How I Paint Ossiarch Bonereapers - Mortis Reaper

Ever since I started playing Warhammer, I have collected and painted some form of the Undead. In recent years, my attention has been focused elsewhere, but I still enjoy painting these miniatures. A few years ago, I painted Kainan's Reapers, an Ossiarch Bonereapers warband for Warhammer Underworlds. Now I am turning my attention to Thanatek's Tithe, and specifically one of the two Mortis Reapers from the warband.

The bone recipe in this method is a version of one I first used back in 1991, when I painted my first Undead army.

Paints Required:

Primers

• Zandri Dust (spray)
• Chaos Black (spray)

Base Paints

• Morghast Bone
• Abaddon Black
• Night Lords Blue
• Naggaroth Night
• Rhinox Hide
• Administratum Grey
• Iron Hands Steel

Washes

• Agrax Earthshade
• Cassandora Yellow
• Nuln Oil
• Coelia Greenshade
• Athonian Camoshade
• Druchii Violet

Layer Paints

• Karak Stone
• Tallarn Sand
• Screaming Skull
• Pallid Wych Flesh
• Kantor Blue
• Alaitoc Blue
• Xereus Purple
• Genestealer Purple
• Warpfiend Grey
• Ironbreaker
• Stormhost Silver
• Mournfang Brown
• Gorthor Brown
• Ulthuan Grey
• Dawnstone
• Warpstone Glow
• Moot Green

Technical

• Lahmian Medium

Contrast

• Volupus Pink

The miniature was first primed with Zandri Dust.

Painting the bone

The areas of bone were given a basecoat of two thin coats of Morghast Bone. This was then washed with a 3:2 mix of Agrax Earthshade and Cassandora Yellow. The bone was then drybrushed with Karak Stone. Larger, flatter portions of the bone were then painted with thinned Karak Stone. I used Lahmian Medium to thin the paint to prevent it from becoming chalky.

I then began to highlight the bone, first with a thinned 1:1 mix of Karak Stone and Screaming Skull. This was followed by finer highlights of thinned Screaming Skull, and finally a 1:1 mix of Screaming Skull and Pallid Wych Flesh for the sharpest highlights.

After painting the bone, I moved on to the armour, tabard, and cloak.

The cloak

The cloak was given a basecoat of a 1:1 mix of Abaddon Black and Night Lords Blue. This required two thin coats to achieve a smooth, even finish. Once dry, the cloak was highlighted with Night Lords Blue, leaving the original basecoat visible only in the recesses. Further highlights were applied with Kantor Blue, followed by final highlights with Alaitoc Blue.

The armour

There is only a small amount of armour on these miniatures, but I wanted it to match my other Ossiarch Bonereapers. The armour was given a basecoat of a 1:1 mix of Naggaroth Night and Abaddon Black. Once dry, it was washed with Nuln Oil.

The armour was edge highlighted with a 1:1 mix of Naggaroth Night and Xereus Purple. Further highlights were applied, focusing on the corners, using Xereus Purple. Finally, spot highlights were added to the sharpest edges with a 1:1 mix of Xereus Purple and Warpfiend Grey.

The tabard

The tabard was given a basecoat of Naggaroth Night. Once dry, it was shaded with a 1:1 mix of Naggaroth Night and Abaddon Black. The base colour was then reapplied to tidy the raised areas.

Highlights were applied with Xereus Purple, followed by final highlights with Genestealer Purple.

Armour edging, weapons, and leather

The weapon blades were given a basecoat of Abaddon Black, followed by Iron Hands Steel.

The leather was basecoated with Rhinox Hide.

The armour edging and weapon guards were basecoated with Administratum Grey.

All of these areas were then washed with Nuln Oil. Once dry, a second wash of Coelia Greenshade was applied to the blade. The blade was then highlighted first with Ironbreaker, followed by final edge highlights with Stormhost Silver.

The armour edging and weapon guards were highlighted with Administratum Grey, followed by more selective highlights with a 1:1 mix of Administratum Grey and Ulthuan Grey.

The soultrap gems were painted with Abaddon Black, then carefully edge highlighted with a simple star shape using thinned Dawnstone.

The leather was highlighted with Mournfang Brown, followed by a 1:1 mix of Mournfang Brown and Gorthor Brown. The stitching on the sword scabbard was picked out with Karak Stone.

The wrappings on the weapon handles were painted with Administratum Grey. This was then painted with Volupus Pink. Once dry, this was given a wash with a 1:1 mix of Druchii Violet and Lahmian Medium.

To finish, I painted the eyes with Warpstone Glow, thinned with water, and lightly glazed the bone just below the eye socket. The eyes were then dotted with Moot Green.

The base

The miniature was completed by painting the base. The base was sprayed with Chaos Black, then drybrushed with Mechanicus Standard Grey, followed by a lighter drybrush of Dawnstone.

The stone was then washed with Athonian Camoshade. Once dry, it was drybrushed again with Dawnstone, and finally with Administratum Grey.

The dirt on the bases was painted with Steel Legion Drab. This was then washed with Agrax Earthshade. Once dry, the dirt was drybrushed with Tallan Sand and then with Karak Stone. 

How did you find the method? Have you any questions? Let me know in the comments. Happy Hobbying.

More of my How to paint... articles can be found here.

If you're enjoying the content, feel free to hit that follow button at the top of the page. It really helps and keeps you updated.

If you’d like to support the site a little more, why not take a look at my Beakie-themed merchandise — featuring everyone’s favourite bird in a range of designs?

Return to my home page.