Though the sun may be shining in the northern hemisphere, the winds of winter are roaring through the war-torn battlefields of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 setting. The wolves of Russ have been unleashed, and with them, the wrath of Fenris. These firm fan-favourites are no strangers to The Army Painter Academy, having previously graced the blog using a staggering 39 Fanatic paints to bring them to life. While this mini looks as crisp as you’d want for a model that uses a box set’s worth of paint, we wanted to try and achieve something a little less daunting as well.
Enter the Bundle-matic 5,000. This totally real piece of bespoke technology, and definitely not our paint and studio team, took the iconic baby-blue Space Wolf colour scheme and distilled it down to its essential nine Warpaints Fanatic colours. With this wolf-tastic bundle, you can confidently paint the vast majority of what the sons of Russ can throw at you—at least on your hobby desk! With the paints in hand, we thought, who better to bring this colour scheme to life than the master of sponges and paint himself, Rob Medwell of Medders’ Miniatures.
To see the paint in action, check out Rob's video above, or if reading is more your style, then continue on for a step-by-step guide.
Let's get painting!
How to Paint the Space Wolves
Step 1: Keep the shoulder pads seperate from the main body. Basecoat the body with Warpaints Fanatic Oak Brown, you can also save time by using the Oak Brown Colour Primer instead. At the same time, basecoat the shoulder pads with Warpaints Fanatic Leather Brown, or Leather Brown Colour Primer.
Step 2: Using a makeup sponge, apply a 1:1 mix of Warpaints Fanatic Oak Brown and Wolf Grey. This is applied in a blotting motion. See the video above for the best technique with it. Alternatively, you can apply this colour using a heavy drybrush with the Large Masterclass Drybrush.
Step 3: Next, repeat this process with pure Warpaints Fanatic Wolf Grey, leaving some of the previous layer showing through.
Step 4: Follow this with a layer of Warpaints Fanatic Runic Cobalt in the same manner, focusing on areas where you want to draw attention, such as the head.
Step 5: Apply a final highlight to the armour by mixing in some Warpaints Fanatic Matt White to the Runic Cobalt and picking out the most prominent edges with a brush.
Step 6: Next, if you want to add some more contrast to the armour, thin down your Warpaints Fanatic Oak Brown to a glaze consistency with either water or Warpaints Stabilizer, and apply this to areas you want to be more in shadow.
Step 7: Repeat the sponging process on the shoulder pads, but with Warpaints Fanatic Fiendish Yellow.
Step 8: To add a bit more contrast, glaze Warpaints Fanatic Leather Brown into the shadow areas on the shoulder pads.
Step 9: Next, paint the freehand pack markings on the model using Warpaints Fanatic Dragon Red and then apply chipping to them either with a brush or rough sponge using Warpaints Fanatic Fiendish Yellow.
Step 10: Basecoat all the gold areas with Warpaints Fanatic Greedy Gold, all the silver areas with Warpaints Fanatic Gun Metal, and all the leather with Warpaints Fanatic Oak Brown.
Step 11: All these areas are then shaded with Warpaints Fanatic Wash Dark Skin Shade.
Step 12: Apply a bit of battle damage to the armour with Warpaints Fanatic Oak Brown, using either a sponge, a brush, or both!
Step 13: Next, highlight the leather areas with Warpaints Fanatic Leather Brown and basecoat the bones areas as well.
Step 14: Follow this with a highlight of Warpaints Fanatic Skeleton Bone on the bone areas.
Step 15: Basecoat the weapon casings with Warpaints Fanatic Matt Black, and then apply a chipping highlight using some rough sponge and Warpaints Fanatic Gun Metal to both the black and silver areas.
Step 16: Next, basecoat the eyes and gems with Warpaints Fanatic Dragon Red.
Step 17: Lastly, highlight these areas by mixing in a bit of Warpaints Fanatic Fiendish Yellow to the Dragon Red.
Buy The Bundle!
Space Wolves Bundle
Answer the call of Russ and howl into battle with our Space Wolves Paint Bundle! This carefully selected palette captures the fury and feral nobility of the Space Wolves—complete with piercing blues and warm browns and yellows that echo the savage wilds of Fenris. From weathered cloaks and rune-inscribed armour to bloodstained axes, this bundle makes it easy summon the spirit of the Space Wolves to your tabletop—regardless of whether you’re an experienced hobbyist or new to painting.
Follow along with a step-by-step tutorial by Factory Team member Medders’ Miniatures and paint a Space Wolf of your own right here.