Having finished the CCC Yellow Jackets and used them in a game I decided I really like MERCS and wanted to expand my collection a bit. Of the other factions I like, Kemvar were at the top of the list so I decided to give them a go. They use a pale colour scheme for their armour so again it would be style I don’t normally do but would offer me a nice challenge.
So because I was going to be using light colours I decided to prime everything with Vallejo Grey Surface Primer (74.601). This is a bit of a departure from my normal black but as I’d learned from painting the Yellow Jackets it’s a better starting point for the lighter colours I was going to be using.
Shirt: The promotional picture for Kemvar show them with quite a bright green shirt so I decided to go with this feel. To start with I used Vallejo Goblin Green (72.030) followed by a highlight of Vallejo Escorpena Green (72.032). I then gave it a watered down coat of Vallejo Transparent Green (70.936) to add a bit more vibrancy. Then a wash of Citadel Thraka Green to darken things a bit and add a bit more contrast. The final stage was a highlight with the Escorpena on the areas that would catch the light.
Trousers: For these I decided to go with the same technique I used for the coveralls on the Yellow Jackets so I started with Vallejo Heavy Charcoal (72.155) which was highlighted with Vallejo Medium Sea Grey (71.049). This was then washed using Vallejo Grey Wash (76.516) which helps to blend things together. A final highlight of the Medium Sea Grey was then applied to the areas that would catch the light.
Armour: For the armour I decided to go with Vallejo Duck Egg Green (71.009) because I thought it would tie in with the green shirt but would also keep the overall feel of the pale armour. I then gave it a couple of coats of Vallejo Dark Khaki Green Wash (76.520) to dull things down a bit and to start to add some contrast. I then used Secret Weapon Soft Body Black Wash to effectively black line all of the edges and seams in the armour. I did it this way because it gave a more blended finish than I would get from using a pigment pen. The final step was to highlight all of the seams and edges with the original Duck Egg Green. Whilst things didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned overall I’m happy with the result.
Gas Masks: I wanted to go with a something quite dark here to offer some contrast with the pale armour so I decided to use Vallejo Gungrey Metallic (71.072) as a base. I gave this a wash of Secret Weapon Green which got into the recesses and gave things some contrast. I then used Vallejo Aluminium Metallic (71.062) on the eye lenses over which I used Badger Ghost Tint Plasma Fluid (D6-180) to give a similar lens effect as the one I used for the CCC Yellow Jackets.
Webbing, Pouches and Rucksacks: I started off using Vallejo US Flat Brown (71.026) which goes on very thinly and so needs several coats to get a good coverage. Once that is dry I used Vallejo Dark Brown Wash (76.514) to darken everything up and really get into the recesses and details. This gives a deeper feel to it than Orgryn Flesh. The next step was to go back and highlight everything using the original US Flat Brown.
Weapons: For these I wanted to go with a modern polymer feel on the lines of the H&K G36 so I started off with Citadel Abbadon Black. I gave this a very heavy highlight (almost a dry brush) of Citadel The Fang (grey) then a highlight of Citadel Dawnstone (codex grey). All of this was given a wash of Secret Weapon Soft Body Black before going back with a final highlight of Citadel Fenrisian Grey. The tip of the barrel was then painted using a 50/50 mix of Citadel Leadbelcher and Citadel Abbadon Black.
Bases: For the bases I have again gone with the trusty Micro Art Studios and used their Old Factory bases. The idea for these was to go with a concrete feel so different shades of grey were the main colours. I primed them using Vallejo Black Surface Primer (74.602). Over this I gave it a heavy dry brush with Citadel The Fang (grey), followed by a dry brush of Citadel Dawnstone (codex grey) and a final dry brush of Citadel Fenrisian Grey. I then used the Fenrisian Grey to go over all the lines and edges. Once this was dry I washed the brick sections with Vallejo Grey Wash (76.516) and the rubble sections with Vallejo Dark Grey Wash (76.517) so that there was some nice contrast on the base. I then went back over the edges that would naturally catch light with the Fenrisian Grey.
Weathering: The weathering for these bases was simply a good dusting of Secret Weapon Ash Grey to help tie the figure into the base.
