Atomic Mass Games has released a series of customizable commander and operative figures for each of the four main armies. These expansions offer players to build and paint a leader for their army, customized and tailored to the needs of their playstyle, that is not one of the many named characters from Star Wars in the game. To add to my Separatist Alliance Starter Box, I have built some pretty Super Tactical Droids so they may lead the droids in style.
Star Wars: Legion is a tactical miniatures wargame where players assemble and command customized armies from the Star Wars universe and engage in tabletop battles across the galaxy. Players can build, paint, and play troopers, vehicles, and their favorite heroes and villains from the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War era. The easiest way to get into the game is to choose a starter set of their favorite faction and build out from there! A robust catalogue of expansions offers nearly-unlimited customization and replayability.
Unboxing
The box includes two sprues with several different options for building, including different heads, legs, weapons, and accessories. In addition to the unit cards, there are two command cards, order tokens (in both CIS and generic styles), and 13 upgrade cards, all of which are used for the two droids.
So many tiny bits for customization!
In addition to the bits, there are lots of upgrade cards to customize your commander, too.
Assembling Your Models
Prepping Your Models & The Tools
GamingTrend has put together a guide for you to follow for how best to clean, cut, and assemble your models, regardless of the game. While the materials for the models may be different between games (plastic, resin, metal, etc.) there are simple techniques you can do to help make your painting experience go that much smoother.
Alec Kozak
Additionally, if you are new to painting and are not sure what brushes or tools you need, check out the article. This is just a starting place, and every painter has different preferences and recommendations. These are my recommendations based on the last decade or so of painting, and I hope you find them helpful!
There are some noticeable gaps on the sides of the commanders. I highly recommend a (very) small dab of sprue goo to fill them in.
For this tutorial, I have included a visual guide (below) of the paints I used for the miniatures so you have an easily-accessible list to refer to if you need to go shopping. The paints are noted on the picture.
Painting Your Miniatures
The Paint Plan
For pretty much every miniature painting project I do, I start with a plan. Even before putting the primer and paint on a model, I find photo references of the paint schemes and details I am looking for. Most times, this means having a browser window up with different web pages and images next to my painting area, so I can quickly refer to them as I paint. I also come up with a paint plan, choosing what colors I am going to use and what order I apply them in.
For these two droids, I wanted them to stand out instantly on the table. The rest of the army, themed in the style of the Trade Federation Droid Army, is full of browns, tans, and silvers. So, instead, I wanted to use some bright colors to give them a little pizzazz and help my poor, tired eyes quickly spot them on the field during a game.
Remember that done is better than perfect!
Priming the Models
In general terms, getting the majority of a color for a model applied via a rattle can or airbrush saves a lot of time. Typically, I prime all of the figures with a zenithal prime, using a base coat of Rustoleum Flat Black and a top coat of Army Painter White Primer or one of the other color primers. In this case, I used the Rustoleum Flat Black Primer and applied a zenithal spray of Army Painter Platemail Silver over the top.
Slapchop Method
For these pieces, I chose to take a variation of the “slapchop” approach for them. Slapchop is a painting method where you accent the details of the models by dry brushing shades of gray and white. Then, using speed paints, contrast paints, and/or washes, you paint a single coat over the top of the model, creating shadows, mid-tones, and highlights in a single pass. This would be akin to using Multiply or Screen layers in Photoshop to establish color values on a gray underlayer. This is a very fast and efficient way to paint a lot of models that you don’t want to put a lot of detail into, and instead rely on the mold of the model to provide enough detail and contrast to make it stand out on the table.
Step-by-Step Painting
After priming the droids, about 50% of my work was already done. I applied a Dark Tone wash over the top of the primer, then drybrushed silver on top of that give the droids a nice shadow, midtone, and highlight. I wasn't going to be accurate with applying the contrast, as I applied black contrast paint over the joints afterwards.
With the base layers down, I applied a layer of contrast paints over the top of the armor I wanted colored. With the contrast/speed paints, I quickly got my shadows/midtones/highlights to come through with the color. No layering needed here!
The droid with the 3d hologram of the city looked really cool, and so I wanted to give it a quick glow-up. With a base coat of white, I thinly applied Aethermatic Blue over the top, and the highlighted the edges of the buildings with white. It's not perfect, but it gives a decent enough idea that it's a hologram and not part of the armor.
I applied black with purple layering to the cape of the flamethrower droid. The flat sheen of the cape helps offset the subtle metallic look of the contrast over the silver.
With a few remaining details like metal accents and eyes applied at the very end, these droids were done! To capture that electrostaff glow, I painted the electric parts solid white, and then added a thinned-down fluorescent pink over the top.
Basing the Models
To match the basing I did for the Starter Box, I used the same process I did before. Because they were primed black and silver, I first applied a light grey over the silver. After that, I applied the Creed Camo contrast over it to have a green base for the next steps. I dry-brushed/dabbed Orruk Flesh and then Moot Green.
There is a little bit of texture on the bases that helps add some definition, but some Army Painter Jungle Tuft grass after sealing gave it a little more variation to the base.
*Sealing — This is really important. If you apply the grass before spraying the clear coat, the spray will attach to the grass like dew drops. Which, arguably, is really cool, but may not be what you're going for. So, make sure you seal up everything first then apply the tufts.
Sealing Your Models
As I do with all of the models I paint that I also play, I applied a protective clear coating over the paint. This helps preserve the paint on the model and keeps oils from hands from rubbing off the paint as you continuously touch the models during games. There are many different kinds of clear varnishes to use, but I typically use any matte or anti-shine varnishes, as satin, semi-gloss, and gloss tend to distort the colors of the models (not to mention that most models aren’t supposed to be shiny).
Brands that have been reliable for me are Krylon Matte Clear Spray, Rustoleum Matte Clear Coat, which is slightly glossy, and Testors Dullcote, although the latter can be expensive and difficult to find. For a coat with no shine that really enhances the colors, I use AK Interactive’s Ultra Matte Varnish, applied with an airbrush.
Painted and Ready for Play
Impressions
What Worked
These are great little models! I love all of the different options available, like the Destroyer Droid legs. They paint up incredibly fast, especially with speed paints, so I feel like any player can quickly build and paint these units in just a few hours.
I was also happy with how my Frankenstein-ing of the blaster and flamethrower worked. Although, it does kinda just look like a Plasma Rifle from Halo, but… eh.
What Didn’t Work
Ohmygoshdroidconnectionpoints. There really isn’t anything that can be done about this, given that droids, specifically battle droids, have to look like their cinematic counterparts. This means that the hips and should points are very small and very delicate and you have to be oh-so-careful when you’re assembling them.
I think I may go back over them and gloss up the army some. It’s not as shiny as I was hoping, but that’s totally fine because I apply gloss or semi-gloss after sealing anyway.
What I would do differently next time
If I was aware enough about the recently-decreed WYSWIG rules, I would have built “tournament legal” models for this tutorial. However, I play locally with a bunch of really cool people and they aren’t sticklers for the rules. So, it all worked out!
Final Assessment
With how quickly these went together and were painted, I was happy with how they turned out. I am not sure how often I will be using them (although, apparently, they pair quite well with the General Grievous Wheel Bike), but regardless I am happy they are painted, done, and ready for play!
Have you painted Star Wars: Legion miniatures yet? Share your work with us!
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