+ Stand by your bunks +
+ The new Imperial Guard codex came out recently, and I dug out the staunch soldiers of Lamb's World in preparation. I'd like to do a post about my thoughts on the new rules and changes sometime soon, but for now I thought I'd do a post on Commissars.
+ Never having really liked the fascistic background of the Commissars – preferring more anonymous and dutiful line officers – I haven't really used them much in previous Imperial Guard armies. Ruleswise I always rather liked the fact that my troops would sometimes crumble under fire (I'm sure I would if faced with the stuff most of my Guardsmen come up against!), so that was another black mark against the representatives of the Commissariat.
+ As a final deathknell, I've never really fallen for any of the models... However, Forgeworld released some really lovely Commissar models for their Death Korps of Krieg range a few years ago, and I ended up buying them on impulse. Interestingly, they often pop up on eBay for more than you can buy them new (I think they were temporarily out of production), so if you do buy 'em, make sure you're getting a decent price! +
+ The Forgeworld models provided some interesting painting challenges and contrast well with the dusty, well-worn uniforms of the Lamb's Worlders. The model shown is not hugely successful – I think I'd like to go back and tidy some areas up – and perhaps change a few elements, but he provides some nice talking points on colour theory that I hope will be interesting to you. +
+ I really like the pose of this one – the straight lines give him a stern bearing, and the pose is just mobile enough to suggest he's keeping a watchful eye out.
+ I used my usual chromatic black effect for the coat, adding some matt medium to ensure it ended up looking slightly satin. I thought this would be the best way to get a nice worn leather effect, and think it's worked well.
+ Highlights on the coat were kept to a minimum, and no sharp edge highlights added to suggest the softness and texture of the material. +
+ Never having really liked the fascistic background of the Commissars – preferring more anonymous and dutiful line officers – I haven't really used them much in previous Imperial Guard armies. Ruleswise I always rather liked the fact that my troops would sometimes crumble under fire (I'm sure I would if faced with the stuff most of my Guardsmen come up against!), so that was another black mark against the representatives of the Commissariat.
+ As a final deathknell, I've never really fallen for any of the models... However, Forgeworld released some really lovely Commissar models for their Death Korps of Krieg range a few years ago, and I ended up buying them on impulse. Interestingly, they often pop up on eBay for more than you can buy them new (I think they were temporarily out of production), so if you do buy 'em, make sure you're getting a decent price! +
+ The Forgeworld models provided some interesting painting challenges and contrast well with the dusty, well-worn uniforms of the Lamb's Worlders. The model shown is not hugely successful – I think I'd like to go back and tidy some areas up – and perhaps change a few elements, but he provides some nice talking points on colour theory that I hope will be interesting to you. +
+ The model +
+ One of the challenges was to get the model to look eye-catching without sacrificing the sombre black paint scheme. I added some deep reds and yellows, and contrasting white trousers. However, all of these were kept muted. The yellow frogging and epaulettes are actually a yellow-brown (Bubonic Brown), the red is a deep scarlet-purple mix, and the white of the trousers is actually a green-grey (Rotting Flesh).
+ This approach was taken in order to ensure the overall effect remained dark. Against the black of the coat, the colours read more than they otherwise might. This is because the eye is drawn more to patches of hue, however subtle, than black.
+ Of course, in order to make the model eye-catching, you still need to have some elements that contrast strongly – in this case I used a very light silver (Mithril Silver) so the model as a whole has touches across the whole tonal range from very dark to very light.
+ With no face as a focal point, the silver touches are also very useful in drawing the eye to the head, as they sit on the gorget, hat and mask. +
+ The coat +
+ Highlights on the coat were kept to a minimum, and no sharp edge highlights added to suggest the softness and texture of the material. +
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