Which came first?

The jack or the story?

Well, the jack. I have owned this Destroyer for 5 years now. I got a second Khador Battle box the first winter I played Warmachine...that means either Winter 2003 or Spring 2004. I got it when a LGS wasn't sure WM would last and was selling all the stock off at 30% off. Even then I had planned for a second paint scheme of winter white, the reason I got it.

So, the Landmark battle betwixt Red and I is coming up, and I decided to go a little crazy, fielding a Kharchev 'all-jack' list. I decided an all red force would get amazingly boring quickly, so I decided to spice things up. I had decided to paint two berzerkers; one red & one black, (Much more on this later.) This left the a Destroyer and Juggernaut. Avec la Destroyer!

So, once I thought about making the Destroyo blue...well, I lost my way. I tried GW Storm Blue thinned with ink, and the whole thing came out so dark it was almost purple! Ick, not my vision at all. Not that I had a vision then, but if it's wrong, you just know it, n'cest pas?

So, it was at that point I remembered that during the Legends story line, Khador had finally kicked those Cygnaran interlopers out of Northguard. What gets left behind in such matters? Incidentals like, say, paint! Rubbing my hands in child like glee, I drug out my copy of Prime and began reading the Cygnar painting guide. Whaddya think?

Here you can see my new-found obsession with line based shading. I kept the contrast bold, but totally screwed up the lines themselves. It was only after I was mostly done with this one, and the Juggernaut when I realized that the highlight should be sitting on the top of the shoulder instead of sloping to the edge. Well, lesson learned is all I can say. -sigh- Neat how the flash brought out the orange coals in the grate....

The story behind the paint was that this Desty was damaged and in need of repair, and finding the supply lines stretched, mechanics helped themselves to stuff left behind from the protracted struggle. Desty got done up in Cygnar colors first as a mockery, but then as more of a tribute to the brave fallen during the months of battle and siege.

This was also my first attempt at battle damage. I had read about both opinions, either only paint, or paint enhanced real damage to the mini. Prior to priming, I severely scratched up the surface of the right shoulder and left cuisse. I got no real satisfaction from what I did. I laid in some GW Tin Bitz, then highlighted with lighter and lighter shades of metal. All I got was murk. There seemed to be no way for it to stand out. The flash washed it a little bit too, sorry.

Also, since the photo, I completed the final detailing and flocked the base. final piccys may have to wait until Landmark battle day.