Dark Vengeance: Cultists Set 1

So having finished off a couple of miniatures that I've had on the go for a while, I rewarded myself with some miniatures from the Dark Vengeance box set.  The temptation was to start with one of the character models, but that would have been spoiling myself, so I went for five of the cultist/traitor guard models.  This might amaze you to read, but I actually batch painted them!  Well not quite, I base coated and shaded them all at the same time, but when it came to highlighting and detailing, I did them one at a time - so not quite batch painting, but nearly...

I wanted to do these quickly (for me), so the paint jobs are a little more rough and ready than my usual work, but I'm still really pleased with the way they came out.  They are a bit drab looking, but as they're meant to be Nurgle cultists, it didn't didn't feel right painting them bright colours.

I'm a big fan of these models, loads of character and all quite nasty looking - when reading the Gaunts Ghosts novels, this is what I imagined the "Enemy" looked like.  The quality of the models is really impressive for snap-fit pieces, and there's not too much "stretching" of elements to make it work as a two piece miniature.  I've gone for a Nurgle style scheme, to fit in with my Lords of the Flies Chaos Marines that I painted years ago, so plenty of greens and browns.

My favourite model so far is this chap:

He looks like some some heavy built Forge worker or mechanic, I love the apron, the tools hanging off the back pack and the enormous Heavy Stubber.  The leather is my new favourite method - Dryad Bark, shaded with Agrax EarthShade and highlighted with Dryad Bark and Snakebite leather.  Highlighting was only a 2-3 stage process, keeping it quick and simple.  The skin was a base of P3 Beast Hide, washed with Earthshade, and highlighted with Beast Hide and then Rakarth Flesh.

The rest of the guys aren't quite as great as "Heavy Stubber Mechanic Man" but they're still nice sculpts and were a breeze to paint:

The green was a basecoat of P3 Cryx Base, shaded with the Earthshade, and dry-brushed with Catachan Green and Death World Forest, with a little Ogryn Camo in places.  The guns were Stormvermin Fur, washed with Nuln Oil, dry-brushed with Leadbelcher and Chainmail.  The wrappings were even quicker, Zandri Dust washed with EarthShade and highlighted with Zandri Dust again.

The bottom two cultists had Chaos stars branded on their shoulders, I washed these with Catachan Green, and then painted them in with Death World Forest and highlighted with Ogryn Camo.  I used the same effect to do a little OSL around eyepieces - not strictly "realistic", but it looks cool - especially on the odd bird like mask:

The great thing about this colour scheme, was that I could base coat everything and then wash it all at the same time - certainly cut down on the painting time!  I don't usually enjoy batch painting at all, but these were really fun to paint, and as long as I vary it up a bit, I reckon I can get all the cultists done in a couple of weeks - which is pretty damn quick for me...

So with these 5 done, it's on to some more half-finished stuff before I do 5 of the close-combat weapon armed cultists.

As always, comments and criticism welcome!