Where Brute force meets art
Looking back at the history of warfare, there’s something undeniably badass about massive wonder-weapons.
In theory, these should strike fear into enemy ranks, turn the tide of battle, and even decide the outcome of a war. History is full of battlefield examples: massive WWI tanks armed with turrets and side-mounted guns, or the Schwerer Gustav railway cannon deployed by the Wehrmacht in WWII. However, most of these weapons remained prototypes – either never reaching the battlefield, or arriving too late and in numbers too small to make a real impact (e.g., the V1/V2 Wunderwaffe bombs).
In Warhammer 40k humanity has found the perfect use for massive, fearsome war machines. They’re called Titans, and they do exactly what such machines were always meant to do. Depending on which side of the trenches you’re on, they either inspire or overwhelm with terror. We brought both of these ideas together when painting our Warhammer 40k Imperial Knight. On one hand, we wanted it to look intimidating; on the other, we made sure it was something worth admiring.
Let’s look at how we pulled it off.
How to Choose the Right Imperial Knight for Your Warhammer 40k Army
Lore vs firepower
The Warhammer shop offers a wide selection of Imperial Knights. There are two main ways to choose the right one. The first is based on weapon loadout, while the second focuses on the heraldry of Imperial Knights (yes, there’s even a Codex supplement that details each one individually).
To put things simpler, some Knights have their own unique names. For example, the Knight Preceptor is also known as Canis Rex (you can check it out in one of our armies here). However, most Knights allow for customizable heraldry, so the focus shifts to their weapons and how they impact gameplay.
We went with the Imperial Knight Warden variant, a Questoris-class Imperial Knight armed with an Avenger Gatling Cannon (with a built-in Heavy Flamer) and a Thunderstrike Gauntlet.
Options and personalisation of Warhammer 40k Imperial Knights
During assembly, we discovered that this model can be equipped with several different masks. These masks are designed in a way that beneath them lies a massive skull, onto which they can be attached. So, we magnetized both the skull and the masks, making it easy to swap them out.
Of course thats not the end of options here. Most of the Imperial Knights variants have interchangeable options of wargear as well, but in most of the cases accesories need to be bought separately.
After applying the base colors, one of our artists, Kinga, started painting using the freehand technique.
Hand-Painted Perfection
How to make good Imperial Knight better
At this stage, our Imperial Knight was already battle-ready. But we decided to take it a step further.
We chose to place an image of the Emperor on the shoulder armor plate. What strikes more fear into the hearts of heretics and xenos than the image of the most powerful man in history, immortalized on an Imperial Knight.?
Kinga, one of our senior artists, took on this challenge.
“First, I needed a reference. I chose a specific image of the Emperor in a side profile, exactly how I imagined him on the Titan’s shoulder plate. Then i started painting!“
Kinga – Senior Artist.
“First, I needed a reference. I chose a specific image of the Emperor in a side profile, exactly how I imagined him on the Titan’s shoulder plate. Then i started painting!“
Challanges of making a freehand
Freehand painting is not an easy thing. The artist had to break down the composition into smaller elements to gradually bring the Emperor to life in all his glory.
“It’s a bit like working with layers in a graphic editor. In my head, I have to break the image down into what goes underneath first, then gradually refine the details. On top of that, there’s the precision required. There’s no room for mistakes, and to achieve the perfect result, you have to give more than 100%.“
Kinga – Senior Artist.
“It’s a bit like working with layers in a graphic editor. In my head, I have to break the image down into what goes underneath first, then gradually refine the details. On top of that, there’s the precision required. There’s no room for mistakes, and to achieve the perfect result, you have to give more than 100%.“
After finishing the shoulder plate, the rest of the model received additional freehand details, slightly less complex but still, awesome. This way, we created a truly one-of-a-kind Titan.
One that, when encountered on the battlefield, will inspire fear or admiration, depending on which side of the barricade you’re on.
Like what you see? We can create a Warhammer 40k Imperial Knight just like this for your army! Drop us a message, and we’ll get to work!
Want to see more of our work? Check out our gallery, where you’ll find our recents projects.