Such an awesome choice of mini. It definitely suits your style Andy. To me, all those sharp angles and metal areas seem like you would intuitively know where to place the reflections. What I like watching most is where you decide to place the light right next to the dark. You are VERY awesome at this, and I wish I had the same feel for things as you.
You talk about the challenge of deciding what and where to underpaint. Since it is a shiney gray metal, wouldn't you just basecoat the whole thing in a light gray (fortress gray) and then just shade and HL??? Or is there something more to your methods that I am missing.
TMM is for historical miniatures. NMM is for fantasy figures. Makes them look more, well, fantastic. I don't see why there is any debate. *Disclaimer-I'm sure that Skel could show me a mini or two that could change my mind, but by and large I think Andy made the right choice going with NMM.
Once again Andy, in stunned disbelief at the beauty of your artistic pursuits.