invaluable in processing this kind of volume of information. Ideally suited to this endeavour, he would have been able to perform the task much faster than she. Sefina finished reading the latest report, made some quick notes and dismissed it before summoning what was probably the hundredth document to be examined.

Some distance away Keroi Kass crouched in the dark, trying to steady his racing pulse and panicked breathing. Nothing he could do would stop his hands shaking though, nothing except another lift. It had been over a day since his last, prised from the grip of a dead man, a man he had killed, all for the Emperor's caress, and that was just one paltry tab, barely enough for a lift at all. Still, it was better than nothing he had told himself as he rifled his victims pockets whilst swallowing the yellow pill.

Now he was deep in the throes of withdrawal again, the drug was proving impossible to find Morgal lay dead behind him in the alley, strangely contorted, his twisted body testament to Leroi's desperation. Morgal was no easy target and had put up quite the struggle, borne out by the shallow stab wound to Keroi's side, but in the end he had fallen victim to his own blade. Keroi had thought Morgal was holding out on him but a frenzied search of his corpse had yielded nothing. If Morgal didn't have anyone no one did, you could be sure of that. Still, he had had a nice coat and Morgal's blade was now Keroi's, to the victor the spoils and all that. Along with a stab wound to the abdomen of course. Thing was, Keroi barely felt it, only the agonising, insufferable emptiness from his need for another lift.

He pressed himself further into the shadows as figures passed by. Black Jacks. They were hunting people down, dragging them off the streets. No one knew why. He'd even had a few friends taken recently. OK, friends might be pushing it, and acquaintances would be kind. People he knew then. Still, there was no denying that something was going down, something BIG. They wouldn't take Keroi Kass though, nuh uh, not without a fight. Keroi shook his head vigorously as the denial went through his mind. Drops of ash laden rain fell from his hair splashing into the greyish puddles below. If there was one constant on Worth it was that damnable ash. Yeah, they wouldn't take Keroi, he was free and had a knife and even a nice coat that he had liberated from Morgal to boot. No actual boots mind you, Morgal's had alas, been far too small. A real shame because the hole in Keroi's let the ashwater in.

Keroi giggled a little at his internal monologue, he needed another Lift! What was he going to to do? He scratched subconsciously at his chest, there had been an itch developing there for a while, it was getting more and more irritating and persistent. He chalked it up to just another withdrawal symptom. Maybe it was time to go back to normal drugs like Lho, Kick and Freez.

No nothing, NOTHING compared to a Lift, he needed more Emperor's Caress. Soon the Black Jacks would leave this area and then he could make for a safe place. Maybe Gyrnt's, that old bastard would put him up for sure, wouldn't refuse old 'KK'. It might take a few coins, but he could shiv someone for those easy enough. Money was actually worth something again these days now the Caress had dried up. Rain continued to drip from the rooftops overhead running down his face in violet grey streaks. Presently the enforcement officers left the area. Keroi pulled his stolen coat tight around himself with one hand and with Margal's knife in the other crossed the ashrain covered street and headed towards Gyrnt's place, there was sure to be a mark on the way, maybe even one with the right sized feet.

Brotherhood of the Yellow King: Cultwar - Chapter Four

IV

The Ashrain was also falling in Endomaw. Worth was a small enough celestial body that it often witnessed uniform weather patterns. Though it was devoid of oceans, there were small bodies of water and these were absorbed into Ashclouds that then deposited precipitation much as any normal atmosphere, the difference being that the rain was grimy and noticeably violet-grey in hue. The rain had saturated the ground here and turned the Ash and dirt into a sucking quagmire that was difficult to traverse and nigh on impossible to clean off, the stuff dried like plascrete.

Inquisitor Simeon Garanthe hated it. He hated this entire world, it was a miserable ash covered excuse of a planet useful from a meteorological perspective only. It was a surprise to him that the Imperium had bothered settling it at all. A largely automated mining operation would surely have sufficed, there was no merit in populating the small planet that he could see. Throne, he had seen larger and more bountiful moons. Why choose Worth over one of the other more appealing planets in the system? Then again, those planets had their own problems, or so he had heard.

It was certainly testament to the enduring Spirit of Man that some form of measurable life had been eked out on the Emperor Forsaken world. That in itself was laudable, he supposed. Something to be admired, even if the endeavour was woefully misjudged in his opinion. Even in the hardiest and most inhospitable of environs, Mankind managed to endure.

For the umpteenth time, Garanthe pulled his boots from the cloying muck and turned to look at the rest of his team. The constant patter of Ashraindrops on his wide brimmed hat irked him to no end and he was gratified to see his discomfort mirrored in his compatriots. Then again it was difficult to discern much from the expressions of Ulk and Ulo, they always looked miserable. The two Canid mutant brothers looked up at him but were difficult to read, largely lacking any human facial features. They were however, utterly loyal and surprisingly accurate marksmen. Also, although bipedal, they were astonishingly nimble and their diminutive stature meant they were ideally suited for infiltration and stealth missions such as this one. The pair looked suitably bedraggled and Garanthe took this to mean they shared in his discomfort. One of them (he could never tell which) shook his head violently , sending droplets of grey water flying everywhere.

Behind them was Aurelius. The savant seemed entirely unperturbed by the relentless Ashrainfall. In fact, if anything he seemed amused, muttering to himself even as the greyish droplets hung from his nose. His ever-active scribing attachments whirred and scratched as they recorded his observations, some obscure tech-sorcery protecting the writings from being spoiled by the Ashrain.

Next was Dolf Luminak, he had been a Sergeant of the Cadian Guard, now he had no rank, no regiment. He had been part of Garanthe's retinue for a long time now, had the scars to prove it. The grizzled veteran locked determined flinty eyes with Garanthe for a moment before looking away and spitting bodily into the muck on the floor, a clear sign that he was aggrieved.

Behind the ex-guardsman stood an entirely different figure. Andrukas Kurr; Imperial Crusader. Cloaked and carrying a massive sword. His armour gleamed under the heavy dark cloak. The Crusader may not have been a subtle figure but his martial prowess was unquestioned. That was why he was here. Heavy back up., battle armour and all.

As was the behemoth behind him. Utterly dwarfing Andrukas, the hulking figure of the Deathwatch Space Marine would have seemed comically oversized were it not for the palatable threat that exuded from the giant superhuman clad in black Power Armour. He was the very vision of death, destruction incarnate. It was perhaps fitting then, that the warriors name had only been given as Death's Head. Garanthe knew not if this was a given name or some other form of designation only that it suited perfectly. Besides, the taciturn Space Marine had not deigned to divulge further information on the subject. This was hardly a surprise. The Adeptus Astartes were an insular bunch at the best of times. Especially outside of their own chapter. The Deathwatch, being made up of Marines from many chapters, were even more so. Garanthe wasn't even sure which Chapter Death's Head had come from, the silver Grinning Skull on a horizontally halved field of green and yellow was entirely unfamiliar to him and he prided himself on knowing the majority of the deployed Astartes Chapters. Again, Death's Head had offered no information on the subject and would not tolerate questioning on the matter. Garanthe technically had the authority to demand answers should he wish but could see little point in antagonising the warrior. 

Now the Space Marine's eye lenses glowed like coal embers in the gloom. Even if the Inquisitor had been able to see his face, Space Marines were remarkably expressionless beings. Besides, he was unlikely to be bothered by something as trivial as the rain. Space Marines weren't bothered by anything. Garanthe had seen one have his firing arm blown clean off once, the Marine had simply retrieved his weapon from his disembodied arm and carried on firing as if nothing had happened. Space Marines were hard to kill, let alone faze. It was why they were such effective killing machines.

The last member of the group however, could not have been more miserable. Scowling at the tip of an unlit soggy pipe as if his fury alone could cause it to spontaneously ignite, Grummond Drankensson was not having a good time. His beard was sodden an d drooped mournfully and every time he tilted his head to empty one ear of Ashrainwater the other would fill, which contributed no end to his general misery. Still, he was a stout and doughty warrior, invaluable when things came down to a fight. Which they almost always did

That wasn't the intention here though, This was a raid, nothing more, to be accomplished as quickly and quietly as possible. in and out, no 'complications'. From the information that they had at their disposal Aurelius had identified a communication array that they could access that was on the outskirts of Endomaw mine. From this they hoped to secure information that would lead to Alistae Carn's location. The data thief device that Aurelius held would leech the messages stored from the array. With luck they information they needed would be contained within.

Garanthe was convinced Carn was their best hope for uncovering and defeating the Xenos cult that he now knew had infested Worth and Endomaw was the source, the heart of the canker. He could have just obliterated Worth, as an Inquisitor the resources he could call on were almost limitless and he had access to devastating assets that scant few in the Imperium could command. He could have turned the whole ball of ash and rock into nothing more than a cloud of debris, but he didn't know how far the cult had spread in the Celias system and besides, there WERE innocents on Worth, as wretched as they might be. There was a time that this wouldn't have mattered, not factored into his thinking at all, but things were different now. Ever since Hylios. Ever since then and forever more.

And again there was Carn. Garanthe had kept it to himself but the coded message was impossibly, addressed to him PERSONALLY even though the recording had been made long before he had arrived. The full message had been Ferrum Cordis liberativ me Rex Flava. Iron Heart, Save me from the Yellow King.

NO ONE knew him as Iron Heart, new that his cardiac system was artificial, that his heart was a mechanical replacement. None, not one of his team, not even Aurelius knew of the wound he had taken nearly half a century ago which had destroyed his heart, leading to the surgery and the augmetic implant which kept him alive and resulted in him being known as Interrogator Iron Heart. It was a name he had not even been known by for at least thirty years. It was a name none in his retinue knew, there were perhaps half a dozen alive who might, assuming they remembered. Carn though, Carn had known. How?  Was he psychic? If so that would mean the Ordo Malleus might become involved, the last thing Garanthe wanted was to deal with those damned Witch Hunters. No, Garanthe suspected something else, something divine. 

As a High Ranking Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos he was privy to many secrets that would drive the average man utterly and irrevocably insane. One of these was the true nature of the Emperor, a withered husk imprisoned within the Golden Throne protecting all of Humanity with his awesome incomparable psychic might. Yet, despite knowing that the Master of Mankind was a being of flesh, Garanthe was still utterly convinced of the Emperor's divinity. 

The Astronomican? a Beacon cutting across the galaxy to guide Mankind through the Warp? The work of a God. Providing aegis for the entire of the Human race with nothing but his mind, safeguarding them from the predations of the creatures of the Warp? Only possible by a God. There was no question at all, not in his eyes. The Immortal God Emperor of Man, Blessed be his name, protected all, saw all, knew all.  Thus he suspected that Alistae Carn was more than just Psychic. could he be a conduit for the Emperor? An instrument of His will? Garanthe had to find out. At any cost.

Not so far away, a trio of cultists in mining suits skulked, safely out of sight in the skeletal innards of a quiescent Boring station. Kyrsa was at the front, crouched, steadying herself with one hand as the other raised a set of Mag-nocs to her eyes. Despite the device's enhanced optics and magnification the rain interfered with her view, diminishing visibility considerably. She cursed vehemently and adjusted the settings, to no avail. No, wait, was that a flash? She refocused and scrutinised the area where she had thought the glint of light had come from. There was definitely something moving. She lowered the goggles and grunted a command at the cultist to her left, he stopped checking his rifle and slung it over his shoulder before descending via a stanchion and disappearing out of sight. The other behind her remained, she could hear his breathing even over the constant downpour. Kyrsa ignored him and activated the short range comm on her suit. She rasped curt instructions and shut the link off, confident that the information would be relayed as needed. Still crouched, she reached for her long rifle, checking the chamber and firing mechanism were free and unspoilt. The intruders had come, just as the Holy Magus had said they would, Glory be to the Yellow King. She would make them regret ever setting foot in Endomaw. Nothing would stop the Yellow day.