Commander Farsight

T'au Empire

By Duncan Rhodes

This tutorial shows how to paint the iconic Commander Farsight for Warhammer 40,000, covering assembly tips like sub-assemblies for detailed areas. It guides viewers through base coating, shading, and highlighting the red power armour, black internal parts, and white helmet, as well as detailing the gold, parchment, Dawn Blade, and glowing blue elements.

Mephiston Red

Citadel · Base

Sanguine Scarlet

Two Thin Coats · Midtone

Gal Vorbak Red

Citadel · Base

Oblivion Black Wash

Two Thin Coats · Wash

Demon Red

Two Thin Coats · Highlight

Orange Flare

Two Thin Coats · Highlight

Wazdakka Red

Citadel · Layer

Squig Orange

Citadel · Layer

Doom Death Black

Two Thin Coats · Shadow

Dungeon Stone Grey

Two Thin Coats · Highlight

Carcharodon Grey

Two Thin Coats · Midtone

Ivory Tusk

Two Thin Coats · Midtone

Griffon Claw

Two Thin Coats · Shadow

White Star

Two Thin Coats · Highlight

Dragon's Gold

Two Thin Coats · Metallic

Battle Mud Wash

Two Thin Coats · Wash

Glistening Gold

Two Thin Coats · Metallic

Skeleton Legion

Two Thin Coats · Midtone

Vampire Fang

Two Thin Coats · Highlight

Dwarven Iron

Two Thin Coats · Metallic

Cursed Blue

Two Thin Coats · Midtone

Sir Coates Silver

Two Thin Coats · Metallic

Mythril Blade

Two Thin Coats · Metallic

Ray Gun Glow

Two Thin Coats · Highlight

Sentient Turquoise

Two Thin Coats · Shadow

Red Power Armour

  1. 1.

    Undercoat the entire model with a bright red spray.

    Citadel Paints — Mephiston Red Spray

  2. 2.

    Basecoat all red armour panels with a bright red, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Sanguine Scarlet

  3. 3.

    Apply a darker red tone to selected armour panels, using two thin coats.

    Citadel Paints — Gal Vorbak Red

  4. 4.

    Shade the red armour panels by neatly applying a black wash into the recesses, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Oblivion Black Wash

  5. 5.

    Edge highlight the brighter red armour panels, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Demon Red

  6. 6.

    Apply a fine edge highlight to the brighter red armour panels with an orange, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Orange Flare

  7. 7.

    Edge highlight the darker red armour panels, using two thin coats.

    Citadel Paints — Wazdakka Red

  8. 8.

    Apply a fine edge highlight to the darker red armour panels with an orange, using two thin coats.

    Citadel Paints — Squig Orange

Black Internal Parts

  1. 1.

    Basecoat the inner suit parts (joints, mechanical bits) with a pitch black, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Doom Death Black

  2. 2.

    Edge highlight the black internal parts with a dark grey, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Dungeon Stone Grey

  3. 3.

    Apply a fine edge highlight to the black internal parts with a lighter grey, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Carcharodon Grey

White Helmet & Details

  1. 1.

    Basecoat the helmet and other white details with an ivory colour, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Ivory Tusk

  2. 2.

    Shade the helmet and white details by mixing a brown wash with Lahmian Medium and applying it neatly into the recesses, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Griffon Claw

  3. 3.

    Layer the helmet and white details with the original ivory colour on the flat areas, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Ivory Tusk

  4. 4.

    Highlight the helmet and white details with a pure white, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — White Star

Gold Details

  1. 1.

    Basecoat the gold details (screws, sword hilt) with a bright gold, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Dragon's Gold

  2. 2.

    Wash the gold details with a dark brown wash, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Battle Mud Wash

  3. 3.

    Layer the gold details on the flat surfaces with the original gold colour, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Dragon's Gold

  4. 4.

    Highlight the gold details on ridges and top edges with a pale gold, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Glistening Gold

Parchment

  1. 1.

    Basecoat the parchment with a medium bone colour, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Skeleton Legion

  2. 2.

    Wash the parchment with a dark brown wash, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Battle Mud Wash

  3. 3.

    Layer the parchment on the flat parts, carefully avoiding the recesses, with the original bone colour, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Skeleton Legion

  4. 4.

    Highlight the parchment on the outside edges and prominent creases with a pale bone colour, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Vampire Fang

  5. 5.

    Apply a fine highlight to the very ends of the parchment with an ivory colour, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Ivory Tusk

Dawn Blade

  1. 1.

    Basecoat the entire blade with a dark metallic silver, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Dwarven Iron

  2. 2.

    Basecoat the glowing blue ridge on the blade with a deep turquoise, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Cursed Blue

  3. 3.

    Wash the entire blade with a black wash, ensuring it runs into the recessed texture, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Oblivion Black Wash

  4. 4.

    Layer the dark metal areas of the blade with the original dark metallic silver, carefully avoiding scratches and dings, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Dwarven Iron

  5. 5.

    Layer the cutting edge of the blade with a lighter metallic silver, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Sir Coates Silver

  6. 6.

    Highlight the back edge of the blade with a bright metallic silver, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Mythril Blade

  7. 7.

    Layer the glowing blue ridges with the deep turquoise, in the middle of each ridge, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Cursed Blue

  8. 8.

    Layer the glowing blue ridges with a lighter turquoise, in the middle of each ridge, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Ray Gun Glow

  9. 9.

    Apply a final pure white dot to the glowing blue details, in the very middle of each ridge, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — White Star

Glowing Blue Details (Lenses, Symbols, Rifle Vents)

  1. 1.

    Basecoat the lenses, symbols, and rifle vents with a deep turquoise, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Sentient Turquoise

  2. 2.

    Layer the glowing blue details with the deep turquoise, focusing on the middle of each area, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Cursed Blue

  3. 3.

    Layer the glowing blue details with a lighter turquoise, focusing on the middle of each area, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Ray Gun Glow

  4. 4.

    Apply a final pure white dot to the glowing blue details, in the very middle of each area, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — White Star

Sept Markings

  1. 1.

    Freehand the sept markings onto the armour with an ivory colour, creating simple or complex designs as desired, using two thin coats.

    Two Thin Coats — Ivory Tusk