Thursday 12 August 2021

The Triumph of Saint Katherine

 


I have been slowly building an Adepta Sororitas army since the middle of 2020, and finally had the joy of painting the centerpiece model, the Triumph of Saint Katherine, over a number of weeks in July. A funerary procession, with each of the models representing the six major orders of the sororitas, as well as the skeletal remains and preserved heart of Saint Katherine, the patron saint of the Order of Our Matured Lady. I am painting this model for my Order of the Bloody Rose faction, hence the blood red armour and dark cloaks, though the model isn't faction locked so I can use is as part of my detachment. 


The model is a beast to paint, with so many sub-assemblies it felt like painting a whole squad or two at once. I had hoped the black robes (which were simple to paint) would not overwhelm the colour palette, and it was only once the final model was completed (the sister at the front with sword and shield) that I was finally happy with the whole procession and how it visually matches the rest of my army. 


The most rewarding, and truthfully also most tedious, part of the model was painting the cherubs. Each wing was painted using the basecoat/wash/highlight method rather than any dry-rushing, and this meant many many thin layers of light grey and edge highlights of white to get the look I was hoping for. The same palette is used on the base, so as to frame the model, and I have used this effect across the whole army with the white/gray hair and stone bases, and it has translated well to this larger piece. I also attempted to copy the scrollwork form the box art and was very pleased with how it looks on the model, not too distracting but also rewarding a second look from a casual observer. 





I am now just over the halfway point of my army painting goal, and with this model taking a little bit of a hit rules-wise in the new codex I am very happy that I had a chance to paint it before moving on to other parts of the army or buying any of the newer releases. It was a real joy to paint, and having taken around one hour per night for three weeks, I am very happy with the final result given it could have taken months trying to perfect every little detail that would surely be lost to anyone who hasn't actually attempted to paint this themselves. I used to take three months for a diorama competition entry, and very happy to have taken less than a third of that for this gaming piece. Do let me know your thoughts in the comments!


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