DEATH TROOPERS

PAINTING GUIDE BY SORASTRO

Hello! In this guide I’ll be painting the Death Troopers from Star Wars Legion.

My aim is to paint the Death Troopers fairly quickly, but still create quite a striking, shiny, black look for the armour. Let’s
begin!

I’m now providing a quick “off-black” base coat, using a roughly 3:1 mix of Ger-
I’ve primed the figures in black: man Grey and Dark Sea Blue. I’m using a size 3 flatbrush (Series 56 by Rose-
mary & Co) to get this done quickly.

This introduces a subtle hint of blue to create interest and depth, and also raises the brightness just a little, which means
we can now create some quick and easy definition with a Shade.
 I’m now going to shade the entire model with a roughly 3:1 mix of Nuln Oil and Drakenhof Nightshade:

This has given us some easy definition, as well as some contrast for the dark-
I’m taking care not to let excess shade
er tones, which means we just need to focus our highlights on the mid to light
pool on the tops of the helments:
tones.

I’m now going to begin highlighting

Before starting the highlights I’m going
the armour by simply adding White Here’s the gradient I’m going to be
to first provide a pure white undercoat
to Black, which I’ve also mixed with a working my way through:
for the lights on the helmet:
little Dark Sea Blue.
 Although it’s tempting to highlight the
full length of the raised sections of the I’m not concerned with creating especially blended transitions as I’d like to get
armour, I prefer to break the highlights through the unit quite quickly.
up a bit:

For the tops of the helmets I’m cre-

The side of the brush tip can be used
ating some fairly irregular highlights
to more easily pick out some of these
to suggest the reflections of a cloudy
edges:
sky:

These highlights are not covering more than around 50% of the surface area of the figure.
 Here I’m laying the foundations for
You can see I’m not just picking out
I’m also highlighting the weapons as some more intense highlights near
the raised details, but also adding re-
I go: the lights to create the impression of
flections to the flatter, inset areas too:
some object source lighting:

For the leather pauldrons I’m apply-

ing the paint a little more thinly, and
feathering the edges of the highlights
with a damp brush to create a softer
gradient:

I’m now applying the next set of high-

Here’s how they look after the first initial highlight:
lights with a lighter tone:
I will be paying extra attention to the
Naturally we’re now placing smaller highlights within those already created, and
face area to ensure the details are
you can see I’m still working in a fairly quick and sketchy style:
quite well defined:
I’m now ramping the highlights up quite quickly to a very pale grey, and once again tightening the area of each highlight/
reflection:
I’m now adding a few small glints of
pure white:
 Wecan
We canthen
see shade
that even
overwhen we don’t
the area with make much effort to blend the transitions, we can still create quite a striking look
Once
whendry we can
viewed continue
from a littleapplying
distance:the scratches, and for the brighter spots I’m
some Seraphim Sepia to help create a
using Balor Brown:
multi-layered richness:

This process can be taken as far as you like; I’ve added another layer of Seraphim Sepia
And followed
we can nowwithglaze
somethis
finalonto
scratch-
the
es:
I’m now going to paint the lights using Vallejo’s Green Fluo: surrounding area to create a little ob-
ject source lighting:

Here I’m lightening theThis

Balor Brown
can also with a little
be used White
to tint thetoeye
really push the contrast:
lenses if you like:
We
Thiscan
bit then shade
is very over the
optional, but area with
I’ve cho-
Once
This dry we to
is just can continue
add applying
some further theinterest,
tonal scratches,
butand
alsofor
to the brighter
suggest an spots I’m
outdoor
some Seraphim
sen to SepiaoftoVallejo’s
glaze a little help create
Blue a
using Balor Brown:
environment:
Green multi-layered
onto some of richness:
the reflections:

And followed
This process can be taken as far as you like; I’ve added another layer of Seraphim Sepia I’m now with
re-applying a few
some final final
scratch-
es: white highlights that have become
slightly dulled by the coloured glaze:

Here I’m lightening the Balor Brown with a little White to really push the contrast:
We can then shade over the area with
Once dry we can continue
One,applying
I’m nowthe scratches,
to applyand for of
theVallejo’s
brighterDark
spots I’m
some To recreateSepia
Seraphim the look of the
to help “beach-landing”
create a scene in Rogue going some
using
Earth basing paste to the bases: Balor Brown:
multi-layered richness:

This process can be taken as far as you like; I’ve added another layer of Seraphim Sepia followed with some final scratch-
Once dry, I’m going to brush on some PVA glue, followed
es: with a generous sprinkling of Army Painter’s “Black
Battleground” grit:

Here I’m lightening theAnd I’mBrown

Balor now shading the whole
with a little base
White to withpush
really a 5:2:2
the mix of Nuln Oil, Agrax Earth-
contrast:
shade, and Lahmian Medium respectively:
We can then shade over the area with
Once dry we can continue applying the scratches, and for the brighter spots I’m
someTo
Seraphim Sepia
finish the to off
bases help create
I’m a down some grass tufts by Gamers Grass. Here is the 4mm Light Green tuft:
sticking
using Balor Brown:
multi-layered richness:

This process can be taken as far as you like; I’ve added another layer of Seraphim Sepia followed with some final scratch-
And this is the 4mm “Swamp” tuft, ...the 2mm es:
“Dark Moss”, ...and the 5mm “Autumn” tuft:

Here I’m
Naturally, lightening
mixing the Balor
the colours and Brown
lengthswith aa
up is little
niceWhite really push
way to create somethe contrast:
organic variety:
And this completes the Death Troopers!

PAINT LIST:

Black (VMC)
Titanium White (Schmincke)
Dark Sea Blue (VMC)
Nuln Oil (GW)
Drakenhof Nightshade (GW)
Green Fluo (VMC)
Blue Green (VMC)

OTHER PRODUCTS:

Dark Earth basing paste (Vallejo)

Black Battleground grit (Army Painter)
4mm Light Green tufts (Gamers Grass)
4mm Swamp tufts (Gamers Grass)
2mm Dark Moss tufts (Gamers Grass)
5mm Autumn tufts (Gamers Grass)