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I'm new to the Warhammer 40k hobby. My 2nd model I painted was a SM Chaplain in Terminator Armour. I just wanted to ask all of you better painters out there, what are the best steps to take when painting a highly detailed model such as the Chaplain?

Hi , im not a professional painter , but there are things that i try to avoid during painting ( that might help you )

Come up with a paint scheme first , know exactly what color to paint them!

Figure out what is what on the mini ( as stupid as this sound , well im stupid ) I have painted things randomly colored on a mini
because i have no idea what it is. Needless to say it looks WEIRD.

I find that not having the paint to thick is a huge help. i found that when i didn't water down my paints i lost critical detail as the paint was so thick, also helps if you wan't to repaint in the future.

I find if the lower the surface is the darker the colour should be and the higher the surface gets, the paint she be applied lighter and lighter, until you get to the highest point which should almost be white.

If you haven't already encountered this info: Paint from the inside out.

What this means is paint the lowest things to completion (e.g. your chaplain's armour) before moving up to the details on top of the armour, like chains and scrolls.

There are exceptions to this rule, which you will learn as you go along - but it's a good rule of thumb.

Find a painting service.

This may seem counter-intuitive, but limit your palette. Look at your basic trooper, add gold/silver and maybe one other colour, and keep it at that. If not, your characters will look more like clowns then leaders.

My first army were High Elves, and you could apply the "Taste the rainbow" comment quite well to those

Be careful and keep within the lines, don't pile on the paint and try your hand at blending and highlighting, also the citadel washes can work wonders on a model ^_^

A wash of Badab Black or Devlan Mud makes everything look better.
You might have to reapply some of the colours on the raised areas though.

And adding to Lunas plan it out, GO SLOW!!!! Dont feel like you have to paint the whole mini in one shot in under an hour. Your basic troops, you know the cannon fodder? Those can be painted fast and such, they dont matter because they die, and they all look the same. So go slow and plan ahead. It doesnt matter if it takes you a week or more to paint this ONE miniature. Youve got to realize that they are a centerpiece to your army.

unistoo wrote:If you haven't already encountered this info: Paint from the inside out.

What this means is paint the lowest things to completion (e.g. your chaplain's armour) before moving up to the details on top of the armour, like chains and scrolls.

There are exceptions to this rule, which you will learn as you go along - but it's a good rule of thumb.

I've had that problem a couple of times, resulting that I had to paint several area's twice, with tick layers as a result and loss of detail...
Sigh.. I'm such a newbie when it comes to painting.