Friday, 16 June 2017

New 40k - How To Paint Mentor Legion


It can't have passed anyone who games by that this weekend sees the release of the edition of Warhammer 40k!

I haven't looked forward to a new edition like this in quite a few editions, but with the fresh streamlined approach to the rules, the advancement in the storyline and the exciting new miniatures, I'm as excited as the 18 year old me was with the release of 2nd edition.

As I've been documenting previously, my first love is Eldar (now renamed Aeldari to reflect their own language) and as such they're my choice for my main army in 8th edition.  

But the pull of the new Primaris Marines is strong....

Given that I've bought the new box, It would be churlish not to paint at least one.. or two.. or maybe all of them to go with my Ultramarines!

New Toys!

To give me a bit of a challenge however, and to pay homage to a piece of the older storyline, I decided to paint my first Primaris as a brother of the Mentor Legion.  Famed for using experimental equipment, it seemed only fitting that they'd get to pick Primaris Marines first!

After building the Marine, which went together really easily, I undercoated it with Mechanicum Grey.  This gave me a good base for both the white and green areas of the armour.

I always tackle the hardest parts first - in this case, the white armour.  White is a difficult colour to get right, and can look bland if not dealt with properly.

I start mine with a thin coat of Celestra Grey, avoiding the joints in the plates, to allow for the effect of shadows and separation.  These were then shaded using Nuln oil, making sure to only get it in the crevices.  Once this was dry, I tidied up any over spill.


A second coat of 50:50 Celestra Grey and Ulthuan Grey was then applied to all but the shaded areas.

This was then overpainted with pure Ulthuan Grey, brightening the plates.  

A final coat of White Scar was then applied.  You may need to apply more than one coat to create a solid white rather than a dirty white - this is up to the painter.

The green areas were base coated with Caliban Green, making sure to avoid the white areas.  Any areas that you do accidentally catch can be touched up at the end.


This is then washed with Biel-Tan Green wash to deepen the colour and create shades.

Once this is dry, edge highlight with Warpstone Glow, and then, using a small sized brush, add a second edge highlight of Moot Green.  Any areas that you think are too thick on the highlight can be touched up using Caliban Green to sharpen the highlight

The eye lenses were painted Runefang Steel, and then overpainted with Spiritstone Red - I love the gem Technical paints for things like this as they give a lustre to the lenses.  The Bolt Rifle was painted Abaddon Black, with the gun metal areas painted Leadbelcher.  Once this was dry, the whole gun was given a light dry brushing of Leadbelcher to give a worn look. The devotional eagle on the weapon and the eagle on the chest plate were painted with Retributor Armour, washed with Seraphim Sepia and highlighted with Liberator Gold. The oath paper was painted Rakarth Flesh, and Mephiston Red for the wax seal, and highlighted with Pallid Wytch Flesh and Wild Rider Red.


The final touches were the weathering on the base, and the Chapter Symbol.  I always add a little weathering in the same tone as the base to tie the model together - otherwise it can look a little 'shop fresh'!  I also edge highlighted the pouches and holster using Mechanicum Grey.

The final step is to seal the mini using a satin varnish - I use Army Painter 'no shine' for preference.

All in all this took about 6 hours to do from undercoat to finish - but worth every minute!

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