Painting the Chinese Federation

A SHORT GUIDE ON HOW THE CHINESE FEDERATION FEATURED HERE WERE PAINTED

The Chinese Federation have some of the most visually striking models in the Dystopian Wars range, and deserve bright colours and an attention to detail to bring out the best aspects of their bold aesthetic. When developing the scheme for this fleet, I worked from the Studio scheme and made it a bit lighter, with a warmer gold and a brighter orange-red. The scheme was kept simple, and though it is not my best work, I am still very happy with how the fleet looks on the table and as a singular, cohesive force.

Most of their vessels follow a similar pattern, so this process was used across the fleet, from the mighty Zhanmadao Dreadnought-Fortress down to the lowly Nu-class Frigate. Unlike many of my other fleets, the Chinese Federation were not done with stages of washes and highlights. Instead, they worked from a sprayed basecoat. 

The model chosen for this painting guide is the Guan Dao-class Battlecruiser, a Medium vessel with many design elements found across the fleet. Unfortunately, he does not feature any of the beautiful Dragon's Breath Flamethrowers, but the method for painting them is the same as for the jade recorded below. 

Following an undercoat of Citadel Chaos Black spray, the top half of the model is sprayed with Army Painter US Olive Drab spray paint. The yellow sections of the ship such as the main superstructure and the decking is then highlighted with Citadel Desert Yellow, with a final highlight of Citadel Zandri Dust on the edges

The rooftops are painted with Vallejo German Grey, while all the gold areas are painted with a mixture of Citadel Mournfang Brown and Vallejo Brass. The red hulls are given a coat of Citadel Mephiston Red mixed with Citadel Rhinox Hide

The edges of the rooftops are brushed with Vallejo Medium Sea Grey. The red hull is highlighted by adding increasing amounts of Citadel Tau Sept Ochre to Mephiston Red, with the brightest highlights on the top edges of the hull. Jade areas are painted with Citadel Temple Guard Blue mixed with Vallejo Buff, and then highlighted by adding increasing amounts of Citadel White Scar. An actual jade-coloured paint would probably be good, but I don't have any at this moment

The gold is painted with pure Vallejo Brass, and then highlighted by adding increasing amounts of Citadel Runefang Steel. These areas are then glazed with Citadel Seraphim Sepia. This paint is also glazed over the red areas to bring all the highlights together. The rooftops are carefully washed with Army Painter Dark Tone. Any areas of metal are painted with Citadel Leadbelcher, and highlighted with Citadel Runefang Steel. On pipework and other areas where weathering or rusting can occur, a small amount of Citadel Vermin Brown is painted into the recesses

The model is complete after a (very, very) light drybrush of Vallejo Sky Grey across the model. Details are checked and any mistakes covered over, and then only the spray varnish is needed! 

The Guan Dao-class Battlecruiser is ready for battle

As you can see, a very simple method. The time-consuming element comes in with the red and the dark grey rooftops, which both need to be carefully controlled to look clean and neat. Neatness is also incredibly important with the jade and the gold details on the rooftops and weaponry, and if I could give any advice to those looking to improve their painting, it would be keep within the lines! 

Thanks for reading, 

George