A Ravenwing strikeforce by VanSan
As if producing a superb Deathwing army wasn't an achievement in itself VanSan has now moved his attention to the Ravenwing.
Painting black armoured armies on the face of it sounds easy. In practice it's very hard to do right. VanSan's approach relies on using lots of boltgun metal battle damage to help define edges and to act as highlights — rather than the 'grey edges' normally seen on black power armour and this is what brings this lot to life as no model has exactly the same highlighting/edging.
Another visual feature is the use of the strong red and green accent colour combination. Not only does this brighten up the mass of black but this also serves to link in nicely with his previously produced Deathwing (and no doubt a future Greenwing army). This can make models look a bit Christmassy if overdone, but not here.
Sammmy on jetbike plus the usual mix of bikes, attack bikes and Land Speeders are represented in this strikeforce, the bikes being nicely angled on their bases. But undoubtedly the star of the show here is the Land Speeder Storm, complete with its Scouts complement. Not an official RW unit, but without doubt certainly in the 'spirit' of the RW, this is a brilliant model with bags of character. I also love the Typhoon — always a favourite speeder variant of mine — this with its hazard-striped missile pods.
It's a visual feast for the eyes, and will now doubt be expanded by VanSan over the coming months. A great inspiration for those with a RW project on the go.
You can almost smell the exhaust fumes.
