The Axeman!

If you drive a car, I'll axe the street,

If you try to sit, I'll axe your seat.

If you get too cold I'll axe the heat,

If you take a walk, I'll axe your feet.

Axeman!

Cos I'm the axeman, yeah I'm the axeman!

This guy only took me perhaps 3 hours total, spread over an evening, which is blinding speed for me. It is also my favorite mini that I've painted so far, and not just because I have wanted to own a White Lion since I was young.

Everything just kind of worked on this model. The non-metalic metal, which I have been struggling with, is the best I have achieved so far, and in two different colors too! I especially like the side of the helmet pictured above. The axe head is another story...I'm not saying I still don't have plenty to work on.

But it is an encouraging step... so encouraging that I'm now thinking of converting some Mantic elf scouts into a Pro Elf team for the Chaos Cup this year, and that would mean plenty more NMM in this style. I'd better get moving, though. That's coming right up!

I was surprised by just how un-systematic painting this metal was. Sure, I had to plan somewhat carefully (you always do), but the things that really helped were 1) having all of the colors blended on my pallet, and 2) not being afraid to go back in with a color I had previously used. It is a much more 'painterly' approach, very different to the mindset in which you highlight with one color, move on to the next, and rarely go back.

I am also extremely pleased with the face. I don't often achieve that kind of expression, and it is quite gratifying. I think the reason it came out so good (for me) was that I was able to leave the deep shades in tact during the highlighting process, which really helped to define the features.

...Speaking of Blood Bowl conversions, I would also like to welcome a few of the new followers who I haven't formally acknowledged yet. These are Paaor, The One, Fireymonkeyboy, and Sir Skofis. Welcome and thank you for reading!

Firemonkeyboy is a contributor on multiple blogs that I read, and it is an honor to have him following, you should check out the links to his blogs on his profile.

I have only recently discovered Sir Skofis's excellent blog Sir Skofis's Workshop. He has excellent articles on converting and sculpting figures for Blood Bowl (which put my efforts to shame,) as well as astounding scratch-built 40k vehicles. Check him out! He deserves to be followed!