How do you paint heterogeneous lists?

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**xenoterracide**

So this is my first real edition of 40k, I'm looking for opinions from people who've played through a few editions. I started painting Black Legion 'cause... reasons, however my lists didn't come out very well. Now I'm playing a list that is a 50/50 split of Red Corsairs and Alpha Legion. I'm not 100% committed to this list, but this is where I'm at now.

I'm having analysis paralysis. Should I paint my models as I'm running them? should I pick a legion and paint as that and find some other way to differentiate (maybe paint the base edges)? Should I paint an independent color scheme and do something like a shoulder pad to signify? something else? yes, yes, they're my minis and I can and will do what I want with them, but what would/do you do?

Spoiler:

**Excommunicatus**

I would make them recognisable as the Legion you want, but different enough that you don't have to take guff from a neckbeard if you want to run something different to RC/AL.

**slave.entity**

Prioritize aesthetics first, then gameplay. The meta will change and your lists/chapters will change over time so there is no point in painting to play a specific chapter unless you're REALLY committed to exclusively playing that one chapter.

I pick my favorite color scheme/lore and paint everything in that style, regardless of what rules I actually use to play them. People generally don't care if the color scheme matches the rules unless it's something super iconic like Ultramarines or Blood Angels or Space Wolves or something.

I'd say the Chaos chapters especially have more wiggle room here as the whole idea of traitor warbands lends itself to non-standard markings and color choices. If you have a Black Legion color scheme you can pretty much run them as whatever chapter you like. I run my Ulthwe army as Alaitoc 90% of the time, because to be honest, that's the default expectation from the opponents in my meta.

In short, rules change, models do not, so pick a scheme that you'll be happy with in the long run.

**Corennus**

What slave said.

At the end of the day they're your models and you will inevitably change tactics and what chapter you are running.

So find a colour scheme you like and stick to it.

**Reavsie**

Where does your main interest lie, is it fluff, gaming or something else?

I ask this because I am interested in the fluff first and gaming a very distant second, so I would paint them as Red Corsairs and Alpha Legion as per your detachments.

If gaming is your primary interest then painting as a custom chapter so you can switch legions as you wish may be more beneficial.

**xenoterracide**

Reavsie wrote:
Where does your main interest lie, is it fluff, gaming or something else?

I ask this because I am interested in the fluff first and gaming a very distant second, so I would paint them as Red Corsairs and Alpha Legion as per your detachments.

If gaming is your primary interest then painting as a custom chapter so you can switch legions as you wish may be more beneficial.

I love the fluff but ultimately for the tabletop it's about gaming. The game isn't fun if I never win, to the point of I'm not 100% set on my current list.

**Bellerophon**

I'd agree with the guys saying paint them in whatever scheme you like best. Painting takes a long time, and unless you strip and repaint, your models will be stuck with whatever paint scheme you pick. It seems a bit daft to paint them based on what makes for the strongest list at the current moment in time when the meta shifts so often. Your army is Red Corsairs/Alpha Legion today, it might be Iron Warriors tomorrow and Night Lords next Tuesday.

For the most part, other players won't be bothered that you use a different legion trait to how they're painted. Some players/events might get a bit snotty if you use one of the official legion schemes and use different rules, but most won't mind. Inventing your own scheme skirts the issue entirely.

One last point is that if you're using different legion traits for different detachments, it's advisable to find some method of making it clear to your opponent which models belong to which detachment. I've seen some people do that with different colour base rims, which makes sense. It's a quick way to show which detachment a model is in, and it's fairly easy to change as and when your list changes.

**Winter**

xenoterracide wrote:
So this is my first real edition of 40k, I'm looking for opinions from people who've played through a few editions. I started painting Black Legion 'cause... reasons, however my lists didn't come out very well. Now I'm playing a list that is a 50/50 split of Red Corsairs and Alpha Legion. I'm not 100% committed to this list, but this is where I'm at now.

I'm having analysis paralysis. Should I paint my models as I'm running them? should I pick a legion and paint as that and find some other way to differentiate (maybe paint the base edges)? Should I paint an independent color scheme and do something like a shoulder pad to signify? something else? yes, yes, they're my minis and I can and will do what I want with them, but what would/do you do?

My suggestion would be to swap back to the Black legion scheme, and then go with shoulder pads/other signifiers for each chapter. See the below photo that used to be in one of the old codices:

I personally like the style of the Khorne Berseker the most; Helm and right shoulder pad in old legion/chapter colours and the rest in black legion colors. It's such a simple and clever way to build a cohesive looking force but still identify each warband/chapter.