The next step in painting my Imperial Assault Darth Vader was the light saber.

Step 1 – Red Undercoat

DarthVaderLightSaber1I started with two layers of red over the white base coat of the light saber blade. The first layer in Mephiston Red, the second layer in Evil Sunz Scarlet.

Step 2 – Highlighting the Blade

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Once I had a nice red, I started adding a lighter highlight to the upper and front part of the blade with Wild Rider Red.

Step 3 – Silver Glow Effect

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Another suggestion, which I picked up from YouTube, was to attempt the light saber’s glow effect of the light saber with a line of Rune Fang Steel, a very bright silver, and not a bright red or white.

I went back and forth on this, trying to get it right. I am not 100% happy with it.

One Step Back – Highlights on the Cloak

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I also started adding a red glaze – Citadel’s Bloodletter – to the areas surrounding the light saber, to simulate the glow effect.

The red glazed did show on some areas, notably the glove and arm, but wouldn’t take to the cloak right next to the light saber, which was still to dark.

To help with this, I went back and added more highlights with a mix of black and Fenrisian Grey to the cloak around the light saber to create a basis for the glaze.

Step 4 – Red Glaze

DarthVaderLightSaber5After applying the new highlight to the cloak, I went back and applied several layers of Bloodletter for a red effect on the right side of the miniature.

I also toned down the silver line on the light saber itself.

Next step: rebasing Darth Vader.