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Originally I was going to paint Dark Angels but I have since fell in love with the Ork Death Skull clan, the only problem is I don't have the right colors and I was wondering what exactly I need to buy, especially which shades of blue.

I was thinking Enchanted Blue (GW) / Magic Blue (Vallejo) & Midnight Blue (GW) / Night Blue (Vallejo), will these do the job? Plus is there any other "must have" colors for painting Death Skulls? Obviously as I was originally going to paint DA I have several greens, browns, black, white, bone, metals, grey, bronze, blood red and all the washes apart from blue, red and purple.

Any advice would be great.


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So far I have Magic Blue, Electric Blue and Asurmen Blue Citadel Wash in my basket, is there anything else I would need?

Also, has anyone got any experience with Gale Force 9 files? I was thinking about buying this set: http://www.firestormgames.co.uk/2301

Not really, You can Do it what ever blue you feel like, I think there is a GW article somewhere which tells you how they do it.

Its something like, Regal blue then highlight Ultramarines blue and then Enchanted blue but I could be wrong.

OK cool, now I'm just wondering about these Gale Force 9 files, you get 5 for cheaper than the 3 GW ones.

Well i am using ultra marines blue as a base and tghen washing it with the blue wash. Helps darken it up. then high light from there using ice blue and maybe enchanted blue. I use white with them as well to do checks and paint skulls on things. Belt buckles I do white. the littel skulls on helmets i do white..just to help break up all the blue.

But honestly its really up to you.

Edit: Any files will do. You don't have to buy gale force nines either..just go to a DIY store and you should be able to find some. But If you want you could buy them. Not sure if you really need all 9 files though..

Think I'll just go with Magic Blue, Electric Blue and Asurmen Blue Citadel Wash. I'll be skipping the files as they've had some bad reviews and apparently a knife is better anyway, it's just my lack of experience with it that's slowing me down.

I recently bought the files from GW and they are crap. The teeth fill up after a couple swipes then they don't clean out easily at all. My previous set are GF9 and they are fantastic. I've just have misplaced all but 1 or 2.. The GF9 files rarely "filled up" and if they did, a quick tap on the table and wipe with the finger and they were fine. However, those awesome GF9s were bought several years ago so I am not sure if they are the same anymore.

Here is the link to Painting Death Skulls on the GW site:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?aId=10400002&_requestid=1362315

For facepaint, they used Regal Blue, then highlight with mix of mordian blue and space wolves grey (60/40). Not sure if regal blue still exists, though...

My Death Skulls use Regal Blue as a base. Then again, I paint their PKs red, as well.....it really annoys our local Crimson Fists player, when I point out that my Orks are stealing all his stuff

I use a Mordian Blue base with UM Blue highlights (lacking a lighter blue paint, I simply add a touch of white for the extreme edges).

As for the files, I've never used GF9s. What I can say, though, is that crap files are almost worse than no files at all. If people say they're good, then take the plunge, but it's really worth getting quality files - they'll cut faster, more accurately, and leave a smoother finish.

Quality metal files will always leave a better finish than diamond coated ones (which are usually like medium grit sandpaper on a stick, while a good mill file can leave metal at nearly a mirror polish) and clean more easily. Also, you'll likely find that, out of a set of six, ten, or even twelve, there are only three or four that you use regularly, so go for quality over quantity. I'm constantly reaching for my flat, triangle, and tapered round, occasionally breaking out the half-round (for larger radius contours) and the square (for straight edges and corners where the flat can't fit) - the rest almost never see use.

I use every different blue I can find - my theory is that the Deff Skulls aren't fussy, they'll simply grab anything blue they come across, the exact shade doesn't matter to them at all. I think the result looks better too - the general bluish look to units keeps them looking like a cohesive army, but each model is orkily unique.

Originally I only ordered Magic blue, Electric blue and Asurmen blue but today I decided to change my order, luckily Rob from Firestorm Games was very helpful and combined my 2 orders so I didn't have to pay double shipping. I decided to add all the foundation paints I'd need, I watched this tutorial and bought everything he used: