Librarian in Terminator Armor Complete!

My full HQ Selection is now complete for The Independent Characters' 2014 Hobby Progress Challenge!

I've never been a huge fan of the blue that librarians typically sport, so I wanted to duplicate the color of an old tech marine I made (see here), and I think it turned out well!  I also wanted to break away from the typical accessories for this model: weapon in right hand, bolter or nothing in left.  This [spell] book from a ravenwing kit seemed perfect and beautifully oversized, and the Halberd of Caliban worked nicely once I trimmed the sword off the top and extended it a bit at the bottom.

Here's a rundown of the work as it progressed!

Stripped down from a previous paint job (I got this guy for a great price at the Origins Game Fair last year!)

I like to assemble models and test color schemes before any real painting, so this shows the basic concept in foundation paints.

A watery layer of lich purple went over the mecrite red foundation and was topped off with a thin layer of red gore.  I was tempted to stay with the purple for a bit, but the fluff around this successor chapter calls for red armor, so I stayed the course and enjoyed the final shade too.

This is where things got interesting!  Warpglow Green is an awesome color and I decided that I'd like it to be the warp energy for this miniature.  Originally, I wanted to make the eyes and mouth the central warp features, but I just could not get it to feel "electric" enough without making him look like he had recently barfed a toxic avenger.  Even bringing Scorpion Green in for the brightest shade didn't do it, so I decided to fool around with the book.  From there, the concept took off for me and the result is a lot more dynamic than I could have hoped for, based on previous attempts with lighting.

With the overall concept complete, all that remained were the details, some red highlighting, and - more significantly - the modeling/green stuffing for the hands and accessories.  I won't pretend that this is professional grade, but once there was paint on there, they came together well.

The final product is probably best seen in the first picture of this post, but here you can see a couple of near-complete photos taken in better lighting.

Anyway, that's it for the Librarian!  Next up, Deathwing Knights!