How to paint Imperial Fists – a quick and dirty guide

A little daunted by having to paint yellow I searched around the internet for various methods, but never found one that matched how I wanted my fists to look. I didn’t want to brown/yellow so many had because they were supposed to be fighting in an Urban area.

With that in mind I did a little experimenting based on other peoples methods and this what I ended up settling on.

1 – Basecoat.
All the Imperial Fists start with a grey undercoat with a blast of white from a top angle, this should give the fists a natural gradient when the yellow goes on.

2 – Yellow.
A simple slightly thinned application of Vallejo Pale Yellow (Game colour).

3 – Tamiya Clear Yellow.
This gives the yellow a much deeper and vibrant hue than the flat pale yellow, this will become the basis for the shading.

4 – Pale Yellow Zenith Highlight.
A blast of Pale Yellow from an approximate 45 degree angle gives the impression light hitting the model and leaves the enriched yellow in the shadows.

5 – Dirty Wash.
The whole model gets a watered down wash of Ogryn Flesh and Agrax Earthshade. This should be focused around the joints of the armour.

6 – Pale Yellow Highlights.
Pick out the edge of armour plates with a thin line of Pale yellow, making sure to leave the washed/dirtied up colour in the cracks.

7 – Lamenters Yellow Wash.
This final stage brings all the yellows together.

8 – Other Elements.
I dot these about between the other stages as appropriate. All the shoulder trims and piping gets a 50/50 bolt gun metal/black mix with a highlight of bolt gun.

Eyes are painted white and then given a coat of Tamiya Clear blue with a white dot.

9 – Transfers.
Add your transfers using the usual Microsol/Microset method

10 – Weathering
Using Charadon Granite and a torn piece of packing foam sponge on battle damage to affected areas. For me I wanted my Fists to look like they were right in the middle of a siege, with the walls and dust coming down around them – so I added a lot.

11 – Weathering Powder.
A final dusting of Mig ‘Concrete’ weathering powder gives the added dust effect.

12 – Varnish, Take Photos, Post Guide on Internet.
DONE!!!1one1