Painting Space Wolves

Hi everyone, I've put together a Space Wolves painting guide to share my personal take on the ever changing Space Wolves paint scheme. Everyone seems to use various shades of grey for their Space Wolves models and I am no exception.

This guide to painting Space Wolves is quite advanced and comprehensive, so please don't be put off by anything, simply have a go at trying out some of the techniques. After all, that's how I learned to paint better.

Best of luck and have fun painting! -Dave (Munky)


Equipment, Materials and Paint.
Paintbrushes ranging from fine to medium
Modeling ballast(use fine and medium mixed for a random effect)
Pva (white) Glue
Games Workshop White Spray Primer
Games Workshop Purity Seal Spray Varnish
Humbrol Matt Spray Varnish
Micro Sol & Micro Set ( for transfer application) Microscale
Magic Wash (for making your own washes) Magic Wash
Baking Soda (for snow)

Foundation Paints
Astronomicon Grey, Fenris Grey, Mechrite Red, Charadon Granite.

Washes
Badab Black, Devlan Mud, Gryphonne Sepia, Ogryn Flesh

Paints

Skull White, Chaos Black, Boltgun Metal, Shining Gold, Burnished Gold, Schorched Brown, Bestial Brown, Graveyard Earth, Snakebite Leather, Blazing Orange, Codex Grey, Dwarf Flesh, Elf Flesh, Bleached Bone.

Stage 1
Once you have assembled your marine, water down some Pva glue and stick some Ballast to the base, once dry give him a quick undercoat with the white spray. I have chosen white undercoat because it helps me see the detail and I want the model to be quite bright when finished.





Stage 2
Once the undercoat is dry we move on to base colours.
The base is painted Charadon Granite, I find that thinning the Foundation paints 1-1 with water or 2-1 with water is sufficient to get the colour on there.

The armour is painted with a 4-1 mix of Astronomicon Grey and Fenris Grey (Fenronomicon Grey), the shoulder pads are painted with a1-1 mix or Red Gore and Mechrite Red (Gorite Red), any metal areas are painted with Boltgun Metal (most GW paints I thin 1-1 with water).

The Brass areas are based with Bestial Brown and then Shining Gold (the brown is a good first coat for the gold which is quite thin).
The fur is based with Schorched Brown and drybrushed with Bestial Brown, Snakebite Leather, Bleached Bone and Skull white working each colour towards a white tip.

The red hair is painted with a 1-1 mix of Graveyard Earth and Blazing Orange, the face is painted 1-1 Dwarf flesh and Elf flesh, bones/skulls are painted Snakebite Leather and any leather straps/pouches are painted Bestial Brown.

Stage 3
We now move onto shading the miniature.
The armour is shaded with a 2-1 mix of Shadow Grey and Schorched Brown mixed with 4-6 drops of magic wash, this is "lined" around the joins between the armour plates and anything touching the armour (include the shoulder pads in this step too).

Metal is washed with Badab Black, brass areas in OgrynFlesh, as well as the skin and hair.
Bones and leather are washed with Devlan Mud also a little Devlan can be used to pick out the mouth and eyes if you like.
The fur is washed Gryphonne Sepia then Ogryn flesh.

Stage 4
Highlighting.
Drybrush the base with Codex Grey, the armour is "edged" with 1-1 Astronomicon Grey and Skull White.

The pads have a small line painted as close to the edge as possible 1-1 Gorite Red and Sunburst Yellow.
Edge the metal with Boltgun Metal and the brass with BurnishedGold.

The hair is brushed with Blazing Orange on the edges and tips, the face is highlighted on the most prominent areas 1-1 Dwarf Flesh and Elf Flesh.
Any leather is edged with Graveyard Earth, and bones are highlighted with 1-1 Snakebite Leather and Bleached Bone then pure Bleached Bone.

Stage 5
On to the final details.
I weather the armour by first applying Chardon Granite in small "chips" on the edges of the armour, this is highlighted with a small line of 1-1 Astronomicon Grey and Skull White.

Then I mix 1-1 Graveyard Earth and Charadon Granite and 8-10 drops of magic wash and apply this in layers over the lower legs from around the knee down(concentrating it around the feet).

The black pack markings are painted on and the transfer applied with the microscale solutions.

I hit the models with a coat of Purity Seal then a final coat of Humbrol matt to get rid of the shine.

Snow
If you want snow on your bases, your can make it using pva glue, baking soda and a little water to get the gloopy consitency right. It's important that you only apply this after the model has been varnished, because varnish yellows slightly with age, and we dont want yellow snow now do we!

Dreadnought Tactics

Dreadnoughts are the fallen heroes of the Space Wolves interred into a new metal form to continue to serve the Emperor even in death. On the battlefield a Dreadnought is a walking tank, adding heavy firepower to the Space Wolves army a a fierce blow in close combat.

However, due to the fast assault orientated nature of the Space Wolves army, a Dreadnought may find itself left behind if not deploying via drop pod or equipped with heavy weaponry to provide long range support while holding a vital position.

So we're going to take at a look at all the options for the Space Wolves Dreadnought and its battlefield roles. As always, we're going to be tight with the points and demand the very best we can get whilst spending as little points as possible! Fortunately, the Space Wolves Dreadnought comes with an assault cannon right arm as standard.

OPTIONS
Replace Storm Bolter with Heavy Flamer - Do it!
Assault Cannon - it's good and it's free!
Twin Linked Heavy Flaner - It's free, but there are better weapons
Multimelta - It's free and it's a short range tank killer
Twin linked Heavy Bolter - I'd rather keep the Assault Cannon
Twin Linked Autocannon - Reasonable range, mid strength and 2 shots. Not bad.
Plasma Cannon - Reasonable range, mid strength, AP2, small blast. Like it.
Twin Linked Lascannon - Long range, high strength, AP2 and reroll to hit. Expensive!
Twin Linked Autocannon (left arm) - great when paired with another twin linked autocannon!
Missile Launcher (left arm) - Versatile, but expensive for a missile launcher.
Extra Armour - A good choice for Dreadnoughts likely to get into close combat with enemy squads.
Wolftooth Necklace - Makes you hit better in close combat, but anything you need to hit better will have a higher initiative and most likely rip the Dreadnought apart before you can strike.
Wolftail Talisman - Not worth it, even for 5pts.
Venerable - It's a lot of points for what it does and it's not going to save you from a close range melta gun. I think those 60pts could be better spent, even if it boosts WS and BS.

The way I see it, there are two types of Dreadnoughts. Those that get in close and make a big mess and those that sit back and shoot.

The classic builds of Dreadnought are:

Dreadnought 1: 105 points
Assault cannon, dreadnought close combat weapon with storm bolter, smoke launchers, search light

The basic Dreadnought without any upgrades. He's cheap, he's cheerful (perhaps even jolly!) and he can emerge from a drop pod or waddle up the field behind some tanks or amongst some infantry.

Dreadnought 2: 145 points
Twin linked lascannon, missile launcher, smoke launchers, search light

The standard long ranged Dreadnought that's proved very popular over the years. The twin linked lascannon takes out the tanks and the Missile Launcher is there if things don't quite go to plan.

I've decided to use these two Dreadnoughts as the basis for balance against my Dreadnought weapon configurations. While there's no denying the cheapness of Dreadnought 1, there's plenty of room for improvement. And while no one can dispute the effectiveness of a twin linked lascannon, Dreadnought 2 is rather expensive, especially when the missile launcher doesn't seem that good. I think that you should be fielding so many melta guns in your Space Wolves army that twin linked lascannons should be the last thing on your shopping list -especially when they cost 30pts!

Dreadnought 3: 115 points
Multimelta, dreadnought close combat weapon with heavy flamer, smoke launchers, search light

Deliver him in a Drop Pod and you've got a close range monster on your hands. He's not quite an Ironclad Dreadnought, but with his Multimelta, he should always leave a vehicle as a smoking wreck, even if his Drop Pod scatters a little and the Heavy Flamer is there to mop up troops.

Dreadnought 4: 125 points
Plasma cannon, dreadnought close combat weapon with heavy flamer, smoke launchers, search light

Designed for holding the line with your troops and tanks, this Dreadnought has the heavy flamer for when the enemy gets too close and a plasma cannon for heavily armoured troops. Plasma cannons are quite rare in the Space Wolves army, so I'd be very tempted to take this Dreadnought.

Dreadnought 5: 125 points
Twin linked autocannon, twin linked autocannon, smoke launchers, search light

Cool factor aside, for the points, this is a good mobile weapons platform that puts out 4 fairly accurate hots at mid to high strength. You may be tempted to swap the second twin linked autocannon for a missile launcher to get a single higher strength hit with lower AP, but it's far less accurate.

You're not going to get any easy kills with this configuration, but you can certainly give enemy transports and anything up to armour 12 a hard time.

CONCLUSION
It's obvious that I think dreadnought 1 could be made better and Dreadnought 2 is too expensive. Dreadnoughts 3, 4 and 5 are the units I would choose to field and I'd ALWAYS upgrade the storm bolter to a heavy flamer whenever possible.

For my in-your-face assault, deploying from a drop pod Dreadnought you can't beat a multimelta and heavy flamer. It's like having an Ironclad, except your guns are bigger. You're a little more vulnerable due to having just armour 12, but when coordinated with other drop podding units, this could be a real kick in the teeth -either to dissuade an opponent from deploying any units on the table or reinforcing as part of a drop pod 2nd wave. If this Dreadnought is firing at a tank up close, that tank is going to die. The same goes for a squishy squad of Orks and anything with an armour save of 4+ or less. Then the Dreadnought needs to hold out for as long as possible and kill as much as he can!

Many people like to run a Dreadnought on foot as part of their slowly advancing line, taking on a mid-field role. For this, I would favour the plasma cannon and a dreadnought close combat weapon with a heavy flamer. The plasma cannon has the strength, range and a small blast, as well as low AP to take on virtually any targets with a great degree of accuracy. Other weapons could be taken instead, like a twin-linked autocannon. But if you're choosing just 1 weapon, the plasma cannon seems to have the best value for your points. It also provides a weapon that's quite rare in the Space Wolves army at a comparatively small cost.

Finally, for added long ranged firepower, a 'rifleman' Dreadnought with a pair of twin linked autocannons provides range, accuracy and mid to high strength shots for wounding infantry, monstrous creatures and causing any vehicle with an armour value of 12 or below some problems. A twin linked autocannon will never match up to the awesome power of a twin linked lascannon, but it is a third of the cost.

But in 5th edition, the real anti-tank gun is the melta gun and your Space Wolves should be carrying plenty of these.

So in conclusion, the only weapons really worth taking on Dreadnoughts should be more multimeltas (if you're leaping straight down your opponent's throat!) or the weapons you have limited access to so you can increase the flexibility of your force. Plasma cannons and autocannons spring to mind.

Note on Extra Armour
Some people swear by extra armour on their vehicles, others don't. While I'm one of those who doesn't, extra armour certainly has its place on a Dreadnought where it not only counts 'Crew Stunned' results as 'Crew Shaken', but in doing so means that you never lose attacks in close combat for being Stunned and can only be hit with grenades in close combat on a 6. However, if a Dreadnought is Stunned or Immobilised, grenades will be attached using the normal Weapon Skill comparison (see page 73 of the rulebook for more).

If you've got the points to spare, extra armour is certainly worth taking on your close-up and mid-field Dreadnoughts. Those who are more economical may choose to run Dreadnoughts without it.

Bjorn The Fell Handed Conversion

Check out my Bjorn the Fell Handed conversion! Hi everyone, my name is David Richardson aka Munky. I've known Adam for just over a year and helped him to paint most of his Tau army.

I've been following his Tau and Space Wolves blogs with great interest, so when he found out I was starting a Space wolves army and possibly a blog too, he kindly asked if I wanted to contribute to the blog you see here.

I am honoured to be a part of this amazing blog, so I shall start with my Bjorn the Fell Handed conversion!

I had bought a Dreadnought kit quite a while ago and decided to 'wolf' it up a bit. Fortunately Games Day was just around the corner, so I picked up the new Space Wolves boxed sets to get all the bitz I needed.

Once I had stopped drooling I started work on the old style marines I had collected and swapped heads and arms etc to give them some "new" flavor, I will show these in their own posts at a later date.

The Assault Cannon I think still needs some work to beef it up a little but I just had to have the new belt fed ammo on it and the wolves head off the new Wolf guard Terminator sprue!

The Dreadnought Close Combat arm took quite some time to get the plasticard claws looking right, I wanted to copy the distinctive curved style of the new Wolf claws.

Other than that I hate Dreadnought legs because they are stumpy and boring so I thought "Storm Shields" and promptly stuck em on.

Bjorn still needs some Green Stuff work to tidy bits up but the general idea is there. Stay tuned for more as I apply the finishing touches and paint him up!