WHY?

I started with a frame of Elves that was meant for 

exploded-view shots on the back of the Oathmark 

box. But leaving them unused seemed like a waste, 

idea: why not test Speedpaints on miniatures with 

lots of armour to see how well they handle it? And 

then it hit me, I could also turn them into a unit of 

Elves for my Oathmark army, with more troops. 

MORE

As luck would have it, the first frame had a fault and 

had to be redone. It didn’t affect the initial batch of 

Elves I built, but it did leave me with an extra frame to 

use! Then came the metal Elf characters, which I 

added to the mix, and just when I thought I was done, 

my mate John Treadaway (editor of Miniature 

Wargames) passed me the frame of Elves he’d had 

for a review sample. With all these pieces coming 

together, I suddenly had enough (20) for a full 

Oathmark Elf unit. It would have been a shame not to 

OTHERS

This is my fourth Speedpaints article, so if Elves 

aren’t your thing, I’ve also covered Stargrave 

Automatons, American War of Independence and 

Fantasy, plus I managed to sneak in some shots of 

Frostgrave Ghost Archipelago crews too. [CLICK 

HERE] to check them out!   

For Oathmark devotees, there’s an extensive series 

on fast-painting armies using The Army Painter’s 

Quickshade washes and Quickshade Varnish, all 

under Oathmark Express banner. [CLICK HERE] to 

THOUGHT

Speedpaints require more planning than traditional 

paints, particularly when it comes to preparation and 

technique. The key is to anticipate how they will flow 

and interact with the surface, ensuring a controlled 

application. Once you get the hang of it, though, the 

process becomes second nature, making painting 

TIME

Although Speedpaints accelerate the painting 

process, they do not reduce the effort required for 

preparation and finishing. Cleaning up, assembling, 

varnishing, and basing remain essential steps. To 

maintain consistency with my previous Oathmark 

units, I opted to paint the bases with standard 

TOP

For the Elves, I used a zenithal white undercoat, 

sprayed from above with my trusty old airbrush. This 

was layered over a Humbrol matt black base coat. If 

you're curious about achieving a zenithal undercoat 

with spray cans, my Zanzibar Express article provides 

a useful guide, CLICK HERE to check it out, though 

that wasn’t using white.   

The same principles apply whether using an airbrush 

or cans, and there are countless YouTube tutorials 

showcasing different techniques. One important note: 

The Army Painter spray cans release a lot of paint, so 

a careful touch is essential, you don’t want to swamp 

the figures and clog the details. Alternatively, you can 

achieve a zenithal effect by dry-brushing white, a 

technique known as "slap chop", another great topic 

COLOURS

I opted for a traditional approach with the colours for 

these Elves, staying true to the standard Oathmark 

schemes. Maintaining consistency across my Elf units 

was key, even though they were painted using a 

different method. This ensured they fit seamlessly 

with the rest of my collection while allowing me to 

experiment with technique. 

PAINTS

All the usual principles still apply, planning ahead is 

always worthwhile. Keep in mind that mistakes are 

harder to correct in darker colours. This doesn’t 

necessarily mean you have to start with the light 

colours, but I usually begin with lighter shades and 

gradually work toward darker ones to minimize errors. 

For this project, I tackled the metallic paints first, 

expecting some cleanup since certain areas were 

tricky to reach without accidentally getting paint where 

it wasn’t meant to go. As always, thoroughly cleaning 

BRUSHES

Avoid using your best or most expensive brushes, the 

Speedpaints will wear them out quickly. 

SHAKE

Still make sure you shake the Speedpaints up well, 

APPLICATION 

Take your time and don’t rush, the Speedpaints 

largely handle the work of generating shades and 

highlights, provided your models come with ample 

detail. If you find that a particular area isn’t quite right, 

perhaps it’s too dark, wipe away some of the paint 

with your thumb or a sponge. And if it looks too light, 

SPEEDPAINTS

As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t start with flesh this 

time, even though that’s usually my approach. 

Instead, I began with their armour, expecting a few 

mistakes, especially around the faces, where the 

close-fitting helms made precise application tricky. 

Fortunately, it wasn’t too bad, and I only needed a 

TIDY

I used Warpaints Fanatic: Matt White to tidy up areas 

where the Speedpaint had inadvertently strayed, such 

ARMOUR, CHAINMAIL, Enchanted Steel.

FLESH, Crusader Skin.

EDGE TRIMS, HELMET LINER, CLOAK,

WIZARDS ROBE. Highlord Blue.

BELTS, SCABBARDS, POUCHES & BOOTS.

Dusk Red.

HAIR. Ancient Honey.

WEAPONS & SHIELDS, Broadsword Silver.

SWORD HILT GUARDS, POMMELS,

BUCKLES & SOME GRIEVES, Glittering Loot.

Then I lightly dry-brushed the armour with 

Warpaints Fanatic Metallic Mithril and added 

damage to it and the swords with the same.  

SKIRT & OFFICERS CLOAK.  Runic Grey (two

coats).

PLUMES & WIZARDS ROBES. Holy White

(wiped off with thumb to expose more white).

BACKS, Dark Wood.

HORN, Pallid Bone (two coats).

ROCK, Ashen Stone.

JEWEL IN THE CIRCLET, Carmine Dragon.

FINISHING

I finished them off with a coat of spray Anti Shine Matt 

Varnish. It’s a good choice for Speedpaints, as it 

doesn’t give a completely flat finish but instead 

provides a low level sheen, particularly useful for 

applied a tiny drop of gloss varnish to jewels to make 

BASING

I applied sharp sand with PVA glue, allowing it to fully 

harden before painting with Army Painter Warpaints 

Fanatic to match my existing figure bases.  

BASES, I started with Oak Brown, followed by a dry- 

brush of Desert Yellow, and then finished with a light 

dry-brush of Skeleton Bone. To complete the look, I 

added Gamers Grass flower tufts and flock, keeping 

consistency with my Oathmark army. You can find 

more details on basing in my many other painting 

articles in the magazine.