Showcase: Nighthaunt Chainrasps

Even though Halloween is long past, things are getting spooky again on Tale of Painters. I’ve added another unit to my Nighthaunt collection: a few chain-rattling Chainrasps together with a Dreadwarden. You’ll find pictures and painting guides in this post, along with a look at what I still need to paint to complete my Spearhead.

Nighthaunt Chainrasps – the lore

Chainrasps are the most common spectral infantry of the Nighthaunt. The restless, tormented spirits of criminals, cowards, and wretches condemned to eternal service. Shackled in ghostly irons and driven by unending anguish, they swarm the battlefield in vast, howling hordes. Individually weak but terrifying in numbers, Chainrasps glide through walls and armour alike, their rusted blades guided more by malice than skill. They embody the core of the Nighthaunt aesthetic: mournful, tattered shades animated by raw hatred and Nagash’s unforgiving will.

My inspiration

Ever since the launch of the current edition of Age of Sigmar, I’ve been keen to get a Spearhead ready for the table. So far I’ve painted a loose assortment of Nighthaunt models (mainly Warhammer Underworlds warbands such as The Headman’s Curse) and Soulblight Gravelords pieces, but it’s not quite an army yet. Painting the recently released Lord Vitriolic was such a joy (you can find the showcase post here) that I finally want to put more focused effort into building up my Nighthaunt. To field the Nighthaunt Spearhead from Jade & Fire, I need rank-and-file infantry like the Chainrasps.

How I painted the Chainrasps

At the moment, Nighthaunt might be my favourite models to paint, simply because they come together so quickly yet still look striking. I start by airbrushing the models with a mix of Warpaints Air Broodmother Purple and Warpaints Air Yeti White. Then I apply a zenithal highlight with pure WPA Yeti White, also through the airbrush. After that, it’s just a matter of deepening the shadows a little and bringing out the details with drybrushing and a final edge highlight.

I’ve recorded the process in more detail in this free tutorial, and I explain how to paint the Dreadwarden’s turquoise candle flames in this tutorial.

Final thoughts

So that’s 10 Nighthaunt done, and I’ve already painted Spirit Hosts, 5 Grimghast Reapers, and a Knight of Shrouds. I still need another 10 Chainrasps and 5 Reapers to complete the Spearhead. I probably won’t manage it this year, but perhaps I can at least finish the Reapers? You’ll find out in my end-of-year review in December…

Feel free to leave a reaction, or drop a comment below, I’m also happy to answer any questions on our friendly hobby Discord server. Thanks a lot, and happy hobbying!