Finishing up the First Team
Well, my last update finished with me getting the Codex Grey Uniforms painted on 3 of the 6 FireWarriors, so my first step was finishing the other three. Basically, anything that looked more like cloth than metal, ceramic or plastic, got the Codex Grey Treatment. As I mentioned before, there is some very good texture here that gets lost in the uniform (no pun intended) grey. I may at some point go back and do a light wash of Black ink to bring the detail out, but I'm going to leave it alone for now.

Hard-Wear
Once the uniform was complete, it was time to hit the biggest of my detail colors: Chaos Black. Here I focused on equipment and bits that looked like they would be plastic or a similar material in the modern military. This includes the soles of boots, the stock and some of the "furniture" on the gun and the housing around the helmet optics. I'm not sure why this was such a messy step. It may be that I was tired and not as cautious, or perhaps simply that Black is such a thick, obvious color, but I made more little slips of the brush with this step than all of the others combined.

Going for the Gold
The next detail color was Shining Gold. I used this to pick out the globe shape at the front of the gun and the little circles on the left wrist. I also picked out a few of the buttons on the right wrist with it. To keep my hands steady, I locked them together. If I had been sitting as I painted (instead of standing next to a window for better lighting) I would also have put my elbows on the table for more stability. As it was, it worked pretty well.

Visualize Red
I have never done lenses or gemstones before, but I've always liked the look. Despite the miniscule size of the optics here, I decided I wanted to try it. For the main lens on the helmet (which had previously been painted black) I made a little crescent of Blood Red in the lower right quadrant, and put a tiny speck of white in the opposite quadrant. Although it's really hard to see in the picture, I think it turned out quite well. For the gun sight, I used a similar idea, but I made it more rectangular. I don't think it worked quite as well, but I think it will suffice. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the lens effect to show up on my camera (mostly due to poor lighting on my part.)

Varnishing Act
The final step here is coating the miniature in matte varnish to cut down the amount of shine it gives. While I like shiny models, I think it enhances the look of the Tau, making the armor look more like ceramic or maybe plastic, rather than metal. It also allows me to paint some highlights using a gloss varnish, which lets me highlight Skull White without diluting it. Unfortunately, the combination of poor lighting and my camera can't really show this step, so you'll just have to see them in person.

The List and what has been accomplished
100pts Commander Shas 'El Crisis Suit: Cyclic Ion Blaster, Plasma Rifle, Hardwired Multitracker, Targeting Array.--Partially Assembled

73pts Shas 'Ui Team Leader Crisis Suit: Burst Cannon, Plasma Rifle, Hardwired Multi-tracker, Targeting Array.--Assembled
73pts Shas 'Ui Team Leader Crisis Suit: Burst Cannon, Plasma Rifle, Hardwired Multi-tracker, Targeting Array.

80pts Shas 'la FireWarriors x5, with Shas 'Ui Team Leader with Markerlight and Pulse Rifle.--Done (except shoulder pads) 70pts Pirahna: Fusion Blaster, Targeting Array--Assembled

396pts.

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