Easiest Warhammer army to paint
When mini painters decide to paint their Warhammer models, the most challenging decision they will make is choosing an army to paint.
Warhammer armies are broad, with each having its own unique aesthetics. If you’re looking for easy Warhammer armies to paint, we’ve designed this guide just for you.
What makes a Warhammer army easy to paint?
Several factors make an army easier than others. From their level of detail to their color scheme, and results. That’s not all!
- Number of models
Warhammer models need to have several characters, forming a team to make them an army. So if you are painting armies with a high number count, it means you will have more to paint.
Choosing a low model count will ensure you an easy painting.
- Difficult details
If you don’t want to spend hours painting your armies, avoid those models that come with little details that may be difficult to paint. The easiest Warhammer army won’t take multiple layers to get that hair or fur right.
- Easy-to-reach crevices
Most Warhammer armies are designed with hard-to-reach crevices that makes covering them up difficult even with a wash but the easiest ones won’t pose this challenge.
- Simple color scheme
Also, some armies can appear more presentable with fewer colors than others. Luckily, the easiest Warhammer army won’t make you use over four colors to cover areas of skin, metals, wood, leather, hair, and cloth.
- Easy colors to paint (colors that cover well)
Besides choosing armies with a simple color scheme, you also need to consider how well they cover the model when picking an easy Warhammer army to paint. Armies like Chaos Daemons and Lizardmen need some good blending to bring out their best.
- The time it takes to paint
Painting a large Warhammer army, especially ones with lots of difficult details will mean you spend several hours trying to get it right. Avoid these armies if you don’t want a model that will stress you and test your patience.
The easiest Warhammer 40k armies to paint are:
1. Necrons
Necrons are a great choice of an army for mini painters who want a powerful Warhammer faction but don’t want to spend time on complicated details or color schemes. Necrons have armor bodies and vehicles but with fewer details. Hence, they will be an easy Warhammer army to paint.
2. Tyranids
These are the devil army of the Warhammer factions. Since we term them devil armies, you would think their build and looks would pose a challenge when painting them.
The easy part of painting Tyranids is that their characters are designed so you won’t have to worry about the complexity of painting female faces. In fact, Tyranids can look good with nothing more than Contrast paints. Besides this, they have fewer characters in their faction so they won’t take time painting.
3. Custodes
These are one of the easiest Warhammer armies to paint simply because they have a simple paint scheme. With a Custode, you can get their paint scheme 90% done with a metallic base coat, a wash, and a dry brush. Their only drawback is that they have lots of extra bits like cloth or talismans that would really benefit from being painted.
4. Space marines
Space marines are one of the best starter Warhammer armies beginners should paint. While they often comprise several weapons and vehicles, the best part of painting Space marines is that it allows you lots of options for the color schemes. Plus, they are designed with forgiving armor that does not beg for details and has a low model count.
5. Astra Militarum
The Astra Militarum are an army with several vehicle options, but overall, they are very straightforward to paint. Plus, they don’t have difficult details, which makes painting them time-consuming. Their models are also designed simply with easy-to-reach corners. This way, you won’t have to worry about paint coverage.
An army you like can be easier to paint
With so many Warhammer armies to choose from, the army you decide to paint will cost you to invest time and money you could have poured into something else. If you are going to paint an army, you want to make sure it is something you like.
The simple reason is that when you balance what models appeal to you aesthetically and what lore appeals to you mentally, you will find the process involved in painting the model quite fun than frustrating and time-tasking.
An army that suits your skills
The Warhammer faction you find easy may not seem easy for another painter. So, the best way to ease this challenge is to choose an army within your skill level.
If you’ve never painted a skill level 5 model before and have more experience with models under skill level 3, stick to these armies because you will achieve more satisfactory results than when you paint something outside your skill range you can’t figure out.
Conclusion
Warhammer armies make up 50% of the models miniature painters paint. But with their numbers comes their different factions, niche, and design. Hence, the best way to choose an easy Warhammer army to paint is to pick the one you like or focus on painting one within your skill level.
Alternatively, choose armies with fewer models, a simple color palate that covers well and does not have difficult details or crevices that will consume time. Regardless, Necrons, Tyranids, Cuistodes, Space Marines, and Guardsmen are some of the easiest Warhammer armies anyone can paint, no matter their skill levels.