I thought that, since the vast majority of the Troops in my army will be comprised of Regular Infantry Platoons, with their distinctive WWI German "Trench Warfare"-style uniforms (Chaos Black Flak Armor, "Pickelhaube" helmet/respirator & weapons, Adeptus Battlegrey uniform & backback), I should try and create a paint scheme for my armored vehicles that would match well with them and bring a strong sense of uniformity to my army.
I still haven't added any "weathering", "dirt", or "battle-damage" to my vehicles - I plan to do so in the future, but right now I'm just trying to concentrate on completing a basic, tabletop-ready force.
I used Boltgun Metal for the majority of the highlighting (rivets, weapons, surface features, treads, etc.).
The hatch on the back of the tank is JUST wide enough to allow an extremely tiny MP3 Player (with earphone speakers) to fit inside. Granted, it doesn't sound particularly loud on the tabletop (even when turned all the way up)...but then again, you wouldn't want it to be too distracting, anyway, as it would "take away" somewhat from the fun of the game. However, it is pretty damn cool to hear great military marches like "Panzerlied" (from the movie "Battle of the Bulge"), or the "Aces High March" (from the movie Battle of Britain), or other awesome themes emanating from my Command Chimera as my army is deploying for battle or advancing on the enemy during my Movement Phase. It also has a pretty cool side effect - it tends to "unnerve" my opponents a bit...
The "Fur Den Kaiser!" and "VI Krieg" logos on the side armor were added by printing a tiny banner via my computer, trimming it to fit, and simply gluing it into place (there is NO WAY I could ever have painted any text in that size myself and expected it to be in any way legible). The Maltese Crosses mounted on the sides of the tank (which I think helps a great deal to give the model a distinctively "German" look) came straight off of a Black Templars Space Marine Upgrade Sprue. Expect to see more of these (in the near future) on ALL of my armored vehicles.
I know that it says "VI Krieg" on the side (whereas Colonel Hessler's own "personal" Tank Regiment is supposed to be from the 5th Krieg Panzer Division). However, as he would normally command the 5th Krieg from a Leman Russ or Baneblade tank cupola (instead of a Chimera), I decided to put "VI Krieg" on his Command Chimera (as it would most likely be drawn from an Panzergrenadier Regiment within the 6th Krieg ("VI Krieg") Panzergrenadier Division) to differentiate when he is exercising command over the Kampfgruppe as a whole.
I think that the choice of a predominantly Adeptus Battlegrey tank hull (with a limited amount of Chaos Black on the turret, weapons and side armor) combined with some Boltgun Metal highlighting helps to give the tank a distinctively "WWI/WWII German Army" look.
This predominantly two-tone (and non-camoflaged) paint scheme may seem a little "dull" to some, but I think that it blends very well with the overall army theme.
Here's a shot of Colonel Hessler and his Company Command Squad of Plasma Gun-toting Carapace-Armored Veterans together with their ride. Though their own uniform color scheme doesn't match exactly with that of their vehicle, this is all right - remember, Veteran Troops are supposed to be more "elite" than their Regular counterparts, and their distinctive Chaos Black Carapace Armor and headgear (with Mithril Silver highlights) helps to set the Veterans apart from the more numerous Regulars.
Lastly, here is a photo of one of my Regular Infantry Troopers (wearing the army's predominant Adeptus Battlegrey/Chaos Black color scheme) standing in front of the Command Chimera. You can see in the picture how well the Infantry's color scheme and the Armor's color scheme combine together to convey a strong sense of uniformity throughout the army.
Next up: TBA (I have several projects I'm working on at the moment, in various stages of completion). But, to give you an idea of what to look forward to, these projects include:
More Carapace-Armored Veteran Squads (painting)
Regular Infantry Squads (painting)
Ogryn Squad (painting)
Imperial Heavy Mortar (painting)
Leman Russ Demolisher (assembling and painting)
Deathstrike Missile Launcher - transporting a German V-2 Rocket! (assembling and painting)
- Colonel Hessler
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