Kill Team - Sisters Novitiates

With the models assembled, it was time to make a start on the painting. Fortunately, I knew exactly how I was going to paint them, and that would be in the livery of my custom order: The Order of the Divine Storm. In fact, years ago I had painted the limited edition Sister Tariana Palos in the scheme as a test model. 

Now I will say that I shamelessly stole the colour scheme of dark blue and bold red from the Night Lords Heretic Astartes. Also the lightning pattern that typically adorns their armour served as the inspiration for the name of the Order. But any further association with the Traitor Forces ends there, for the Order of the Divine Storm are fanatically loyal to the Imperium.

So with a colour scheme in mind and indeed a test model to draw reference from, I wasted no time in cracking on with the painting. 

Common Features

As these are part of a unit there are a number of details that would be common to all of them. As such, I could batch paint these details before starting on the individual details that would distinguish each member from the rest of the team. 

I started by priming the models black which I almost immediately regretted when it came time to paint the few bits of armour in Vallejo Night Blue. Being such a dark colour already, it almost turned out a dark purple. But a few more thin coats returned it to its true blue colour. The regret continued as I painted the tabards, sleeves and Palmora’s cloak with Mephiston Red. But once again I persevered and got a solid colour after two or three coats. 

Next I base coated the leggings and their wimples (i.e. headgear) with Two Thin Coats Dungeon Stone. The latter I planned to paint white, which would go on much easier over grey than it would over black. Next, I moved onto the leather details such as belts, pouches and gloves; painting them with Rhinox Hide. All the weapon cases I painted with a couple thin coats of Vallejo Scarlet Red. At this point I changed my paint water and painted the wimples with a couple thin coats of Ulthuan Grey. I had initially planned to leave them grey but they do look much better white. 

Moving onto the metallic details I used Scale75 Thrash Metal for the silver details like the weapon muzzles and any blades. I additionally used this for the Adeptus Ministorum symbol on the shoulder pad. Likewise for the gold details, like the Adepta Sororita symbol on the shoulder pad, I used Scale75 Dwarven Gold. 

With the general details done I could move onto the individual details of each model. Chief among these would be their faces. And whilst I didn’t have enough flesh coloured paints to make them all unique, hopefully I have done enough to give them a sense of individuality. 

Novitiate Superior Palmora

As always, first up was the Sister Superior. I started with the head, painting her hat with the same blue I used for the armour, with the trim in gold. For her skin, I used Vallejo Dark Fleshtone which I then washed with Army Painter Purple Tone. I use purple because it keeps some of the warmth of the skin, whereas a black or brown wash would knock the vibrancy out of it. The downside of using Purple Tone however is that it has a very glossy finish. So once it was dry, I gave the face a coat of matt varnish. To highlight the skin, I mixed Dark Fleshtone with Cadian Fleshtone and applied it to the raised areas. 

To break up all the red on the model I painted her tabard with Army Painter Skeleton Bone, with the trim in gold. I then gave it a wash with Army Painter Strong Tone. The icon on the chest I painted gold then picked out the interior with Blood Angels Red contrast paint. For the coils on the plasma pistol I base coated them with Ulthuan Grey before giving them a coat of Talassar Blue contrast paint. Once that was dry I attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to give them a quick highlight with Temple Guard Blue. 

Novitiate Penitent Celesta

There wasn’t much I needed to do for Celesta, aside from pick out the skulls on her Eviscerator with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. 

For her skin, I started by basecoating it with Cadian Fleshtone before give it a wash with Reikland Fleshshade. I then highlighted the skin with a mix of Cadian Fleshtone and Kislev Flesh. 

Novitiate Hospitaller Ephriya

As a member of the Medicae, Ephriya had a few bits of medical equipment that I needed to pick out with Ulthuan Grey. I then washed these areas with Apothecary White contrast paint before giving them a highlight with Army Painter Matt White. The screens on her Chirurgeon’s Tools I painted with a few dabs of Warp Lightning contrast paint. For the vial of the syringe I basecoated one half with Corvus Black and the other with Mephiston Red, the latter I highlighted with a thin line of Evil Sunz Scarlet. I’m not sure what liquid I had in mind when I painted, perhaps a dose of stim-enhanced blood?

For the skin I started by basecoating it with a couple thin coats of Ungor Flesh. I then washed it with a coat of Reikland Fleshshade. The raised areas of the skin I then highlighted with a mix of Ungor Flesh and Kislev Flesh. 

Novitiate Reliquarius Freya

The reliquary on a stick I started by painting the interior with Vallejo Scarlett Red. The statue I wanted to be white so I painted it in a similar fashion to the wimples, basecoating first with Two Thin Coats Dungeon Stone before giving it a layer of Ulthuan Grey. The statue was then washed with Seraphim Sepia before being given a highlight of Ulthuan Grey. 

The skull and parchment I picked out with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. The wax seals on the purity seals I painted with Screamer Pink.  For the wooden pole which the reliquary is mounted upon I gave it my favourite treatment; a basecoat of Vallejo Khaki followed by a nice even coat of Wyldwood contrast paint to bring out the texture. As the reliquary housing lacks this same texture I instead opted to paint it with Two Thin Coats Scorched Earth. The housing and the parchment I washed with Army Painter Strong Tone before highlighting the latter with Vallejo Pale Sand.  

The silver and gold detailing I used Scale75 Thrash Metal and Dwarven Gold respectively.

For the face, I painted the skin with a couple of thin coats of Ungor Flesh, before giving it a wash of Reikland Flesh. Lastly, I highlighted the skin with a mix of Ungor Flesh and Kislev Flesh. 

Novitiate Militant Brigella

As Brigella is a Novitiate Militant she has no special equipment so there wasn’t anything I needed to do for that. 

Moving straight onto the skin, I painted her face with a few thin coats of Kislev Flesh. I then washed the skin with Reikland Fleshshade and highlighted it with a mix of Kislev Flesh and Pallid Wych Flesh. 

Novitiate Preceptor Alicia

Despite the giant mace, there wasn’t much I needed to do on Alicia. The incense burner on the mace I painted silver, whilst the smoke I basecoated with Dawnstone before giving it a coat of Basilicanum Grey. The casing around the head of the mace and its pommel I painted gold. The handle I painted Screamer Pink that I then washed with Nuln Oil. 

For the skin I decided to go with the usual caucasian recipe: basecoat with Cadian Fleshtone, wash with Reikland Fleshshade and highlight with a mix of Cadian Fleshtone and Kislev Flesh. 

Novitiate Dialogus Gwendolyn

Gwendolyn has a lot of parchment about her person, which as with Freya I basecoated with Army Painter Skeleton Bone. The halo, fleur-de-lis and pommel of her stave I painted gold, whilst the vox emitter I painted silver. To break up all the metallics on the stave, I painted the handle with Vallejo Pale Sand. I imagined it might be something like ivory or perhaps highly polished bone. Seems like something the Eclessiarchy would do. To bring out the lettering, I then washed the handle with Seraphim Sepia. 

For her skin I decided to paint it the same way that I had Palmora’s, for no other reason than I like how it looks. And to be honest, there’s a lot of lighter skin tones in this team already. 

Novitiate Militant Decimina

Decimina was another Militant so there wasn’t anything specific I needed to paint on her. 

For her skin I decided to go with Vallejo Dwarf Skin, a paint I normally use for Skaven rat tails. It’s a bit more orange than something like Cadian Fleshtone but is otherwise a decent colour. In any case, once I had an even base coat I gave it a wash with Reikland Fleshshade then highlighted it with a mix of Dwarf Flesh and Kislev Flesh. 

Novitiate Purgatus Hellana

Hellana differs from the other Novitiates in that she has a foot on a bit of tactic rock. Well, I suppose it’s actually some ruined brickwork. Nevertheless, all I needed to do was basecoat it with a couple thin coats of Vallejo Terracotta as I will take care of the washes and highlights when I paint the rest of the base. 

One of the flesh colours that I have is Vallejo Bronze Fleshtone. However, it is very yellow so if you use it as a basecoat then your poor model is going to end up looking like they have jaundice. To fix this issue I mixed the Bronze Fleshtone with Cadian Fleshtone in a fifty-fifty ratio, and used that as a basecoat. I then gave it a wash with Reikland Fleshshade and highlighted it using the original base colour mixed with some Kislev Flesh. 

Novitiate Purgatus Ionda

Ionda didn’t have any cool terrain like Hellana so there wasn’t anything on her that I needed to paint that wasn’t covered in the Common Features section, so I moved straight onto the skin. For this I experimented with mixing Vallejo Bronze Fleshtone and Dark Fleshtone, keen as I was to find a use for Bronze Fleshtone. The basecoat turned out alright, so I gave it a wash of Reikland Fleshshade followed by mixing some Kislev Flesh into the original colour and using that as a highlight. 

Washes and Highlights

With the individual details done I could shift back to the common features. I started with the largest armour on the models; the cloth tabards and sleeves. To bring out the texture and folds in the cloth I gave them a wash of Nuln Oil. I then layered back up using Mephiston Red. I then highlighted the edges with Evil Sunz Scarlet. I gave the armour a quick edge highlight with Macragge Blue, this didn’t show up as much as I would have liked but it will do.

For all the silver details like weapon blades, grenades and the Adeptus Ministorum symbols I gave them a wash of Nuln Oil. The gold details meanwhile I gave a wash of Reikland Fleshshade, I then highlighted the edges with Scale75 Elven Gold. 

To shade the wimples I used Apothecary White contrast paint, as something like Nuln Oil would be too strong. Apothecary White is a much softer colour that doesn’t turn the white undercoat grey. I then followed that up with a highlight of Ulthuan Grey. 

Bases

For the bases I decided to use the same scheme that I use for the rest of my Imperial forces, which is a snowy tundra. Why a tundra? Because I used to collect Space Wolves. To start things off I covered the bases in Stirland Mud texture paint. Once that had dried I gave the base a coat of Army Painter Strong Tone followed by a drybrush of Tyrant Skull. 

I then dotted on some slightly diluted PVA glue and sprinkled on some Geek Gaming Scenics Base Ready Patchy Plains, and once that was dry I added some Valhallan Blizzard texture paint to some select areas. Finally, I painted the rim of the base with some Steel Legion Drab.