Painting HeroQuest: Episode 19 - Doors & Furniture

Steps

1. 1 Prime the whole set in black, then airbrush Wolf Grey over anything made of stone.
2. 2 Base coat all the wooden furniture pieces, including the doors, with Mournfang Brown, painting the throne in the same wood tone rather than gilding it.
3. 3 Base coat the loose skull props, all the book and spell-book pages, the candles, and the torture rack's bony arm and hand with Screaming Skull.
4. 4 Base coat the rats' fur with Flat Brown and their tails with Ratskin Flesh.
5. 5 Base coat the alchemist table's stone with Reddish Grey (missed by the earlier airbrush pass), reuse it on the sorcerer table's upper stone for a two-tone effect and on some fireplace bricks, and base coat the weapons rack's fabric, the lion shield, the other shield's face, and some weapon handles with Warm Grey (also used on the rest of the fireplace bricks).
6. 6 Base coat the alchemist table's placemat with Dark Green Grey.
7. 7 Fill the sarcophagus interior with sand and gravel in PVA glue, prime it along with the rest of the set, then base coat it with Iraqui Sand.
8. 8 Base coat the vines climbing every door with Deathworld Forest — the most time-consuming part of the whole project.
9. 9 Base coat the alchemist table's book pages with Screaming Skull, then paint the bookcase covers in a random assortment of colors, mixing in some German Camo Black Brown and Black Grey for variety; base coat the round bobbles/glasses with Silver and pick out decorative edges on some books with Glorious Gold.
10. 10 Base coat the lion figure on the weapons rack shield with Mephiston Red, and the throne's padded cushions with Genestealer Purple.
11. 11 Base coat the expansion doors' eye whites and the fireplace's fire with Offwhite, along with a couple of the alchemist table's bottles; base coat the central jug with Iraqui Sand and the ink bottle with Deathworld Forest.
12. 12 Base coat the weapons rack's remaining handles and the sword scabbard with Leather Brown.
13. 13 Base coat the alchemist table's three glass bottles with Mayhem Red, Jorildyn Turquoise, and Greenskin Flesh, leaving each only partially filled; reuse Mayhem Red for the Kellar's Keep door's iris and Jorildyn Turquoise for the Return of the Witch Lord door's iris.
14. 14 Base coat all the cast iron and hardware in Abaddon Black: the table edges and legs, the rack's bands and hardware, the chains, the treasure chest banding, the monster shield's edge, the weapon stand's pegs, the drawer knobs and handles, the cabinet hardware, and the standard and expansion doors' hardware, saving the hinges for gold later.
15. 15 Glaze thinned Goblin Flesh into the top of the green bottle's liquid, Hiril Blue into the blue bottle, and Baal Crimson into the red bottle.
16. 16 Dry-brush all the stonework with Ulthuan Grey and all the woodwork with Morghast Bone to weather everything, including the vines, books, and rats — this gets toned down again with washes.
17. 17 Mix a wash of Black Ink and Brown Ink (about 2-3 parts black to 1 part brown) with water and a little flow aid, and apply it over almost everything except the throne's purple cushions; let it dry fully, ideally overnight.
18. 18 Paint the sorcerer table's spell book cover with German Camo Black Brown and its bookmark with Mephiston Red.
19. 19 Thin Doombull Brown and dab it onto the torture rack for dirt and dried blood, building it up thicker near the foot braces for a grislier effect.
20. 20 Highlight the throne by mixing Genestealer Purple with Pale Grey Blue and applying it to the upturned surfaces of the armrest, cushion, and backrest texture, then repeat with more Pale Grey Blue mixed in over three or four progressively smaller passes.
21. 21 Wash Athonian Camoshade around the door vines for a mossy look, coat the throne's backrest edges and crevices with Druchii Violet once its highlights are dry, then mix a second ink wash with much more brown and use it to shade the sarcophagus interior.
22. 22 Detail the alchemist table's quill and bottles: paint the feather Pale Grey Blue and the stick German Camo Black Brown, reestablish the bottles' liquid level with Dark Sea Blue and a thin Offwhite line, add stoppers in Morghast Bone (mixed with a touch of Dark Sea Blue where they dip into the bottle), cover the Offwhite line with each bottle's own highlight color, then finish with thin Offwhite glass highlights along the contour, lip, and cork.
23. 23 Wash Agrax Earthshade into the bottom of the doors, over the loose skull props, and across the top of the sorcerer's table for grime.
24. 24 Base coat the weapons rack's remaining metal with Leadbelcher, reestablish the monster shield's white and highlight the warm-grey weapon handles with Offwhite, then highlight the metal with Silver and the leather straps and scabbard with Offwhite mixed into Leather Brown.
25. 25 Paint the expansion doors' hinges and outer eye rims, one treasure chest's emblem, the alchemist table's amulet, and the fireplace's picture frame with Retributor Armour; paint the other two chest emblems in Tinny Tin and Leadbelcher, and the alchemist table's scales and sorcerer table's candle holders in Brass.
26. 26 Highlight the expansion doors' gold areas with Polished Gold, then wash Agrax Earthshade over the weapons rack's metal for a rusty look.
27. 27 Base coat the boss doors' main panels — everything but the central skull — with Leadbelcher darkened by Abaddon Black.
28. 28 Base coat the amulet's gem in Abaddon Black and the boss doors' skull in Wraithbone, then build the gem's glow with layered Baal Crimson at the top and bottom, a thinned Bloody Red highlight on the lower half, a unifying Baal Crimson glaze, and a final Offwhite sparkle dot.
29. 29 Add fine details with a Micron pen: pupils on the expansion doors' eyes, notes and diagrams on the alchemist table's papers, a monster sketch and star diagram on the sorcerer table's papers, then thin Abaddon Black for ink drips and splotches on the alchemist table and small hash marks on the scale's gauge.
30. 30 Dry-brush Silver over the boss doors' metal areas, then thin Payne's Grey ink with a little glaze medium and work it into the recesses to darken the metal.
31. 31 Paint the fireplace frame with Retributor Armour, then build the fire and candle flames from Yellow at the base (glazed thinly onto nearby surfaces for light spill) up through a Troll Slayer Orange midtone to Mephiston Red at the hottest tips, fading toward black at the very tips for smoke.
32. 32 Coat the boss doors' skull with Army Painter Speedpaint Pallid Bone and wash Nuln Oil over the surrounding stone, then once the speedpaint is dry reestablish the skull's highlights with Wraithbone and pack Nuln Oil into the nose and eye sockets.
33. 33 Glue the loose skulls and rats onto the finished pieces (the alchemist table and its scale, the torture rack, the fireplace mantle, and inside the sarcophagus), then print, cut out, and glue a scaled reproduction of the original HeroQuest fireplace painting into the frame, and finish the whole set with an overall coat of spray matte varnish.

Paints used

• Abaddon Black (Citadel)

  Primer coat for the whole set; base coat for all the cast iron hardware, chains, and drawer/cabinet fittings; darkened with Leadbelcher for the boss doors' main panels; base coat for the amulet's gem; thinned for the ink-drip and splotch details on the alchemist table's papers

• Agrax Earthshade (Citadel)

  Wash into the bottom of the doors, over the loose skull props, and across the top of the sorcerer's table for grime; also washed over the weapons rack's metal for a rusty look

• Athonian Camoshade (Citadel)

  Wash around the door vines to bring some green back and suggest moss

• Baal Crimson (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Glaze highlight on the red alchemist table bottle; layered at the top and bottom of the amulet's gem and used as a unifying glaze over the whole gem

• Black Grey (Vallejo, Model Color)

  One of the colors used for some of the bookcase covers

• Black Ink (Vallejo, Game Ink)

  Mixed with Brown Ink (about 2-3 parts black to 1 part brown), water, and flow aid for the overall weathering wash applied across nearly the whole set

• Bloody Red (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Thinned highlight on the lower half of the amulet's gem

• Brass (Vallejo, Model Color)

  The alchemist table's scales and the sorcerer table's candle holders

• Brown Ink (Vallejo, Game Ink)

  Mixed with Black Ink for the overall weathering wash; used at a much higher ratio on its own to shade the inside of the sarcophagus

• Dark Green Grey (AK Interactive)

  The alchemist table's placemat

• Dark Sea Blue (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Reestablishes the upper liquid level in the alchemist table's bottles; mixed with a touch of Morghast Bone for the stopper dipping into the bottle

• Deathworld Forest (Citadel)

  Base coat for the vines climbing every door, and for the alchemist table's ink bottle

• Doombull Brown (Citadel)

  Thinned and dabbed onto the torture rack for dirt and dried blood

• Druchii Violet (Citadel)

  Coat over the edges and crevices of the throne's backrest, once its highlights are dry

• Flat Brown (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the rats' fur

• Genestealer Purple (Citadel)

  Base coat for the throne's padded cushions, and mixed with Pale Grey Blue for their highlight

• German Camo Black Brown (Vallejo, Model Color)

  One of the colors used for some of the bookcase covers; base coat for the sorcerer table's spell book cover and the alchemist table's quill stick

• Glorious Gold (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Decorative edging on some of the bookcase's books

• Goblin Flesh (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Glaze highlight on the green alchemist table bottle

• Greenskin Flesh (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Base coat for the green alchemist table bottle, left only partially filled

• Hiril Blue (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Glaze highlight on the blue alchemist table bottle

• Iraqui Sand (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the sarcophagus interior and the alchemist table's central jug

• Jorildyn Turquoise (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Base coat for the blue alchemist table bottle, reused for the Return of the Witch Lord door's iris

• Leadbelcher (Citadel)

  Base coat for all the cast iron and the remaining weapons rack metal; darkened with Abaddon Black for the boss doors' main panels; one of the treasure chest emblem colors

• Leather Brown (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Base coat for the weapons rack's remaining handles and the sword scabbard, later highlighted with a touch of Offwhite mixed in

• Mayhem Red (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Base coat for the red alchemist table bottle, reused for the Kellar's Keep door's iris

• Mephiston Red (Citadel)

  The lion figure on the weapons rack shield, the sorcerer table's bookmark, and the hottest tips of the fire and candle flames

• Morghast Bone (Citadel)

  Dry-brushed over all the woodwork to weather it; base coat for the alchemist table's bottle stoppers and lids

• Mournfang Brown (Citadel)

  Base coat for all the wooden furniture pieces, including the doors and the throne

• Nuln Oil (Citadel)

  Wash over the boss doors' stonework, and packed heavily into the skull's nose and eye sockets

• Offwhite (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Whites of the expansion door eyes, base coat for the fireplace's fire and some alchemist table bottles; reestablishes the monster shield's white, highlights the warm-grey weapon handles and the Leather Brown straps/scabbard; marks the bottles' liquid level and their final glass highlights; sparkle dot on the amulet's gem; hash marks on the scale's gauge

• Pale Grey Blue (Vallejo, Model Color)

  Mixed with Genestealer Purple to highlight the throne, and base coat for the quill's feather

• Pallid Bone (Army Painter, Speedpaint 2.0)

  Speedpaint coat over the boss doors' skull

• Payne's Grey (Daler-Rowney, FW Acrylic Ink)

  Thinned with a little glaze medium and worked into the recesses of the boss doors' metal areas, after the Silver dry brush

• Polished Gold (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Highlight over the expansion doors' gold areas

• Ratskin Flesh (Citadel)

  The rats' tails

• Reddish Grey (AK Interactive)

  Base coat for the alchemist table's stone (missed by the earlier airbrush pass), the upper stone of the sorcerer table for a two-tone effect, and some of the fireplace bricks

• Retributor Armour (Citadel)

  The expansion doors' hinges and outer eye rims, one treasure chest's emblem, the alchemist table's amulet, and the fireplace's picture frame

• Screaming Skull (Citadel)

  Base coat for the loose skull props, all the book and spell-book pages, and the candles, plus the torture rack's bony arm and hand; touch-up on the candles late in the process

• Silver (Vallejo, Model Color)

  The bookcase's round bobbles/glasses, a highlight on the weapons rack's metal, and a dry brush over the boss doors' metal areas

• Tinny Tin (Vallejo, Game Color)

  One of the treasure chest emblem colors, for a bronze look

• Troll Slayer Orange (Citadel)

  Midtone mixed into Yellow above the base of the fire and candle flames

• Ulthuan Grey (Citadel)

  Dry-brushed over all the stonework to weather it

• Warm Grey (AK Interactive)

  Base coat for the weapons rack's fabric, the lion shield, the other shield's face, some weapon handles, and some fireplace bricks; later highlighted with Offwhite

• Wolf Grey (Vallejo, Game Color)

  Airbrushed over anything made of stone as the set's main base coat

• Wraithbone (Citadel)

  Base coat and reestablished highlight for the boss doors' skull

• Yellow (AK Interactive)

  Base coat for the base of the fire and candle flames, glazed thinly onto nearby surfaces to suggest light spill