Showcase - Imperial Guard Lord Commissar

At the end of Part 2 last week, I said this week I'd be focusing on the metals. I got a little carried away and finished the Lord Commissar instead. 

Taking a step back in time, there are a variety of metal shades on the model. They all started off as S75 Heavy Metal. The plasma pistol and sword hilt got washes of a mix between S75 Inktense Wood and GW Nuln Oil, while the main part of the bionic arm, chain, wires, backpack and details all just got coats of Nuln Oil and highlights from a mix between Heavy Metal and Speed Metal.

The power field generator on the sword and the trim on his bionics were something new for me, as I opened up the S75 Emerald Alchemy. This is a green, pearlescent metallic, one of 12 that can be found across the 3 S75 Metal n Alchemy sets. I decided to give it a go to add a little connection between the colours on the Commissar and the colours on the weapons.  

The power cell on the plasma pistol was painted wit the same tone and inks as the power sword was.

The Commissar's boots were the first bit of black paint to be put on the model. I decided that since I'd taken the uniform to be quite a cold colour, I wanted to make the boots nice and warm, so after starting from a base of S75 Decay Black, I highlighted up to P3 Umbral Umber. It's not a vast variation in shade, but it gives a nice worn leather feel, particularly when put against the cold grey uniform.

The highlight of this kit for me is that the Commissar has a really well sculpted face - lots of character meant it was a really quick job to get him looking good, probably no more than 15-20 minutes tops, outside of drying time. 

As my first finished Games Workshop model in quite a long time (since I finished a Spirit Host back in May!), I'm rather happy with him, particularly the experimental basis of most of the things I tried out on him. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the green metals, and the power weapon glazing needs more patience, but the tones of the boots and the uniform I'm really pleased with.

What do you guys think?