Painting Your New Warhammer 40k Miniatures

Deciding On A Paint Scheme

This process can either be really easy or take forever. It comes down to if you have a vision for your army or not. If you want to focus on the lore and are playing a specific subfaction, then they likely have a predefined colour scheme. Simple.

However, if you don't want to stick to your faction's colour scheme, are making up your own faction, or just want to get inventive with some colours, then it might take a little longer to decide. Sometimes a colour scheme idea just comes to me and other times I change my mind several times. Best thing I can recommend is to look at models other people have painted to get inspiration. You don't have to copy them, but you might like how a colour looks so you can work that into other ideas you have.

And remember, they are your miniatures, you can paint them however you want. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

Which Paints Do I Need?

There is no easy way to answer this question. Ok, that's a lie, there is. Games Workshop often puts out guides and videos on how to paint certain miniatures, especially Space Marine chapters. These guides give you a list of paints you'll need. I think there is even a list on the product pages on the Games Workshop website.

So what's the issue? These lists tend to be a bit overwhelming, especially if you're new to painting. Not to mention costly. I would suggest a simpler approach to begin with, then you can expand as you feel more comfortable.

Undercoat - GW do an excellent range of spray paints to undercoat your model with. This is an essential step otherwise the other paint won't stick properly. Which colour you choose will depend on how light or dark you want your paint scheme. But as a rule of thumb if you are using contrast paints, use the new white scar spray.

Contrast paints - These are GW black magic. They have made the task of painting good looking models miles easier. When applied over a light undercoat, these paints apply a high quality colour of your choice to the model while at the same time highlight edges and crevices. Just applying a full coat of this over the undercoat will make your model look great, then you can apply highlights over the top as needed. When you feel more comfortable, you will likely leave out certain parts of the model you might want to apply other contrast paints too. For an idea of what contrasts look like, look at the main banner image. It shows dozens of Stormcast Eternal models, all undercoated in White Scar then coated in different contrast paints. It should give you a good idea where to start.

Highlights - GW has a lot of names for their paints. But for now, all you really need to do is find the colour that looks right. Avoid contrast for highlights, shades or more like an oil wash, and let's not get into Air paints (airbrush, story for another day), but otherwise you should be good.

For a first model, aim for 3 colours. A main contrast and 2 highlights. Over time your collection of paints will grow, and you'll feel more comfortable experimenting. You'll also have an idea how each paint looks on the model.

Preparing To Paint

Paint scheme chosen - Check

Paints acquired - Check

So next you need to, you know, paint! But what do you need? Well you have the paint, but you'll need brushes. GW does a good variety of natural and synthetic brushes of different sizes, but don't feel like you have to use those. Any brush the right size will do. Unless you are painting tanks, I'd recommend a medium sized brush for general work, and a very small brush for detail.

Next you'll need a pot of water to wash your brushes, some tissue of some sort to wipe and dry them, and somewhere to mix paint. But can't I just paint straight out the pots? You ask. Well, you can, but even as a beginner it'll be much better if you put some paint on a palette and mix in a bit of water. This will thin out the paint and give you a much smoother finish. Trust me, it makes a hell of a difference. Contrast paints are generally good to put straight on the model though, as they are already thinner.

There are other things you could get, but you don't need them right away. A painting handle is useful to make it easier to hold the model at different angles (and to stop your hand cramping!). Depending on where you are painting you might also like a lamp you can point at your desk, just to see the model as clearly as you can. Go for a daylight bulb if you do this too, otherwise the orange tint from normal bulbs affect how your model looks.