Ravagores

There are times when I paint a model just for the bliss of that model's sculpt. There are times when I paint a model because I desperately want to field it in my army and I strive to paint everything I field, even if the model is a complete eyesore. And then there are times when a great sculpt and great stats come together. The Ravagores are one such example for me. So much so that I bought 2 of them after proxying them only once. I can't exactly pin down what it is, but the "Carnivean chassis" for Legion beasts has always been fun to paint despite its size. Getting these guys done was more than just fun though. This solidly relieves my feeling of being such a whore for fielding two of them with eLylyth. In tribute to this accomplishment, I'm going to return to my old-style analysis entry...

What went well:
* Painting both at once - I had debated doing them individually. There were merits to both. I actually like having variations between my Legion beasts, but doing them together provides a certain economy of scale that's hard to argue with.
* Alternate chitin - When I first started going with the red chitin on the one Ravagore, I had my doubts. However the end result turned out quite striking I think. It gives each of them a distinct feel, makes them identifiable from each other, but they still seem to fit in theme.
* Slight pose alterations - The "red" Ravagore got a bit of a pose alteration so that he was a bit more straightened out and accentuating the breath attack. I didn't like the original angles of the pose, so making a shift was needed. I think the way these two worked out was nice yet subtle.

What could have been better:
* Flames - I'm not entirely happy with them. Ironically, they look better in the pictures than in person. There was something just not right about them. However I did them last, and by that point I was ready to be done. Putting more time into them was unlikely to yield significantly better results so I just called it completed so I could move on.
* Little mistakes - After sealing them, I found a couple more little places where skin base coat had gotten on the chitin. They aren't obvious, but spotting them ticks me off. I need a better process for the final inspection of models before I seal them.

Well, that's it for tonight. My painting desk is now finally rather clear from several months ago where I was feeling overwhelmed.