Tome Keepers Ballistus Dreadnought

Tome Keepers Ballistus Dreadnought

  1
  • Written by
  • Published
    04 Apr 2025
  • Shareable URL

Bone Power Armour

  1. I would recommend priming with Wraithbone or any other light and slightly warm colour. This will make getting a nice tone to the armour easier.
  2. Basecoat armour with Ushabti Bone .
  3. Either zenethal highlight with thinned Screaming Skull from a downward 45 degree angle or glaze/drybrush in where the light would hit.
  4. Shade recesses with Skeleton Horde thinned with Contrast Medium 1:1. Don't be too neat, the contrast should pull towards the recess and give something like a transition. Glazes with this mix are a nice way of getting extra shading too, especially on large panels.
  5. Now shade recesses again, this time being careful, and using Agrax Earthshade . I used is straight out of the pot, but you could mix in a little contrast if you wanted to make life a little easier. I tend to be a bit more selective at this stage, only going for the deepest recesses.
  6. Add a chunky highlight of Screaming Skull to all edges.
  7. Edge highlight everything again with fine lines of Pallid Wych Flesh .
  8. Selectively edge highlight the most exposed curved edges and corners where highlights meet with White .

Optional: Battle Damage

  1. Add small patches of Mournfang Brown using dots with a fine brush. Try to stick to edges and corners where damage would occur, mostly towards the front of the Space Marine.
  2. Underline the damage from the last step with fine lines of Pallid Wych Flesh .

Black Armour Trim

  1. Basecoat with Black .
  2. Edge highlight everything with Eshin Grey .
  3. Edge highlight most of the edges again with Dawnstone .
  4. Selectively edge highlight curved edges and corners with Administratum Grey .

Dark Red Chest Device

  1. Basecoat with Khorne Red .
  2. Wash the recesses with Agrax Earthshade .
  3. Apply chunky edge highlights of Wazdakka Red .
  4. Now edge highlight everything with fine lines of Squig Orange .
  5. Selectively highlight curves and corners with Tau Light Ochre .
  6. Mix a little Ice Yellow into the Tau Light Ochre and add a few specular highlights.

Crux Terminatus

  1. Basecoat with Dawnstone .
  2. Wash the recesses with Agrax Earthshade , tidying up with :dawnstone when dried.
  3. Apply highlights with Administratum Grey .
  4. Mix a little White into your Administratum Grey and more selectively highlight.
  5. Finish with a few specular highlights of White .

Steel

  1. Basecoat with Leadbelcher .
  2. Wash with Nuln Oil .
  3. With there being a lot of metal on this model, I like to add additional interest on large panels and deep recesses. I used glazes of Agrax Earthshade .
  4. Begin highlighting with a drybrush of Ironbreaker , wherever you can confortably reach. Add additional highlights with a brush in tight areas.
  5. Add fine highlights with small amounts of Vallejo Model Air Silver RLM01 Metallic .

Rubber Tubing

  1. Basecoat with Black .
  2. Drybrush with Mechanicus Standard Grey . Be fairly heavy-handed, as we are looking to pick out everything but the deepest recesses.
  3. Repeat the drybrushing, but slightly lighter and with Dawnstone .
  4. Do one quick final drybrush with Administratum Grey , picking out only the areas that would catch light.
  5. Mix some White into Administratum Grey and apply selective edge highlights to enhance the previous stage.

Black Weapon Casing

  1. Basecoat with Abaddon Black .
  2. Edge highlight everything with a thick line of Dark Reaper .
  3. Highlight everything again, this time with a thin line of Thunderhawk Blue . This colour is a good place to put in some scratches too.
  4. With Fenrisian Grey , selectively highlight upward facing edges, corners and prominent edges. Stick primarily to edges where the light would hit and always drag your brush towards the brightest point. If you added scratches previously, reinforce them with a smaller, thinner line underneath.
  5. Finally, edge add small highlights to the centre of the previous highlights and corners with Blue Horror . Try to make them very small, dots if at all possible.

Red Lenses

  1. Basecoat with Khorne Red .
  2. Paint the lower left or right portion with a layer of Evil Sunz Scarlet , leaving enough room for reducing its size 2 or 3 more times.
  3. Paint a smaller area with Wild Rider Red .
  4. Add some Lugganath Orange to your Wild Rider Red and paint an even smaller patch, working further into your chosen side.
  5. If you have enough room, paint an even smaller patch with pure Lugganath Orange .

Green Lenses

  1. Basecoat with Caliban Green .
  2. Paint the lower left or right portion with a layer of Warpstone Glow , leaving enough room for reducing its size 2 or 3 more times.
  3. Paint a smaller area with Moot Green .
  4. Add some Ice Yellow to your Moot Green and paint an even smaller patch, working further into your chosen side.
  5. If you have enough room, paint an even smaller patch with pure Ice Yellow .

Red Wax

  1. Basecoat with Khorne Red .
  2. Highlight raised details with Mephiston Red . Highlight using dots and dabs to make it look irregular and let the colours below show.
  3. With a 1:1 mix of Screamer Pink and Ushabti Bone , add smaller highlights, covering even less area.
  4. Finish with a few specular highlights of Ushabti Bone .

Green Wax

  1. Basecoat with Caliban Green .
  2. Highlight raised details with Warpstone Glow . Highlight using dots and dabs to make it look irregular and let the colours below show.
  3. With a 1:1 mix of Warpstone Glow and Ushabti Bone , add smaller highlights, covering even less area.
  4. If you are feeling brave, add small specular highlight of pure Ushabti Bone within the previous highlights.

Purple Wax

  1. Basecoat with Screamer Pink .
  2. Wash detail with Nuln Oil .
  3. Highlight raised details with Pink Horror . Highlight using dots and dabs to make it look irregular and let the colours below show.
  4. With a 1:1 mix of Screamer Pink and Ushabti Bone , add smaller highlights, covering even less area.
  5. If you are feeling brave, add small specular highlight of pure Ushabti Bone within the previous highlights.

Parchment

  1. Basecoat the paper with Rakarth Flesh .
  2. Wash/glaze with Agrax Earthshade . Try not to let is pool in unsightly places.
  3. Re-establish the Rakarth Flesh in places, where necessary.
  4. Add a chunky highlights with Rakarth Flesh and Pallid Wych Flesh mixed 1:1.
  5. Add fine highlights of pure Pallid Wych Flesh .
  6. Add some white to the previous mix and pop spot highlights this on corners/points.

Parchment Text

For the text, mix Abaddon Black and Rhinox Hide 1:1 then paint in the text with a very fine brush. I find the best way is to randomly paint in dots and dashes in lines, moving my hand along slowly. Do a secondary pass refining for the best results.

White Armour Plate

  1. Basecoat with 1:1 Celestra Grey and White .
  2. Add general shading with a thin mix of Celestra Grey and Dark Reaper .
  3. Add definition in deep recesses and around rivets with pure Dark Reaper .
  4. Highlight with White .

Red Missile Tips

  1. Basecoat with Khorne Red .
  2. Gaze upward, covering everything that would not be in shadow, with Mephiston Red .
  3. Cover a smaller area, with Evil Sunz Scarlet . Again, focusing on where the highlights should be
  4. Apply a chunky highlight of Wild Rider Red .
  5. Selectively highlight with Troll Slayer Orange .
  6. Finish with specular Lugganath Orange highlights.

Gold Details

  1. Basecoat with Retributor Armour .
  2. Wash with Cryptek Armourshade Gloss .
  3. Add some Silver RLM01 Metallic into the Retributor Armour and highlight the metal.
  4. Finish with a few select highlight of Silver RLM01 Metallic .

Starred by andypearson

Rookie Brushes

RookieBrushes

Aspiring miniature painter and biscuit enthusiast. Here to share my hobby and help where I can.

Citadel Painting System 39
Base 12
  • Abaddon Black
  • Caliban Green
  • Celestra Grey
  • Khorne Red
  • Leadbelcher
  • Mechanicus Standard Grey
  • Mephiston Red
  • Mournfang Brown
  • Rakarth Flesh
  • Retributor Armour
  • Rhinox Hide
  • Screamer Pink
Shade 3
  • Agrax Earthshade
  • Cryptek Armourshade Gloss
  • Nuln Oil
Layer 21
  • Administratum Grey
  • Blue Horror
  • Dark Reaper
  • Dawnstone
  • Eshin Grey
  • Evil Sunz Scarlet
  • Fenrisian Grey
  • Ironbreaker
  • Lugganath Orange
  • Moot Green
  • Pallid Wych Flesh
  • Pink Horror
  • Screaming Skull
  • Squig Orange
  • Tau Light Ochre
  • Thunderhawk Blue
  • Troll Slayer Orange
  • Ushabti Bone
  • Warpstone Glow
  • Wazdakka Red
  • Wild Rider Red
Technical 1
  • Contrast Medium
Spray 1
  • Wraithbone
Contrast 1
  • Skeleton Horde
Vallejo Model Air
Base 1
  • 71.063 Silver RLM01 Metallic
Vallejo Model Color
Base 3
  • 70.858 Ice Yellow
  • 70.950 Black
  • 70.951 White
Sign up to compare these recipe requirements to your own paint collection