Technically another UK Games Expo (UKGE) miniature as that’s where I picked up the 2023 Event Exclusive Miniature. I have half-hearted plans to start an army for most of the factions in Warhammer 40,000 and the Imperial Guard (sorry, Astra Militarum) are no different. I have already painted up a couple of tanks, one of which I featured on this very blog. So a Commissar would be a worthy addition. 

Assembly was fairly simple, I kept the Commissar himself separate from his base for ease of painting. For the base, I managed to find a space to add a skull and then used Vallejo Red Oxide Texture paste to blend the mound of rocks with the base. Once it had fully cured both sub-assemblies were primed grey. 

Starting from the inside and working outwards, I painted his skin with Vallejo Dark Fleshtone. I have talked about it before but the ideal wash for dark skin is, I find, purple as it maintains the vibrancy of the skin where a black or brown wash would suck the colour from it. To that effect I used Army Painter Purple Ton, once that was dry I gave the skin a coat of Matt Varnish as Purple Tone can be quite glossy. To highlight the skin, I mixed Dark Fleshtone about fifty-fifty with Cadian Fleshtone and applied it to the raised areas. 

Ordinarily, a Commissar’s uniform would be black along with their great coat but I reasoned that this would turn the model into one dark blob. So instead I elected to paint his uniform with Vallejo English Uniform, the same colour that I have used for Guardsmen before. His pistol holster and boots I painted with Rhinox Hide. The pistol grip and belt buckle I painted with Army Painter Speedpaint Broadsword Silver. The crests on his chest and belt buckle I then picked out with Scale75 Old Copper. The uniform, except the pistol grip, was then washed with Army Painter Strong Tone. For highlights, I added small scratches of Skrag Brown to the holdster, making it look like aged and worn leather. For the uniform itself, I mixed English Uniform with some Vallejo Pale Sand and applied this to the edges and folds in the fabric. Finally, I painted the buttons with a dot of Scale75 Old Copper. 

Moving onto the ubiquitous great coat and peaked cap, I started by giving them a couple thin coats of Corvus Black. The interior of the great coat and the cuffs I then base coated with Mephiston Red. The trim of the coat, and the emblem on the cap was painted with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. After that I gave everything a wash of Nuln Oil. Rather than layer things back up, I instead moved right to the highlights. For the cuffs it was a simple case of applying a small amount of Evil Sunz Scarlet to the raised areas. For the coat itself, I highlighted it with small scratches of Two Thin Coats Dungeon Stone to give it an aged and worn appearance. 

With the majority of the model done I could move onto the final details. The casing of the bolt pistol I painted with Vulkan Green. The metallic details like the workings of the bolt pistol and the blade of the power sword I painted with Army Painter Speedpaint Broadsword Silver. The gold details such as the power sword hilt and the epaulettes on the shoulders with Scale75 Dwarven Gold. These areas were then washed with Army Painter Strong Tone. The handle of the power sword and the wax seal on the purity seal I painted with Screamer Pink, which were then washed with Nuln Oil. The parchment was painted with Army Painter Skeleton Bone and then washed with Strong Tone. For the book behind his back, I painted the cover with Vulkan Green, the pages with Skeleton Bone and the ribbon with Mephiston Red. The whole book was then washed with Strong Tone. 

Moving onto the base, I painted the dirt with a few thin coats of Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth and the rocks with Two Thin Coats Dungeon Stone. The skull I picked out with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. I then washed the whole base with Army Painter Strong Tone. Once that was dry I then drybrushed the base with Tyrant Skull, giving the dirt and skulls a heavier coat whilst only catching the edges of the rocks. I then dabbed on some PVA glue and sprinkled on some Geek Gaming Scenics Base Ready Patchy Plains. I then cut up a flower tuft so that it fit on the base and glued it on next to the skull. Lastly, I painted the rim of the base with Steel Legion Drab and he was done. 

Or was he?

The model’s stance absolutely lends itself to getting one of those muzzle flashes to put in the end of his bolt pistol and doing some object source lighting (OSL). But I didn’t feel like buying a set of muzzle flashes just to use one and I didn’t feel brave enough to try OSL again. Afterall, my last attempt didn’t turn out spectacular. So I was happy to leave him as is. However, a recent order I had put into Anvil Industries arrived and to my surprise one of the sprues had a muzzle flash on it. So feeling fortunate, I clipped it from the sprue and drilled a small hole in the base to glue in a short length of brass wire. I then primed it grey and gave it a few thin coats of Army Painter Matt White. I then used Imperial Fist, Gryph Hound Orange and Blood Angels Red contrast paints to create a gradient across the muzzle flash from yellow at the base to red at the tip.To finish it off I added a small amount of Corvus Black at the very tip. For the OSL effect itself, I used the airbrush to apply a thin coat of Liquitex Titanium White Acrylic Ink where the light would fall. The directional nature of airbrushes made this quite easy, but I was careful not to apply too much. White Ink is opaque and I didn’t want to completely cover up the paint job I’d spent a fair amount of time on. I then used Army Painter Matt White to edge highlight where the light would be strongest, so predominantly around the front of the bolt pistol but I also added a bit on his collar and the rim of his hat. I then returned to the airbrush using it to apply an even coat of Imperial Fist contrast paint where the light would fall. It turned out alright for a quick and dirty OSL effect, I do feel Imperial Fist is a little bit green however so I didn’t push it particularly far.