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5 Quick Steps To Painting Death Guard Plague Marines

Death Guard Wal HorChaos is upon us, and Lord Nurgle demands paint for his minions! Here are a few basic techniques for painting Death Guard Plague Marines.

It was really simple and took about four to five hours total for each squad of ten, which I thought for the end result was great. Keep in mind they are Nurgle so there is not much “perfect” involved, messy is just fine. I’m not sure how this would look, on say, a regular Space Marine, or normal figure, but it would definitely work on say Orks, or Traitor / Renegade guardsmen.

Obviously, this focuses on the old school Plague Marine models, but will work just fine with the new ones as well! And if you have these old minis sitting around, might as well get them on the tabletop! Let’s jump into it.

5 Quick Steps To Painting Death Guard Plague Marines

nurgle dg 6Here’s the end result we’re going for, wanted to show this first, because step one isn’t too exciting. Let’s see how to achieve it!

First Stepnurgle dg 1

Start with Necrotic Flesh Primer by Army Painter, this will give a great base to work from. Remember though, when working with this line of primers you have to get closer to your models (around 8″ or so) when you spray.  This prevents the primer from atomizing or picking up dust in the air, and “fuzzing” your models. I also primed about 25% of the models just plain white to get a slight natural variance to each squad, but did the rest of the details the same.

Second Step

nurgle dg 2

Then I base coated the model with the brightest versions of the colors I wanted so that they would show through the washes I would do later. For gold I used Auric Armour Gold, metals were Runefang Steel, fleshy areas I did Vallejo: Heavy Flesh Tone, pustules I painted Flash Gitz Yellow, and clothes/bandages I painted Ushabti Bone or Karak Stone.

Third Step

nurgle dg 3

After that’s done, I did I slightly watered-down wash with GW’s Reikland Fleshshade. To apply the washes I used a straight drybrush because besides holding more wash in the bristles, the chisel actually helps to disperse the wash better on the model. Starting at the top of the model I worked my way down from the backpack to the feet.

Fourth Step

nurgle dg 4

After letting that dry (I used a small tabletop fan aimed at each squad), I then applied a slightly watered down Biel Tan Greenwash to mostly the whole model but left some areas alone randomly. Next up was an Agrax Earthshade wash to the metals (and bolter stock), followed by a Seraphim Sepia / Agrax Earthshadewash to the cloth areas.

After all that I went back with a 75/25 Sotek Green/Abaddon Black mix to base coat to the weapons, as well as anywhere I wanted to make a squad mark. Next, I highlighted that with straight Sotek Green, and then with a 50/50 Sotek Green and White mix.

Fifth Step

nurgle dg 5
The whole base was base coated with  50/50 Rhinox Hide / Mournfang Brown, then dry brushed Karak Stone, and finally Zamesi Desert. Last I attached tufts of static grass to the base with some super glue. I hate using the super glue to do this (cause it always seems to get onto my figures) BUT once it dries, that grass is on there. Plus I really like how it “tufts” up into patches of grass.

Finished Squad

nurgle dg 6
And that’s it. Pretty simple, and quick. I really like how they turned out. This same method can be used for anything really from Rhinos to Titans, and perhaps best of all requires no airbrushing!
Do you still have any of these old marines lying around unpainted? Do you like this grimy look for Death Guard?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch

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Travis Pasch

Job Title: Head Writer & Editor

Socials: @paschbass 

About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.

Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.

Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!