The Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set is great for getting into the game – it includes all the miniatures from the Introductory Set, and adds a Captain in Terminator Armour and five Terminators on the Space Marine side, facing off against a Winged Tyranid Prime , Psychophage , three Von Ryan’s Leapers , and 10 more Termagants and a Ripper Swarm. Using this knowledge, let’s make an example 1500 point list and look at the decisions made to make this force: Axiom Maniple For other pustules I paint those with Bugman’s Glow, then highlight them with a mix of Bugman’s Glow and Emperor’s Children Pink. I’m also going to hit most of these with Nurgle’s Rot later, but I’ll go very heavy in areas I really want the effect to stand out. Emma: Such a rich, vibrant teal colour! It’s perfect for Seraphon and many other models – I have even thinned it down to make a spooky verdigris for Grand Alliance Death models.

Green Chitin and Cloth: – Wash with Terradon Turquoise. – Layer with Lupercal Green, leaving the deepest recesses. – Highlight with Kabalite Green, focusing on the raised areas of the cloth/carapace. – Edge Highlight with Sybarite Green – Edge Highlight any bladed/horned parts of the carapace with Dawnstone. (Larger areas of Chitin on Metamorphs/Purestrains, Patriarch can be carefully Drybrushed instead for a more naturalistic, less clean look). Magos Purple and Shyish Purple were lighter Contrast paints, perfect for tinting and glazing . Out of the pot Luxion Purple provides a rich and luxurious layer. Basecoat any claws with Lupercal Green, shade with Coelia Greenshade, highlight with Sons of Horus Green

Drukhari: The Drukhari, also known as Dark Eldar, are a faction of sadistic and hedonistic space elves who reside in the Webway. Their armour and weapons are known for their sleek and elegant design, making them a perfect canvas for Magos Purple. The colour can be used to paint their vehicles, soldiers, and infantry to add a darker and more ominous look to their aesthetic.

Paint the base white/Wraithbone. Cover the base in Citadel Blood Angels Red Contrast (I lied about not using it, at least on the bases). While the paint is wet, bleed in some Citadel Troll Slayer Orange and stir it in places to give some variation to the red. Next I start hitting the pustules with Averland Sunset. I want these to be bright on the final model but I’m gonna cover them with Nurgle’s Rot, which will tint them green so I need them to be bright yellow. I add a dot of Flash Gitz Yellow to them as well.Blue/Grey Cloth: – Base with Dark Reaper. – Wash with Coelia Greenshade. – Highlight with Dark Reaper. – Edge Highlight with Thunderhawk Blue.

Then for once procrastination paid off, as what did we get later that year? Contrast paints, and with that I was sloshing away like a mad ham.

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Question remains, which is my favourite range of all? I’d say I still prefer Contrast, as they are the most richly pigmented paints, and have a good selection of colours. I wasn’t a fan of the original Speedpaints’ reactivation, but now that the 2.0 formula made the paints more stable, I found I use them more often, as the range offers a lot of choice. Xpress Colors’ slightly lower pigmentation limits their use a little bit, but they have some really nice colours and work well in combination with preshading, for example Slapchop or a zenithal basecoat. Instant Colors are the most different from all the others as they use opaque pigments, you can create some nice effects with them but I’ll only use them rarely. To get river/lake looking shiny I just kinda pour some gloss varnish from the bottle on, you will want a paper clip or something to poke any bubbles. The penultimate step is painting the rims with your choice of paint, in this case I used dryad to match my Tyranids. The last model thing the models need is to throw on some tufts, I like using these ones from Gamers Grass: