HOBBY: Painting Space Hulk Genestealers

I don’t know about you guys, but I have had my Space Hulk boxed sitting unpainted for far to long. It wasn’t long ago that I thought up this color scheme and my obsessive playing of the new computer game recently finally galvanized me to try it out.

I was inspired for this scheme by the old 3rd edition codex, it always struck me as the perfect balance of alien and insect.

My whole goal was to come up with a quick, simple and striking color scheme to get through the horde of Genestealers. I am really bad at taking step by step pictures, I swear I tried to when I started but I only got the first 2 steps before I got carried away and just finished the model. Luckily this color scheme is the simplest thing I have done.

Step 1: Prime the model black. Cover any areas you missed with a good, solid coat of black.

Step 2: Paint any areas that will be “fleshy” with a solid coat of Ceramite White. This may take a few coats.

Step 3: Wash all of the flesh areas with watered down Carroburg Crimson. With the first coat you mostly want to tint all the white areas slightly pink as well as shade the recesses. Go back one or two more times just in the recesses now with a less watered down coat, this is where you are adding the most of the shadows.

Step 4: Re-highlight the skin with White Scar. Since this color is more translucent it will give you some good transitions between colors without doing much work. Here you can do as many layers as you see fit. I probably did one on the feet and hands and about 2-3 on the face. After this step you may need to touch up the black carapace.

Step 5: Paint the tips of the claws and spikes with Khorne Red, followed by a smaller highlight of Mephiston red.

Step 6: Paint the black carapace with some gloss varnish.

On future models I may include more red on the underside like in the original artwork, but overall I am happy with it. It is quick, efficient and eye catching. The whole idea is to let the gloss varnish do the highlights for you on the largest surface area of the model, the black. It also gives you a suitably insect like appearance.

 Only 30 some more Genestealers to go…