WIP

Greathelm: Red Knights

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    10 Sep 2025
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This scheme is based strongly on the official artwork from Sean Sutter, for this new game. How to paint a team of Red Knights to a decent standard. These knights will also be doing double duty in my retinues for "The Barons' War".

I started by priming with Sanguine Red . This is not a compulsory step, but it makes the next steps easier.

Red Cloth

  1. Basecoat with Mephiston Red .
  2. Soft shade generously with Khorne Red .
  3. Shade more selectively, with a 1:1 mix of Khorne Red and Abaddon Black .
  4. Apply chunky highlights with Evil Sunz Scarlet .
  5. Now add fine highlights of Troll Slayer Orange .
  6. Selectively highlight corners and curves with Fire Dragon Bright .
  7. Finish with very small/specular highlights of 1:1 Fire Dragon Bright and White

Cream Cloth

  1. Basecoat with 3:1 Steel Legion Drab and White .
  2. Shade the recesses with some thinned Baneblade Brown .
  3. Enhance the shading with a small amount of Steel Legion Drab , in particuarly deep parts.
  4. Mix Steel Legion Drab and White 1:1 and add chunky highlights to the cloth.
  5. Now with 1:3 Steel Legion Drab and White , add fine highlights to the cloth.
  6. Finish with fine, selective highlights of pure White .

Dark Brown Leather

  1. Basecoat with Rhinox Hide .
  2. Add edge highlights to everything and volumetric highlights with Doombull Brown .
  3. Selectively highlight with XV-88 , using the big highlights from the previous stage as a guide.
  4. Finish with very small Screaming Skull highlights.

Padded Armour

  1. Basecoat with 1:1 Karak Stone and White .
  2. Wash with Tallarn Sand . To make this I simply mixed it 1:1 with Lahmian Medium .
  3. Shade selectively with Steel Legion Drab .
  4. Highlight with the 1:1 Karak Stone and White mix from earlier.
  5. Highlight selectively with White .

Wood

  1. Basecoat with Thondia Brown .
  2. Shade with Rhinox Hide .
  3. Highlight and add woodgrain with a mix of 2:1 Thondia Brown and Steel Legion Drab .
  4. Take the above paint and mix it 1:1 with Administratum Grey . Now use this for fine highlights.
  5. Increase the amount of Administratum Grey again, then add selective highlights.
  6. Finish with a few specular highlights of pure Administratum Grey .

Skin

  1. Basecoat the skin with 4 parts Cadian Fleshtone , 4 parts Ushabti Bone and 1 of White . This sounds more complicated than it is, but its just an equal parts mix of two paints and a touch of white. Feel free to wing it.
  2. Take a little of the base colour and mix it 3:1 with Doombull Brown . Use this colour to add soft shading to the skin.
  3. Add more select shading with 5:1 Doombull Brown and Abaddon Black .#
  4. Take a little of the base colour and mix it 2:1 with White . Use this colour to add highlights to the skin.
  5. Now mix the base colour 1:1 with White and add selective highlights.

Chainmail and Steel

  1. Basecoat with Leadbelcher .
  2. Wash with Nuln Oil .
  3. I also like to enhance the shading in recesses and where areas of steel need separating. For this I typically use glazes of Agrax Earthshade .
  4. Overbrush and highlight using Ironbreaker .
  5. Finish with selective highlights of Silver RLM01 Metallic .

Blades

  1. Basecoat with Silver .
  2. Glaze shading over half of the blade with Gryph-charger Grey . I would recommend keeping this thin and doing a couple of passes.
  3. Repeat on the half furthest from the pure silver, creating a rudimental gradient. This time I use Nuln Oil straight from the pot.
  4. Ensure tall edges are highlighted, where the previous two sets of glazes may have over spilled. For this I like to use Ironbreaker , simply because I find it catches edges easier than Vallejo Metal Color paints.
  5. Finish with selective highlights of Silver RLM01 Metallic on edges that still have the solid Silver basecoat. Focus more highlights towards the tip.

Gold Details

  1. Basecoat using Retributor Armour .
  2. Shade selectively with Reikland Fleshshade where there are details or recesses that need more definition.
  3. Add some Silver RLM01 Metallic to the Retributor Armour , and highlight selectively.
  4. Finish with a few dots of pure Silver RLM01 Metallic .

Bases

  1. Basecoat with Mournfang Brown . It is best to thin a little with water to ensure it flows into all of the recesses. Give it a couple of coats, until the colour is solid.
  2. Drybrush with Zamesi Desert , picking out all of the raised detail.
  3. Give the base a second dryrbush with Ushabti Bone . Make this drybrush a little lighter, so it only picks out the most raised points.
  4. Basecoat the rocks with Dawnstone .
  5. Wash the rocks with a little Agrax Earthshade .
  6. Highlight the rocks with Administratum Grey .
  7. Mix some White . into your Administratum Grey and more selectively highlight the rocks.
  8. Finally, finish off by painting the rim with Steel Legion Drab .
  9. Now all that remains is to apply any turfs or flock that you wish. I like to use PVA glue and some flock from my local model shop.

Rookie Brushes

RookieBrushes

Aspiring miniature painter and biscuit enthusiast. Here to share my hobby and help where I can.

Citadel Painting System 29
Base 10
  • Abaddon Black
  • Khorne Red
  • Leadbelcher
  • Mephiston Red
  • Mournfang Brown
  • Retributor Armour
  • Rhinox Hide
  • Steel Legion Drab
  • Thondia Brown
  • XV-88
Shade 3
  • Agrax Earthshade
  • Nuln Oil
  • Reikland Fleshshade
Layer 14
  • Administratum Grey
  • Baneblade Brown
  • Cadian Fleshtone
  • Dawnstone
  • Doombull Brown
  • Evil Sunz Scarlet
  • Fire Dragon Bright
  • Ironbreaker
  • Karak Stone
  • Screaming Skull
  • Tallarn Sand
  • Troll Slayer Orange
  • Ushabti Bone
  • Zamesi Desert
Technical 1
  • Lahmian Medium
Contrast 1
  • Gryph-charger Grey
Colour Forge
Base 1
  • Sanguine Red
Vallejo Metal Color
Base 1
  • 77.724 Silver
Vallejo Model Air
Base 1
  • 71.063 Silver RLM01 Metallic
Vallejo Model Color
Base 1
  • 70.951 White
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