Black Templars are one of the fastest Space Marine armies to get onto the table and one of the hardest to make look genuinely good. The armour is a single colour and needs no shading at all, so a squad goes from sprue to tabletop very quickly. The difficulty is everything else: the white shoulder trim, the red crosses, the parchment and the tabards are all high-contrast details on a black field, and they have nowhere to hide.
The signature look
Jet black plate, a black-and-white heraldic shoulder, red crosses, and more parchment and chain than any other chapter. The model should read as a knight in armour rather than a marine, so the cloth and paper details deserve as much attention as the armour.
The armour
Undercoat black and leave it. Abaddon Black over a black primer is all the basecoat you need. The mistake is highlighting it grey - a Dawnstone or Administratum Grey edge on black armour looks like a grey model from a metre away.
Instead, highlight black with black plus a hint of blue. Edge the plates with Eshin Grey kept very thin and only on the sharpest edges, then a final tiny catch of Dawnstone on corners alone. If you would rather work over a light undercoat, Black Templar contrast over Grey Seer gives a deep black with soft transitions in one coat and is a genuinely good shortcut for a big army.
White, bone and the crosses
The white shoulder is where the model is won or lost. Do not try to paint white onto black.
- Block the panel in Grey Seer.
- Two thin coats of Corax White.
- White Scar on the upper surfaces only, so the panel has some direction to it.
- Cut the black back in with Abaddon Black to sharpen the edge between the two.
Crosses go on last: Mephiston Red blocked in, Evil Sunz Scarlet to tidy the shape, Wild Rider Red on the arms of the cross if you want it to pop. A steady hand beats any transfer here, but transfers are perfectly respectable.
Parchment is Zandri Dust, Agrax Earthshade, then Ushabti Bone and a Screaming Skull edge. Tabards and cloth take Rhinox Hide shaded Agrax Earthshade and highlighted Mournfang Brown.
Metals and accents
Bolters and backpacks in Leadbelcher shaded Nuln Oil, with Runefang Steel on the edges. Chains, seals and aquilas in Retributor Armour shaded Agrax Earthshade and highlighted Auric Armour Gold - the gold against black is what makes the army look expensive.
Crusade variations
Every crusade dresses differently, and the scheme takes personalisation well. Swap the shoulder trim to bone (Ushabti Bone over Zandri Dust) for a more weathered, campaign-worn crusade, or run the black-and-white halved shoulder for a Sword Brethren look. Neophytes traditionally get more black and less white, so their armour is faster still.
Tips and common mistakes
- Do not highlight black with grey. Keep highlights sparse, thin and on edges only.
- Undercoat black, then work light. The white details are the slow part; plan the model around them.
- Vary the parchment. A slightly different bone tone on each scroll stops the army looking printed.
- Gloss varnish the reds. Red crosses on matt black armour benefit from a touch of sheen to separate them.