Painting HeroQuest: Episode 6 - SLAP CHOP Speed Painting the Skeletons

Steps

1. 1 Heavily dry-brush Titanium White over the entire miniature - the base for the Slap Chop technique, giving free edge highlights and contrast for the speed paint to follow.
2. 2 Base coat the bones: about half the skeletons get Pallid Bone and the other half Bony Matter for variety, while the Mythic Tier sculpts all get Pallid Bone.
3. 3 Base coat all the leather - torso armor straps, arm and leg wraps, belt, and pouches - with Hardened Leather.
4. 4 Base coat the chain mail and scale armor with straight Runefang Steel.
5. 5 Paint the waist cloth and matching weapon wraps mostly in Magic Blue to match the card art, varying some skeletons with Moody Mauve, Ghoul Green, or Ochre Clay; use Ochre Clay on the Mythic Tier sword handles too.
6. 6 Paint the face on the Mythic Tier shields with Slaughter Red, leaving the outside and back for the armor color.
7. 7 Coat the furry parts of the leg and arm wraps with Titanium White first so speed paint won't show through, hit some scythe wrap tops with Runefang Steel, then cover all the fur with Warrior Skin.
8. 8 Base coat the wooden scythe handles with Brownish Decay.
9. 9 Wash a thinned (about 50/50 with water) Payne's Grey ink over all the chain mail and scale armor for definition.
10. 10 Base coat the rest of the armor - including the Mythic Tier helmets, uncovered shield sides and backs, the sword handguard and center strip, and the inside of the mouth and eyes - with a 50/50 mix of Broadsword Silver and Payne's Grey ink, leaving the scythe blade edges bare for brightness.
11. 11 Paint the innermost part of the shield eyes with Troll Slayer Orange for a glow, then edge-highlight the sword and scythe blades and pick out belt studs with Ironbreaker.
12. 12 Wash a thin Payne's Grey ink mix (cut with water and flow enhancer) into the darkest recesses of the armor, including the lower scythe blades.
13. 13 Base coat the bases with Rakarth Flesh, using two or three coats for solid coverage.
14. 14 Mix Black Ink and Brown Ink to freehand jaw lines and teeth on the skulls, and to fill the eyes and nose dark.
15. 15 Brighten the Mythic Tier shield eyes with a dot of Marduk Yellow in the center of the orange.
16. 16 Highlight the shield face by layering Beherit Red into the Slaughter Red base, boosting with Troll Slayer Orange, then finishing with a thin Marduk Yellow glaze cut with Speedpaint Medium.

Paints used

• Beherit Red (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Layered into the Slaughter Red shield highlight

• Black Ink (Vallejo)

  Mixed with Brown Ink to freehand jaw lines and teeth on the skulls, and to fill the eyes and nose dark

• Bony Matter (Army Painter)

  Base coat for about half the skeletons' bones, for variety alongside Pallid Bone

• Broadsword Silver (Army Painter)

  Mixed 50/50 with Payne's Grey ink as the base coat for the remaining unpainted armor

• Brown Ink (Vallejo)

  Mixed with Black Ink to freehand jaw lines and teeth on the skulls, and to fill the eyes and nose dark

• Brownish Decay (Army Painter)

  Base coat for the wooden scythe handles

• Ghoul Green (Army Painter)

  Waist cloth and weapon wrap color on some skeletons, for variety

• Hardened Leather (Army Painter)

  Base coat for all the leather - torso armor straps, arm and leg wraps, belt, and pouches

• Ironbreaker (Citadel)

  Edge highlight on the sword and scythe blades, and picks out the belt studs

• Magic Blue (Army Painter)

  Main color for the waist cloth and matching weapon wraps, to match the card art

• Marduk Yellow (Scale75 Scalecolor)

  Dot in the center of the Mythic Tier shield eyes, and thinned with Speedpaint Medium as the final shield highlight glaze

• Moody Mauve (Army Painter)

  Waist cloth and weapon wrap color on some skeletons, for variety

• Ochre Clay (Army Painter)

  Waist cloth and weapon wrap color on some skeletons, and the Mythic Tier sword handles

• Pallid Bone (Army Painter)

  Base coat for about half the skeletons' bones and all the Mythic Tier sculpts' bones

• Payne's Grey (Daler-Rowney)

  Thinned and washed over the chain mail and scale armor, mixed 50/50 with Broadsword Silver for the remaining armor, and thinned further with flow enhancer as a recess wash

• Rakarth Flesh (Citadel)

  Base coat for the bases, applied in two or three coats

• Runefang Steel (Citadel)

  Base coat for the chain mail and scale armor, and used on some scythe wrap tops

• Slaughter Red (Army Painter)

  Base coat for the face on the Mythic Tier shields, highlighted with Beherit Red and Troll Slayer Orange

• Speedpaint Medium (Army Painter)

  Thins the final Marduk Yellow shield highlight glaze

• Titanium White (Liquitex)

  Heavy dry brush over the whole miniature at the start, and a prep coat under the furry wrap areas before applying Warrior Skin

• Troll Slayer Orange (Citadel)

  Innermost glow on the shield eyes, and boosts the Slaughter Red shield highlight

• Warrior Skin (Army Painter)

  Base coat for all the furry parts of the leg and arm wraps