Painting Some Rifts Miniatures

Line Walker after base coat

I'm finally getting around to painting some Rifts minis that I intended to start working on back in 2010. It has been a long time coming, and these miniatures have remained in their original packaging for quite some time now, but it's about time that they got some fresh air and a few good coats of paint. I don't know if I'll ever actually use them, since Rifts isn't mini-dependent at all, and we aren't even running a Rifts game at the moment... but painting them will be fun nonetheless. I decided to start with two of my favorites: a line walker and a Coalition SAMAS.

I already have a pretty good idea of my plans for the line walker. I'm planning to paint him in traditional blue tones, reminiscent of this classic piece of art:

It really wasn't even much of a choice at all... I tend to use blue a lot in my miniatures (just look at my Eldar), and this has been one of my favorite images from the Rifts game since I was in elementary school.

I'm still a little undecided on which way to go with the SAMAS, though. I want him to look cool, but most of my painting is restricted to base colors, dry brushing, and washes. I'm considering several approaches:

• Base black, dry brush Boltgun Metal, wash with Badab Black
• Base black, first coat Boltgun Metal, dry brush Mithril Silver, several washes with Badab Black
• Base gray, dry brush Boltgun Metal, several washes with Badab Black

Either way, I'll go back in later and add a serial number in white. Any suggestions?