How to paint Games Workshop miniatures? In this tutorial, we will show you a number of painting techniques for decorating your Citadel miniatures. In this new guide we will see which steps to follow to paint the models of the Elves and Men of the Last Alliance!
Welcome back to Painting workshop by techigames! After the previous tutorial on Uruk-hai Scouts, which you can view on this page, here we are with a new guide in which we will see how to paint your thumbnails of Elfi e of Men of the Last Covenant with very simple techniques using colors Citadel and be able to expand your collection of models Games Workshop than undertake the Strategic Battle Game in Middle-earth.
We remind you that the miniatures, the colors and all the tools for modeling are available on the website www.games-workshop.com.
Tutorial 20: Elves and Men of the Last Alliance - How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
The Second Era was characterized by terrible and huge wars during which huge armies clashed all over Middle-earth. Towards the end of this period, the great King Elendil led the Men of Númenor against the Dark Lord Sauron. At his side was Gil-galad, High King of the Elves and his main ally. Thus, after the birth of this coalition and long years of battle, they reconquered the lands that had belonged to Men and Elves, repelling the hordes of Mordor. But when the Dark Lord launched his attack, the first blow fell on Gondor and the war of the Last Covenant began, in which Men and Elves fought together against the darkness of Sauron. In doing so, the armies of the Free Peoples marched on Mordor and broke through the heart of the dark and wastelands, proving their courage and skills. The final battle took place on the slopes of Mount Doom, where King Elendil was killed by Sauron, who in turn was defeated by Prince Isildur, who however did not have the strength to destroy the One Ring in the flames of Mount. Fate and put an end to the spirit of the evil Sauron.
If you are interested in more information on the Last Alliance we refer you to the Wikipedia page.
To know the different basic painting techniques, useful for all Games Workshop miniatures, we recommend that you visit this page.
Set Games Workshop of Elves and Men of the Last Alliance available on the website
Phase 1: Cleaning and Assembling the Elves and Men of the Last Covenant | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
As in the previous guide, here too the first thing to do before starting to paint your plastic miniatures of the warriors of the Last Alliance is to remove them gently from the frame with a common cutter, being careful not to cut their weapons. Also remove the shields from the mold, but do not glue them immediately into the holes on the front of the swordsmen, as it will be more convenient to paint them separately and join them later. Some bent guns may need to be straightened, although this is generally not the case with plastic models. Once this is done, carefully remove any excess burrs that remain after the casting process with a utility knife, and don't worry if you accidentally scratch the models, as these small incisions will then be covered with acrylic paints. Once this is complete, mount your Elves and Men miniatures onto their bases using some plastic glue, available on the Games Workshop website or in any DIY store.
Sprue Games Warriors of the Last Alliance Workshop
Your models from the Last Alliance at the end of phase 1
Phase 2: base color of the Elves and Men of the Last Alliance | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
Once you have assembled the models of the Elves and of the Men, you will have to give a background of color to have a base color to work on and to make the shades you apply in the next phases adhere well. Always remember that the important thing is to completely cover the material your miniatures are made of. To achieve a uniform layer of color use Citadel Chaos Black spray, as these models are characterized by metallic and relatively dark shades. Be very careful when using the spray and be sure to use this technique in well-ventilated areas.
Spray Citadel Chaos Black
Practical tip: to ensure that the color reaches even the most hidden areas, fix all the models close to each other on a sheet of cardboard with repositionable glue or double-sided tape, to be able to remove them easily after having painted them; while using the black spray, rotate the cardboard, so as to apply a uniform color base on all the miniatures.
Alternative: if you don't have Chaos Black spray available, use Citadel Abaddon Black in a bottle; shake the jar well to mix the color correctly, then use the brush to put a drop on the palette and add a little water to dilute it slightly, as too thick a color would be difficult to apply and ruin your miniatures, covering the details . If the color is too liquid, add a little more to thicken it.
Your miniatures of Elves and Men after the Chaos Black primer
At this point you can start painting your Last Alliance warriors and to do so we recommend the serial painting technique, already seen for Goblins and Uruk-hai: dealing with a group of similar miniatures, you can perform each phase on all Citadel models, then move on to the next one. This way you will work all the Elves and Men in parallel, so you will complete them all together.
Step 3: Paint the Elven armor of the Last Alliance | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
To decorate the golden Elves armor, you can proceed as you did with King Elrond in tutorial 13, as they feature a golden hue mixed with a green hue. To paint them, first apply Warpstone Glow as a base color; then use Auric Armor Gold on each plate with the ruling technique and with a fine-tipped brush, so as to let the underlying green glimpse. When the color is dry, pass Runefang Steel evenly with a very light dry brush to give a touch of brightness on all the reliefs of the armor.
Citadel paints recommended for High Elf armor
Practical tip: You have used metallic colors at this stage, so it is best to change the water after rinsing the brushes, otherwise the tiny metallic components could alter the colors you will use later.
Alternative: You can paint the armor of the High Elves also differently without departing from the originality of the film, that is with the dry brush technique, using Citadel paints in this order: Ironbreaker, Runefang Steel, Brass Scorpion, Gehenna's Gold and Auric Armor Gold. This technique, however, must be performed in a particular way, that is with the wetbrushing, which consists in adding a very small amount of water to your color, before unloading it on the paper handkerchief for the dry brush technique; by doing so, the different colors will blend more smoothly with each other, but more coats of Citadel itself may be required, as they are diluted shades.
The Elves painted with the alternative method and the wetbrushing technique
Step 4: Paint the armor of the Men of the Last Alliance | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
After painting the armor of the High Elves, it is now the turn of the Men of the Last Alliance. To decorate it, the Chaos Black of the primer is ideal to start with. Dry brush Leadbelcher is fine for chain mail, helmet, forearms and leggings, then perform a black wash with Nuln Oil and then highlight some details with Runefang Steel always dry brush. Decorate the helmet with Auric Armor Gold and the ruling technique.
Citadel shades to decorate the armor of Men
At this point restore the black with Abaddon Black on the surrounding areas and highlight the gray parts of the outer tunic, then use the Mechanicus Standard Gray with the dry brush technique evenly, then use that of the ruling by carefully spreading the Adminatum Gray on the reliefs such as the Tree of Gondor on the chest and side edges.
For the inner tunic you can apply Zandri Dust, then darken the recesses with Agrax Earthshade and finally highlight with the Ushabti Bone.
Your Man of Gondor at the end of phase 4
Step 5: Paint the Last Covenant Elf Robe, Cloak, and Scarf | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
To paint the Elves' robe we recommend the layering technique: start with Kantor Blue as a base, then apply a very light layer of Shade Nuln Oil or Drakenhof Nightshade and let it dry. At this point, highlight all the external parts with Altdorf Guard Blue and finally use Alaitoc Blue as an extreme highlight.
For cloak and scarf apply Mechanicus Standard Gray, shade as always with Nuln Oil, then lighten: in the case of the cloak use Dawnstone with the ruling technique, while for the scarf that of dry brush, being careful not to stain the already painted armor. Administratum Gray works well as an extreme highlight.
Citadel paints to paint the Elf robe, scarf and cloak
Step 6: Paint the Cloak of the Men of the Last Covenant | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
The coat of the Men is black with some gray tinges, so it is only necessary to highlight the areas in relief, but initially make sure that the base color is everywhere the Chaos black of the primer, otherwise restore it with the Abaddon Black in the bottle. Once this is done, use Mechanicus Standard Gray with the ruling technique to lighten the outermost creases, then further highlight each edge with Dawnstone. The metal rings are decorated with Runefang Steel.
The decorated cloak of Men
Step 7: Paint the Skin and Hair of Elves and Men of the Last Covenant | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
The face of Elves and Men should first be painted with Cadian Fleshtone as the base color. When the flesh color is dry, apply a very light wash of Reikland Fleshshade (or very diluted Rhinox Hide) to darken the grooves of the miniature and thus create a shadow effect. Finally, apply Kislev Flesh with the ruling technique to highlight all the raised parts such as cheekbones, nose, forehead and chin.
Citadel Shade Reikland Fleshshade to shade the faces of your models
To decorate the brown eyes use the Rhinox Hide on a white base painted by White Scar, but you can also vary and use the Hoeth Blue or the Nurgling Green. Gorthor Brown is fine for the eyebrows.
To paint the hair, apply Rhinox Hide as a color base, then apply a black wash with Nuln Oil. When the ink is dry, dry brush all raised strands with Baneblade Brown. Again, you can change the hue according to your preferences, based on the previous tutorials.
Citadel skin and hair shades for warriors
Step 8: Paint the Weapons of the Elves and Men of the Last Alliance | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
To paint the swords of Elves and Men you can apply the Ironbreaker as a base color, then you can apply a light wash with Nuln Oil and finally highlight with Runefang Steel, while the hilts are initially decorated with Dryad Bark, highlighted with the XV-88, and then refine everything with Auric Armor Gold. For smaller details, such as elven decorations, use the XS Artificer Layer brush.
XS Artificer Layer brush
To decorate the elven bows, on the other hand, we recommend using Dryad Bark as a base, then lighten the wooden parts with Gorthor Brown and highlight the areas most exposed to sunlight with Baneblade Brown. To top it all off, use the Leadbelcher on the metal ends, then apply a drop of Nuln Oil to create some shadows in the recesses and finally bring out the details with Runefang Steel.
For the quivers, use Rhinox Hide first as a base and immediately after the Shade Nuln Oil. When the ink is dry, perform the ruling technique by applying XV-88 on all leather parts. Finally, paint the top edge and metallic decorations with Auric Armor Gold and if you want also with Runefang Steel. For the wood of the arrows, the XV-88 with a dry brush is fine and use the same technique on the fletching with the Screaming Skull, helping you with a smaller brush.
For the shields of Men the Chaos Black of the primer is just fine, but to highlight the edges use the Leadbelcher with the ruling technique, while for the Gondor tree apply the same color with a dry brush. To highlight the gold stars, use Auric Armor Gold with the XS brush. Finally, when this is dry, restore the basic black color on the surrounding areas with Abaddon Black.
Citadel paints recommended for decorating the weapons of Elves and Men
The warriors of the Last Alliance at the end of phase 8
Step 9: Paint the Final Details of Elves and Men of the Last Covenant | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
For all leather parts, such as belts, gloves and boots, apply Rhinox Hide, shade everything with Nuln Oil or Agrax Earthshade and finally highlight the external parts with Baneblade Brown and the ruling technique. Runefang Steel is fine for silver buckles.
Practical advice: there are models of Elves armed with spears and shields; for the first use the same advice seen for the sword, while for the shield repeat the steps dedicated to the decoration of the armor.
Set Games Workshop of the Elves with spear and shield
Step 10: Decorate the Sideburns of Elves and Men of the Last Alliance | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures
You can decorate the bases of your models of the Last Alliance giving space to your creativity; for example you can apply a Citadel Texture such as Stirland Mud or Astrogranite to create a rocky effect on brown or gray. Whichever you choose, paint the edges of the base with XV-88 or Mechanicus Standard Gray accordingly. When the Texture is dry, gently drybrush a lighter color to highlight, such as Karak Stone or Terminatus Stone in the first case or Administratum Gray in the second. Finally, to complete, you can add the Mordheim or Middenland Clods, in order to enrich the base with tufts of grass.
Citadel Texture Stirland Mud and Astrogranite to give more effect to the bases of your models
Middenland and Mordheim clods available on the website
Alternatively, you can decorate the sideburns by painting them completely Mournfang Brown and then applying some static grass or modeling flock with vinyl glue to recreate a turf. You can also add a small amount of crushed stone to give a classy effect and be reminiscent of green elven terrains.
Static modeling grass
Practical tip: to apply the static grass or flock, first spread the glue on the upper part of each base, then dip the latter into a jar containing the grass, so that it adheres perfectly.
With that done, your miniatures of Elves and Men are ready to go into battle under the leadership of Gil-Galad and Elendil!
The Warriors of the Last Alliance completed!
How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures - Tutorial 20: Elves and Men of the Last Alliance
This tutorial from the Techigames Painting Workshop dedicated to decorating Games Workshop miniatures (eg Warhammer or Lord of the Rings) also ends here. For any questions or requests we are available via the comments box below!
Appointment to next Saturday with a new tutorial!
