Horus Heresy (30K) · Traitor Legions
Emperor's Children (III) (Traitor Legions) Paint List for Horus Heresy (30K)
Deep Tyrian purple armour with white enamel panels and elite gold trim. The III Legion is refinement itself, even in battle.
Prime grey or black. Keep the purple rich and saturated: Naggaroth Night rising to Genestealer Purple gives a luxurious gradient. The white panels contrast hard against it.
Recommended undercoat
black
— Several priority paints in this army converge on black.
Paint list
Sorted by priority🔴 Must-Have
Bases — the fundamental colours without which the scheme is impossible
- Naggaroth Night (Citadel) — Armour · Base
- Kabalite Green (Citadel) — Helmet lenses · Base
- Retributor Armour (Citadel) — Gold / Trim · Base
- Abaddon Black (Citadel) — Black undersuit, weapon casing · Base
- Leadbelcher (Citadel) — Metal · Base
- Corax White (Citadel) — White / white panels · Base
🟠 Core
Main shades and highlights — the official Simplified Scheme
- Shyish Purple (Citadel) — Armour · Deep shade
- Xereus Purple (Citadel) — Armour · Chunky highlight
- Genestealer Purple (Citadel) — Armour · Highlight
- Sybarite Green (Citadel) — Helmet lenses · Highlight
- Gauss Blaster Green (Citadel) — Helmet lenses · Secondary highlight
- Gore-Grunta Fur (Citadel) — Gold / Trim · Shade
- Stormhost Silver (Citadel) — Gold / metal · Highlight
- Dawnstone (Citadel) — Black undersuit, weapon casing · Highlight
- Nuln Oil (Citadel) — Metal · Shade
- Dark Reaper (Citadel) — White / white panels · Deep shade
- White Scar (Citadel) — White / white panels (highlight / chips) / helmet lenses (dot) · Highlight / Dot
- Baneblade Brown (Citadel) — White / white panels · Chipping (inside the White Scar chips)
🟡 Recommended
Soft shading and extra highlights that lift the shapes
- Druchii Violet (Citadel) — Armour · Soft shade
- Incubi Darkness (Citadel) — Helmet lenses · Shade
- Eshin Grey (Citadel) — Black undersuit, weapon casing · Chunky highlight
- Thunderhawk Blue (Citadel) — White / white panels · Soft shade
Painting order
Recommended steps
1
Prime grey or black
2
Base Naggaroth Night over the full armour
3
Soft shade the recesses with Druchii Violet
4
Deep shade Shyish Purple into deep recesses
5
Chunky highlight the broad edges with Xereus Purple
6
Highlight the fine edges with Genestealer Purple
7
Dot highlights of Warpfiend Grey on the highest points
8
Lenses: base Kabalite Green, shade Incubi Darkness, highlights Sybarite Green then Gauss Blaster Green, dot White Scar
9
White panels: base Corax White, soft shade Thunderhawk Blue, deep shade Dark Reaper, highlight White Scar, chipping Baneblade Brown
10
Base Retributor Armour, shade Gore-Grunta Fur, highlight Stormhost Silver
11
Base Leadbelcher, shade Nuln Oil, highlight Stormhost Silver
12
Undersuit: base Abaddon Black, chunky highlight Eshin Grey, highlight Dawnstone
Tips
Hints for this army
1
Naggaroth Night, Xereus Purple and Genestealer Purple in sequence give the rich purple the III Legion is known for.
2
The white enamel panels are a Terran hallmark, so take care with the Baneblade Brown chipping: the wear still has to look aristocratic.
3
III Legion gold is meant to gleam. Go easy on the weathering, because the Emperor's Children keep their kit like an ornament.
4
Later in the war the black takes over, so raise the proportion of black sections if you are painting late-war legionaries.
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