Hobby Update: What I was supposed to be doing

It feels like forever since I've put up a hobby update, so here comes a two parter.  Two weeks isn't that long in the grand scheme of things, but lots has been happening in the real world that makes it seem that way.  Thankfully, they've been, by and large, good things.

I did not meet my original goal of finishing the Possessed by last Sunday.  I did get them finished though.  A couple extra days is nothing to sweat too much, particularly after putting in some really solid work on other things.

I'm very happy with the way they turned out.  I used to be afraid to experiment with new techniques.  None of them really made sense to me.  With this current batch of models, I told myself to just go for it, and it really seems to be paying off.  I'm also beginning to understand more of the theory behind certain things.  It's exciting.  I feel like I'm unlocking a whole new set of possibilities.

The regular Possessed used the standard color scheme I'm going to use across the whole of the force.  I started by airbrushing Mechrite Red, then a Scab Red/Red gore mix.  After that, I grabbed a brush and started on the Chainmail and Red Gore.  All the horns were done with Bleached Bone and a wash of (surprise!) Devlan Mud, followed, in some cases by a quick drybrush.  I really want to avoid having my models look like they spent a couple days incubating in the wash, so I tried to make sure I went back over most things to pick out the raised sections.  I put on the various highlights, typically a Red Gore/Blood Red mix.  With all the mixing and matching I did to stretch the Possessed kit over ten models, I had to shift back and forth between plates of armor and near-organic shapes.  This tended to break up the monotony, rather than raising the difficulty level.

Then we have the two unit champions.  Since this is supposed to be a Word Bearers army, I went with black armor and skull helms to make them appear to be Chaplains that have gone off the deep end.  I finished the one on the right first, then waited until the rest of the squad was finished to do the other.  In that time, I managed to snag a pot of G-dub's new Eshin Grey.  This may be my new favorite color.  It's very dark, and I don't believe they had anything quite like it in the previous range.  I am quite often wrong about such things.  Regardless, you can tell that one marine has a pretty obvious highlight line, while the other doesn't really show up on camera.  If you're willing to believe me, I'll assure you it's there, though quite subtle.  It's most apparent on the rib cage, where I used all three colors and they seem to transition pretty smoothly, while also not making him look like he's just gray which is always a danger when highlighting black.

Going forward, I plan on making this the beginnings of two separate squads, which is to say I'm currently at what amounts to a pair of combat squads for each.  That means I need to add nine more "regular" brothers, an icon bearer, and some small embellishment for each squad to delineate which is which.  Currently, I'm planning on a set of bells for one, but haven't decided on what to use for the others