Painting the Armageddon Box: Space Marines and Orks for Beginners

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The Armageddon launch box for the new edition of Warhammer 40,000 gives you 61 miniatures: 23 Space Marines and 38 Orks. That is a lot of plastic, and it can feel like a mountain when you open the box. The good news is that both armies are some of the friendliest models in the hobby to paint. This guide gives you a simple, tabletop ready plan for each side, using a small set of paints you can reuse across the whole box.

Before You Start

• Build in batches. Clip, clean and glue one unit at a time so you can paint it straight away.
• Prime everything. Our priming guide covers spray and brush on primer. Black primer suits the Space Marines; a light primer such as Wraithbone suits the Orks if you want to use Contrast paints.
• Thin your paints a little with water and use a palette, not the pot lid.
• Paint the unit, not the model. Do one colour on every model in the squad, then move to the next colour.

Paint names below are from the Warhammer Colour range (formerly called Citadel). The names and formulas are unchanged, so older pots work just the same.

Painting the Space Marines

We use blue armour as the example because it is the classic scheme, but the same steps work for any colour. Swap the blue paints for your chapter colours.

The Classic Method

1. Base coat the armour with Macragge Blue. Two thin coats look far better than one thick one.
2. Metal parts such as guns and trim: Leadbelcher.
3. Gold details such as aquilas and the Captain’s trim: Retributor Armour.
4. Black parts such as pouches, gun casings and joints: Abaddon Black.
5. Shade the metal and the armour recesses with Nuln Oil. Keep it in the gaps rather than flooding the whole panel.
6. Edge highlight the armour with Calgar Blue on the sharpest edges only. Use the side of the brush.
7. Eye lenses: Mephiston Red, with a tiny dot of a lighter red if you like.
8. Finish the base with texture paint and a drybrush (see our basing guide).

The Fast Method

Prime in Grey Seer or Wraithbone and use one coat of Ultramarines Blue Contrast over the armour. It shades and colours in one step. Then pick out the metal, black and lenses as above. This is ideal for the ten Intercessors.

Painting the Orks

Orks are forgiving. They are meant to look rough, so wobbly lines and worn armour only add character. With 38 Orks in the box, speed matters most.

Ork Skin

1. Fast: over a Wraithbone primer, one coat of Ork Flesh Contrast. Done.
2. Classic: base coat Warboss Green, shade with Athonian Camoshade, then highlight the knuckles, brows and cheekbones with Skarsnik Green.

Clothes, Metal and Details

• Trousers and cloth: Rhinox Hide or Mournfang Brown, shaded with Agrax Earthshade.
• Leather straps and boots: Snakebite Leather Contrast, or Rhinox Hide with a brown shade.
• Armour plates and choppas: Leadbelcher, then Agrax Earthshade. Dab on Ryza Rust here and there for a battered look.
• Teeth and horns: Ushabti Bone or a bone colour of your choice.
• Eyes: a dot of Mephiston Red.
• Clan colour: pick one strong colour, such as red or yellow, for shoulder pads and vehicle panels. It ties all 38 models together.

The Gretchin and Vehicles

Gretchin use the same recipe as the Boyz, so paint them in the same session. For the Wartrakk and the Big Mek, base coat in your clan colour and Leadbelcher, shade the whole thing with Agrax Earthshade, then drybrush the metal with a light silver. Our drybrushing guide explains the technique.

Paints and Tools That Help

• Citadel Colour: Battle Ready Paint Set
• The Army Painter Warpaints Fanatic Starter Set
• The Army Painter Wet Palette
• The Army Painter Masterclass Drybrush Set

Not sure which paints are which? Our guide to paint types explains base, layer, shade and Contrast paints, and matching paints across brands helps if you already own Army Painter or Vallejo.

Where to Start

Start with a unit you will use in every game: the ten Intercessors or the twenty Boyz. Finishing one full unit will teach you the recipe, and the rest of the box gets quicker from there. Share your progress with us on Instagram; we would love to see it.