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I'm just starting up a SM army and have decided to go with the storm wardens chapter, and from what I've seen so far, the standard method is using regal blue for the base and enchanted blue for highlights. but I was going to get the 40k paint set, which has mordian blue in it. my question is; is there any difference between the two? aside from ones a foundation and one isn't. Because according to the GW site there isn't:

Regal Blue


Mordian Blue


I know it's probably safe to assume the "swatches" on the site aren't accurate, but still, worth asking I suppose

thanks in advance for the help.

Mordian Blue is a touch darker than Regal Blue. The main difference comes from it being a "Foundation" paint and really good adhesion properties versus the "standard" paints.

Regal blue is darker, its hard to see on that picture, but regal blue imo is darker, although slightly


Automatically Appended Next Post:
lol, conflicting views, I always though regal blue was darker.

Yeah, no. They're nothing even close to each other, really. Mordian is much brighter and has more 'purple' in it, I suppose. Regal blue is pretty dark, and it's got a shiny texture to it (which is the case with all GW colors).. Mordian is IMO a much nicer color, but you won't really get the look you want with it, I think.

I really don't know where you guys are getting that Mordian is "brighter"

Are you shaking it before use? Because if you don't agitate the paint, the color is a bit "meh".

Well I think its matte finish complements its brightness.

Mordian blue- the facebook logo

regal blue- this

nevermind.. i'll just go to the shop instead!

actually, while i'm on the subject, what paints would personally use if you decided to collect storm wardens?

p.s. thank you dakka for providing me with a laugh at the end of a gak days work, I love the conflict of views over something that should be a simple fact

bagley wrote: nevermind.. i'll just go to the shop instead!

actually, while i'm on the subject, what paints would personally use if you decided to collect storm wardens?

p.s. thank you dakka for providing me with a laugh at the end of a gak days work, I love the conflict of views over something that should be a simple fact

Well, it might just be something as simple as not cleaning brushes before painting, primer used, etc

Those all very much affect how paint colors show through.

But for colors?
Mordian Blue for the majority of the body.
Chainmail or Mithril Silver for the metallic quartering.

All done over a white or light grey primer coat.
To complement those colors, you'll want to use a black wash(heavily, heavily watered down).

Well, I'd say you have two ways to go...

Regal- enchanted
This is how I did the couple ultrasmurfs I actually painted. It has a habit of looking too shiny, which forced me to wash entire models in devlan mud. Enchanted blue has this weird oily texture that you can see in the right light...It's really bad, actually. It's a nice color though, but it just has a couple chemical flaws, I suppose. Regal blue has the same problems, it's just darker.

Mordian(then wash with asurmen)- Whatever highlight you want.
I believe GW does ultramarines this way, although they constantly change the formula for them, so I can't be sure. I think this one looks nice. Asurmen blue is a great color. I wish I had an excuse to use mine

Kanluwen wrote:
Mordian Blue for the majority of the body.
Chainmail or Mithril Silver for the metallic quartering.

All done over a white or light grey primer coat.
To complement those colors, you'll want to use a black wash(heavily, heavily watered down).

sorry if this is a very nooby question, but does the primer make a difference when your only using metallics and foundations, I wouldn't have thought it would show through at all. also wouldnt asurmen give it a slightly more subtle contrast?

thanks anyways mate, much appreciated

Samus_aran115 wrote:Well, I'd say you have two ways to go...

Regal- enchanted
This is how I did the couple ultrasmurfs I actually painted. It has a habit of looking too shiny, which forced me to wash entire models in devlan mud. Enchanted blue has this weird oily texture that you can see in the right light...It's really bad, actually. It's a nice color though, but it just has a couple chemical flaws, I suppose. Regal blue has the same problems, it's just darker.

Mordian(then wash with asurmen)- Whatever highlight you want.
I believe GW does ultramarines this way, although they constantly change the formula for them, so I can't be sure. I think this one looks nice. Asurmen blue is a great color. I wish I had an excuse to use mine

Do you have any photos of your smurfs I could have a look at?

also, I've heard quite often that the guy's at GW often use other paints, such as vallejo or P3, so I try not to use GW painted mini's as reference material.

thank you aswell by the way, you've been very helpful

Unfortunately, no :( I stripped them all

Samus_aran115 wrote:Unfortunately, now :( I stripped them all

did you get tired of being mocked for having vanilla marines?

bagley wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:
Mordian Blue for the majority of the body.
Chainmail or Mithril Silver for the metallic quartering.

All done over a white or light grey primer coat.
To complement those colors, you'll want to use a black wash(heavily, heavily watered down).

sorry if this is a very nooby question, but does the primer make a difference when your only using metallics and foundations, I wouldn't have thought it would show through at all. also wouldn't asurmen give it a slightly more subtle contrast?

thanks anyways mate, much appreciated

Primer always makes a difference Like, for example, if you look at the Ultramarines the studio did?

They were done using a black primer coat. It gives it a more "foreboding" and "dark" look to it.
White gives it a bit cleaner, but it also brightens it up.
Gray is an in-between.

Kanluwen wrote:

bagley wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:
Mordian Blue for the majority of the body.
Chainmail or Mithril Silver for the metallic quartering.

All done over a white or light grey primer coat.
To complement those colors, you'll want to use a black wash(heavily, heavily watered down).

sorry if this is a very nooby question, but does the primer make a difference when your only using metallics and foundations, I wouldn't have thought it would show through at all. also wouldn't asurmen give it a slightly more subtle contrast?

thanks anyways mate, much appreciated

Primer always makes a difference Like, for example, if you look at the Ultramarines the studio did?

They were done using a black primer coat. It gives it a more "foreboding" and "dark" look to it.
White gives it a bit cleaner, but it also brightens it up.
Gray is an in-between.

haven't used white primer yet myself, so this is an utter guess, does white primer give the model abit more of a cartoony look?

It can if you use really cartoony colors. I just got my A-Wing model today, so after it gets the first coat of an airbrushed on dark gray I can give you a far, far better example of how "dark looks on white".

Kanluwen wrote:It can if you use really cartoony colors. I just got my A-Wing model today, so after it gets the first coat of an airbrushed on dark gray I can give you a far, far better example of how "dark looks on white".

well if you dont mind, I might keep track of you and your progress then