Ossiarch Bonereapers are elite undead built from sculpted bone - precise, regal and unsettling rather than rotting. Most of the model is bone, so getting a clean, warm bone recipe down is the whole job, with a couple of strong accents to lift it.
The signature look
Smooth, pale bone bodies (warmer and cleaner than a skeleton horde), deep teal or green cloth, gold trim, and the eerie black-green glow of nadirite weapons. The effect should be cold and aristocratic.
Painting the bone
Bone is the army, so build it well:
- Basecoat a mid bone/brown, shade with a thin brown wash in the recesses, and layer up through cream to near-white on the high points.
- A bone contrast over a light undercoat is the fast route and shades the sculpted detail for you.
- Keep it warm - a brown rather than grey shade stops the bone looking like dirty plastic.
Nadirite weapons and accents
The signature nadirite blades use a dark teal-to-black blend with a sharp green-white edge glow - object-source lighting that makes the weapons look supernaturally cold. Teal cloth and gold trim complete the regal look.
Tips and common mistakes
- Warm the bone. Brown shading reads as bone; grey reads as grime.
- Smooth, not grimy. Unlike Skaven or Nighthaunt, Bonereapers are clean and sculpted - keep washes controlled.
- Make the weapons glow. The nadirite edge is the army's signature - don't skip it.