With the coat of sealant dry, I basecoated the Mech with Vallejo Neutral Grey.
Once again, for simplicity, assume I'm using Vallejo paints and thinning with a drop or two of water, Glaze Medium, and Slo-Dry.
I added Black to detail areas, and I also added Vallejo Gory Red throughout the miniature as a start for the red trim. The base was given a couple of coats of German Camo Medium Brown, since I am looking to achieve a dirt-and-grass effect.
After the basecoat, I used a GW Black Ink wash mixed with Black paint to darken the grey and further define the shadows and panels.
The next step is quite time consuming, and can vary depending on your skill, experience, and desired level of detail. I chose to blend and highlight the individual panels on the Mech using four shades of grey with a feathering technique. I also chose to make the light source from the Mech's front left (your right) and slightly elevated. I'd never done any light-study pieces before, so I was really learning a great deal as I applied the blending layers.
Midway between highlighting the Mech's left side, I took a break and began to detail the destroyed Mech head on the base. A thinned layer of Ral Partha Tan was used to basecoat, then a dry brushing of U.S. Field Drab to achieve a camo pattern. A couple of thinned washes of GW Black Ink, and the color was set.
Black was used to fill in the eye sockets, and wires and myomers on the neck. A quick blue jeweled cockpit glass added the glass effect, and then GW Boltgun Metal was used to add scraped metal throughout the damaged areas. A final touch-up wash of GW Black Ink added the final shadows and grime.
Finally, the grey highlights are complete - and I also did the red areas and black gun barrels with a subtle grey. The red highlights were done using Gory Red, Bloody Red, and a mix of ¼ Gory Red and ¾ Skull White. (I always feel odd applying pink to a Mech, but that's how you highlight red.)
Now that the basic paintjob was done, I could start adding details and insignia. I painted the skull and snakes on the legs, and then worked on adding numbers and the Mech's name "Olympus" in Greek letters. Drop shadowing of the letters and numbers was done by painting the letter or number in black first, then going back over it slightly offset with Gory Red. I also added a jeweled effect to the cockpit glass using Gory Red, and two shades of Light Orange.
