For nmm learning I find the hasslefree 40mm Tiriel or the one AndyG paints now (also hasslefree) much better.
And skintones... there is always something to learn about them, to improve.
for LnL I don't know what figures you have but Cyriss or Retribution figures can look great and because of the limited palette they use, they could be painted relatively fast.
well if you want FW, then yes, that dwarf has good areas of armor for metals(nmm or other) and the heads of dwarves are usually good for painting faces.
thanks Maxxx as always for the good advice and references.
As far as quickly putting a mini together for LnL, I'd have to finish my current project first. The wife is taking issue with the $$ I'm dropping into the hobby without finishing any projects , so unfortunately I can't put the Frozen hero on hold to work on a P3 mini. Tempting as this may be. I don't own any so I'd have to drop some cash on a mini that may or may not get done in time. Sad really because I've been DYING to enter a competition. Was supposed to do the Wyrd 2014 on WAMP but I ran out of time and now have a 90 percent complete Ronin just sitting on my work desk.
I love the Axenarf Andy is working on. That's actually a 6th anniversary edition. The original version is similar in quality and I considered purchasing it just cuz it's so cheap!!! Thanks for pointing out the 40mm figure, but I actually prefer this one, which is similar to the figure on Ten Ball's page one WIP:
http://www.hfminis.co.uk/shop?product=daphos~hfe004&category=miniatures~fantasy-elves
But I am really, really digging this Chaos dwarf by FW. All the lines in his face, and the texture of his beard. It's lovely. I'll do his pistol in a cold blue-black steel. He has some angular plate mail AND some scale mail. It calls to me on an intrinsically prehistoric level. It was ordained like 10,000 years before the dinosaurs that I paint this mini....
And I was by no means insinuating that I am an expert of faces/skin. In fact I have a ton to learn. I'm just not a virgin of them like I am with other aspects of painting. Actually, I'm picking this model because I get to work on his face.