Deathwatch are a small army that behaves like a large one. You will never paint fifty of them, but each model carries more distinct elements than a standard marine: black plate, a silver left arm, a chapter-coloured right pauldron, gold heraldry and a bone shoulder trim. That is five separate jobs on a body that would otherwise be one.
Set against that, the black armour needs almost no work, and a kill team of five is a genuinely achievable evening. Treat them as characters rather than as a rank and they are one of the most satisfying forces to paint in 40,000.
The signature look
Matt black power armour, a bright silver left shoulder and arm, and a right pauldron painted in the marine's parent chapter colours. Gold ornament, red lenses, and bone-white shoulder trim on the black side. The contrast between the black body and the silver arm is the whole identity - keep the silver bright.
The black armour
Undercoat black. Abaddon Black is your basecoat and needs no shade at all. Edge-highlight with Eshin Grey, thin and only where light would actually catch, then a sparing final touch of Dawnstone on the sharpest corners. Corvus Black works well as a middle step if you want a softer ramp on the larger Terminator and Gravis plates.
If you would rather work over a light undercoat, Black Legion contrast over Grey Seer gives a deep, softly shaded black in one coat and leaves you more time for the details, which is where these models are won.
The silver arm
Do not use the same metal as the bolter. Base the shoulder and arm Ironbreaker, shade with Nuln Oil but wipe it back so only the recesses hold it, then layer Runefang Steel across the plate and edge Stormhost Silver. Grey Knights Steel is a good single-step alternative if you want a slightly cooler tone.
The weapon should be visibly duller: Leadbelcher shaded Nuln Oil and left there.
Heraldry, gold and lenses
The Inquisitorial rosette, aquila and shoulder ornament go Retributor Armour, shade Agrax Earthshade, highlight Auric Armour Gold. Bone shoulder trim is Zandri Dust, Agrax Earthshade, Ushabti Bone, then Screaming Skull on the outer edge.
Lenses: Khorne Red in the recess, Evil Sunz Scarlet across the middle, Wild Rider Red at the lower edge and a single White Scar dot at the top left. Gloss them. On an almost entirely black model, four red lenses are the only warmth.
Chapter pauldrons
The right shoulder is a chance to paint a dozen chapters without committing to any of them:
- Ultramarines - Macragge Blue into Calgar Blue.
- Blood Angels - Mephiston Red into Evil Sunz Scarlet.
- Dark Angels - Caliban Green into Warpstone Glow.
- Imperial Fists - Averland Sunset into Yriel Yellow.
- Space Wolves - The Fang into Fenrisian Grey.
- Salamanders - Caliban Green into Warpstone Glow with Rakarth Flesh skin.
Paint the pauldron off the model if you can, or leave it unglued. Reaching a shoulder recess past an assembled storm bolter is miserable.
Tips and common mistakes
- Keep the silver and the gunmetal different. If they match, the arm stops reading as special.
- Do not wash the black. There is nothing for a shade to do, and it dulls the finish.
- Batch the black, individualise the rest. Twenty minutes of armour then an hour of details is the right ratio.
- Assemble late. Deathwatch models are covered in overlapping detail; subassemblies save far more time than they cost.