Painting Eldar: an Ulthwé Wraithblade guide

I have always liked the Ulthwé scheme, so this was a good excuse to try it. I picked a Wraithblade for the job, because its large bone-coloured panels are perfect for practising the technique.

Basecoating and shading the armour

I started with an Abaddon Black basecoat and put the highlights in with Corvus Black. To give the model more depth and shadow I washed some areas with Nuln Oil, then went round a second time with a 50/50 mix of Corvus Black and Mechanicus Standard Grey.

Next came the bone-coloured parts, basecoated with Rakarth Flesh.

• The tabard: a quick Agrax Earthshade wash, then another layer of Rakarth Flesh as a highlight.
• The helmet: on the distinctive curved crest I blended the colours up gradually to Reaper Polished Bone — the same colour I used to pick out the helmet edges.

The swords are based in Kantor Blue, shaded with a little Drakenhof Nightshade, then brought up gradually to Hoeth Blue. The final edge highlights are Hoeth Blue as well. Any other power weapon technique you prefer works just as well here.

Details and gold trim

Time for the fine work:

1. Edge highlights: Mechanicus Standard Grey on the black areas.
2. Gold: Retributor Armour for the headdress and the spirit stone on the tabard, shaded simply with Agrax Earthshade. For extra sparkle, run Ironbreaker along the edges.

The gemstones

For the stones I used the usual routine:

• Base: Mephiston Red.
• Shade: Carroburg Crimson and Nuln Oil.
• Highlights: a tiny black dot in the top right corner, two white dots on top of it, and a curved stroke in the lower left with Evil Sunz Scarlet.

Finishing up

Finally I applied the waterslide transfer — although on my own model I painted the symbol freehand — did the last touch-ups, and there it is. I am very happy with how it turned out, especially how varied and deep the black of the armour reads. Mixing Abaddon Black with Corvus Black really did make a visible difference.

Originally published as How to Paint Everything: Craftworld Ulthwé on Goonhammer / Tabletop Battles, by Robert "TheChirurgeon" Jones.