Star Wars Imperial Assault Painting Guide Ep.40: Snowtroopers

Hello! This is a beginner's guide to painting the Snowtroopers from Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars Imperial Assault (Return to Hoth expansion: amzn.to/2pxlU24)
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0:42 - Painting Stages
1:24 - Base Colours
7:02 - Shades
8:35 - Highlights
15:26 - Finishing Touches
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Paints used:
Mechanicus Standard Grey
Steel Legion Drab
Nuln Oil
Screamin Skull
Abaddon Black
Ceramite White
German Grey (VMC)
Seraphim Sepia
Lahmian Medium
Yriel Yellow
Mephiston Red
Valhallan Blizzard
Brushes used for this video: Rosemary & Co Series 33 Size 2, Windsor & Newton Series 7 Size 1.
All music composed by and © copyright owned by Sorastro.

[@thepickle2535]

Sees a new Sorastro video, watches it. Looks to the Stormtroopers to his left and thinks "I shouldn't be watching this yet". *continues to watch because Sorastro*

[@HarzerMichael]

Haha, so true! It'll be ages until I get to painting anything in the Hoth expansion (I have yet to get that expansion, actually) but this series is simply too fantastic not to watch immediately. :)

[@thepickle2535]

I actually have the Hoth expansion...but it's still going to be a LONG time before I get there. =)

[@Sorastro]

+Pickle BerCrew Studios Ha ha - thanks :)

[@juankulas5283]

Each time I receive a notification that Sorastro has uploaded a new video I feel like I've been given a present :-) Thank you for all that you do. Truly inspirational!

[@Sorastro]

+Juan Kulas Thanks so much Juan! I really appreciate that :)

[@candle8389]

Thank you so much for another incredible tutorial. There's no way these snow troopers would've came out as good as they have if it weren't for this video. Easy to follow, therapeutic, and well edited.

[@Sorastro]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you found the video helpful 🙂

[@MrCrystalwarrior1]

Yet another utterly sublime tutorial :-D Like most modelers, I find painting and highlighting white to be a nightmare, as it's such a huge colour when used over most of a figure/vehicle, and sometimes even shading/weathering can ruin the finish. Like with your Stormtrooper/Scout tutorials, this is THE finest example I've seen in many years of how do to it right. I love how you use slightly yellow highlights for the white armour, something I use often, as white armour does go slightly yellow due to the effects of light on it, as well as a good use of directional lighting. I can honestly say that your videos have blown me away far too many times to count now, and I await each new one with bated breath. Honestly cannot wait to see your tutorial on the upcoming Darth Maul and Ahsoka Tanno releases that are coming out around September. I'd also like to see you do a tutorial or two on painting the droids that have been released, especially the different colour schemes you can do for the astro-mech droids (R2 units) and even the protocol droids. Please keep up the good work, and I'll ALWAYS join you for the final highlight parts of your videos, as they really do show just how a few little extra details can make even a squad of figures stand out from the crowd. Thanks again for a wonderful tutorial :-) All the very best Paul :-D

[@Sorastro]

Thanks again Paul for such kind praise; I'm glad you enjoyed this one :)

[@TheRunesmythe]

Always a great day when I get a notification that you've posted a new video. Amazing work, as usual.

[@Sorastro]

Thanks buddy! I'm glad you liked it :)

[@pbeccas]

This is the tutorial I have been waiting for. Brilliant.

[@Sorastro]

Thanks mate! :)

[@bronsonbarnhart8085]

Thank you so much! I could watch you paint all day!!!

[@Sorastro]

Thank you Bronson! :D

[@GroberR]

Keep up the good work! And give us much much much more videos ! You are so back with painting new figures and expansions

[@Sorastro]

Thanks Daniel! I'm doing my best :)

[@nickenomics]

Using this to inspire my legion squad. Is love to see an updated video

[@Sorastro]

Hey man! I did produce a PDF guide for the Legion Snowtroopers a few years back which you might find helpful: sorastro.com/2018/08/16/snowtroopers-pdf-guide/ 🙂

[@stephenvelisek4281]

I love watching your paint vids more than any other

[@Sorastro]

+Stephen Velisek Thank you Stephen! I really appreciate that :)

[@Sorastro]

+Stephen Velisek Thank you Stephen! I really appreciate that :)

[@SnakeDoc73]

Love these videos man. Every time I play this game I keep telling myself I need to get on to painting these!!

[@Sorastro]

Ha - thanks Bo! They do beg to be painted don't they :)

[@Syko1985]

Awesome as always, keep up the good work. Would love to see you do a new series painting the new Warhammer 40k starter set.

[@Sorastro]

+Paul Smith Thanks Paul! I have some new stuff planned but not 40k I'm afraid.. :)

[@Xinperor]

great vid! i will use it for Legion snowtroopers

[@Sorastro]

Thanks Xinperor! I'm glad you found it usefull :)

[@attiladukai2121]

The painting skill is strong in this one...

[@Sorastro]

:D

[@isaaccajo4763]

wow, once again, you sir, are a genius!

[@Sorastro]

Thank you Isaac - too kind :)

[@NHO-RC]

If I want to go for a non-weathered look, closer to the original movies, do you think going with straight screaming skull or one of the other off whites is appropriate for the cloak and clothing and regular white for the helmet & armor? Without heavy weathering how would you approach shadowing the cloak since it is white while avoiding the grimey look? Thanks love your stuff!

[@Sorastro]

Thanks! For a cleaner look simply omit the darker tones that I used when I wet blended the base colours, but I'd do everything else pretty much the same :)

[@TheRealScience86]

Google image search some reference photos. They look weathered in the movies. They sort of have a brown tinge to the cloth parts. I'd probably just follow the guide, but maybe use a slightly lighter tone if that's the look you want. You really don't ever want to use pure white or black, because, those colors don't really ever look natural. Also you can't highlight pure white (what is lighter?), or shade pure black (what is darker?), so your model will come out looking flat.

[@NHO-RC]

They are certainly weathered some but they seem to be much brighter than these with an almost creme hue to much of the clothing itself. I was certainly not thinking of going pure white on anything other than armor pieces.

[@TheRealScience86]

Like I said, just do the same basic thing with lighter tones if that is the look you're going for.

[@Sorastro]

+NH_OPERATOR You could certainly increase the "creaminess" by reducing (or omitting) the Mechanicus Standard Grey in the base tone mix, but I do think pure Screamimg Skull would be a bit much, so I think just using a hint of MSG should give you the look you're after :)

[@pezcow23]

Hes videos are so good I trully went tru a lot of hes videos and Im becoming a patreon end of the week so I hope people try and do the same if you can aforth to. Not only is hes tips easy to understand and a well done job......you can clearly see how good he is with the camera and sound.... I do not know the technical term of people that do camera and sound work for a living but you can tell the video and sound and editing is as good as the painting or even more. Sorry about my bad english. Good job sir.

[@Sorastro]

+pezcow23 Thanks so much! I do believe that the video production is as much a work of art as the actual figure being painted, so I appreciate your compliments :)

[@pezcow23]

The video production is so good! Good job sir hopefully we can support you always so you can keep doing this. Thank you!

[@JimPryde]

As always, thanks for a great tutorial. Can Lahmian Medium be substituted for the Vallejo Glaze Medium, or are there particular properties that make the Vallejo a better choice for wet blending?

[@Sorastro]

Thanks Jim! The main reason I like to use the glaze medium when wet blending is because it has retarder in which slows the drying time (giving us more time to work with the paint on the mini) 😀

[@MeatsOfEvil]

@Sorastro I doubt if you'll see this but if you somehow do - why start with the nuln oil all over the trooper? I followed along and it seemed like you just painted over everything that the shade hit except for the eyes

[@Sorastro]

Hey there! Gosh it was so long ago, I can't really remember what I did tbh! I guess I just wanted an easy way to darken the recesses.. 🙂

[@mikeljokinecheveste1287]

Some top notch whites, great job.

[@Sorastro]

+Mikel Jokin Echeveste Cheers Mikel! :)

[@GodDamnMonkeys1]

Another helpful video thank you

[@Sorastro]

Thanks Anthony! I'm glad you found it useful :)

[@unrelentingsloth7232]

Sorastro, first off big fan and love watching your work. I was just wondering if your going to be getting into the Fallout Wasteland Warfare once it comes out. Keep up the good work!

[@Sorastro]

Thank you! I'm afraid my schedule is pretty full at the moment so I won't be covering FWW. :)

[@witherwolf3316]

This guide is great! I think I'm going to use it to help me paint up the Star Wars: Legion Blizzard Force Starter Pack, but this makes me curious, do you have any tips for painting the Hoth Defender rebels? I think maybe the most difficult part is figuring out the right blend for the beige parts of their uniforms.

[@Sorastro]

Thanks a lot! This PDF guide for the Tauntaun riders might give you some ideas: sorastro.com/2023/05/04/tauntaun-riders-pdf-painting-guide/ 😀

[@witherwolf3316]

@@Sorastro This is very helpful, thank you!

[@AGuysBlues]

Hey Sorastro, is the wet blending on the cloak done with the brush loaded with water, or are you simply mixing the existing paint (that's already on the model) while it's still wet enough?

[@Sorastro]

Hi there! After laying down the tones I usually give the brush a quick rinse and a wipe, so it's damp but not too saturated with water :)

[@GaetanFoulont]

Awesome work ! Why you didnt use a wet pallet ?

[@Sorastro]

Thanks Gaetan! For simple paint jobs like this where I'm not doing much mixing I might use a standard palette. I also like to occasionally show that you don't have to use a wet palette in order to paint to a good table-top standard. :)

[@Princesita9123]

Hi Sorastro, I really love your art work and I really wanted to ask you something:) what kind of tools do you usually use when you're doing very small details? :)

[@Sorastro]

Thanks Elisa! I just use my usual Size 2 Rosemary and Co brush :)

[@douchebagg900]

So first off, I love your channel and always look forward to all your videos. I’m fairly new to this hobby and I just picked up some snowtroopers for Legion. Forgive me for my ignorance but I was wondering..would it make sense to base coat the troopers first with Zandri Dust and then with Corax White? I used the method shown for my Imperial Assault figures, and they look awesome (so thank you!) but I want the ones for Legion to have the clothing more brown, like they are on the box art. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[@Sorastro]

Thanks a lot David! I will re-think my approach to painting the Legion Snowtroopers and most likely present my process in the form of a visual guide on my website (sorastro.com) when I get round to painting them :)

[@RedeyeX23]

i'm always amazed by how you use colours for mixing , does glaze medium help with paint drying and feathering ?

[@Sorastro]

+Jon Simpson Hi Jon! The glaze medium definitely helps to slow the drying time, so it does allow more time to manipulate the paint on the mini (feathering etc) :)

[@RedeyeX23]

Sorastro's Painting i actually had a go at blending last night doing this , surprisingly easy . i have seen you demonstrate some great techniques on your channel, thanks for a job well done. i just wish i had your handle of colour ;)

[@HarzerMichael]

Would you (Sorastro or anybody else who's tried out both paints) recommend Valhallan Blizzard or Mourn Mountain Snow if you had to decide between them for all snow-themed miniatures?

[@Sorastro]

Hi HarzerMichael! Valhallan Blizzard definitely gets my vote :)

[@HarzerMichael]

Thanks very much for, Sorastro! Michael

[@soldierofthecross3410]

How long do you wait for the wash to dry? I've read it can take 24 to 48 hours. Do you wait that long?

[@Sorastro]

Hi! Oo no.. it usually takes 5 minutes or so - sometimes less if I place the mini in front of a fan :)

[@soldierofthecross3410]

Sorastro's Painting Oh good, I don't think I would have the patience to wait 24 hours haha. Thanks for the reply :)

[@EdGrzetich]

You make it look…all too easy. Thanks.

[@Sorastro]

Lol Ed - thanks :)

[@PetrSvoren]

Any play to cover the upcoming Game of Thrones miniatures game?

[@Sorastro]

Hi Petr! There's a good chance you might see something from me for it :)

[@theescottiep]

I'm not too familiar with the Lahmian Medium. What does it do exactly?

[@Sorastro]

Hi Scott! It's just the non-pigment bit of the paints. Some people like to use it to thin all of their paints (I just use water) but I do like to use it to thin the Shades as it helps them retain their surface tension and become less prone to leaving "coffee stains". :)

[@theescottiep]

Perfect! Thank you so much for the answer! I'm about to start painting for the first time, and I'm going to use my Arcadia Quest miniatures, so I'm going through all of your videos and trying to understand more of the techniques and why you do what you do, so I can plan better for models you don't have videos on.

[@Sorastro]

No problem! Good luck with the AQ minis - I've been dying to paint them for ages but just haven't found the time :)

[@DarkRavenGuard]

I was wondering, what is the white spray on primer that you use

[@Sorastro]

+DarkRavenGuard Hi! For these I used Vallejo's white primer applied with an airbrush :)

[@davidcallier9679]

As I am lacking an airbrush, would you recommend the Citadel Miniatures white rattle-can primer, or something else?

[@Sorastro]

Hi David! I do like Citadel's Corax White spray, It isn't a true white (it's a very pale grey) but I like the fine coverage it provides. :)

[@davidcallier9679]

Thanks. :) If I was looking for the best pure white spray (for Stormtroopers etc.) then what would you suggest?

[@Standby_JRB]

Watching this makes me want to never paint my own figures cause i know i'll never have them look as good as they do in these videos!

[@Sorastro]

Hey Jon! I bet they'll look 10X better than when they're unpainted :)

[@drbasseri]

Anyone else using this guide for Star Wars Legion? Models look almost identical... lol

[@Sorastro]

Ha ha, they do! I did an PDF guide for the Legion ones few years back, actually: sorastro.com/2018/08/16/snowtroopers-pdf-guide/ 😁

[@drbasseri]

@@Sorastro you're the best. I got a suggestion that might not be possible; can you make a link to all the PDF's from your website so we can peruse the files based on the game? Like a Legion file set, Warhammer file set, etc

[@Sorastro]

@@drbasseri That's a great idea! I'll see what I can do.. 😀