This Darth Vader comes with Obi-Wan and some diorama in a duel pack at a questionably high price. But I was able to score it at a major discount, so got some friends for the other Jedi Hunters.

The major challenge for Darth Vader is that he’s wearing all black, so how do you make him look good? My attempt at an answer was to use no blacks, just grays and dark blues. I was also sure to highlight the different textures differently (the shiny armor pieces to a white, the fabric to a blue. And then some fake-OSL drybrushing to help sell the lightsaber.

I also kept the head and cloak separate from the body while painting. That let me get in behind the skirt and the underside of the cloak.

Time for some non-Separatist bad guys!

I’ve tried to get a couple of different black textures: the shiny hard armor pieces, the softer fabric pants, the dark leather boots. It helps give some variety on what is otherwise a mostly monochromatic model.

These double-sided lightsabers seem like they’d be a hazard.

Oh yeah, definitely a hazard.

Time for some more Shatterpoint.

Both the cloaks and smoke use one of my new favorite paint techniques. I put two GW contrast paints next to each other on a wet palette (say red and yellow). Then I alternate between them when loading the brush for painting. The goal is to let them loosely mix in the brush or on the model, giving interesting variations.

After its dry, more washes and highlights give more depth.

The contrast paints can also be used as a wash on the base, to give a quick-and-dirty OSL effect.

What good is just a starter set? My daughter played the Shatterpoint demo with me, and when we decided to both participate in a four-week league at the local shop. I let my daughter pick the first box to expand into. She picked Grievous and his many arms.

Grievous as a model has lots of spindly bits. I’m not looking forward to putting him in foam. So far he’s been transported with some blue tack to the lid of a plastic box.

Kraken is the same sort of robot as Kalani from the starter. I did his filigree without metallics to try to give a little more to distinguish them, though it could use more.

I gave a few panels a lighter shade and stippled on some browns to give these B2s some visual depth.