Tutorial: How to paint Iron Hands Space Marines

This is a tutorial explaining how to paint Iron Hands Space Marines using the latest Games Workshop paints. The model above was painted in 16 steps. I break each step down with a high resolution picture and detailed instructions. Read the full tutorial after the jump.

I’ve designed this tutorial so established painters find it interesting but also so new comers to the hobby can learn some basic and advanced techniques. I will use terms such as glazing and washing, don’t worry if you don’t know what these mean because I will elaborate and explain during that step.

Paints you will need for this tutorial:

Black Undercoat spray 

Eshin Grey (layer)

The Fang (base)

Nuln Oil (shade)

Kantor Blue (base)

Iron Breaker (layer)

Abadon Black (base)

Runefang Steel (layer)

Ceramite White (base)

Fenrisian Grey (layer)

Steel Legion Drab (base)

Zandri Dust (base)

Evil Sunz Scarlett (layer)

Fire Dragon Bright (layer)

In case you need to expand your paint collection, head over to Wayland Games or Slave to Painting, which both stock a huge selection of paints at competitive prices.

1. Undercoat the model with black primer. I use Vallejo primer in my airbrush.

2. Highlight the black armour with Eshin Grey. Mix some Lahmian Medium into the paint to aid blending.The highlights should be generous and cover raised areas instead of edges. 

3. Mix The Fang and some Lahmian Medium together and highlight the previous stage further leaving some of the previous colour showing through. 

4. Edge highlight the armour using Fenrisian Grey and a fine detail brush.  

5. Wash the armour with Nuln Oil. This will help tone down the brightness of the highlights and blend them together.

6. For the base layer of the metals mix 2 parts Ironbreaker with 1 part Kantor Blue, a touch of Lahmian Medium with help smooth this mix out. Then paint the hands, shoulder rims, bionics, bolter parts and chest eagle. 

7. Create a dark blue wash by mixing together Abbadon Black, Kantor Blue and a tonne of Lahmian Medium. Use this to wash the chest eagle and bionics so the dark colour gets into all the recesses. For flat areas like the trim and hand carefully paint on the mix in specific areas to create shading. I really like upside down shading for metallics. Just think of spoons. 

8. Edge highlight the metals carefully using a fine detail brush and Runefang Steel.

9. Paint the bolter casing and the tactical symbol with Cermite White. This may take a couple of coats. 

10. I hand painted the Iron Hands symbol by carefully breaking it down into a series of shapes. It’s effectively an upside down triangle and a series of vertical lines and a horizontal line. Feel free to use a decal instead. 

11. Create a glaze of Fenrisian Grey by mixing 3 parts Lahmian Medium to 1 part paint.  Then carefully shade specific areas of the white. Be careful not to let the paint pool where you want it to blend. Always work away from the blend so your brush leaves the piece where you want the shading to be darkest. 

12. Paint the pouches and purity seal parchment with Steel Legion Drab.

13. Highlight the previous stage with Zandri Dust

14. Paint the purity seal with Evil Sunz Scarlett. For the eye lenses, paint two thirds of the lens with red which should start in the corner nearest the nose.

15. Then paint a line of Fire Dragon Orange along the bottom of the lens.

16. Finally dot the black corner with Ceramite White and run an even thinner line of white under the Fire Dragon Orange line.

Finally, base the model in a way which fits in with your own army or gaming table. I’ve used Steel Legion Drab for the rim, Armageddon Dust for the base top and then drybrushed with Screaming Skull. Drybrushing is a way of picking out raised detail quickly usually with a lighter colour. To dry brush you need load up your brush with paint and then wipe it off the bristles on a tissue until virtually no paint remains on the brush. Then rapidly and repeatedly drag the side of the brush back and forth over the area to be painted.

Keep checking back regularly as I still have an Ultramarine tutorial still to post.

You can view the Imperial Fist tutorial here and the White Scar tutorial here.

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