So Alpha Legion.... What color are they?

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**Desubot**

So as the title states what the hell color are they? or do they really have as many variations as i think they do.

Iv noticed in the books they are a very dull blue with no color shifting properties but Forgeworld likes to do the crazy bright teal with faux color shifting.

mostly in the warhammer fest 2014 images of them there are a lot of variations.

not sure if this belongs here or in P&M

Anyway. i have ordered some chameleon pearl pigments that go purple blue and green to try so il post it up if it looks good.

**Boggy Man**

Those are the two most common themes, but the fluff states them using everything from unpainted armor, to armor painted in other legion liveries in false flag operations.

**Tactical_Spam**

In the books it says they are purple...

**VictorVonTzeentch**

The books describe a wide array of colors, Purple, Blue, Indigo, ect.

**Desubot**

Blarg my OCD.

Ok thanks. i guess il just have to pick one and go for it.

**Chapter Master Angelos**

ForgeWorlds standard scheme is an iridescent blue/green shift. But the only really consistent thing is the green Hydra Emblems.

**Kharne the Befriender**

Chapter Master Angelos wrote:
ForgeWorlds standard scheme is an iridescent blue/green shift. But the only really consistent thing is the green Hydra Emblems.

What paint do they use to get that shift?

**Desubot**

Its Silver base coat then tamaya clear blue and greens out of an airbrush

**Kharne the Befriender**

Desubot wrote:
Its Silver base coat then tamaya clear blue and greens out of an airbrush

Thanks

**Gashrog**

I don't know if they've got a new recipe using their own paints, but their older miniatures were painted this way:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Warhammer40k/comments/36jpbd/updated_forge_world_alpha_legion_painting_recipe/

**btgrimaldus**

My Chaos is alpha legion i paint them by the Apathetic Fish's youtube channel.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=apathetic%20fish%20alpha%20leagion

Automatically Appended Next Post:
To me they are to my understanding a blue, green purple, pearlessent color

**Iron_Captain**

Chapter Master Angelos wrote:
ForgeWorlds standard scheme is an iridescent blue/green shift. But the only really consistent thing is the green Hydra Emblems.

Surely you meant 'silver Hydra emblems'?

HH III consistently calls their armour 'azure'.
The most common colours in FW pictures seem to be either a greenish blue or a metallic blue. Or a greenish metallic blue:

Spoiler:

I think there is a hint of purple in there too.

**em_en_oh_pee**

In their entry in the HH books from FW, there is an entire section devoted to their long list of paint schemes. "Color of Deception" or something is the header and they basically do what they want, it seems. I think the blue/green FW presents would be their "parade" colors, what they would wear in the presence of their brother Legions, though that is just my own speculation.

**Desubot**

well failure.

3 problems with it the color shifting pigments

To dark
To glittery
and the effect only works in sunlight.

The color looks better than in the picture.

i guess il stick to the metal and tamaya combo.
EDIT: off to buy some galaxy blue color shift spray from rustolium gona give that a shot right now.
Secondly does anyone know if its legal to buy optically variable inks? i figure in an ink format it might have much smaller particles.

**Formosa**

Cobalt blue with a ultima symbol on the shoulder, they also wear a nice green colour with a dragon on the shoulders.

**Desubot**

Well tried the rustoleum color shift galaxy blue, basically black indoors, and outside looks like a glitter bomb of sparkles.
also very thick
though the color shift looks really cool.

I think im done with color shift.

**ImAGeek**

In Extermination it says: 'variously and without recourse to time period or progression, the Alpha Legion have been witnessed in liveries of pale grey, gleaming steel, veridian, dull bronze, sable, indigo, amaranth and azure blue - both in main and in combination'.

**Rosebuddy**

Yeah, they're pretty much "more or less blue and/or green" and exactly what that means is up to you to exercise your individual judgement.

It isn't like they haven't changed over the editions, anyway.

This was their 2nd and early 3rd edition look:

with the 3.5 codex giving them a much darker blue, adding slight green highlights and brightening the metallic trim

and then 5th edition rolled around with a new tweak

And in 1st ed their livery looked like this:

**ChazSexington**

At this point, who knows.

I'm going for the metallic variant - if you look at HH3 you'll notice even the schemes there are slightly different, e.g.

**em_en_oh_pee**

Well, the left is XXth Legion and the right is the Alpha Legion. Most Legions alter their schemes when they reform under their Primarch.

**Tamwulf**

This is a copy of the e-mail I received about the Alpha Legion paint scheme used in Horus Heresy Book III:

Forge World:
1 / 1
ALPHA LEGION
1. AIRBRUSH WITH THINNED LEAD BELCHER/ IRON BREAKER (50/50 MIX)
2. AIRBRUSH FROM TOP OF MODEL WITH THINNED RUNFANG STEEL
3. MIX A LITTLE TAMIYA CLEAR GREEN WITH TAMIYA CLEAR BLUE (25/75 MIX) AND AIRBRUSH OVER THE MODEL IN 2 COATS
4. AIRBRUSH ARMOUR PANELS WITH TAMIYA CLEAR BLUE. BLENDING FROM MIDDLE OF FIGURE DOWN, SO THE STRONGEST BLUE COLOUR IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PANNELS
5. AIRBRUSH FROM THE MIDDLE UPWARDS WITH TAMIYA CLEAR GREEN
6. USING AN AIRBRUSH BLEND A HIGHLIGHT ON THE HIGHEST PANNELS (HEAD, SHOULDER PADS, TOP OF BACKPACK) WITH RUNEFANG STEEL WITH A TINY AMOUNT OF LOTHERN BLUE, EXTREMELY THINNED DOWN.
7. APPLY THINNED COAT OF TAMIYA CLEAR BLUE OVER THE HIGHLIGHT AND BLEND INTO THE SURROUNDING AREA.
8. USING A BLUE GLAZE, DRAG DOWN THE WHOLE MODEL ALLOWING IT TO SETTLE IN THE DEEPEST AREAS.
9. SILVER – BASECOAT WITH LEADBELCHER
10. WASH WITH NULN OIL
11. HIGHLIGHT WITH LEADBELCHER IN STRIKING MOTIONS TO CREATED CHIPPED AND WEATHER APPEARANCE
12. HIGHLIGHT WITH IRONBREAKER

This was a thread from Bolter and Chainsword of a member that tried it, and ended up with a similar effect using the following procedures:

B&C:
@ recon it's a lot of trial and error. And a lot of frustration

I used testtors silver as a base,

2 light coats of thinned tamiya clear green at. 45 degree angle from above

Next I used several coats of thinned tamiya Clear blue from from below the model at an upward angel.

Used a lighter coat of tamiya clear blue over the entire model except on certain parts to let the green show through.

Light wash of thinned Guilliman blue to fill in gaps and bring out the blue

Next a light wash of thinned biel tan green

Another thinn coat of tamiya clear blue sporadically over the model

Last a thinned wash of nul oil

And then a very light drybrush of tarnished steel

I'd say that the Horus Heresy Alpha Legion is probably the most technical and difficult paint scheme out of all the Legions. I'd only try it if I was really proficient with an airbrush, which I am not, so my vision/idea for an Alpha Legion army were shelved until I get better with my airbrush. Good luck to anyone that tries to replicate it!

**EmberlordofFire8**

Well, I am Alpharius, so I can say that the're

CENSORED

**Col. Dash**

Same boat Tam. I have bodies, heads and a list ready to go. Cannot get a practice fig to work out successfully.

**em_en_oh_pee**

Keep it simple. Airbrush silver. Airbrush clear green. Airbrush clear blue in the areas meant to be a shade. Finish details.

**EmberlordofFire8**

I painted some of my friends Alphas, and I just used a silver base coat, painted over with 40/60 Lahamian Medium/ Stegadon Scale Green, and then I used silver and green for highlighting. Looked good...

**GoonBandito**

A mate has got some sweet looking Alpha Legion models he's painted up - I believe he base coats them in Leadbealcher, then puts a coat of Ironbreaker, and then uses blue and green washes to add the colour in.

**King Pariah**

When desperation takes over and you can't get it right, remember that they also went with solid black as seen in Dan Abnett's Legion.

**EmberlordofFire8**

Technically you can paint them like any other legion, and claim they're infiltrating.

**Yodhrin**

Tamwulf wrote:
This is a copy of the e-mail I received about the Alpha Legion paint scheme used in Horus Heresy Book III:

Forge World:
1 / 1
ALPHA LEGION
1. AIRBRUSH WITH THINNED LEAD BELCHER/ IRON BREAKER (50/50 MIX)
2. AIRBRUSH FROM TOP OF MODEL WITH THINNED RUNFANG STEEL
3. MIX A LITTLE TAMIYA CLEAR GREEN WITH TAMIYA CLEAR BLUE (25/75 MIX) AND AIRBRUSH OVER THE MODEL IN 2 COATS
4. AIRBRUSH ARMOUR PANELS WITH TAMIYA CLEAR BLUE. BLENDING FROM MIDDLE OF FIGURE DOWN, SO THE STRONGEST BLUE COLOUR IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PANNELS
5. AIRBRUSH FROM THE MIDDLE UPWARDS WITH TAMIYA CLEAR GREEN
6. USING AN AIRBRUSH BLEND A HIGHLIGHT ON THE HIGHEST PANNELS (HEAD, SHOULDER PADS, TOP OF BACKPACK) WITH RUNEFANG STEEL WITH A TINY AMOUNT OF LOTHERN BLUE, EXTREMELY THINNED DOWN.
7. APPLY THINNED COAT OF TAMIYA CLEAR BLUE OVER THE HIGHLIGHT AND BLEND INTO THE SURROUNDING AREA.
8. USING A BLUE GLAZE, DRAG DOWN THE WHOLE MODEL ALLOWING IT TO SETTLE IN THE DEEPEST AREAS.
9. SILVER – BASECOAT WITH LEADBELCHER
10. WASH WITH NULN OIL
11. HIGHLIGHT WITH LEADBELCHER IN STRIKING MOTIONS TO CREATED CHIPPED AND WEATHER APPEARANCE
12. HIGHLIGHT WITH IRONBREAKER

This was a thread from Bolter and Chainsword of a member that tried it, and ended up with a similar effect using the following procedures:

B&C:
@ recon it's a lot of trial and error. And a lot of frustration

I used testtors silver as a base,

2 light coats of thinned tamiya clear green at. 45 degree angle from above

Next I used several coats of thinned tamiya Clear blue from from below the model at an upward angel.

Used a lighter coat of tamiya clear blue over the entire model except on certain parts to let the green show through.

Light wash of thinned Guilliman blue to fill in gaps and bring out the blue

Next a light wash of thinned biel tan green

Another thinn coat of tamiya clear blue sporadically over the model

Last a thinned wash of nul oil

And then a very light drybrush of tarnished steel

I'd say that the Horus Heresy Alpha Legion is probably the most technical and difficult paint scheme out of all the Legions. I'd only try it if I was really proficient with an airbrush, which I am not, so my vision/idea for an Alpha Legion army were shelved until I get better with my airbrush. Good luck to anyone that tries to replicate it!

It doesn't require an airbrush, you can achieve an almost indistinguishable effect using a brush and glazes. Indeed, if you're a proficient brush user and haven't done airbrushing before, I'd say just keep using the brush, since the amount of time you supposedly "save" by using the airbrush will be lost learning to use the bloody contraption properly(not to mention the additional expense). You can actually make the technique look even more impressive with a regular brush, since you can place the gradients individually on each plate, although that obviously requires additional effort.

**Thraxas Of Turai**

I went the brush route as well, more of a metallic turquoise than anything else. I found GW's Sotek Green to be a great base.

Spoiler: