Which Hunter? This One!

According the my Great Big Painting Plan, I have long-since finished my Dogs of War/Empire army and should be moving on to complete the others.

But I'm enjoying the hiatus that has followed the Savage Orc project, and have now dusted off a number of old miniatures that don't belong to any plan. I just happen to feel like painting them.

Also, the special occasion of this evening's SkypeBoot with Kraken was excuse enough to add another model to my mercenary army (I bet he'll disappoint - newly-painted miniatures invariably do).

"Stand and deliver your witches!"

The model is the Highwayman from the Mordheim expansion (when they left the city and hit into the open road). The brace of pistols, masked face and long trenchcoat seem suitably Witch Hunter-esque to me.

He looks less glamorous than the official model, which is also in keeping-with the slightly tatty nature of my mercenary force (rather than the pristine state-sponsored Empire, the flash gits).

For the paint scheme, I was trying to avoid stark reds and blacks, as I thought that would hearken back too much to his highwayman origins. And also a career of smelling-out evil-doers would lend itself to more muted tones.

"Prince Edmund, I believe you have a pussycat? ... Its name is Bubbles? ...
Or to give it its full name... BEELZEBUBBLES!"

The coat is Balor Brown and the cuffs Mournfang Brown, with a Agrax Earthshade wash and a Tallern Sand highlight. The mask is Dawnstone with a Black Ink Wash. The boots are Bleached Bone with Agrax Earthshade. The metal pieces are Ironbreaker with Black Ink, with Tallern Sand/Agrax Earthshade for the woodwork, and the buckle/buttons Mithril Silver. The scabbard and holster are Steel Legion Drab and, since I'd used every brown I had by that point, the belt is Chaos Black.

The bicone hat was Rhinox Hide and for the feather, I didn't apply a layer of paint, just washed the white undercoat with a 50/50 mix of Red and Brown Ink. I've found this helps with finely-detailed elements like feathers, as you don't have to reintroduce the details. The feather was still looking a bit pink, so I gave it a highlight of Red Gore (actually that made it darker - so does that make it a lowlight? a darklight?)

I like the pose of the miniature - aiming one pistol, while drawing another - although now I can see on the photo that the eyes are not looking directly down the barrel (digital photography has no mercy on painted miniatures).

I don't really mind this since a) when it comes to painting eyes, I'll take anything in the ballpark of the face and b) it looks like his attention has been suddenly drawn away, which is why he's pulling the second pistol. As if taking part in some mass-participant Mexican Standoff.

"LARRY, STOP POINTING THAT GUN AT MY DAD!"

And this isn't the last addition to the Empire Army. Warhammer projects are never completed, only abandoned.