Not sure about ... the chunky rock
The colour of the rock or the shape/style? I went rock hunting out in the bush. It's amazing what rocks and shapes you can find. Even one that fits a GW cavalry base perfectly!
always looks better without these
Yeah I totally agree. Mine are ghost energy poles with rusted spear tips anyway. Probably a little hard unless I had ghostly banners. Plus buying figures off E-bay means you don't always get a full set

like to see someone who has an personnel style 
Thanks, thats very kind! I think I need to run my paints thinner, and keep my brushes sharp. It got a bit messy. I was trying to layer for the first time on this fig, and I'm pretty happy how it turned out. (especially at table height.. but it's no golden demon winner

) Hot summers tend to dry out the paints pretty quickly ive found out!