Last week we met the contestants entering into the Arena Challenge, and this week we’re already getting to see the first painted minis! The Arena Challenge continues on our wildly successful Arena of Escalation from last year, with a few new twists, new contestants, and a whole new game system joining alongside its sibling in the grimdark future – Warhammer: The Age of Sigmar by Games Workshop!
Fantasy miniatures are wonderful canvases for the varied, vibrant, and comprehensive paint ranges of Warpaints Fanatic, Air, and Speedpaint. They invite everything from the fey and fantastical to something equally as grim, gritty, and dark as you would find in the far future. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and how many test models you’re willing to go through to find that sweet spot. Speaking of test models, that’s exactly what our contestants have brought with them today.
It’s important to have a good idea of how you want to tackle the overall colour scheme for your army before getting 20 models in and realising you want to make a change. Painting up a test model or two lets you cement your colour palette, refine your technique, and, most importantly, give you a good idea of how much fun that scheme is to paint. While you may find something that looks great, if you didn’t have a good time painting it, you probably don’t want to do it 50 more times. These crucial minis may also lead to ideas or techniques you never would’ve thought of before painting them. It’s important to remember they’re just templates though, and you can certainly make changes as you paint more of your army. Without further ado, let’s delve into the magical lands of the Mortal Realms and see what our Age of Sigmar contestant have brought to the table!
Adam: I had no idea which direction I wanted to take this army. The classic Sylvaneth greens and turquoise were right in my comfort zone, and while that would’ve been fun, I felt the urge to do something a little darker.
I came across a stunning Warsong Revenant painted by Marwin Lasuardi (@BrushWarrior). It had this incredible mix of ochres, magentas, greyish browns, and black - completely different from the usual vibrant, magical, tree-hugging elves I was used to. It was like if Davey Havok of AFI picked up a flute and wandered into the Mortal Realms. I loved it.
While I didn’t go fully in that direction, I did embrace a darker, more treacherous feel. My scheme leans into deep ochres and browns, with dark hair adding contrast. But I couldn’t resist sneaking in a bit of that flower-child enchantment - vibrant magenta wings and an ethereal glow created with Speedpaint Ghoul Green and Plasmatic Bolt, roughly blended with Warpaints Fanatic Matt White. To finish off the magical weapons and glowing effects, I used selective glazes of Warpaints Fanatic Effects Plasma Coil and Data System Glow for that extra pop.
Danni: My idea was to do a burial shroud that has been drenched in blood with a light blueish-grey colour for the bones and body parts for my Nighthaunt. So, I'm kind of doing my own spin on the Scarlet Doom faction.
I found that using Speedpaint Pallid Bone for the shroud and Battleship Grey for the "body" parts worked really well. Other than that, it's mostly a mix of Warpaints Fanatic Effects Dry Blood and True Blood for the shroud. I really like this look and can't wait to paint the other Chainrasps in the same way. It's super-fast and easy. Perfect for larger armies. I might do some additional highlights and of course, give the bases some love as well.
Jonathan: I’ve been in the hobby for about a million years but for whatever reason, I’ve never painted Orks(Orruks) for either 40k or AoS. This year I wanted to challenge myself to paint with unfamiliar models and tackle the monster that is painting YELLOW. I won’t lie, it definitely intimidates me, but it’s not really a challenge if you’re not going to push yourself! My idea was to try to use this experience to help other people get good-looking yellow armour without trying to pull your hair out. I went through a bunch of test models. No, really, like a whole box of ‘Ardboyz to try to figure out how I wanted the yellow armour to look. I started with Colour Primer Matt White spray and used Speedpaint Ancient Honey. I then tried another with Zealot Yellow. Both looked good, but not exactly what I was looking for. Next was tan spray with the same Speedpaints. Close, but also not it. Next was tan spray and Warpaints Fanatic. Using the Yellows Flexible Triad, I was definitely getting there! After reading an old tutorial from our own Tyler Mengel, I applied some glazing ideas using Zealot Yellow and Speedpaint Medium. At this point, I’m starting to run out of unpainted Ardboyz! I was struggling with near-infinite possibilities because there are so many good options.
Then it hits me.
Go get some feedback. I sent a message over to some of my colleagues and showed them what I was working on. They offered some quick feedback and advice. Turns out, I wasn’t as far off the mark as I thought I was! That five-minute phone call saved me hours of working on more test models and got me narrowed down to two options.
My “painting” advice to you if you’re stuck and having a tough time deciding, ask some friends, go to your local store, or share on social media!
Oliver: I wanted to keep to a fairly limited palette and opted for Speedpaint as a base. I then used Warpaints Fanatic Matt White to mix in with the Speedpaints to create the highlights.
As you might have noticed from my T’au army from last year’s Arena, I like my models to be colourful and ‘pop’ on the tabletop. This force is no exception, and I want to see if I can carry the crazy colours of these Screamers over into the humanoid mortals as well.
Be sure to check back next week as we travel to the war-torn battlefield of the far future and behold the glory of our Warhammer 40,000 contestants’ test models.
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We encourage you to participate in the Arena Challenge at home by painting your own Combat Patrol or Spearhead with Warpaints Fanatic, Air, or Speedpaint. Be sure to tag your posts with #thearmypainter and #arenachallenge so we can follow along with your progress!
