The Skitarii conclaves are almost ready to set out on their far-ranging pilgrimages, where they’ll hunt for precious lost technology, enforce the Fabricator General’s will, and generally shoot up anyone who happens to land on the wrong side of the traitorous line from them. So wide and numerous were their operations that they often wore vastly different outfits and heraldry from each other, and in light of their impending pre-orders going up this weekend, we tasked a few members of our own team with painting the Skitarii Battle Group box.
Luke
I really like the paint scheme from Forge World Xana II, and since it’s pretty straightforward, I decided to mirror it on my Battle-Pilgryms. I started by basecoating all of the models with Balor Brown through an airbrush and then applying a top down, lighter spray of Ushabti Bone to get a nice gradient.
After that I thinned some Agrax Earthshade slightly with some Lahmian Medium to help it flow over the surface and give it a bit more of a grimy look, but without muddying it too much and losing the nice bone colour. The metals were painted with Iron Warriors – with a few spot details of Gehenna’s Gold – and the cloaks were basecoated with Black Templar Contrast paint directly over the existing bone colour before being highlighted up with Mechanicus Standard Grey and Dawnstone.
I love creating interesting bases so much that I often decide what bases I want to do before choosing the army to go with them, and having the chance to paint up the Skitarii Marshall was the perfect opportunity to combine my basing enthusiasm with my favourite Forge World’s colour scheme. I used a spare lid as a display plinth, applied two of the medium pillars from the Sector Imperialis Ruins set, and chopped up a spare floor part from the Manufactorum set to make a walkway. A few Sector Mechanicus details really flesh it out.
I think the height of the base really complements the imposing height of the Marshal, overlooking the battlefield from a vantage point.
Cat
Because I simply couldn’t help but stick with the iconic red scheme for my Vultarax, I added my own minor spin with an undercoat of Leadbelcher followed by a layer or two of Flesh Tearers Red on the main panels. Nuln Oil, Agrax Earthshade, and a touch of Snakebite Leather did a lot of heavy lifting to make the tentacled death machine come to life in no time at all.
I covered up the bottom of the flying stem with lots of Stirland Mud, then used both Bugman’s Glow and Balthasar Gold to make the base resemble a desolate alien planet. Finishing touches included Wyldwood to add more dirt along with Stormhost Silver highlights on some metal details.
Ben
As an avowed Traitor, I’ve chosen to paint my Battle-Pilgryms as a cohort of those that followed the true Fabricator General, Kelbor-Hal. Those that fell in alongside the Traitors are noted as becoming increasingly erratic over the course of the Heresy due to the scrap-code they became infected with. I decided to represent this corruption by painting them as though they have begun to rust, maybe caused by one of the phage-weapons they recovered for Horus or the growing influence of the Neverborn as the Heresy progressed.
All the rust is painted very simply, starting with a basecoat of Rhinox Hide that then had several blotchy areas of lighter browns and oranges applied in progressively smaller patches, before giving it an all over coat of heavily thinned Cygor Brown to tie it together and drybrushing it with Leadbelcher. Some of the artwork in Journal Tactica: Skitarii – The Steel Hand of Mars shows Traitor Skitarii daubing blood around their collars as part of the aberrant behaviour they began to display. To do this I mixed Blood for the Blood God with Black Legion 1:1 to darken it down, to give the impression of older, coagulated blood.
Thanks very much, gang! You can get your own elite relic hunters when the Skitarii Battle Group box goes up for pre-order tomorrow, and make sure you pick up the new Journal Tactica so you have all the rules and scenarios you need to get the most out of your Skitarii.
