WD 223 How to paint... 14/12/00 2:49 pm Page 64
HOW TO BUILD & PAINT YOUR
SOLDIERS OF THE EMPIRE
WARHAMMER REGIMENT
his article is aimed at helping beginners. More experienced painters
may also pick up a few useful tips as many of the points discussed will
Tbe of help whatever models you decide to paint. We ve only used the
colours that are available in the Warhammer Paint set, so if you have this set
the only other equipment you ll need are clippers, a modelling knife and/or
file, flock and glue.
1. PREPARATION
The first job is to remove the models from the
sprue. This is best done with a pair of clippers, as
you are less likely to break any of the more
delicate components. You ll see that you can make
up the models with either swords or halberds.
We ve chosen to make the soldiers into
Halberdiers here, but if you want to make them
into Swordsmen, most of the advice that follows
still applies.
Most gamers find it best to work on several
models at once, as it is quicker, and gives the glue
or paint time to dry. For example, if you glue the
heads on five models, the head on the first one
will be nicely stuck and won t fall off when you
come to put the arms on the body. Some people
like to work on a whole unit at once, but this can be
a bit daunting. We chose to work on the unit in two
lots of eight, as it seemed like a manageable number,
but you could work on more or less if you wish.
After we had clipped off enough parts to make eight
Halberdiers, we cleaned off any mould lines with a
small file, and checked that the parts actually fitted.
One of the great things about the new plastic
Warhammer Regiments is that you can really put a
great deal of life into a unit by the way you pose
the models. The first lot of models we made up
were for the front ranks of the unit so we wanted
them to have their halberds held forward ready to
hack at their foes! The legs, bodies and heads
were stuck together first, and then the models
were stuck onto their bases (polystyrene cement
is best for sticking plastic models together). The
arms were glued on next and finally the halberd
blades were stuck into place. When assembling
regiments of miniatures, it s a good idea to keep
ranking the models up in a line, to make sure they
fit together as a unit.
The sprue contains extra pieces such as feathers,
water bottles and additional armour plates. We ve only added a few of these onto our regiment but feel free to add
more if you want! To save time undercoating, we chose to use white spray paint. You can paint on Skull White paint
to undercoat the models, but spray paint is much quicker, and gives a more even coat. It s definitely worth investing
in, as you can undercoat over a hundred models with a single can.
WD 223 How to paint... 14/12/00 2:49 pm Page 65
2. GETTING STARTED
The first choice you need to make is what colour to
paint the uniforms. We chose Enchanted Blue
because it stands out well on the battlefield. You can
get ideas for colour schemes from White Dwarf,
Warhammer Armies books, Games Workshop stores
or even military history books.
When painting, it s always best to use a palette so
that the paint can be thinned with water or mixed
together to make new colours. Transfer a little paint
from your pot to the palette and always put the lid
straight back on the pot  this stops the paint drying
out and prevents a whole pot being wasted if it gets
knocked over.
Colour schemes
Any smooth surface will do for a palette. An old white plate or tile
We chose Enchanted Blue for our regiment,
is ideal, and even the plastic blister from a Citadel Miniature pack
but any strong colour would do. Red,
will do at a pinch. Take the paint on your brush and, if necessary,
yellow, green, purple, black and white will
mix it with a little water on the palette so that it is thin enough to
all work well as a uniform colour. You
flow easily into the detail. Sometimes it may be necessary to apply
could also try painting the models half one
two coats onto the model to give it a neat, flat colour.
colour and half another, though this takes a
little longer. Simple, strong colour schemes
We painted the uniforms on all eight models so that by the time
are faster to paint and often look better
we had painted the last one, the first one was dry and ready for
than a confused mix of lots of colours.
another coat or the next colour.
3. ADDING DETAIL
The next job was the face and hands, which were painted
with Elf Flesh (yes, even though they re not Elves!  Fat
Bloke). The hair, and any metal areas (like the halberd
blades and armour plates) were painted Chaos Black. It s a
good idea to paint metal areas black first, as it makes the
metal really stand out. We then painted over the black areas
(except the hair, of course!) with Chainmail. The hafts of the
halberds, the feet, and other areas of detail, such as hats,
were painted Bestial Brown. It s usually best to paint areas
like these in a dark colour like black or brown, as it is the
colour of the uniform that should really stand out on the
battlefield. Finally the bases were painted Goblin Green.
4. FINISHING THE REGIMENT
It was now time to go back and paint the second eight
Halberdiers to this standard before proceeding any further.
The only difference being that we put the halberds on at
a higher angle. This makes the whole unit look as though
it is charging into combat, with the troops in the front
rank levelling their weapons ready to attack, and those
behind advancing in support.
When all sixteen Halberdiers were completed, all that
remained was to add modelling flock to the bases. Add a
little water to some PVA glue, brush it over the top of the
base and dip it into the flock. Lightly shake the Halberdier
to remove the excess and repeat this for the rest of the
regiment. Flock adds texture to the bases and makes the regiment look even better on the battlefield.
Our completed unit now looks ready to face its foe on the battlefield. Of course there are loads of other things we
might have done; we deliberately didn t use the metal components to make the command group, or add any of the
extra equipment (the box includes shields for example). Maybe next time we could paint the jerkins and hose
different colours or add extra detail. All of these techniques are covered regularly in articles in White Dwarf, and
Games Workshop shop staff are always happy to help with tips and ideas.
On the other hand, you could spend the time painting a second unit to expand your army!