Berserkers causing problems

I really wanted this post to be a picture of the completed regiment of berserkers. However, they are causing me some headaches to paint them to a decent standard.

Several years ago I painted in a fairly conventional manner - a base coat, a wash, then highlights (or layers as some call them). More recently, I have been experimenting with cutting out the highlight stages, as these are the most time consuming to perform. I thought I had made good progress with some of my recent efforts and was hoping I could do the same on these dwarfs.

Here are the two "cheat" bases to show how they look at the moment. They are a decent tabletop standard, but I like to get above this level. Trying to achieve it without using highlights is proving a challenge. On these figures, I might have to throw in the towel and admit defeat. Some highlighting is perhaps inevitable. There is certainly more work required on the weapons, the skin and the hairy bits ie just about all the model. I guess you just can't rush a dwarf!