Airbrush Vallejo Model Air Insignia White over the entire thing. You could also use your favorite off-white, I’m a fan of Insignia white as it’s very close and just a tiny bit warm. Lay down a thin layer of Vallejo Model Air Light Gull Gray on the bone bits – you want this to be thin and ever so slightly inconsistent to give the effect of weathered and bleached bone

I find it really useful to paint the heads as a separate subassembly, it really helps to get the faces right if you have 360 degree access to them, rather than struggling to paint them when they’re surrounded by a high collar. As an avid Ork/Orruk fan, Gutrippa Green instantly got a hearty WAAAGH out of me. It’s a nice mid-tone green that is saturated enough to be applied in one coat straight from the pot, but still provides the depth of the original “contrast look.” It can be cooled down to a more blue green, using the new Poxwalker Green Shade (as seen on the Bad Moon above) or warmed up using something like Kroak Green, or even Athonian Camoshade, for a more earthy green. I want the wings to be much more muted and less saturated, so I start by washing them a few times with Nuln Oil, doing more layers toward the base of the wings, and going lighter toward the edges, to give the wings a bit of a fade as they go out. When I took on Custodes I was happy that the person who I painted them for wanted something other than the classic gold. As much as I love a really nice rich gold colour, I find it pretty overwhelming on the Custodes models. Instead, I went for a striking red-dominated scheme, with darker bronze metallics. For 4th generation hybrids (Neophytes and other more human models) you can substitute the use of Genestealer Flesh Mix with your normal skin colour, and simply glaze the shadows with a bit of Druchii Violet.Reikland Fleshshade wash all over the skin, including the mouth where we’ll just leave that shading as is For the armour, use Apothecary White contrast, then highlight the plates, raised nodes and the edge of the shoulders with Lothern Grey. Optionally add some White Scar to anything you really want to pop.

Both the Chaplain and the Judiciar had their skeleton ribs painted the same as the skeleton on the Ancient’s banner, Rakarth Flesh and then Flayed One Flesh. The wings can get some final edge highlights but that isn’t super necessary, especially if you have more than one model of these to paint. Coat D'Arms match the OLD citadel colours (pre-1992) so there might be some difference. Shining gold has the most noticeable difference,

Armor

Highlight the pink with Citadel Emperor’s Children, highlight the blue with Citadel Baharroth Blue. The bottom edges of the muscles were thinly lined with Stonewall Grey for a bounce reflection/ environmental light. Our readers might be surprised to learn that not all painting is done on models! I painted this picture of my beloved yet troublesome cat, Mini, at a “drink wine and paint stuff” event hosted by my employer in what I think was the Spring of 2012. This picture was taken in the Summer of 2011, when Mini was still a wee kitten. Genestealer Cults are some particularly interesting antagonists in the 40k fiction. They haven’t really had a chance to shine as protagonists in their own right, but show up in various roles in other books as threats of varying levels. I haven’t read these, but if you’re interested in reading more, I’ve generally heard good things about the following books: For the cloak, paint all over Naggaroth Night, wash Druchii Violet, highlight the protruding flat bits with Xereus Purple, edge highlight Genestealer Purple.

The pink is Liquitex INK! Magenta painted over the tongue. You may find yourself having to re-do the base after the blue gets everywhere; for the tongue don’t worry about applying more drybrushing or anything. I just cover the mistakes with Bonewhite and move on. For a little extra depth you can apply a wash of AP Purple Tone, but it’s not necessary in this case. 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). Most of surface painted with Basalt Grey. 1:1 mix of Basalt and Stonewall Grey on upper half. Top edge Stonewall Grey. SkullsCodex: Adeptus Custodes is full of insight into the Emperor’s glorious bananas, highlighting their nature, organization and secret wars, but if you want to read more, here are a few books we’d suggest that dive into greater detail on the Custodes. Wash the gold with Gloss Reikland Fleshshade. Necro Gold is a somewhat greenish gold, and the red tones in the fleshshade warm up the colors while retaining the darker tone. Genestealer Cults Patriarch. In his hand he has a Blood Angels helmet and on his base is a Crimson Fist, neatly covering my two Marine armies. Credit: Corrode

Layer Citadel Eidolon Purple Clear across the whole gem. The best way to work with this is to blob on a fair amount and then drag it out across the entire surface rather than doing multiple coats thus to ensure a even consistency. Richyp’s Wash ‘n Go coat d'arms match the OLD citadel colours so there might be some difference. Shining gold has the most noticeable difference, Skulls: Vallejo Model Color Basalt Grey basecoat, Vallejo Game Color Stonewall Grey layer, Citadel Seraphim Sepia wash, Citadel Screaming Skull lighlight. Being lazy about waiting for the chipping medium to dry, since the medium behaves weirdly through the airbrush I find it tends to pool occasionally resulting in areas that take longer to dry. You can exploit this by just not quite letting it dry in those spots as it will give a good impression of a larger patch of paint falling off after a bit of gentle rubbing with a damp brush.

Wash the red armor bits with about 40% Agrax, 60% Lahmian Medium, then touch up any pooling marks with Mephiston Red