Showcase: Tyranids Genestealer from Hive Fleet Hydra (inc. painting guide)

For my review of Pro Acryl I painted one of the fantastic new Genestealer sculpts as a demo model. I chose the classic deep blue and pale purple paint scheme known from Space Hulk, which is now attributed to the hive fleet Hydra. In this post, I explain how I did it.

I must say at the outset that I painted this model to try out different techniques, not to create a scheme to paint an army as quickly and efficiently as possible. I hope that the Genestealer can still inspire you to find your own version of the iconic blue and purple of Hive Fleet Hydra.

How to paint Genestealers

Primer: AK Interactive Fine Primer Black

Dark blue carapace
Basecoat: Black primer / Pro Acryl Coal Black
Drybrush: Pro Acryl Blue Black
Drybrush: Pro Acryl Dark Grey Blue
Drybrush: Pro Acryl Dark Grey Blue / Pro Acryl Grey Blue mix
Wash: Pro Acryl Black Wash
Edge highlight: Pro Acryl Dark Grey Blue / Pro Acryl Grey Blue mix (to refine the drybrushed highlights)
Dot highlight: Pro Acryl Grey Blue

Pale purple flesh
Basecoat: Pro Acryl Faded Plum
Wash: Magos Purple / Contrast Medium 1:3 mix
Recess wash: Magos Purple
Highlight: Pro Acryl Faded Plum
Highlight: Pro Acryl Faded Plum with a bit of Pro Acryl Pale Pink
Dot highlight: Pro Acryl Faded Plum with more Pro Acryl Pale Pink

Pink tentacles
Basecoat: Pro Acryl Pink
Recess shade: thinned Pro Acryl Magenta
Highlight: Pro Acryl Pale Pink
Dot highlight: Pro Acry Bold Titanium White
Glaze: multiple thinned coats of Magos Purple with Contrast Medium to create a gradient

Eyes
Basecoat: Pro Acryl Warm Yellow
Dot highlight: Pro Acryl Pale Yellow

As you can see, I only used Pro Acryl paints as I painted this model for my video review of the Pro Acryl range and their new Signature Series:

Garfy has a more traditional blue-and-purple Genestealer scheme, painted with Citadel paints only. Check out his tutorial here:

Hope you enjoyed my take on the iconic Genestealer scheme. The new models are great, and experimenting with the Pro Acryl range was a lot of fun. They even made it to my personal best of miniature paints list, check it out here if you haven’t yet.

Leave a comment or reaction below, or discuss this model over on our friendly hobby Discord server. Thanks a lot, and happy hobbying!