New Year Iron Warriors Plasma Pistol Experiment

Happy New Year!

In the first post of this year, I wanted to share a painting experiment that I've been messing around with for plasma weaponry in the 30th to 40th millenium. 

This is an Iron Warriors squad sergeant armed with a power fist and plasma pistol. Although some of the hazard stripes need a bit of a tidy up (they do look better from different angles - I promise!) I wanted to highlight the plasma pistol work here.

What is unusual here is the inside-out technique used. Rather than opting for a dark colour in the recesses and going for lighter highlights, I've inverted the process. I've used a watered down white to ink into the recesses of the plasma suggesting a super charged core heat. The coils are - comparatively - cooler with the darker blue highlights. Now before anyone shouts "physics" at me, I already know blue optical colours are hotter than white due to thermodynamics. But in colour theory - shrug! This idea can readily be applied with green or red plasma guns and pistols as you please. I've chosen blue here as the plasma accent colour as it works nicely with the rest of the "serious" look of the marine. A nice start to the year!