The Chaos Warshrine model is pure chaos, it’s really a bunch of different models in one. Here’s how I tackled painting mine.
The model consists of the two Chaos Mutants, the shrine they carry, the champion on top, the large icon pole, and numerous other detailed components like books, altars and braziers. As one might suspect, this is a kit best painted in pieces and then assembled as the painting comes together.
I started literally from the ground up by painting the mutants first. These were painted largely with washes to give them depth. I used inhuman, unhealthy looking and unnatural colors to set them apart from the more natural wood and metallic tones of the shrine and especially from the Chaos Champion riding above them.
Then I began painting the large wooden looking ark before gluing it in place on top of the mutants. Smaller components like the champion, book and altar. were all painted separately and then added as they were completed. The deck of the shrine is painted in natural wood tones and the metal areas are done in bronze and steel tones.
The altar was painted as if it is made of dark stone. The book has runes and writing added to it while the pages were made to look leathery and worn. What kind of leather is used in the evil tome? Don’t ask questions of Chaos to which you don’t want to know the answer!
I wanted the Chaos Champion to be usable without the shrine so I modeled his base to match the deck of the shrine using Kneadatite (“Green Stuff”). I then painted the base in tones to match the surrounding area on the deck of the shrine.
Here’s a view of the back of the Champion while he was being painted and before he was glued to his base.
The idol on the large shrine pole was painted to appear as dark jade. There are a lot of paint layers on that one little item. I’ll be covering how I painted the idol in detail in another article in the near future.
The finished Chaos Warshrine is an eye-catching model with many great little details. I actually put a plastic rod in the bottom of the large shrine pole and put a small hole in the deck of the shrine. This makes it easy to remove the pole for transport and storage.
Here’s another view of the finished Chaos Warshrine from a front and side angle. It’s a large and wonderfully intricate model, a great showpiece whether you’re painting an army or just painting something cool for fun.
Painting the Games Workshop Chaos Warshrine model required painting so many different effects including: wood, flesh, metal, flames, stone, book pages, horn and more. It is certainly not a model that’s great for painting if you are painting your first model!
Though it was a lot of work and time I enjoyed painting it and it’s a lot of fun to look at when it is done.
My Warriors of Chaos army is an ongoing project of 25 years, there’s always another model for it waiting in the queue. I’m hoping to add a Mutalith Vortex Beast next, I already added a Slaughterbrute last year.
