Basing a Vargheist as a Daemon Prince

Introduction

Another thing that has been sitting on my shelf for ages: a Vargheist painted but not based. An impulse purchase, I did not know what to do with it for a time, until it dawned on me that it is around the same size as the Goblin King that I'm using as a Daemon Prince. With the advent of dual Malefic Talons in 8th edition 40K, this gore-drenched vampire painted in a surprisingly fleshy, human-esque color scheme will fit the mold perfectly.

Fix the paintjob

I really liked the way it was painted. The more fleshy and human-like the appearance, the more disturbing the overall look (uncanny valley?). Then again, I wanted to fix a couple of things.

The model was most likely not varnished, and the paint chipped on the tip of the nose and chin. I fixed it with a dab of Elf Skintone. It looked funny, so I applied the same a superhighlight on the ears and cheeks.

The claws were most likely not finished, left the same color as the skin. I initially thought of doing them bonewhite, but I intend this guy to stand on a pile of skulls, and I don't want the claws to be lost among the bones. I decided to try a more browny color scheme.

Basecoat with 1:1 mix Heavy Brown - Heavy Orange. This should make it stand apart from the skin.

Layer in Heavy Brown, leaving the original around the base of the claws.

Continue 1:1 mix Heavy Brown - Filthy Brown, lightening up the color.

Lighten up further with 1:1 mix Heavy Brown - Bonewhite.

Finish with a slight highlight of Bonewhite.

Blend the colors with some Agrax Earthshade.

Paint the base

While painting the Great Unclean One, I stumbled upon a neat color scheme for dark earth. Not very impressive by itself, but I think it's an excellent background if there are other elements on the base that should attract the attention of the viewer.

Alas, this is the finished base. I first painted the visible ground with the dark earth color scheme, then all the skulls.

Finished!