How To Paint: Citadel Guard

I recently gave some thought to redoing some of my old Minas Tirith models and on a whim I bought some new silver paint and gave it a go.

A while ago I picked up 12 Citadel Guard really cheap on ebay. These are my favourite Gondor troops in GW’s range and I thought it might be of interest if I did a guide for how I painted this prototype.

I always start with the eyes. A dab of white in approximately the right place and a black line. No need to be neat at this stage as I will get the shape correct when I add the flesh undercoat.

Then I add Leather Brown. I use Gamecraft paints, so the colours I name may be called something else in your paint box. Making sure to go right to the edges with the undercoat. You can even go over the edges of the helmet because it’ll get covered up all with the armour undercoat.

Next I highlight the flesh. Don't forget the model’s neck. I never painted necks for years but you’d be surprised what they add.

I added a little Leather Brown to help pick out the lips and beard. I completely highlighted the face so that I could work on the rest of the model without having to worry about trying to get my brush inside the armour without touching other areas accidentally.

Next I added the silver undercoat. This was done with Chainmail, a dark silver. Note how I didn't leave any areas black, this will help when highlighting the model. If you try and paint armour “within the lines” it will look messy unless you have excellent brush control. Painting a darker metal colour will help you by adding natural shadow to the metallic.

Next I undercoated the rest of the model. I used Chocolate Brown, Royal Blue, a Dark Grey and Black mix for the cloak and Khaki to edge the tunic. Always go right to the edges, this will give the model a more natural feel to the shading than leaving black undercoat showing through.

 

My next stage was to wash the armour with black ink. I used Vallejo ink, but there are plenty of alternatives. The trick here is to not wash the final coat as this can dull the armour. Washing the undercoat helps add that natural shadow look we’re going for.

 

Next I highlighted all the bits n bobs. The gloves got a coat of Leather Brown. The Royal Blue was highlighted with Mid Blue. The Khaki was highlighted with Sand and then Sand and White.

 

Next I added further details. Here you can see the X’s on the tunic edging. There is no trick to this I’m afraid, you just have to go for it. I also fletched the arrows. Added gold to the sword, buttons and bow. All the gold is painted with Bright Gold, washed with Flesh Wash ink from Vallejo and then repainted gold. The bow was painted Leather Brown and then washed with Flesh Wash.

Finally I highlighted the silver using Vallejo Silver. Remember with highlights it’s ok to leave some of the undercoat showing through. Brush the highlight on in thin coats to build them up. I left the chainmail unhighlighted to get a different feel. Highlight the cloak with Dark Grey and base. And that’s all there is to it.

I hope this has been an informative guide. If you enjoyed this and found it helpful you can let me know via the comments section and I will try and bring you more guides in the future.