I needed a break from painting my Trollbloods, I got tired of painting different shades of leather/brown, and needed to paint something different. So at the LGS last week I happen to see the new Khador warcaster, Kommander Strakhov, and immediately purchased it (together with P3 Khador Red Base and Khador Red Highlight) and immediately headed home to get it prepped and primed and ready to paint.

Here is a WIP of the Dire Troll Mauler. The only thing done is the loincloth and the belly (I think I need to bring up the highlights a little bit more on the belly) and the base LOL. Everything else is basecoat plus wash. It sits on a Peet's small-sized coffee cup. I am trying to two-tone the mauler with a lighter underbelly and chest and lower jaw (using P3 Trollblood underbelly as the base and shaded with Underbelly + VMC Dark Sea Blue and highlighted with Underbelly + Trollblood highlight) but I am not sure if it is successful....

This Trollblood Axer is my first attempt at painting again after not picking up the brush in 4 years. Things I've learned, (1) Vallejo Model Color is still pretty good after 4 years of accumulating pigment at the bottom of the bottle (I'm glad I invested in a Robart Paint Shaker back then LOL), (2) painting minis is hard work, (3) I'm still a slow painter, and (4) I'm still not very good at this. I am actually stumped, I don't know where to go from here, so hopefully your comments and suggestions can kick my butt into action. I've actually begun working on other minis since I can't seem to finish this, and all I've managed to do is get a bunch of half-painted minis on the painting deck LOL ... not a single one completed *ugh*. You can find those on the Work in Progress page.

Anyway, here is the Axer in it's unfinished-I-do-not-know-what-to-do-with-it-anymore state. Comments and suggestions most welcome....