My Warhammer 40k Kill Teams and board

I’ve been painting 40k terrain for a couple of years, with an eye to making pieces usable in both 40k and Kill Team, and I’ve started one actual KT (Tyranids) and stashed unopened boxes for a couple more. But on March 14, 2023, Lark and I made a plan: We each pick out a KT box, I paint them, I also paint the rest of the terrain we need, and then we play!

Lark picked Novitiates and I picked Corsair Voidscarred, both of which will challenge me to finally attempt painting eyes with pupils. Looking at example KT boards, I think I’m only short 1-2 larger pieces, maybe a shipping container or two, and a handful of scatter terrain pieces.

For now, this page is just a stub. As I marshal my thoughts and get rolling, I’ll flesh it out with color guides, photos of a couple board layouts, etc.

Space fascism vs. actual fascism

There are enough douchebags in 40k fandom that this bears noting: I don’t take anything about the Warhammer universe seriously, but in real life? Fuck Nazis, fuck fascists, fuck bigots, fuck racists, fuck sexists, fuck misogynists, and fuck hatemongers of all stripes.

40k should be an inclusive hobby, diverse and welcoming for all — except for bigots and other hateful fuckwits. And as Games Workshop says, if you disagree you will not be missed.

Kill Team board layouts

My terrain is a mix of Mechanicus and Manufactorum pieces, which I’ve tried to tie together into a cohesive dystopian manufacturing facility. This is one layout for my current setup.

I’ll probably expand my options down the line, but right now I can pretty much match the ideal board presented in the core rules. My main pieces are two ruined buildings, a tank-and-pipes combo piece, a sacred radiator, an L gantry with a tank under it, a furnace with a platform on top of it, and two shipping containers. I also have a handful of modular pipes, barrels, and crates to round things out.

For color guides and notes, check out my 40k terrain page.

Kill Team color guides

As always, these are based on GW’s studio color guides with a few tweaks. Nothing is drybrushed unless noted.

Barricades

Primed and base-coated with Grey Seer spray.

• Big bolts, gear assemblies, and grab handles: Leadbelcher > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > light Ironbreaker drybrush
• Everything else: Grey Seer (already in place) > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > light Ulthuan Grey drybrush > light White Scar drybrush on the high points
• Weathering:
  • Rust: Thinned-down Skrag Brown > thinned-down Fire Dragon Bright
  • Chipping and damage: Sponge on Rhinox Hide, focusing on the blasted edges and torn-away elements, but also randomly putting it everywhere that feels right

Combat gages

Primed/base-coated with Grey Seer spray.

• Background, edges, main stuff: Grey Seer (already in place) > Nuln Oil all-over wash > light Ulthuan Grey drybrush > light White Scar drybrush on the high points
• Triangles: Left side is Jokaero Orange > Troll Slayer Orange edge highlighting around the outer edges; right side is Abaddon Black > Eshin Grey edge highlighting around the outer edges
• Knife:
  • Flat of blade: Hazard strips, Averland Sunset/Abaddon Black (use Tamiya hobby tape to mask them off, 3mm for the big ones and 2mm for the small ones) > very thin Agrax Earthshade all-over wash to dial them back a bit
    • Tape the two gages together and then apply the masking tape to both sides simultaneously, so that the stripes more or less line up
  • Edge bevel: Leadbelcher > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > light Ironbreaker drybrush
• Range symbols: Just paint the flat surface, not the sides of the element. Triangle is Abaddon Black, circle is White Scar (note this is a layer paint), square is Macragge Blue, hexagon is Mephiston Red
• Weathering:
  • Rivets: To make it look like the paint has worn off, add a little Ironbreaker to the tops
  • Rust: Thinned-down Skrag Brown > thinned-down Fire Dragon Bright
  • Chipping and damage: Sponge on Rhinox Hide, focusing on the blasted edges and torn-away elements, but also randomly putting it everywhere that feels right

Novitiates color guide

Bases

• Terrain: 
• Crystals: 
• Rocks: 
• Skulls: 
• Tufts: 
• Base rims (edges): 

Models

Corsair Voidscarred color guide: the Void Tigers

I’ve got a blog post about the Void Tigers’ lore, including names and backstories for each member of the kill team.

Bases

• Terrain: 
• Crystals: 
• Rocks: 
• Skulls: 
• Tufts: 
• Base rims (edges): 

Models

Tyranids color guide

Hive Fleet Balaur is on hold while I work on Novitiates and Corsair Voidscarred. Here’s their color guide.