Devil Dogs, first ones done!

So I should be painting the rest of my Kreoss list but like the good hobbyist I am, I got distracted! It seems to be really easy to be distracted when new shiny models arrive. I wanted to raise the bar a little with my Mercs and so I am spending a little bit more time with these fellows than I usually would. I am doing them in pairs so that I don't have to rush the highlighting hoping that the mixed paints don't dry up. I always hated that. I picked a very neutral colour selection for these, light greys and browns. I felt that fitted them a little better as the main factions all have very strong colours. It is also easier to highlight which is a benefit! They will also stand out when used with one of the main factions not because they have a contrasting dominant colour but simply because they look a little different.

I concentrated much more on getting the metals to a good standard. With my menites I keep the silver dull and dark. It contrasts better with the white that way I find. With these I thught that bringing up the silver a little would help show off the rust effects a little better. I think it has and while these guys are not really bedecked in armour I think the rust comes out a little better already. My lighting is a bit too effective for good photographs, especially with bright metallics. I really need to consider something to diffuse the light a little more. This shot shows off the back of the model and some of the highlighting better. I went very neutral with the colours. I also tried to avoid my usual mistake of over highlighting and actually changing the colour. I mix all my highlights with Bleached Bone (GW) as this keeps the colour warm and ties togther all the highlights in terms of tone. Here you can see the nice dirty boots from yesterday! So on the next ones I am going for the guys carrying the axes. They are much more armoured so I need to get the highlighting better and they have some interesting issues with skin tone. I want to do one with a dark skin tone. Thats something I haven't attempted before so it should be fun. I am hoping that I have a guide in an old White Dwarf somewhere. I don't think it has been covered in No Quarter?