Ordinarily that would make complete sense, but in this case, it is important to consider the white shoulder pads. Painting white over black is perfectly possible but so much more work than starting from white or pale grey.

Painting black over white is really quick and simple.

So, let’s make things as simple as possible and prime the mini white.

Do take your time when priming to get a smooth finish, as it makes all the difference to the end result.

Step 2 – Apply Base Colours

How to Paint Black Templars Armour - Step 2

As we primed white, make the most of it and carefully base coat the black armour with Abaddon Black, leaving the white areas unpainted. Keep your paint thinned and apply two coats of black.

It is very important to keep this stage as smooth and clean as possible. So, take your time.

Basecoat the white areas with Ulthuan Grey. Again, you want this super smooth, so use nice thin layers.

Basecoat the chest crest in Leadbelcher.

Basecoat all the joint areas of the armour Eshin Grey.

Base all leather areas in Dryad Bark

Base the purity seals in Khorne Red and Ushabti Bone.

Step 3 – Apply First Highlights

How to Paint Black Templars Armour - Step 3

Using the edge of your paintbrush apply an edge highlight of Dark Reaper around all the black armour panels.

The important thing to remember when edge highlighting, is you want the paint to be thinned so it flows easily from the brush but not so much that it will run everywhere.

This step does take a bit of patience but try and keep the lines smooth and even.

Don’t worry if you make any mistakes. Just let it dry and tidy up with Abaddon Black.

Step 4 – Apply Second Highlights

How to Paint Black Templars Armour - Step 4

Apply another highlight using Thunderhawk Blue, but this time concentrate on the top edges of the panels.

Any mistakes, can just be tidied up with some Abaddon Black.

Step 5 – Apply Third Highlights

How to Paint Black Templars Armour - Step 5

Apply a final highlight of Fenrisian Grey to the corners and focus points on the armour.

As always, any mistakes can just be corrected with some Abaddon Black.

Step 6 – Paint Details

How to Paint Black Templars Armour - Step 6a

How to Paint Black Templars Armour - Step 6c

Eye Lenses – Paint the full lens in Wazdakka Red then, leaving an edge of red, paint Evil Sunz Scarlet inside.

Bolter – Base the metal areas in Leadbelcher, the red casing in Mephiston Red and the grip in Eshin Grey. Wash the metal and grip with NuIn Oil and casing with Carroburg Crimson. Highlight metals with Ironbreaker, grip with Eshin Grey and casing with Evil Sunz Scarlet.

Chain – Base in Ironbreaker, wash with NuIn Oil and highlight again with Ironbreaker.

Armour Joints – Wash with thinned NuIn Oil, resulting in shadow and highlight in one step.

Chest Crest – Wash with NuIn Oil and highlight with Leadbelcher.

Purity Seals – Wash with Agrax Earthshade. Highlight with Wazdakka Red and Ushabti Bone. Add lines of writing in Eshin Grey.

Leather – Edge highlight with Baneblade Brown and wash with Army Painter’s Strong Tone.

Step 7 – Apply a Matte Finish

How to Paint Black Templars Armour - Step 7

Using thinned down paints are wonderful for getting a smooth finish but the extra water or thinner in the mix can result in the end result being quite glossy. Sometimes this is great but in this case, I wanted the end result to look smooth and matte.

So, I applied several thin layers of Lahmian Medium all over the mini to tone down any unwanted shine.

At this point, the Marine is finished and ready for you to base as you like. As mine is simply for display I opted for a more scenic base.