MY TOUGHEST ARMY PROJECT SO FAR | SOLAR AUXILIA | Army Painting Tips & Tricks | Cthonian Headhunters

In this video, Henry begins painting his new Solar Auxilia army for Warhammer The Horus Heresy: Age of Darkness. And we discuss the challenges presented when painting up a large project. As well as taking questions from our Patreons, including our upcoming paint range.
#horusheresy #solarauxilia #paintingwarhammer
00:00 - Intro
00:11 - Kitbashing
03:35 - The Grind
12:00 - Patreon Questions
PATREON - / cultofpaint
COMMISSIONS - www.cultofpaint.com/commissions
AIRBRUSHES & Affiliate link - elementgames.co.uk/paints-hob...
DISCORD - / discord
WEBSITE - www.cultofpaint.com
Wet Palette used - elementgames.co.uk/paints-hob...
Paint brushes used - elementgames.co.uk/the-army-p...
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Music:
Readers! Do You Read by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: chriszabriskie.com/reappear/
Artist: chriszabriskie.com/s

[@Blackthorn0451]

For what it's worth, I like this style of video now and again. A lot of hobby content doesn't grapple with the reality of painting,. It's all recipes or stunt speed paints, or chasing the newest release. I understand why that content exists, and I still like and watch it, but chatting about the actual hurdles we have and compromises we have to make with our projects has more value to me now as a painter than most of the usual painting videos you see. Which is not to say I don't like random models or recipes. I always find them useful to borrow from or use as starting points. The scheme I knocked out for my Blood Angels is a random hodge podge of ideas from Cult of Paint and other videos of the more standard type you see on YT.

[@cultofpaint]

Thanks. I think now and again is about right for these.

[@Vorpal_Wit]

well, said.

[@Jaydonald_DG]

Nailed it. I absolutely agree. In the sea of content, Cult of Paint videos stand out to me and stick with me because I feel I am actually learning something and not learing how to use only XYZ paints on exactly XYZ model. I get a bit of that too, but to a higher quality than 9/10ths out there and also bigger picture stuff which has helped me progress immensely as a painter. Keep it up guys and will continue to watch and apprecoiate anything you publish.

[@WardenOfTerra]

I think a lot of people get anxiety about model painting due to how expensive the models are. I personally think that it's a major factor, so people spend far too much time painting their models to the highest standard that they can so that they don't feel like they've wasted money.

[@midknight9327]

Nope

​@@midknight9327 It is for me. But I would not say that is anxiety, it is just a hang up that I can not really get away from.

[@kitten2799]

I prefere lore motivation for painting. Having a setting for where they are meant to fight helps me both get through them and get them done well. Also painting in unit batches.

[@8BitJesus]

I think it’s hard to shift that mindset to paint ‘quickly’ to paint for enjoyment. It’s good to see you putting out content like this

[@alexH712]

You are like the Bob Ross of mini painting. Working with this on in the background and it's super chill.

[@PezzaTheFlezza]

I’ve been really struggling with army painting myself recently. Huge pile, had a bunch of time off work and made way less progress than I wanted to. But I always find hearing your thoughts (even just to hear you grapple with issues like on your BT project) very useful! So thank you for all your content like this!

[@ellisowendaniel]

I needed to see this video 9 months ago. I painted tester after tester and didn’t get anywhere. I realised I was setting my bar to the internet, not my own hobby. This was both in terms of the scheme itself and the volume of models I was painting. I lost a lot of time and I’ve got a big mountain ahead of me to get the army done but where I’ve settled on a scheme should be really satisfying on the table, where it will be most seen. It’s also going to be my last Heresy army so I also want to be really happy with it. I think I’ve been quite clever by using a basing scheme that would work with any legion. That way it’s future-proofed so I can add a few allies just to wet the whistle.

[@MatchaMakesThings]

This video has some AMAZING tips and is a great listen to hear from someone who has a lot of experience in painting. Thank you for making this and putting out so much great content to help new painters.

[@zachsilby4569]

11:30 Honestly I just started watching your channel to paint alongside you, using the video as a small guide to help give me inspiration as well as to let me keep it cool and not rush. And I find videos like these, with you just speaking however you feel about the hobby and specific parts of it, is calming, Mini Painting is my meditation and mental health booster and your narration really helps me get into that zen mood, if you had more videos like this one I'd definitely watch them. More than just "Watch me paint, and I will explain every little detail", and instead allowing my ears to listen to a story or opinion piece, while observing the paint techniques you use.

[@cultofpaint]

Thanks a lot. I'd like to Include these more regularly

[@monkeyhammer]

I think leaving the gubbins off the basic troops is a really good hint, I did that with some kroot recently and I think it made the difference between getting them finished and staying in the to-do pile

[@samsilva-cairns8799]

I prefer this type of video as I want to know what the painter is thinking why they picked and reason for it. You do what makes you happy and sure we listen :)

[@MechaTrogd0r]

Henry, thank you for the discussion. As someone who doesn't game and doesn't have any interest in gaming, I paint strictly for my own enjoyment. It's a good reminder that I should be finding the process I like as much as the result. It's a lesson I've learned before and even discussed with others, but for some reason I find it's one of those elusive lessons that I have to be reminded of every so often. Thanks for the video :)

[@craigcook5121]

I like vids like these every so often. Liked seeing your note book lol. I think there are a lot of us out here in the void that kinda get stuck on simple things like how to right stuff in a note book. Do we leave a page for if we miss something , do u organize loyalists in the front, chaos in the rear and the alien in the middle.

[@tinyfishhobby3138]

Watched this while painting the interior of a Scorpius. Some great thoughts here and it's always a pleasure listening to your insight. I think what I can add is "Be excited about your project". If you don't feel like tackling a ton of infantry this week... work on a tank or character instead. Don't necessarily force yourself, though that can sometimes work too. Painting the bolters on three marines is more hobby progress than if you hadn't painted said bolters. You know?

[@cultofpaint]

The interior of a scorpius!!!!

[@tinyfishhobby3138]

@@cultofpaint I KNOW. But I feel more satisfied knowing that it's painted.

[@AK-tl2nm]

That’s not even a transport… just glue is shut bro.

[@Greekgeek75]

Really nice that you've switched it up to show this type of video. As you know, I've basically been painting one army for the last 7-8 years which I have loved. However I realise that this type of approach has severely limited my options to mix-and match the factions that I play in Heresy. I'd love to do a Solar detachment, but finishing something in 2 months feels such a difficult thing for me to do :-).

[@daximus_sbt]

Amazing commentary. Thank you.

[@tr48092]

Henry, it’s good to hear from you again.

[@LordVhok]

Great video again. Would love to see a little more of the episodic content spread out over a few weeks. No project gets done in a Sunday afternoon. There should be some good value in showing how much work is involved with longer projects, and how to keep it looking cool. Personally I've been working on my 40K necrons army for 4 years now. It's not getting done in a rush, but I do enjoy it when a unit is finished. Great to see how others tackle large projects that don't involve 24 hour painting sessions.

[@rgc3060]

Tremendously insightful video, I’d love to see more like these covering the process and mindset behind your projects. Thanks for all the hard work, keep it up! 🙏

[@Colbliashi]

I have such a hard time painting anything outside of characters. With small kids time is super limited, but I get really hung up on the small details when I do sit down and paint. I have a good sized Black Templar army and a good sized World Eaters army I love and play with when possible. I wanted to be able to finish 2k of one of them by the end of year, but I have done nothing for each so far. 😬

[@cultofpaint]

7 months to go!

[@yesitsluke2869]

I really hope we get to see more black templar vids sometime! Those were always a treat!

[@stevenewman8429]

The sentiment of the video chimed with me. Really enjoyed listening to this format of video, but have been a fan of the channel for a couple of years. Good luck and all the best with the new endeavours and wishing you all at CoP every success.

[@cultofpaint]

Thanks Steven, great to hear.

[@mappw6805]

As a fellow painter who really likes the Kruleboyz models. I'm sorry to hear you weren't satisfied with your army project. But I want you to know I really enjoyed your video series on them and I picked up a lot of tips from you to apply to my own.

[@cultofpaint]

Thanks mate, I loved doing them. Just didn't end up quite how I wanted, and that's really bugged me!

[@willjthomps]

The interaction and commentary is great in my opinion. It’s really helpful and interesting, makes us all feel more a part of the community as well. Keep it up Henry, it’s great.

[@alritchie2162]

Really enjoyed the video. It’s nice to have a rambling conversation/commentary every now and then where you just discuss your thought process rather than which paint to use. It’s also refreshing to hear really experienced painters having the same concerns as myself who only paints to a really basic level. Looking forward to the next video.

[@Wijkert]

I am totally happy to watch/listen to these kinds of video's during times that you guys are extra busy. Also switching things up in general can be nice too.

[@tokoloshgolem]

Totally agree. The secret is to enjoy the process itself, not just rush to a goal.

[@majmellow]

Another great video, really ticking the boxes. I know you say you don't like historical wargames, but for me, horus heresy feels like an historical war game. Because the end result is known but it's still great to "reenact" those battles

[@cultofpaint]

completely agree. We're playing 2nd ed like a historical.

[@UnfocusedHobbie]

After 25 years in the hobby i think ive worked out how to paint a army... i think its a lot like going to the gym, when you 1st start you are full of motivation but as time goes on yo get over it but if you want gains you have to push through those negative thoughts. Then the more you push through and start to see results, thats what keeps you going, and to me army painting is the same. Motivation ebs and flows, building discipline and focus is what keeps you going.

[@pierrebalmain657]

I am with you man! After all, it is you which made me go back to the hobby by helping me get my motivation back! I finished the first part of my Tyanids army a few days ago and it is amazing! Courage, mon ami!

[@vaderkoshpaints]

Absolutely love this. Very much enjoying the Heresy journey and hoping to see much more.

[@pete_the_bak]

Really interesting debate thanks, please don't hesitate about doing more of the thought process debate style. Apologies if I missed it but I'm short on time and I wanted to put this in before I forgot... I'd be really curious to hear about your decision process on when and when not to use an airbrush. By that I mean when will it save time, cause more complications, improve or detract from the result etc. etc. It could also be interesting to hear your thoughts on if masking is ever worth it and if so when and why?

[@fullsent]

I'm staring down a CoS gunpowder army because I wanted to do a rank and file (or as close as possible in AoS). This format video was great, and definitely what I need to get the motivation going.

[@cultofpaint]

that will look amazing when done

[@iain.sm.c]

I like these essay-style videos. It's interesting to hear people's hobbying philosophies.

[@edwardreynolds5185]

Great video, looking forward to your old world stuff 🙂

[@slthlrdz]

thank you so much for these solar aux video series

[@goffgoffson2330]

Great video. As I'm about to embark on a new army project it had me thinking more about what I want to get from it and how to go about it.

[@akeyuk]

Love this style of video and love the idea of following a full army project and all that entails.

[@rutgaurxi7314]

Yeah, starting out again after half a year away from the desk is incredibly hard, but once I relaxed for a bit and got into my flow then stopped trying to become the next Richard Grey it all becomes very natural. I found my standards rose after a few sessions, bear in mind I'm learning to paint again with almost entirely with oils.

[@VoltanIgnatio]

love this style of video, cheers

[@benhawkes1657]

Loved this video. Felt like we were at Greetings having a beer chatting hobby. Please do more content like this, your passion for the hobby is infectious keep up the great work!

[@lukeeaton2364]

I loved this video. I think I had unconsciously reached the same conclusion about focusing on a big set of troops right away when the Age of Darkness box came out with 40 marines. Right off the bat, I built two tactical squads, a despoiler squad and a support rotor cannon squad and painted them all in a couple weeks. After that, all the characters, dreadnoughts and vehicles were very fun and easy by comparison.

[@tedstravels1284]

Loved the video 👍👍

[@cirno9349]

Good old auxillia one of the best ranges forge world made. Them and mechanicum always had a reputation of being a hobby army those crazy enough to play them always made them unique and interesting. With the kits in plastic I wonder if the reputation will persist or if it'll be more like the imperial guard's. Well what ever it is I'm happy people have an easier way of getting some of the best looking human sculpts. P.s. from a mechanicum player you can always throw in a few robots and they look great in all colors but especially with gang tags and graffiti

[@cultofpaint]

im really looking forward to adding some robots

[@royal-c5350]

Love the video and excited to see you tackle the old world

[@cultofpaint]

me too!

[@Jaydonald_DG]

Awesome video as always. I would love to see you return to the Templars project at some point too!

[@MrRobbieallison]

3-4 week project i feel like no one is focusing om solar Aux and i can't get enough of it at the moment. Maybe also wanna go off topic from paints and painting maybe drop some lore of the head hunters cuz someone like me i don't know much about em and would be interesting to hear about em from your point of veiw and why they are so interesting to you.

[@uzz7114]

Love this style! Keep it up Henry :)

[@lordchipmonk1]

Really enjoyed the video and format, so feel free to do more. Best of luck with the MPO. Can't be there myself, but I am sure it will go well and hope all enjoy the experience.

[@cultofpaint]

Much appreciated!

[@DrDleith]

Really enjoyed the waffle. Perfect for finally getting through some fiddly Legions Imperialis terminators that I've been putting off. Cheers.

[@scribblespaints]

Loved this video, and I'd love to see more in a similar vein to it; I've been re-watching the more recent 'series' format of videos a lot as I hobby lately. There's something very satisfying about seeing the whole force come together, whether that's in the form of the Auxilia videos or the Blood Angels schemes.

[@collinl5023]

I love videos like this

[@chriskeimig2507]

Henry. I found this video wonderful. I am planning on starting a Beastmen themed Militia army very soon. 150+ Infantry. Not sure how I am going to get through them.

[@cultofpaint]

Sounds awesome!

[@Harbley]

Very good words of wisdom

[@Vroomerz]

I'm in a Horus Heresy escalation group. 500 points starting out. That's 1 HQ, 1 elite squad, 2 troops squads. Painting requirements are: Sergeants and up painted and based. Rest: primed.

[@xLAZY666]

25:36 had a good laugh, relatable.

[@thewellandvalley2103]

Love this kind of reflective video. More of it over recipes!

[@gilledgar2243]

These things that you have been thinking about is exactly the same things that hinders me in my wargame hobby at the moment. Thank you Henry for lifting and talking about it.

[@gilledgar2243]

I want to paint an army for me, for it to get nominations for "best looking army" and I want the process to be joyful. I started HH2.0 thinking of doing a ImpFists army. But the rules and that a lot started to paint a IF army because of it, I did not want to be seen as "that guy". So I started to paint an Ultra (because of Know no Fear amd Practical/theoretical). But I did not enjoy the process and I did not want a shooting army. Looking at doing a SoH or BA instead (I love the SoH sea green, I don't like their lore. I have not painted a red army before, I quite liked how BA are portrayed in Siege books). Kinda not doing any of them, as I do t want to get stuck in the process again.

[@jamessampford4780]

Really enjoyed it! Im painting 2 armies for epic. I WANT my higher standard (which is not that high) because ot was the visual spectacle of a tableful of beautiful tiny minis that drew me to epic many moons ago. Sometimes a drag but its coming together and theres no particular deadline.

[@jaimiewhiteside9358]

This is something I've been thinking about recently having just completed a genestealer army and trying to figure out what to paint next. I agree that this is a hobby and should be enjoyable, it shouldn't feel like a race to paint all the things.

[@pieter-janvangucht2152]

OLD WORLD CONTENT FROM COP CONFIRMED! cant wait...

[@stepan.tichyy]

Great video, looking forward to Deogard II and looking forward to more things which come out of cult.

[@JWbrasser]

I may or may not be first... I wouldnt say this but you know, Comments for the comment god. All Hail The Algorithm

[@JustHooded]

Love how the projects are going. Just wondering when the novamarines are gonna get some love on the channel

[@cultofpaint]

I've got a model in mind for their video. I'd like to hit a few more Badab Chapters second half of this year

[@Wolfineer_]

100% the struggle is often just finishing/starting painting projects over painting techniques themselves

[@ksamuel9]

I know it won’t help me finish my army faster but what is that initial metallic color you used for the heads, Henry? It looks really nice and I like the shade

[@cultofpaint]

its a mix of black and S75 black metal. I'll do a rapid fire full recipe next video.

[@wrathofconstantine9720]

It is worth it! I agree go as hard as you can pick out the details. :) Cheers bud

[@georgikens7516]

great video. like others have said its very cool to hear your thoughts and opinions coming from someone whose been in the hobby for a long time. also, sometimes i notice you dont paint some details, like you dont paint the tops and the bottoms of the leather pouches in brown. i assume this is because people won't see those areas on the table but how do you decide which details are visible/important enough to paint and which arent? most of the time i make painting mistakes is when i'm trying to get somewhere precise/finnicky and then i mess up or my hand shakes a bit or something and then i splodge white paint on my poor terminator captain's face. thanks!

[@dovarioscotia-churlishmini7246]

This is great content Henry, great to watch while working on my MPO entry ;) How long do you give yourself to paint up e.g. 2000pts armies?

[@cultofpaint]

good to hear bud. For this project my deadline was get "a chunk" done before AoS launch.

[@Senor_Elegante]

Ok so a question for the group, now that it’s in line with the conversation in the video. I’ve been painting minis since Covid. I know I’m very much still learning but at least decent at the painting part of it (got a mini featured on Warhammer community and stuff). I’ve never been able to paint 2000 points of anything though. Where do you find the discipline to paint a whole army? I’m good with Kill Team, Underworlds and Warcry and have loads of different groups for each game because they’re bite sized groups that can be done quickly and then you get to move on to something fresh. I’ve started three different armies that I absolutely love the look and lore of (Krieg, Sisters and Cities of Sigmar) but I can’t pull myself to finish the project. How do you find the energy to do a whole pile of the same to a standard that you’re happy with? Please let me know your tricks so I can actually enjoy my first ever game of full sized Warhammer!

[@jaimiewhiteside9358]

For me, I try to alternate between something for the army project and something else entirely as a palette cleanser. Terrain, a small squad of something else, a single figure anything really.

[@cultofpaint]

I'm not sure there is a trick. PErhaps a full army just isnt your thing. I reckon i'd be just as happy painting the same amount of minis but have them be gangs/warbands/bloodbowl teams etc

[@Senor_Elegante]

@@jaimiewhiteside9358 thanks a lot! I usually have a little pet project on the side, maybe a character, a bust or a small underworlds warband, and it definitely helps while I’m doing a larger Kill team or something like that. I think my main issue is doing the same steps across a large amount of models with no variation and trying to keep the standard high…

[@Senor_Elegante]

@@cultofpaint thanks a million! I try to paint at least twice a week unless I’m travelling or work is rough, so I have painted my fair share of minis. It’s just that I find the variety of smaller warbands a lot more palatable than a whole army, doing upwards of 30 infantry models that all need to look the same. I’d love to see myself as the proud owner of a whole painted army, but even after a big Kill Team with lots of trim I feel like I need a rest from that colour combination for a good while 😅

[@Chris-lr2qb]

This might be completely backwards to most people from the impression I'm getting from the other questions, but my problem isn't really so much that I get bogged down painting lots of guys; It's more that I *want* to lift myself up a gear and paint to a competition standard more often with single miniatures (see you at the MPO btw), but I can't break out of my routine for army painting, and can't see how to push myself further when I've already spent 5-10 hours on a character and find him to already be perfectly passable as a gaming piece. When I hear people have put 100 hours into a model, besides the fact that it's entirely NMM I just don't know what 90 hours more on my Space Marine would accomplish.

[@cultofpaint]

You might benefit from reaching out to some people for feedback. Worthwhile feedback.

[@Chris-lr2qb]

@@cultofpaint Sadly I don't really know anyone IRL who paints and my social media presence is practically non-existent. But I'll try and make a change!

[@mikeretrovertigo2436]

Perfect timing. I'm currently finishing building 65 Solar infantry to batch paint in one go! Very inspired by this and energised to get stuck in.

[@mikemee8002]

A fellow 10mm brass rod enjoyer 😂

[@timmeanor7721]

0:00 Hi Henry!

[@tpisel]

Longer video series and less recipes is my vote.

[@wigligigly3375]

Holy god! That is so much plastic !!!

[@gregfougere7447]

It's also due to the younger generation's lack of attention to apply time to paint like their older painters.....less crafting skills are being applied....zenethal is fine...but you just paint and glaze..no color theory....

[@chrismaker2473]

These are some of the most annoying models to build

[@cultofpaint]

I've loved building these guys, it made it much easier to keep going. The veletaris however....

[@5chr4pn3ll]

Was looking forward to watching this, but honestly can't get through all this rambling. Not what I came for.