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Unfortunately the answers to both questions are not the same.

Easiest to paint factions - Necrons, Tyranids, Daemons.

Easiest to assemble factions - Marines, Orks

Overall if you only care about getting to table top quality marines are probably the easiest overall. I consider them an easy army to get to OK but hard to get them really looking great. But for simple paint jobs, just get color primer, then pick out the details and your army will be passable

Table wrote:
Death Guard has some easy assemble kits. Paint em snot green, use a wash. Presto.

While the "easy build" kits and those included in the Dark Imperium starter box are undoubtedly easy to assemble, I'm not sure I'd agree with ease of painting. The new Death Guard models have an incredible amount of detail and some of their poses aren't necessarily the most accessible for painting once assembled. I love the new DG models but I must admit, there are things I prefer about the older style plague marines.

To the OP, I'd say that everything has been covered in your original post has been covered. The only thing I'd suggest in addition to what's been mentioned would be to have a look at speed painting guides for 40k armies, this may help give you some insight on what to expect. When I looked I found a couple of Ork ones which made good use of washes, however, due to the extensive use of said washes it could become expensive to paint very quickly.

It would be great to hear where your heads at at the moment regarding which army you're leaning towards. The other thing I'd just like to mention would be to pick an army which actually appeals to you, not just because it's quick to get on the table.

Easiest to build? Sisters of Battle. Base, Body, Backpack.

Easiest to paint? Space Marines, Sisters, IG Tanks.

The problem with sisters is they cost so damn much, the models are 20 years old, and they only have a few set static poses, with rather thick metal (my mini standards) that resist conversions.

 Mmmpi wrote:
Easiest to build? Sisters of Battle. Base, Body, Backpack.

Easiest to paint? Space Marines, Sisters, IG Tanks.

The problem with sisters is they cost so damn much, the models are 20 years old, and they only have a few set static poses, with rather thick metal (my mini standards) that resist conversions.

Problem with sisters is that I have to break out my jewler’s saw and files if I want to convert them

Primaris. You can build all your models from the quick-build kits and the Dark Imperium box. Ifyou want scouts or taticals you can pick up second hand ones dirt cheap (altough they are 4 piece models on their own that are easy to assemble)

As for paint you can use a colored primer and be 90% done. Throw a wash on and use either paint or a silver sharpie on the guns.

Daemon are the easiest for both.

Just get Daemon Prince as HQ's and Heralds, they are extremely easy to build (they are old kits) and hordes as daemons.

Spray > Dry Brush > Base

 Amishprn86 wrote:
Daemon are the easiest for both.

Just get Daemon Prince as HQ's and Heralds, they are extremely easy to build (they are old kits) and hordes as daemons.

Spray > Dry Brush > Base

Addendum: Daemons are easy to build once you have the trick down (get a knife and make sure you clean the joints; there are a lot of parts connected to the sprue by the inside of the joint on those kits, and if you leave an excess nub of plastic stuff might not fit properly).

I've got to say that Primaris Marines are the easiest to paint IMPERIAL models I've done in 20 years of Warhammer. Their size makes picking out the details really easy and assembly is pretty simple too. I do not subscribe to the base coat, wash, done philosophy, I take my time and try to make my guys look as good as I can. It took me about 4-5 hours to do 5 Primaris guys.

IandI wrote:
I've got to say that Primaris Marines are the easiest to paint IMPERIAL models I've done in 20 years of Warhammer. Their size makes picking out the details really easy and assembly is pretty simple too. I do not subscribe to the base coat, wash, done philosophy, I take my time and try to make my guys look as good as I can. It took me about 4-5 hours to do 5 Primaris guys.

That doesn't sound easy at all...

Something to consider is spraying different components separately.

Like, if you did chaos, you might want to spray the bolters gun metal, the marines red, and the back packs / helmets gold.

Or whatever.


Another way to add easy detail to mono colour armies, is to do some weathering around the lower third of the model.

Every model is easy to paint if you dont care about it looking good.
The only armies you can get away with just a spraycan and a wash while still having them look good are necrons aand to a lesser extent tyranids.
All the other factions have too much detail to be painted in such a way. You could paint space marines with just three colours for example, but it would look ugly.

I beg to differ on the 3 colour marines looking bad, one of the best ways to paint an army is to limit your pallette. Many of the official GW armies are very limited in their colour range and still manage to look spectacular.

I think that any army can be painted easily and well, time permitting. One could very well base coat and wash the whole army so as to avoid any grey plastic hate and then slowly work on the next skillset. There is no rule saying you must paint all your minis like centerpieces all at the same time.

So I say, pick an army that you like and begin with simpler kits. Keep in mind that assembly is a major part of the hobby and all armies are going to have kits that challenge your skills. If you ever get stuck or need help, try the P&M forum. A lot of dakka members have been on that forum for years and know all the little tricks for dealing with the fidgety nature of some kits. In the end the important thing is that you actually like your army, and if you choose based on something as arbitrary as your current skill level, then you may wind up with a lot of money sitting on a shelf. And trust me, your skill level will improve, so improve it with an army you like and don't worry about the hard part's because you have a great resource at your disposal.