Trollblood Axer

     My first Trollblood is finally done! I admit however that I did wait for the Journeyman league to begin to start painting. I was going to paint the whole Warpack but settled on just the Axer to start. I think this guy came out pretty good. I tried to use some more blending instead of drybrushing for most of the model. In fact the only drybrushed parts are the metal and some of the leather parts.
     The skin was basecoated with Citadel Dawnstone, washed with Citadel Badab Black and Highlighted back "up" with Dawnstone. From here I would have normally drybrushed with a lighter shade of grey and called it good. Instead I layered with some Citadel Administratum Grey leaving a rough line of Dawnstone for definition. In the past I've considered this a more advanced technique but after trying it I realized it's pretty easy.
     The metal bits were done with a basecoat of Citadel Leadbelcher, washed with Badab Black, then Citadel Devlan Mud and finally Citadel Gryphonne Sepia. From here the raised parts were lightly drybrushed with Citadel Mithril Silver. The copper parts were washed the same but started out with a basecoat of P3 Molten Bronze.
     While putting the basecoat on this model I thought the overall look was a bit to dark and drab. To solve that problem I decided to make the hair an orange-red and put an Autumn theme on the bases. To achieve the hair I started out with Citadel Eshin Grey, followed by some Citadel Scab Red, using very thinned paint and going heavier toward the tip. When that was still too dark I blended further with some P3 Khador Red Base and P3 Khador Red Highlight (which is actually and orange color). I added in some Badab Black wash while blending when I thought it appropriate.
     Another thing I tried to do to brighten the model up a bit was add horn to the top and bottom of the Axer's Axe. Some people have painted this part in metalic, some like a claw and a few like horn. This was my first attempt at painting horn and it was the most difficult part of the model. I still think it looks poor. But after a couple of frustrating do-overs, I had to call it good. Otherwise the paint would just get way too thick. Anyway I used P3 'Jack Bone to start, washed with Gryphonne Sepia and highlighted back up with the 'Jack Bone. From there I painted semi thick lines with Citadel Calthan Brown, then thin lines with Citadel Scorched Brown. I tried to add a bit of thinned Citadel Skull White to the tip then had to re-do the dark lines. Frustrating but eventually I'll practice more and since it's such a pain, hopefully get it down.
     The base was pretty standard, a mix of browns for dirt and greys for rock. Some Citadel Scorched Grass and Secret Weapon Autumn Leaves. The last bit of tall grass was from Woodland Scenics. Anyway that's my Axer, and how I plan on doing my Trollblood army.