Showcase: Avatar of Khaine

Second in my Eldar showcase is my Avatar of Khaine. Almost as soon as Forgeworld released this larger, updated version, I knew I had to have one; it's a gorgeous remake of a classic model. Having one to hand for my army is also very thematic, as Biel-tan seem to field these combat monsters as a matter of course.
First things first, I decided that such a gorgeous model needed a bit more work on its base than I'd normally go for... that said, I'm taking the Eldar up to what I call 'showcase standard', so its geting a lot more work than a normal playing army overall. After building the Avatar, I first added one of the small Isha statuettes from the Dire Avengers kit. This looked a bit odd standing on its own, so I struck on the idea of it being part of a larger ruin. Some carefully applied Green Stuff later, and I'd sculpted a kind of ruined 'step' onto one side of the base. It looks a little like the Avatar just stepped down from it, so maybe it's the edge of a part-ruined webway portal... or something like that! I then added a resin Space Wolf icon from the scenic basing kit - those kits are brilliant, and for the price you pay contain a tonne of bits - and I couldn't help having a dig at my brother's Wolves :).
The paint scheme was started from a white basecoat, which is a bit unusual for me as I prefer starting with Chaos Black. The cracks and rents over the model's body were painted first, starting with Blazing Orange, blending upward through Golden Yellow to Sunburst Yellow, then to Skull White in the deepest parts of the model... kind of 'reverse highlighting'.
The raised sections of armour started with a coat of Scab Red, then was blended through Red Gore to Blood Red towards the plate edges. A fine line of Blazing Orange was then added to the edges of each plate, before a thinned down wash in 50/50 Baal Red and Devlan Mud.
Originally, the Wailing Doom (the beasty's sword) was painted in a Charadon Granite-based scheme. Just recently, though, while painting my army's Farseer, I came across a fun painting article in White Dwarf... it's in the Beastmen release article, if you fancy a look. I liked the effect on the Farseer so much, that I decided to try it out on the Avatar. The end result is striking, and actually lightens up the colour scheme of the model.
Lastly, the hieroglyphic markings on the Avatar's - Horns? Antlers? - and the glyphs on his loincloth were painted on freehand. Again, it's advisable to mark out where your icon is going, to make it easier to keep the symbol neat; myself, I just go for it. In the end, go with whatever you feel most comfortable with, but don't be afraid to push the envelope... you won't know what you can do until you try!
~MyBlueOblivion