Come and join us for another delve into the Projects to find the best of the best from the last week or so. We're going to be getting stuck into lots of great looking pieces this week...

...make sure to always let us know what YOU have been working on and share it across the site.

NMM Grimdark Saint by soapdodger

We start things off this week in Community Spotlight with a rather awesome project which looks at the process of creating a Non-Metallic Metal look. For those who aren't in the know about this technique, it is a way for you to create the effect of metal without using any metallic paints. Sounds obvious, but it bears explaining!

soapdodger used a 3D print from Thingiverse as the focus of his project and the Undying Saint is looking pretty awesome when you see the final product above. The work across the armour, using highlights, shades and more to bring that metal effect to life is very impressive and it works amazingly against the brilliant white of those wings.

The techniques used here are a really good way to get more definition and artistic flair into your miniatures. If you're very interested in how soapdodger was able to achieve this then you can dive into the Project on the link above. Personally, I don't think that I (Ben) would be able to pull off this look but I think with a little bit of time and patience you might be able to replicate this and use it across your character miniatures especially.

I think if you're going to be working on a small but elite force which are clad in heavy armour, this is a technique you could really get stuck into. I have to say, I do want to go back to how amazing those white wings look on the model, it's brilliantly clean and the glowing eyes set into her face give her an air of majestic malevolence!

15mm Crusaders by innes

Next up, we're moving back in time to the Medieval period with a look at what innes has been working on for the Crusades. Perhaps inspired by Warren and Gerry's discussion, this set of 15mm miniatures from Museum are looking like they'll be great for use in a smaller scaled game of SAGA.

It seems like really nicely done white is the name of the game today and I think that the work across not just the Knights above but also throughout the Crossbowmen and Spearmen below really does look top-notch. I would assume with a smaller surface area it is a little easier to get the white looking right but I would hate to have to paint it alongside the darker flesh of the horses!

Another thing of note is how well those Templar crosses have come out too. It is hard (once again) to get any colour to look right over white, especially when you're doing it in such a neat way. I think with a little touch of extra detail here and there, these warriors have come together nicely and should make for a great warband to use when heading out on Crusade.

It seems like there is a lot more of these Crusaders for innes to paint up but I commend him for diving in and working on some of these smaller-scale miniatures. I think this is the best way to get big, mighty armies onto the table in a quick and easy way. I think once a few more of the final steps have been done on these miniatures it is going to be a sight to behold.

I can't wait to see them all arrayed together with their enemies before them!

Star Wars Icons by hairybrains

I'm jumping ahead of myself a little here before the end of the month but I wanted to show off some work by hairybrains on a range of Star Wars: Legion figures which have been painted up and finished by him over the last few weeks. We start with the insidious Emperor!

Much like with white, making black look right is also pretty hard. However, I think that hairybrains has managed to get the Emperor looking very swish indeed. I particularly love the attention to detail across his mottled and aged skin plus those eerie yellow eyes which are glaring out from underneath his hood.

Sticking with the forces of the Sith we also have these Royal Guard which have also been painted up to protect The Emperor. The red here has been done superbly well and I think the big chunky highlighting works well across their robes and clothing making them look stunning from up close and I bet far away.

I was always fascinated by these rather dark and dangerous-looking individuals but we never really got to see them do anything...a bit like with the Knights Of Ren right? I'm sure there is a very cool backstory to how they fight but it has probably fallen out of my memory now.

Finally, we've got some good guys to offset the evil!

This band of Rebels are getting ready to lend a hand and stick it to the Empire soon enough. I think the painting here is pretty solid once more and the neat and tidy look really goes a long way. The droids could perhaps do with a little more work to define elements of them but I think that the two human characters are very well represented. The darker pinpricks for eyes also serve as a good way of doing eyes if you're not too confident I reckon.

What Are You Painting Right Now?

Every week we’re absolutely blown away by the incredible topics that are put into the Projects, it’s getting more difficult to choose Community Spotlights! We love your work and we hope to see a lot more of it in the future!

If you fancy getting your hobby fingers out and showing off your newest paint job, terrain piece or even greatest gaming achievement, we want to know about it!

We don’t mind if you’re a newcomer to painting or a veteran of the brush, everything you do inspires us to create more and more content together!

What do you think of the entries this week?