Test of Honour: Unlikely Allies

WIP

Test of Honour: Unlikely Allies

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  • Published
    17 Dec 2025
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This guide is a work in progress for now. I will update all of the recipes used as I go bit plan on finishing up each of the models when I feel inspired.

Skin

  1. Basecoat with 2:1 Cadian Fleshtone and Mournfang Brown .
  2. Increase the amount of Mournfang Brown in the above mix and shade the skin.
  3. Mix the base colour 2:1 with Ushabti Bone and add chunky highlights.
  4. Increase the amount of Ushabti Bone in the above mix, so it is about 1:2 now. use this for finer highlights.
  5. Mix in a little White and selectively highlight.
  6. Increase the amount of White in the mix, until it is a subtle off-white. Now pick out a few specular highlights.

When it came to the shaved portion in the centre of his head, I highlighted as normal, then mixed a little Dawnstone into the initial highlight colour. With this mix, glaze the section then highlight if needed. This should add a subtle grey.

Yellow Cloth

  1. Basecoat with Balor Brown .
  2. Mix Balor Brown 1:1 with Mournfang Brown and use this to shade folds.
  3. With pure Mournfang Brown , further define highlights. try to stick to fine lines and use this to separate sleeves from the body, plus where the cloth meets other materials.
  4. Add chunky highlights of Averland Sunset .
  5. Apply fine highlights using a 1:1 mix of Averland Sunset and Ice Yellow .
  6. Selectively highlight with pue Ice Yellow .
  7. Finish with specular White highlights.

Orange Cloth

  1. Basecoat with 1:1 Deep Orange (or Troll Slayer Orange ) and Squig Orange . Feel free to lean more towards the Deep Orange , if you want a more vibrant colour.
  2. Mix the base colour 1:1 with Khorne Red and add shading to folds.
  3. Now, mix the above colour 1:1 with Black and further shade the recesses. At this point, I find it best to stick to the very deep folds and where the cloth meets other materials.
  4. Apply chunky highlights of Fire Dragon Bright to the cloth. With the crispness of the details on this sculpt, I first applied a standard edge highlight, before thickening the highlights with a series of downward facing lines.
  5. Using a 1:1 mix of Fire Dragon Bright and Flash Gitz Yellow , as fine edge highlights to the cloth.
  6. Mix a little White into the above colour and more selectively highlight edges, focussing on upward facing curves.
  7. Add even more White to the above paint, until it is an off-white colour. Now enhance your highlighting with a few very small/specular highlights.

Dark Wood Staff

  1. Basecoat with Rhinox Hide .
  2. Shade with Black .
  3. Apply scratchy highlights of Doombull Brown . I would recommend applying these as lines running down the shaft.
  4. Apply smaller highlights of XV-88 .
  5. Finish with a few very small Ushabti Bone highlights.

White Cloth

  1. Basecoat with 1:1 Celestra Grey and White .
  2. Glaze some shading in with Fenrisian Grey . be quite generous here, the result will be quite suble, so use it to bring out texture.
  3. With a 1:1 mix of Fenrisian Grey and Dark Reaper , shade the cloth more selectively.
  4. Carefully shade the very deepest recesses (and where the cloth meets other material ) with pure Dark Reaper . Be very selective here and keep your lines thin.
  5. Mix the basecoat 1:1 with White and pick out edges.
  6. Selectively highlight with pure White .

Dark Brown Leather

  1. Basecoat with Rhinox Hide .
  2. Highlight with Doombull Brown .
  3. Selectively highlight with XV-88 .
  4. Finish with very small/specular highlights of Ushabti Bone .

Shiny Black Beads

  1. Basecoat with Black .
  2. Pick out raised portions with Dark Reaper
  3. Add small highlights of Thunderhawk Blue .
  4. Selectively highlight beads that run over curves with highlights of Fenrisian Grey .
  5. Finish with a few specular highlights of Blue Horror . Do this within the "range" of beads highlighted in the last step, ensuring you highlight even fewer beads.

Blade

  1. Basecoat with Leadbelcher .
  2. Shade with a few glazes of Gryph-charger Grey .
  3. Highlight with Ironbreaker .
  4. Highlight more selectively with a 1:1 mix of Ironbreaker and Silver RLM01 Metallic .
  5. Finish with edge highlight of Silver RLM01 Metallic .

Starred by Stodge

Rookie Brushes

RookieBrushes

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

AK Interactive 3rd Generation Acrylics
Intense 1
  • AK11080 Deep Orange
Citadel Painting System 22
Base 7
  • Averland Sunset
  • Celestra Grey
  • Khorne Red
  • Leadbelcher
  • Mournfang Brown
  • Rhinox Hide
  • XV-88
Layer 14
  • Balor Brown
  • Blue Horror
  • Cadian Fleshtone
  • Dark Reaper
  • Dawnstone
  • Doombull Brown
  • Fenrisian Grey
  • Fire Dragon Bright
  • Flash Gitz Yellow
  • Ironbreaker
  • Squig Orange
  • Thunderhawk Blue
  • Troll Slayer Orange
  • Ushabti Bone
Contrast 1
  • Gryph-charger Grey
Vallejo Model Air
Base 1
  • 71.063 Silver RLM01 Metallic
Vallejo Model Color
Base 3
  • 70.858 Ice Yellow
  • 70.950 Black
  • 70.951 White
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