The miniatures (I'll update this post as I finish, with some comments on each model)
Explorers
Taddeus the Purifier, Ministorum Priest - finished
This fella is basically painted in the studio scheme, because there's not really much wiggle room in the "the Catholic church with the serial numbers filed off" design space he occupies. Still, for a model I was pretty cool on initially he turned out OK.
Amallyn Shadowguide, Asuryani Ranger - finished
With a shot from the back to show off the cloak. I figured a camelioline cloak would not be green in a blackstone fortress, so went with a sort of impressionistic riff off some common patterns and colors on the game tiles. I also made her from Alaitoc instead of the studio Biel-Tan because a) she's a Ranger and b) screw painting white. I'm really happy with how she turned out, but also glad I don't have to paint any more weapons and gear like this.
Pious Vorne, Missionary Zealot - finished
A very well-adjusted young lady, I'm sure you'll agree. It's a pretty straightforward paint job, lots of drybrushing and washing, but it fits the character. It was my first time doing flames, and I think they turned out more or less OK, and I let weathering be the big equalizer on the writing on her eviscerator, but overall I'm pleased, and it's one of my favorite models in the set as well.
Dahyak Grekh, Kroot Tracker - finished
Dahyak I also did in a pretty "standard" scheme for Kroot, and I'm pleased how he turned out.
Espern Locarno, Imperial Navigator - finished
Purple is hard! Cloth is hard! But still, he turned out well and I do love the model - possibly one of my favorite models, not only in Blackstone, but full stop. I haven't read a scrap of fiction about Navigators, but I like to imagine the device on his belt, as a nod to the original source material for Navigators, is a translation device and he only speaks Navigator's Cant, not deigning to learn Low Gothic.
UR-025, Imperial Robot - finished
The Man of Iron I did up in the same scheme as my AdMech vehicles, mostly because I'm in love with the scheme and weathering it to heck. (Man, I need to get some Kastelans at some point.) He's also probably going to feature in my AdMech Kill Team going forward.
Janus Draik, Rogue Trader - finished
As dashing as ten dashing men! I went with "navy blue and white" to emulate an early-19th-century naval officer, and it seems to have turned out pretty well! I waffled on the beastie over his shoulders, but in the end decided to go with something neutral and muted so it didn't pull too much attention away from Janus himself. I'm pleased with how his skin came out as well - I tried to push my skin tone comfort zone a bit.
Rein & Raus, Ratling Twins - finished
"It fell off the back of a Chimera, I swear!" Another couple of models that I wasn't excited about, but the sheer character of the sculpts won me over. I painted them up to match the squad of Cadian Guard I have for ASC, which are in WWII GI colors (field drab and khaki with any gear that'll take paint in brown violet).
Hostiles
Obsidious Mallex, Chaos Lord - finished
His face doesn't look half that bad in real life, fortunately. A scary man and, while his face is a bit wonky and I struggled with what to do about all the... demonic flesh tubes? Overall he turned out pretty well.
Chaos Space Marines [2] - finished
Say what you will about the Black Legion, they have a pretty cool color scheme, and the models are nice as well (and the different angles on the head-swap are a pretty effective way to disguise the fact that it's a single pose shared between them). A bit more restrained than the craziness of the plastic Chosen, but still carrying a lot of that aesthetic.
Rogue Psykers [2] - finished
I sort of rushed their lizard-skin cloak thingies, but oh well. I love the models, except that they're extremely fiddly, so I basically had the option of pushing until something snapped or leaving big gaps in their coats, so they have big gaps in their coats. They sort of look like the coats are just tattered (and you can't even see from some angles - like, say, this one) but all the same it's a bit disappointing in an otherwise solid set of models. I painted them up in the same colors as the Traitor Guard so they'd look like no-longer-sanctioned psykers from the same regiment.
Negavolt Cultists [4] - finished
Weird models with sort of static poses, but I like how they turned out! I also deliberately gave them the same glow effects and dirty grey cloth as my AdMech so that if I ever decide to get a half-dozen more off eBay I can field them as electropriest proxies (since they're basically just Dark Mechanicus electropriests after all).
Chaos Beastmen [4] - finished
Nothing too much to say about these guys, really - I used the same color scheme as for the Traitor Guard and Rogue Psykers, so they all look like they're from the same regiment.
Ur-Ghuls [4] - finished
Just drybrushes and washes for these guys. Not too much to say about 'em, either painting-wise or model-wise. (Plus they killed my character, grumble grumble.)
Spindle Drones [4] - finished
I was hoping for a weird ceramic look for these guys, but they're a bit purpler than I'd hoped. The line between "white with a pale purple cast" and "pretty purple, actually" is a thin one! Still, they look OK!
Traitor Guardsmen [14] - finished
These poor bastards were about 50% of the reason I got the set - lovely models that I only love more after painting. Lots of character, especially Grenade Guy and the Lady Who Loves Knives. Behind-the-scenes point: The squad of Cadians I have for Advanced Space Crusade are painted up in WWII American GI colors - US field drab, khaki and brown violet. So for these guys, to balance that out, I chose feldgrau and german gray (and lots and lots of weathering).
