Trench Crusade is a grimdark alternate-history skirmish game set in an endless war of faith fought from the trenches, and the Heretic Legion are its damned infantry - soldiers who have given themselves over to the enemy of mankind. On the table they read as a mass of scorched black and grey-brown, broken up by corroded metal, tarnished brass icons and the occasional wet flash of gore. If you enjoy painting mud, rust and misery, this is the warband for you.
The signature look
The core of the scheme is a charcoal near-black - not a pure black, but a warm, ashen dark that lets the weathering read against it. Everything on top of that base should look neglected: iron gone orange at the edges, brass shaded to almost nothing, cloth faded and stained. The recipe above gives you the armour ramp; the character comes from the layers of decay you add afterwards.
Painting the uniforms and armour
- Basecoat the cloth and plates with the dark charcoal ramp, keeping highlights restrained - a cold grey edge here and there is enough.
- Wash the whole model with a dark brown or black shade to pull the recesses together. Read our washes and shades guide if this step is new to you.
- Pick out leather straps, gas-mask hoses and webbing in dark browns so the model does not become one flat silhouette.
- Fade the cloth by drybrushing a lighter grey-brown over raised folds - these uniforms have been in the line for years.
Rust, brass and gore
- Rust and corrosion: stipple orange-brown around rivets, blade edges and the lower halves of armour plates. Vary the tone between orange, brown and dark red so it reads as real decay rather than a flat colour.
- Heretic brass: icons, mask fittings and trench-club furniture in a tarnished brass - basecoat a dull gold-brown, wash heavily with brown or black, and only glint the very highest edges. Never let it look polished.
- Gore: a glossy deep red on blades, wounds and mouths. A dedicated blood technical paint or gloss varnish over dark red gives the wet-against-matt contrast that makes the whole model feel grim.
Weathering is the point
Trench Crusade models reward filth more than any clean technique. Drag thinned earth-brown up from the boots and leg wraps, stipple mud onto shins and coat hems, and streak rust downward from chips with a fine brush. Drybrushing is your best friend here - a dusty drybrush over the lower third of the model ties it into the base. Speaking of which, a churned-earth base with wire, splintered wood or standing water sells the setting; see basing miniatures for the techniques.
Tips and common mistakes
- Warm the black. Pure black with white highlights looks clean and modern; a brown-black shaded and dusted with earth tones looks like the Great War gone wrong.
- Keep metal dark. Bright silver edges break the mood - a dark gunmetal with rust does the work.
- Gloss the gore only. One or two wet, glossy points of red against an otherwise matt model is far more effective than blood everywhere.
- Batch the grunts. The rank-and-file are quick with washes and drybrushing - save the careful work for your leaders.
When you are happy with the palette, open this scheme in the generator to swap paints between brands, nudge the mood or add a secondary colour.