How to Paint Imperial Agents

Imperial Agents is not a single scheme, it is a collection of characters who happen to travel together: an Inquisitor and their retinue, a squad of Sisters of Silence, an Assassin, a Rogue Trader and whatever they have picked up along the way. Nobody in the force wears a uniform, which is both the appeal and the problem.

That makes it the best painting project in the Imperium for anyone who hates batch painting, and a slow one for anyone who wants an army on the table by the weekend. You are painting individuals, and each one takes as long as a character model should.

The unifying palette

Because the models have nothing in common structurally, the colours have to do the work. Pick three and use them on every model in the force:

• A black for armour, coats and bodygloves - Abaddon Black, edged Eshin Grey.
• A gold for heraldry and rosettes - Retributor Armour, Agrax Earthshade, Auric Armour Gold.
• One spot colour, almost always red - Mephiston Red shaded Agrax Earthshade and layered Evil Sunz Scarlet.

Every model gets a piece of gold and a piece of red somewhere, even if it is only a seal or a lens. That single decision turns a shelf of unrelated miniatures into a warband.

Inquisitorial retinues

The Inquisitor sets the tone. Black storm coats take Abaddon Black with a Corvus Black highlight and a final Eshin Grey edge - keep it subtle so the coat stays black. Leather in Rhinox Hide into Gorthor Brown. Bodyguards, acolytes and servo-skulls follow the same recipe.

Parchment, purity seals and books are everywhere in an Inquisitorial retinue and are worth doing properly: Zandri Dust, Agrax Earthshade, Ushabti Bone, then Screaming Skull on the curled edges. Wax seals in Khorne Red with a Wild Rider Red dot of light.

For an Ordo Malleus feel, swap the coat to Naggaroth Night; for Ordo Xenos, a bone coat over Zandri Dust looks distinctive and paints faster than black.

Sisters of Silence

The most uniform part of the force, and the fastest. Black plate as above, then gold trim on the shoulders and greaves, Mephiston Red tabards, and bone-white topknots - Zandri Dust, Seraphim Sepia, Screaming Skull, then White Scar on the tips. Skin should be pale and severe: Rakarth Flesh, Reikland Fleshshade, Pallid Wych Flesh.

Assassins

One model, one afternoon. Keep them dark and desaturated so they read as operatives rather than heroes. Bodygloves in Abaddon Black edged Dawnstone, harnesses in Leadbelcher and Nuln Oil, and a single point of colour - a green optic in Warpstone Glow into Moot Green, or a bright Runefang Steel blade edge. Synskin and hoods take a very slight blue-grey tint from The Fang in the highlight so they do not disappear against the black.

Rogue Traders and hangers-on

This is where you let the palette off the leash slightly. Rich fabrics in Kantor Blue, Naggaroth Night or Khorne Red, all shaded heavily and highlighted narrowly, with far more gold than any other model in the force. Voidsmen and crew in Mechanicus Standard Grey overalls washed Nuln Oil, which keeps them cheap and quick against their captain.

Tips and common mistakes

• Choose the three colours before you start. Retro-fitting a unifying palette to a half-painted warband never works.
• Match the basing exactly. With this force it is often the only thing every model shares.
• Do not over-highlight the black coats. Cloth wants a soft, wide highlight, not a hard edge.
• Accept the pace. These are character models. Paint them one at a time and enjoy it.