RAY LAROSE · MINIATURES

Notes from my painting desk

The paints and steps behind each finished model, and the recipes I come back to.

Try

58 painted schemes 300 photos 44 recipes 162 paint matches

Ironhead Squat - Kronus Hegemony

Deimos Pattern Predator Tank

Vashtorr The Arkifane

Paint Necromunda? Play it.

Rise is my text adventure, set in Hive Primus. You start in the Sump and climb towards Lord Helmawr. Free, in your browser, and played the old way: you type what you do.

Play Rise →

Fresh off the bench

The newest finished schemes, each with every paint and step.

All 58 schemes →

6 photos

Find your army

Paint schemes for Warhammer 40k, Blood Bowl, Necromunda and Horus Heresy and more. Pick a game or an army to see how I painted it.

Warhammer 40k30 Blood Bowl6 Necromunda5 Horus Heresy5 Age of Sigmar5 Kill Team2 One Page Rules1 Other4

Blood Angels11 Orks11 Astra Militarum9 Squats4 Iron Warriors4 Orruks3 Gloomspite Gitz2 Free Blade2 Goliath2 Dark Angels1

Learn a part

Miniature painting recipes for one part at a time, like armour, flesh and weapon, each a short list of steps you can follow at the desk.

All 44 recipes →

Armour14 recipes

Flesh11 recipes

Weapon4 recipes

Leather3 recipes

Metal3 recipes

Cloth2 recipes

Switching paint brands?

162 Citadel colours matched to Vallejo, Pro Acryl and Two Thin Coats, by eye, with how close each match really is. Search any name from any brand.

Open the conversion chart →

Abaddon Black Citadel VallejoBlack (72.051) Pro AcrylCharcoal Black Two Thin CoatsDoom Death Black Mephiston Red Citadel VallejoGory Red (72.011) Pro AcrylRed Two Thin CoatsSanguine Scarlet Retributor Armour Citadel VallejoPolished Gold (72.055) Pro AcrylRich Gold Two Thin CoatsDragon's Gold

New to painting? Start here

Four short recipes, in this order. Each one adds a single new skill.

Gold

4 stepsThe basecoat, wash, highlight sequence most metal is built on.

Ultramarine Armour

4 stepsThe same idea with an edge highlight, which is what makes armour read as armour.

Rust

3 stepsStippling and drybrushing, and hard to get wrong.

Ork Flesh

9 stepsThe whole ladder: a basecoat, two layers, a highlight, then glazes to blend it together.

How I paint a Space Marine, the finished model

Start to finish How I paint a Space Marine 10 stages, from the box to the table, with a photo at each step and the paints and recipes for each.

Start to finish How I paint an Ork 11 stages, from the box to the table, with a photo at each step and the paints and recipes for each.

← All schemes

Tomb Kings Blood Bowl

Tomb KingsBlood BowlMarch 2026

FinishClean, warm, slightly muted

PrimaryGold over dusty base

ContrastRed gems, blue accents

TechniqueWash-heavy base, controlled highlights

What went where

BASE (Full Model)

PrimeZandri Dust

WashAgrax Earthshade

DrybrushZandri Dust (light)

ARMOUR (Gold)

BaseRetributor Armour

WashAgrax Earthshade

EdgeRetributor Armour (clean)

GEMS (Red)

BaseMephiston Red

HighlightEvil Sunz Scarlet

BLUE ELEMENTS

BaseElectric Blue

HighlightSunrise Blue

CLOTH

ShortsScale75 Matte Black

TrimWolf Grey (clean edge)

DECALS

BaseMicro Set

Melt InMicro Sol

VARNISH

BaseTamiya Extra Matte - there is no substitute

Recipes used

2 recipes, 9 steps

Blood Bowl BasesBase · 5 steps

1
basecoatBlackVallejo
Primer over sand·Harder & Steenbeck Airbrush ULTRA 2024 Medium
2
highlightGoblin Green (72.030)Vallejo
Light touch·Artis Opus Series D Medium
3
highlightMoon Yellow (72.005)Vallejo
Even lighter touch·Artis Opus Series D Medium
4
basecoatBold Titanium WhitePro Acryl
White stripe
5
layerSC00 (Matte Black)Scale75
Rim the base

The recipe on its own page Print a bench card

GoldMetal · 4 steps

1
basecoatRetributor ArmourCitadel
Base gold·Artis Opus Series S 3
2
washReikland FleshshadeCitadel
Light wash·Artis Opus Series S 3
3
highlightRetributor ArmourCitadel
Bring back the edges·Artis Opus Series S 1
4
basecoatSilver (72.052)Vallejo
Dot highlights·Artis Opus Series S 1

The recipe on its own page Print a bench card

Paints

More Blood Bowl schemes

All 58 schemes →

8 photos

Gruntled Greens

Humans · Blood BowlSep 2026 · 7 models

3 photos

Gouged Eye (Blood Bowl)

Orks · Blood BowlSep 2025 · 14 models

3 photos

Underworld Denizens

Denizens · Blood BowlMay 2025 · 12 models

Recipes

Methods I reuse across models - skin, metal, armour, cloth and the rest. Each step is one named paint, one technique and a note. Unless a step says otherwise, every recipe here starts on a primed model - the scheme that uses it usually says which colour.

Paint Inventory

The paints I actually own - every pot on my shelf, not a catalogue of what exists. This is what the schemes and recipes are painted with.

This table is built in the browser, so it needs JavaScript. The paint conversion chart, the recipes and the paint schemes all work without it.

Paint	Brand	Type	Hue	Used in

Paint Conversion Chart

Citadel colours matched to their closest Vallejo, Pro Acryl and Two Thin Coats equivalents, by eye, over time. Nothing here is a measured colour match - the dots say how close each one really is.

Still filling this in: 8 of the 112 colours used in the recipes here have no row yet. Mostly Vallejo. A blank means not mapped, not that no equivalent exists.

How close the match is: near identical usable avoid
4 how many of my recipes and schemes use it - tap one to see them

Citadel	Vallejo	Pro Acryl	Two Thin Coats