Kharadron Overlords are steampunk sky-dwarves in panelled armour and flying ironclads. The look is clean, industrial and rivet-heavy - more like painting a vehicle than an organic model - which rewards neat basecoating and panel work.
The signature look
Brass and gold metallics, navy or teal painted-metal armour panels, dark leather, and the warm glow of aether-gold endrins (the floating engines). It should read as a well-engineered, slightly weathered flying machine made flesh.
Painting the panels and metal
- Armour panels - flat, even basecoats in navy or teal, edge-highlighted crisply along the riveted plates. Treat them like vehicle panels: shade the recesses, keep the faces clean.
- Brass and gold - basecoat, brown/sepia wash, edge highlight. Half the model is metal, so good, warm metallics carry the scheme.
- Weathering - light chipping and oil grime in the recesses sells the working-machine feel without overdoing it.
Endrins and lenses
The aether-gold endrin spheres and glass lenses are the points of glow - a warm amber or teal light with a soft glaze onto the surrounding brass.
Tips and common mistakes
- Panel-line, don't slather. Clean panels with shaded recesses look engineered; an all-over wash looks muddy.
- Warm metallics. Brass and gold define the army - shade them deep.
- Light weathering only. A little grime reads as "working"; too much reads as "wreck".