How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures? In this tutorial we will show you different painting techniques for decorating your Citadel miniatures. In this new guide we will see which steps to follow to paint Frodo Baggins' model

Welcome back to Painting workshop by techigames! After the previous tutorial on Aragorn, which you can view on this page, here we are with a new guide in which we will illustrate how to paint your own miniature of Frodo Baggins with very simple techniques using colors Citadel and be able to expand your model collection Games Workshop.



We remind you that the miniatures, the colors and all the tools for modeling are available on the website www.games-workshop.com.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Tutorial 4: Frodo Baggins - How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

Frodo Baggins is a young hobbit who lives in the Shire. Unexpectedly receiving the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo, he leaves for the village of Bree at the suggestion of the sorcerer Gandalf the Gray along with his trusted friends Sam, Merry and Pippin. Arriving at their destination, Frodo meets the ranger Aragorn, who offers to protect him, so, after escaping the Ringwraiths, they leave for the elven realm of Rivendell. Here, after King Elrond's Counsel, Frodo takes upon himself the enormous burden of carrying the Ring to Mordor to destroy it in the flames of Mount Doom and thereby put an end to the looming threat of Sauron, the Dark Lord, who craves. to repossess the One to dominate all kingdoms. Thus was born the Fellowship of the Ring, made up of Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli and the man Boromir. This is the beginning of a long and dangerous adventure, in which Frodo will hold the fate of the entire Middle-earth in his hand.


For more information, refer to the Wikipedia page.

Find out more about the different basic painting techniques, useful for all your Games Workshop miniatures, we recommend that you visit this page.


How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Phase 1: Frodo Cleaning and Assembling | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

As seen in previous tutorials, the first thing to do before starting to paint your Frodo miniature is to carefully remove any excess burrs that remain after the casting process; to help you, you can use a classic cutter or wire cutters. Don't worry if you mistakenly etch your model, as these small marks will be covered in Citadel paints later. There are several metal and plastic versions of Frodo Baggins similar to each other; some have the sword in plain sight, so in this case be careful not to bend or break it during this operation!

Once this is done, fix your Frodo miniature onto the base with the cyanoacrylate glue.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Your Frodo model after assembly

Phase 2: base color | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

Once the assembly phase is complete, you will need to give a color base to better adhere the shades you will apply in the next steps. Always remember that the important thing is to completely cover the metal or plastic your model is made of. To get a uniform layer of color, use Citadel Chaos Black spray, as Frodo's shades are very dark. Be careful and make sure you use this technique outdoors. As an alternative to the spray you can use Citadel Abaddon Black paint in a bottle. Put a drop of black with the brush on the palette and run the primer. If the color is too thick, you can solve the problem by adding a little water to dilute it slightly.


How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Your Frodo miniature after the black primer

Step 3: Painting Frodo Baggins Pants, Vest & Jacket | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

To paint these parts of your Frodo model, use Rhinox Hide as the base shade, then apply a black wash with Nuln Oil or Abaddon Black diluted with a drop of water.


Once this is done, since the pants are a dark brown color, apply the Gorthor Brown with the ruling technique to lighten the raised areas and finally the Baneblade Brown with the border, increasing the level of detail of your miniature.

For the gilet, you can use the Mournfang Brown with the ruling, being a brighter brown than the previous shades and then highlight the edges with the XV-88.

For the jacket, paint the outer folds with a mix in equal parts of Mournfang and Gorthor Brown to leave a darker color in the recesses and thus create an effect of light and shadow; finally apply only the Mournfang Brown with the edging technique.

Decorate the buttons of the jacket and vest with the Karak Stone using the XS Artificer Layer brush.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Shades of brown for Frodo's clothes

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Citadel XS Artificer Layer Brush

Step 4: Paint Frodo Baggins' Cloak | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

Frodo's coat is characterized by different shades of green and to paint it first use Castellan Green as the base color, then do a black wash with Nuln Oil to create the shadows. When the ink is dry, apply Loren Forest with the ruling technique, spreading the green in the direction of each fold of the coat, lightening it. Finally, for an additional luminous effect you can use the edging technique by mixing Loren Forest and Nurgling Green in equal parts.


Practical tip: For the ruling technique on the folds of the coat, we recommend using a fine-tipped brush, as these are very small details.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Citadel paints for Frodo's cloak

Step 5: Painting Frodo Baggins Sword | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

To paint Sting, Frodo's sword, first apply Leadbelcher as the base color. When this is dry, apply a wash of Nuln Oil, using a small brush to avoid staining the surrounding areas that have already been completed.


How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Goad, Frodo's sword

Once this is done, highlight the blade and metal parts of the hilt with Runefang Steel using the ruling technique to bring out the details.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Metallic colors for Frodo's sword

Finally, decorate the central part of the hilt with the Rhinox Hide.

Tip: There are several Frodo miniatures, some of which feature a sword sheath; to paint it you can use the Rhinox Hide with a dry brush on the leather part and the Ironbreaker for the small metal parts with a fine tip brush.

Step 6: Painting Frodo Baggins Skin and Hair | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

Frodo's face, hands and feet should first be painted evenly with Cadian Fleshtone as the base shade. When the color is dry, apply a very light wash of Rhinox Hide to create a shading effect. Finally, apply Kislev Flesh with the ruling technique to highlight all the raised parts such as cheekbones, nose and forehead.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Citadel paints suitable for Frodo's skin

To paint Frodo's blue eyes first use Ceramite White, then for the pupil use Hoet Blue with an XS Artificer Layer brush. You can apply Rhinox Hide to the eyebrows. 

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Ceramite White and Hoeth Blue for the eyes

Paint the hair and foot hair with Rhinox Hide, then do a black wash. Once this is done, with the dry brush technique lightly pass the Gorthor Brown first and then the Karak Stone on the external strands to give a touch of brightness. 

Step 7: Paint the Final Details by Frodo Baggins | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

For the silver chain of the One Ring you can use Runefang Steel with the XS Artificer Layer fine point brush; however, we recommend that you apply the color with a dry brush very lightly.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

The only Ring

To paint Frodo's backpack, use Rhinox Hide as a solid color background and then do a black wash with Nuln Oil, being careful not to stain the coat. To highlight the outermost areas, apply the Gorthor Brown with the ruling technique and finally the XV-88 with the border to further blend the ends.

For the belt, apply Baneblade Brown and highlight the edges with Karak Stone.

Step 8: Decorate Frodo Baggins' base | How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures

You can decorate Frodo's base as you like; for example, paint it completely with Mournfang Brown and then glue some static modeling grass with the vinyl glue.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Static Grass Games Workshop

Alternatively you can apply Citadel Texture Stirland Mud or Astrogranite on top to create a classic rock effect and paint the sides with XV-88 or Mechanicus Standard Gray. For a finishing touch, you can add Mordheim or Middenland Clods.

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Citadel Texture for your bases

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Clods of Mordheim and Middenland

Once this stage is completed, your Frodo miniature is ready for the journey to Mount Doom!

How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo

Your Frodo model is complete!

How to paint Games Workshop (Citadel) miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo Baggins

Our fourth techigames Painting Workshop tutorial dedicated to decorating Games Workshop miniatures (eg Warhammer or Lord of the Rings) ends here. For any questions or requests we are available via the comments box below!

Appointment to next Saturday with a new tutorial!

add a comment of How to paint Games Workshop miniatures - Tutorial 4: Frodo
Comment sent successfully! We will review it in the next few hours.