Painting:
I tried a different technique on this mini that I've had some success experimenting on previous mecha minis. I used a sponging technique, where you take a piece of artist sponge and dab various shades of the same color paint over the basecoat. It gives a real nice speckled/marbled look to the paint job - and even doubles as a decent camo pattern.
You can purchase an artist sponge at any craft store, or you can even find one at a bath-and-body store! Now, the sponge is very large, and probably overkill if you use the entire thing to dab paint on. I only use a small piece when I "sponge" minis. Take a pair of scissors to cut off a piece no bigger than your finger. The following picture is a typical sponge:
Start out with your darkest color, dab your sponge piece into the paint, and dab it on a paper towel to remove any excess. Then apply this in a random pattern on your mini, sponging your paint on. Repeat with as many lighter colors as you want, remembering to overlap some of the previously darker areas.
With this mini, for the green pattern I used:
- VMC German Camo Extra Dark Green
- VMC German Camo Dark Green
- VMC Luftwaffe Camo Green
- VMC German Camo Bright
After completing the sponging patterns, I let the mini dry overnight, and then applied a few layers of a light green ink glaze (70% water, 20% Future, 10% GW Dark Green Ink) to tie in all the different colors.