Paint Recipe: How to Paint the Chaos Lord on Karkadrak

After what feels like an eternity, I have completed the Chaos Lord on Karkadrak. This model comes packaged in the new Slaves to Darkness Start Collecting box which contains all new, easy-to-build kits. I really like the look of this particular model, but boy does it have a lot of details and textures that required a lot of colors.


We'll start by covering the Chaos Lord. A bit of advice, it is much easier to paint this model with the rider and mount separate, and with the mount off of the base.
  • Armor: Gunmetal basecoat, then painted over with a Contrast layer of Talassar Blue. Once dry, drybrush with Shining Silver. Details are painted with either Liberator Gold, Shining Silver, or Brass Scorpion. This is the same for all of the armor seen on the model. 
  • Chainmail: Weapon Bronze basecoat washed with Dark Tone.
  • Horns: Matt White basecoat and a Contrast layer of Skeleton Horde. 
  • Axe: The blade itself is a Gunmetal basecoat, whereas the metal bit that attaches it to the handle is Weapon Bronze. Both received a wash of Dark Tone and a drybrush with Plate Mail Metal. The blade got an extra edge highlight of Shining Silver. The haft is Chaotic Red washed with Red Tone and drybrushed with Pure Red. 
  • Sword: Basecoat of Shining Silver and a Technical glaze of Spiritstone Red. Shining Silver is used again to edge highlight. For further contrast, the runes are given a wash of Red Tone. The spike in the helmet is given a similar treatment. The hilt and pommel are Weapon Bronze washed with Agrax Earthshade, and the grip is Chaotic Red washed with Red Tone. The sheath is painted in the same manner. 
  • Boots: Matt Black basecoat edge highlighted with Uniform Grey.
  • Leather: Leather Brown basecoat, with a wash of Agrax Earthshade down the middle, taking care to keep the edges a lighter color. 
  • Fur: Ash Grey basecoat with a drybrush of Matt White.
  • Cloak: Incubi Darkness basecoat, highlighted with a 70/20 mix of Incubi Darkness/Hydra Turquoise. Repeat the highlight with a 50/50 mix, and a 20/70 mix, eventually highlighting the finest points with pure Turquoise. 
With this the rider is essentially complete, so we can move on to the dino. 
  • Top Scales: Before painting any of the armor, leather straps, or saddle, basecoat the top scales of the Karkadrak Matt Black. Then drybrush with Pure Red. Then do it again. And again. And so on. It takes a bit of time for the color to build up over the black. 
  • Armor: Paint in the same manner as the Chaos Lord's armor, but be careful not to get any of the paint on the scales, since you have to redo the process above. 
  • Leather/Fur: Same as the Chaos Lord
  • Lower Scales: From the Vallejo grey primer as a basecoat, wash the entire lower half with a 75/20 mix of Soft Tone/Water, taking care not to let it pool too much. Paint some Agrax Earthshade in the deepest recesses, again, watch for pooling. Once dry, drybrush with Flayed One Flesh, and then with Matt White. 
  • Claws/Teeth: Basecoat with Matt White then wash with diluted Soft Tone. For the teeth, give them an extra wash of diluted Flesh Tone. 
  • Tabbard/Saddle: Start with a basecoat of Oak Brown, and while this coat is still wet, highlight with Leather Brown. Once dry, highlight again with Monster Brown, the again with a 50/50 mix of Monster Brown and Skeleton Bone. A final selective highlight of Skeleton Bone completes the look.
  • Eyes: Flash Gitz Yellow basecoat with a dot of Matt Black for the pupil.
  • Reins: Follow the same steps as for the cloak.
  • Tongue/Throat: Wash the Vallejo Grey primer with Carroburg Crimson. 
  • Stone: Basecoat with Uniform Grey then wash with Dark Tone. Drybrush with Ash Grey and then Matt White. For visual interest, wash some diluted Carroburg Crimson into some of the crevices. 
  • Base: Sand painted with a dark grey craft paint. Model snow is used in patches and Middeheim Tufts are used to add some vegetation. 

Now that all the sub-assemblies are complete, glue them together. There may be some gaps, so I recommend clipping the nub that connects the rider to the mount. Some of the paint may scrape off in some areas, so just go back and touch-up anywhere that occurs. Now you're all done and have a fully painted Chaos Lord ready to go! 


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