Age of Sigmar Painting Guide: Quick Blood Warriors

It might seem odd in the run up to Warhammer 40K 8th Edition to do a guide on painting Age of Sigmar models, but there is a rational reason.


Right now everything is up in the air about the new edition, and whilst we see the droplets of information rain down on us, there's not enough water in the data river to determine the best course through it all. As such, I've effectively put a lot of my 40K projects on standby, barring finishing up some painting projects.


It's given me a chance to address the state of AoS in the School Club, and it is with great shame I admit that I only finished constructing the models from the Starter box set a few days ago. AoS has been a minority game in the club, partly due to the student neophytes liking guns more than sword and board, but I think another factor has been teacher's models just looking so much cooler than unpainted plastic.


So I went ahead and fixed that:










Here's a step by step guide for Khorne Bloodbound Blood Warriors, as quick and dirty a method as I dared, but still making them look good. All of this is after a spray undercount of Mechanicus Grey, but frankly Chaos Black would do too.


Part 1: Gold



First, Basecoat with Retributor Armour. Use a big brush, because we want to coat the whole thing. Remember what Duncan says... two thin coats. There's a lot of tiny details on here we don't want to lose.






Then an all over wash of Reikland Fleshshade Gloss. You don't have to use the gloss, but it will keep your gold nice and shiny. This step gives you instant contrast, and looks amazing on these brass clad models.







Then an all over dry brush of Skull Crusher Brass, to bring back that bright golden colour.






Then a very light drybrush of Stormhost Silver, just along the very top of the model, and any edges that may catch the sun. Don't worry too much about getting the wrong spots, as the silver just makes your gold shiny. Don't over-do the dry brush though, as it will just look silver.






And that's the gold done. Put this in front of students and expect the AoS sales in your local game shop to go up 5%!


Part 2: Everything Else



Seems like a bit of a cheat, but once the gold's done, everything else is basically the same: Base coat, Agrax Earthshade Wash, highlight.


Start by blocking in the red panels, with good old Khorne Red. There's a kind of joy with this colour, as it goes on bright, and fades to a moody maroon when dry. It's one of those fun paints to use, unlike Trollslayer Orange, which looks great in the pot but looks pathetic on your miniature without 3 coats minimum.


That's probably the longest stage there is in this guide. Keep your paints thin, and just colour in between the lines. If you're feeling lazy, the gold is a perfect colour to go on those annoying under-bits where it's awkward to put your brush.


And then everything else. Leadbelcher for the iron/steel bits, XV-88 for your browns (or any brown really), and the one controversial bit; Incubi Darkness for boots or anything you want to be black.






The steel gets an all over wash of Agrax Earthshade. Pin wash the red panels, just in the recesses of the armour. Incubi Darkness gets two or three all over washes, bringing the whole thing down to a shaded black. This will save us highlighting them later.






Last bit now. Highlight the red panels with Evil Sunz Scarlet. Just trace the outline of the brass banding a little on the inside of the panel, and pick out any raised edges. Highlight the Steel with Stormhost Silver... and we're done!






Part 3: The Base



My Warhammer 40K models have an Eshin Grey base, to simulate some war-torn cityscape. For reasons I have forgotten, my Age of Sigmar models all have mystical orange sand bases. First, base coat with Joakaero Orange.






It was at this point I realised that Blood Warriors were on a smaller base to Stormcast Eternals. So... that again, but on a smaller base. Drybrush with Tau Light Ochre, and then a final light dry brush of Zamesi Desert. Then a few splashes of Agrax Earthshade for muddy a bit of colour.




Ignore Gregor Brownshoe... he was the test model...






It takes about 2 hours in total for all these models to be done, including drying time. I broke this up over a week, 10 mins here and there. By far the most time was spent blocking in the red panels, so that may be frustrating.


Some of you will have noticed I didn't paint any skin... no I didn't. But frankly the models look good enough with it. If I ever have time I'll go back, paint that in, and update this guide.


I hope that helps some of you get your models to table top faster. Keep in mind this work for nearly any chaos mortal model, including 40K Chaos Space Marines or Chosen.


Until next time!


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