How to Paint Commissar Yarrick: Black Coat, Aged Skin, Imperial Red and Bionic Metal

Quick answer : which paints for Yarrick?

Here is a summary table of each area to paint and the recommended Citadel paints. For each reference, a link to its ChromaStack equivalent is available if you want a Vallejo, Army Painter or AK alternative.

If you do not have these exact references, no worries. What matters is matching the colour families : a matte black, a dark red, a mid-tone flesh, a silver metal, and a dusty brown. ChromaStack's equivalent table helps find the closest match for each Citadel paint.

Preparing the miniature

Yarrick is a detail-heavy miniature : deep coat folds, a sash, pouches, a bionic arm, an Ork claw, a glowing eye. Every area needs to stay readable. A black primer is the most natural choice : it pre-shades the coat and metals, saving time on hard-to-reach spots.

If you prefer brighter reds and skin tones, a grey or dark grey primer works too. The key is avoiding pure white, which would force you to repaint the coat with several layers of black.

Painting Yarrick's black coat

The coat is Yarrick's most visible area. Flat black with no relief would create a silhouette with no volume. The goal is a readable black, not a block.

Step 1 — Base. Abaddon Black over the whole coat. One thin coat is enough if you used black primer.

Step 2 — Shadows. Nuln Oil wash in the deepest folds. Only where light does not reach.

Step 3 — First highlight. Eshin Grey on fold edges and coat borders. Stick to areas where light naturally hits.

Step 4 — Final highlight. Dawnstone in very thin touches on the highest points. Just a few fine lines.

Step 5 — Correction. Go back with Abaddon Black where highlights spill over. The coat must stay very dark, with just enough volume to read at arm's length.

Painting the imperial red

Yarrick's red areas (sash, uniform details, cables) need to stand out without stealing focus from the coat. A dark red fits the miniature better than bright red.

Base with Khorne Red on all red areas. Two thin coats if the black primer shows through. Apply an Agrax Earthshade or Carroburg Crimson wash in the recesses to deepen the shadows.

Highlight with Evil Sunz Scarlet on the sharp edges : sash borders, cable rims, red fabric folds. Keep it thin and targeted. Too much red weakens the contrast with the black.

Painting aged skin

Yarrick's face is a veteran's face. No smooth or pinkish skin : it needs to look hard, tired, campaign-worn.

Start with Bugman's Glow over the whole face. Apply a Reikland Fleshshade wash to create natural shadows around the eyes, under the nose, and under the chin.

Build volume with Cadian Fleshtone on the forehead, cheekbones, nose, and chin. Do not cover the recesses — the wash should stay visible.

To push the weathered look, add a touch of thinned Kislev Flesh on the highest points (nose bridge, brow ridges). For a sharper look, a very diluted violet or grey glaze in the under-eye hollows and temples deepens the face without making it dirty.

Painting bionic metal and weapons

Yarrick's bionic arm and weapons are dark metal. Keep the look functional, not parade-ground shiny.

Base with Leadbelcher on all metal surfaces. A generous Nuln Oil wash darkens and fills the grooves. Highlight with Ironbreaker on edges and wear areas.

A few fine scratches with Stormhost Silver or Runefang Steel on the bionic arm edges and gun barrel add a worn look. A very light rust touch (diluted Gorthor Brown) in some recesses recalls Armageddon's terrain without dirtying the whole miniature.

Painting the Ork power klaw

The Ork klaw is a trophy : it needs to look massive, brutal, and different from Yarrick's own gear. Two approaches.

Raw metal version. Leadbelcher base, Nuln Oil wash, Runefang Steel highlights on claws and edges. Add scratches and dirt with an Agrax Earthshade wash in the grooves.

Ork callback version. Keep metal on claws and joints, but add a few dark green plates (Waaagh! Flesh) or worn red (darkened Khorne Red) on the armour panels. The idea is not to make an Ork, but to visually remind that this klaw came from an enemy.

Either way, keep the klaw dark and worn. It should not become the colourful focal point that draws the eye away from the face or coat.

Painting the bionic eye

The bionic eye is a tiny detail that adds a lot to the character. No complicated OSL needed : two or three dots are enough.

Place a Mephiston Red dot in the centre of the eye. Add a smaller Evil Sunz Scarlet dot offset downward. Finish with a micro-dot of white (Corax White or White Scar) in the upper corner for the shine.

For a very subtle glow effect, a thin red glaze (heavily thinned Mephiston Red) around the eye socket helps. Stay subtle : too much OSL makes the face messy and undoes the skin work.

A simple Armageddon base

Yarrick's base should evoke Armageddon without becoming its own project. The dusty industrial soil of the planet is easy to reproduce.

Apply sand or fine gravel texture on the base. Base with Steel Legion Drab, wash with Agrax Earthshade, then drybrush Tyrant Skull or Karak Stone. Add a few small metal debris painted Leadbelcher and washed with Nuln Oil for rubble.

If you have pigments, a light brown pigment fixed with white spirit gives a very realistic dusty look. Otherwise, a Tyrant Skull drybrush on the texture does the job.

Tabletop-ready quick version

Need Yarrick on the table in one session ? Here is an efficient 10-step version :

1. Black primer all over
2. Coat : Abaddon Black + Eshin Grey highlights on folds
3. Skin : Bugman's Glow + Reikland Fleshshade wash + quick Cadian Fleshtone
4. Red : Khorne Red + Agrax wash + Evil Sunz Scarlet edges
5. Metals : Leadbelcher + Nuln Oil + Ironbreaker
6. Gold/brass : Balthasar Gold + Agrax Earthshade
7. Power klaw : Leadbelcher + Nuln Oil + Waaagh! Flesh on a few plates
8. Bionic eye : Mephiston Red dot + Evil Sunz Scarlet + white micro-dot
9. Base : texture + Steel Legion Drab + Agrax + Tyrant Skull drybrush
10. Black corrections and matte varnish if available

Advanced version

If you want to spend more time on Yarrick and push the finish further, here are a few ideas :

Work on smooth black coat gradients with a very thin Eshin Grey glaze, building up layers on the light areas. The result is softer than direct highlights.

Add micro-scratches on the power klaw with a fine brush and Runefang Steel. A few bullet impacts (small black dots with a metal highlight underneath) reinforce the 'war trophy' feel.

A very controlled OSL around the bionic eye, with a red glaze built up near the socket, gives a subtle glow without drowning the facial features.

On the base, add a piece of Ork debris (metal plate, claw fragment) or Imperial debris (casing, gear piece) for a more specific story.

Alternatives to Citadel paints

You do not need the exact same pots to follow this recipe. The important thing is matching the colour families : a matte black, a dark red, a mid-tone flesh, a silver metal, and a dusty brown.

The easiest way to find an alternative is to search each Citadel paint on the ChromaStack equivalents index. The tool compares colours with Delta-E CIEDE2000 and gives you the closest match from Vallejo, Army Painter, AK Interactive, Two Thin Coats, and other brands.

For a miniature like Yarrick, the most useful matches are black (Abaddon Black), red (Khorne Red), flesh tone (Bugman's Glow), metal (Leadbelcher), and dusty browns for the base (Steel Legion Drab). These are also the paints with the most alternatives.

If you want to build your own shopping list, use the ChromaStack collection tool to see what you already own and what you actually need.

Common mistakes to avoid

Painting the coat pure black with no highlights is the most common mistake. A totally flat black gives a lifeless silhouette.

Conversely, over-highlighting black up to light grey breaks the dark mood. Stick to dark greys.

Skin that looks too clean or pinkish does not match the character. Yarrick is a veteran, not a recruit. Keep the shadows strong.

Too much red kills the red. If the sash and all details are equally bright, the eye does not know where to look. Keep reds concentrated.

Forgetting the face as focal point : if the coat and base are detailed but the face stays flat, the miniature loses impact.

An overly busy base distracts from the character. Keep it simple : a dusty floor with a few pieces of debris is enough.

An overly strong OSL effect on the bionic eye drowns the facial features. Keep the effect subtle.