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I recently purchased a lot on eBay of Guard vehicles that are basecoated in colors similar to the rest of my army. I intend in the coming weeks to finish these off, and have started on two Tank Commanders. However, I'm unsure how I want to approach the highlights.

I could do just basic edge highlighting, but I'm afraid that would make the models look too cartoon like.

I could drybrush for speed and to help hide the difference of the black colors used (had to touch up as some chipped off), but I'm not sure it would be "good enough".

One coworker suggested I do a wetblend towards the edge and then layer the highlight color (as the base colors are black and a red stripe), but I'm not sure how long that process will take. This would be my very first time trying to wetblend as I'd been more focused on finishing my infantry and haven't had a chance to practice.

What do you suggest I try? Examples would be greatly appreciated as well.

The key to edge highlight is not to do it everywhere and at the same consistency, for example where 3 lines meet I go with a lighter edge color, where 2 lines meet I go with standard highlight and keep it somewhat messy.
Then I add in the other colors and decals before weathering to make it slightly worn.
https://i.imgur.com/CazGyG8.jpg

Don't wet blend. Vehicles need highlighting in different ways to figures. You want the lightest areas to be in the middle of each panel. You can of course skew the lightest areas towards the section of the panel that makes most sense, but you still want depth around the panel lines.

I'm assuming you don't have an airbrush, which would be the easiest option here. You could look into stippling, which is where you build up the depth by using a spherical tipped brush. I've seen this used to great effect on vehicles before.