Infinity: Defiance & Beyond

Right.  This one is serious.  I had been dying to paint this since I got hold of the box.  This is the Megalodron, to date the largest model Corvus Belli have ever produce, and it is BIG!  To give you an idea of scale, each of the hexagons on the base is large enough to fit a standard 25mm, round slottabase inside it.

Unfortunately, when I assessed the model, it came in two pieced, the upper torso and arms and then the lower torso, legs and base.  Ideally this needed to be supplied in THREE parts with the base, which is a lovely, sculpted scenic base, as a separate component.  After a little more investigation, I determined that the base should be easy enough to remove with a little jiggery pokery.  So I put the part in the freezer for a couple of hours which makes some glues go brittle and with a little bit of elbow grease, it came off.  There was a tiny bit of damage to the bottom of one of the feet but when I looked at it, it would not be visible once the model was reassembled.  So no worries there

Next I had to figure out a colour scheme.  I wanted it to tie in with the rest of the Shasvastii, but, because it isn’t a Shasvastii, it is something else, I also wanted it to stand apart.  So I went for a reversed colour scheme.  I used a predominantly deep red for the armour with black details.  Both halves were primed using Army Painter Chaotic Red which is dark enough that it doesn’t really need any wash or shading.  The highlights were built up very gradually and mostly near the edges, using a series of red paints from Vallejo, starting with Carmine Red and working up to Scarlet.  To maintain some consistency, I also used turquoise and pink for spot details, like I had on the rest of the army and I also used the same pale green skin tone.

Finally, the base.  Wow, what an amazing design.  I love the jungle undergrowth, I love the remains of the TAG suit sculpted on the base and slightly overgrown (and yes, if you look on the Corvuse Belli store that TAG is an actual TAG that you can buy).  Painting it was as enjoyable as painting the main model and, as a final touch, I bought some flourescent “alien grass” tufts

I have to say, painting it was a royal pain in the arse.  Because it was so big, and such an awkward shape, I could fix it to any of the painting grips that I have.  The upper torso was easy enough, I just mounted it on the legs and held the lower piece.  The legs, however were incredibly difficult to do because there was only a tiny stub of plastic at the top that could be used to grip it.  I don’t know whether it was a problem with the primer, the material or the paints I was using but you only had to so much as look at it funny, and paint was being rubbed off the harder edges, such as armour plates.All in all, including the base, I spent around 60 hours painting this thing I felt like I spent as much time touching up areas where the paint had rubbed away as I did painting the actual model.  Although I am absolutely amazed by the results, it’s not an experience I would be rushing back to do again because of the paint adhesion issues.  Which is obviously why I backed TAG Raid which comes with another two or three massive monsters made out of the same material…