Reference photos, colour schemes with the exact paints for every area, and finished models from other painters — everything you need to start Plague Marines for your Death Guard force.

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Every paint below links to its equivalents in other brands.

What Plague Marines looks like

Colour schemes

Death Guard — Plague Marines

Beginner · 5 areas

The core of the army and the recipe every other Death Guard kit inherits: flat green, a heavy wash, and rust doing the work a highlight would do elsewhere.

Plague armour

Basecoat the armour Basecoat — Death Guard Green over black. Uneven coverage is a feature here — it reads as grime.
Shade the whole plate All-over shade — Athonian Camoshade across everything. Unlike a clean marine, Death Guard wants the wash on the flats too.
Edge highlight sparingly Edge highlight — Nurgling Green on the plate edges, broken and interrupted rather than a continuous line.

Rusted metal

Leadbelcher Citadel
Typhus Corrosion Citadel
Ryza Rust Citadel

Basecoat the metal Basecoat
Corrode it Stipple — Typhus Corrosion stippled on unevenly — this is the single step that makes the army look like Death Guard.
Rust bloom Drybrush — Ryza Rust over the wet-looking Typhus Corrosion, concentrated at bolts and joins.

Rotted flesh

Basecoat the flesh Basecoat — Rakarth Flesh over the whole exposed area — pallid, not pink.
Shade and bruise All-over shade — Reikland Fleshshade overall, then Druchii Violet only where the flesh is distended.
Highlight and open the wounds Layer — Pallid Wych Flesh on the raised skin, Bugman’s Glow inside the splits.

Horns and bone

Basecoat the horns Basecoat
Shade into the growth rings Recess shade
Highlight the tips Layer — Karak Stone, then a spot of Screaming Skull at the very point.

Blighted base

Stirland Mud Citadel
Nurgle's Rot Citadel
Abaddon Black Citadel

Mud the base Texture — Stirland Mud thickly around the feet, thinner at the rim.
Pool the slime Detail — Nurgle's Rot in the low spots only — it is a gloss, so a little reads as standing filth and a lot reads as varnish.
Rim the base Detail

Every paint on this page

18 paints across every scheme and tutorial above. Tick what you need to build a list, or follow a paint through to find it in another brand.

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