Not ready for GD yet

So, I've continued my theme of model renovation into the single Fantasy character category. Below are before and after pictures of an High Elf Everqueen model I originally painted about 8 years ago. See if you can guess which things I changed? I'll give the answer in a follow up post.
Eventhough I think she is improved, the dress is not quite GD-quality. I'm having trouble getting the inspiration and courage to paint a nice pattern onto the dress. I guess I still have a month and a half. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to here them.

Blood Angels Sanguinary Priest

Finally started taking pictures of my recent paintings. The first is a Sanguinary Priest (Apothecary). I've never painted a lot of white, so it was a real challenge for me.

The new Codex: Blood Angels allows me to take up to 3 Apothecaries as a single Elite choice, but they are all independent characters that grant a 6" Feel-No-Pain bubble (as opposed to vanilla marines, where they only grant FNP to the command squad). I gave him a jump pack, so I could Deep Strike him (Descent of Angels gives a re-roll on reserves rolls, and only 1D6 scatter). I also gave him an Inferno Pistol (6" melta pistol). The first time I used him, I dropped him in behind a Vindicator tank, blew it up, then jumped to the nearest Tactical Squad to spread the FNP love.

40k Squad Complete

Golden Demon 2010 entry number two is now complete. I finished the movement tray for the squad two nights ago. Although the rules claim that the display base does not get judged, they recommend you have one to ease model transportation. Therefore, I created a modest base that ensured good spacing between the models. Another significant addition to this squad was the addition of Karandras' helmet to the base. My original vision for this model was to show Karandras without his helm. I liked that his tall top-knot-like pony tail could fit rather comfortably inside the tall helmet. However, this aspect would be lost on those not already familiar with the original sculpt of the model. Therefore, I painted and added the helmet to the base to show that he has temporarily taken it off. Below are pictures of the whole squad and then Karandras alone.

Golden Demo 40k Squad

I painted up a squad for the Golden Demon two years ago and did not win (although they earned a finalist pin). The five models I entered took me a painfully long time to paint and I still don't have the energy to try painting up a whole squad again. Instead, I'm going to give this squad a makeover and try again. I believe I made two significant mistakes with the squad the first time. The first mistake was the use of gloss varnish and the second mistake was insufficient "wowness."

I normally spray all of my freshly painted models with gloss varnish to provide a durable protective coating that I then over coat with a less durable but matte, dull coat spray. In the past, this dull coat layer was enough to remove the shiny look but not this time. Successive layers of the dull coat have proven unsuccessful :-( Nevertheless, I have strong plans for fixing the "wowness" issue. If you've heard me rant on this issue before, you can probably guess that I mean more contrast and bolder hardlines. Below is one of the models that received the wowness makeover.
The image on the left is before the makeover. The middle image is after the first round of hard lines and highlights. The hardlines came our really rough, so I spent several more hours on the squad smoothing them out. Additionally, I added more highlights to the greens and painted runes on their forehead. I like the results (minus the irremovable shine).

Hardliner T-shirts for Games Day?

So, I thought it might be cool to finally get Hardliner T-shirts done (with Games Day around the corner). There is a popular online company (Customink.com) that happens to be located 25 min from my house that I plan on ordering from. Below is the color and style that I propose. Nevertheless, I'm open to suggestions. Additionally, since our order number will not be large enough to gain any bulk discounts, we could all get different color schemes and the cost wouldn't change. With shipping, each would cost $23. I've asked if they will give a discount if I pick them up (no response yet).

OSL Fire Prism - Update 7.5

I know that I said that I was completely done painting the tank in the last update, but I just didn't like the way the canopies looked. They seemed too light colored to be believable (image on left). After all, if so little light gets out the canopy that I cannot see the crew inside, then it must be dark. The picture below (on right) shows the second repainting of the canopies. The first repainting just involved shading the current paint job with successive thin layers of black to make it darker. This turned out to be too blah--with the black fading up to a dark gray. The current version fades from black to purple to blue. I like it better.