Working on Citadel miniatures is generally a pleasure.  I’ve always loved model kits.  Like Hans Gruber from Die Hard I appreciate their attention to minute detail in small scale.  That being said the tiny size of some Warhammer models is slightly limiting.  You can’t paint extreme detail, well I’ll rephrase, I can’t paint extreme detail, as well as I’d like.

Needless to say the chance to assemble and paint a larger-scale model has been attractive.  No I can’t play a fun war game with them, but the hobbyist in me can appreciate it.

So when I found this great Mars Attacks Martian trooper model at a local store I grabbed it quickly.

He’s far larger than Warhammer models but I still used all those Citadel painting tricks I learned, base coat, wash/shade, layer, drybrush, effects method.

He was plain white plastic, with an aluminum lamppost. I primed him white before applying the base coat.  I had to rubberband his face to keep it together.  He looks like a Hellraiser Cenobyte…

I left his nifty space suit un-shaded.  It looks bright and cartoony that way.

I loved his victim and it gave me a chance to use lots of effects paints in gruesome detail.

His face and head were a bit hit-or-miss.  I thought I’d ruined it.  I actually used very watered down Emperor’s Children followed by watered down Fenrisian Grey.  Then I dry brushed Fulgrim Pink, Dechala Lilac, and Baharroth Blue in various layers to get the face correct.

This guy was a lot of fun and gave me a good feel for what painting larger models will be like, especially since big centerpiece models seem to be the wave of the future in 40k!

Next back to my Sector Imperialis, and an even bigger painting piece!