Even in the grim darkness of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 setting, you can’t help but find a little bit of magic, or in the case of the Thousand Sons, a lot of magic! Whether they’re chasing wolves or dodging overdue fees from a certain library, these masters of magical mayhem love to do everything in style. What’s the point of conjuring up a reality-defying display of sorcerous might if you’re not rocking the latest Tizcan drip?
Dressed in head-to-toe golden filigree, even their Rubric Marines, aka, glorified dust bins, know how to make a visual statement. This teal and gold scheme can initially seem daunting, but it can, in fact, be broken down into just a handful of colours. With this forbidden knowledge in tow, our “Paint-gineers” consulted the ancient grimoires and crafted the perfect paint bundle to bring these automatons to life! Entrusting this recipe to our Studio Painter and Social Media maverick, Tyler Mengel, we soon conjured up a Thousand Sons tutorial so enticing, even Ahriman himself couldn’t resist.
To see the paint in action, check out the 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 Thousand Sons
Step 1: Basecoat the model with Warpaints Fanatic Deep Azure. Alternatively, you can prime the model with Hydra Turquoise Colour Primer.
Step 2: Next, basecoat the cloth with Warpaints Fanatic Brigade Grey.
Step 3: Follow this with an all-over wash of Warpaints Fanatic Wash Blue Tone, and thin it down slightly on the cloth.
Step 4: Next, highlight the edges of the armour with Warpaints Fanatic Turquoise Siren.
Step 5: Basecoat the black areas with Warpaints Fanatic Matt Black.
Step 6: Next, highlight these areas with a 1:1 mix of Warpaints Fanatic Matt Black and Matt White. Alternatively, you can use Warpaints Fanatic Uniform Grey.
Step 7: Basecoat the yellow with Warpaints Fanatic Fiendish Yellow.
Step 8: Shade this with Warpaints Fanatic Wash Strong Tone.
Step 9: Finish off the yellow areas with an edge highlight of Warpaints Fanatic Warped Yellow.
Step 10: Basecoat all the armour trim with Warpaints Fanatic True Brass. This step takes the longest, but just steadily work you way through it.
Step 11: Next, shade the trim with Warpaints Fanatic Wash Strong Skin Shade.
Step 12: Then highlight this with a 1:1 mix of Warpaints Fanatic True Brass and Mithril.
Step 13: Basecoat the silver areas with Warpaints Fanatic Gun Metal.
Step 14: Follow this with a wash of Warpaints Fanatic Wash Dark Tone.
Step 15: Then highlight these areas with Warpaints Fanatic Mithril.
Step 16: Next, basecoat the eyes and runes on the gun casing with Warpaints Fanatic Matt White. At the same time, apply a highlight to the cloth.
Step 17: Finally, add some magic to your model by applying Warpaints Fanatic Effects Data System Glow to the eyes and runes.
Buy The Bundle!
Thousand Sons Bundle
All is dust—but your paint job doesn’t have to be. Channel the might of sorcery and forbidden knowledge with this curated paint bundle forged for the sons of Prospero. Our Thousand Sons Paint Bundle doesn’t come with arcane power… unless maybe it does? Use these curated colours to bring the sorcerous warriors to life and let us know if you find any magic along the way.
Perfect for painting ornate armour and glowing helms, use these Warpaints Fanatic hues to give your army a finish worthy of the Crimson King.