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5 Quick Steps To Painting Your Death Guard

Death Guard Wal Hor

Chaos is upon us, and Lord Nurgle demands paint for his minions! Here’s a few basic techniques to speed paint those Nurgle 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 “perfect” involved, messy is just fine. I’m not sure how this would look on a say a regular Space Marine, or normal figure, but it would definitely work on say Orks, or Traitor / Renegade guardsmen.

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First step was 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.

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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.

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After that’s done, I did I slightly watered down wash with GW’s Reikland Fleshshade. To apply the washes I like to 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.

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After letting that dry (I used a small table top fan aimed at each squad), I then applied a slightly watered down Biel Tan Green wash 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 Earthshade wash 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.

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The whole base was base coated with  50/50 Rhinox Hide / Mournfang Brown, then drybrushed 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 like patches of grass.
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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. I am actually painting up a Warhound Titan in this scheme as well.

About the Author: Rob Baer

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Rob Baer

Job Title: Managing Editor

Founded Spikey Bits in 2009

Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X

About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.

Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls. 

Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.

Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.

With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.

While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.