Blissbound Warband Battleforce Painted

I just finished the Emperor’s Children Battleforce. In this post, I want to walk through the models, share some thoughts about the painting process, and show the full gallery of everything completed.

Table of Contents

Why I Wanted to Paint This Box

When the Emperor’s Children were announced, I knew I wanted to collect them as an army. The main reason was that I was very excited to paint a pink army. So I bought the launch box and largely waited for this battleforce (apart from Lucius, a Lord Kakophonist and some Fiends). Since all the other Daemon Primarchs received battleforces for Christmas, I felt it was a safe bet that Fulgrim would also get one, presumably with some additional kits. So I waited… and the wait was rewarded. With the launch box alone, this box fits perfectly into my collection.

Fulgrim

I don’t like painting snakes and I don’t like painting wings. So it’s safe to say I wasn’t overly hyped to paint Fulgrim. That’s not the model’s fault—he’s gorgeous—it’s just me.

I painted him in four sub-assemblies (snake body, torso, wings, head), and at least he went very fast.

For the armor and the Slaanesh icon, I used Retributor Gold and Runelord Brass.
The snake body (backside) was painted with Luxion Purple.
The snake body (front side) was painted with Reikland Flesh.
Both the back and front sides of the snake body were then covered with Druchii Violet.
For the wings and the membrane of the snake body, I used Terradon Turquoise.
For the “arms” of the wings, I also used Luxion Purple.
The suit beneath the armor was done with Black Templar.
The claw at the end of the snake tail as well as the cloth were done with Volupus Pink.
The spikes at the end were done with Black Legion.
Blades, the whip, and some chain pieces were done with Vallejo Mecha Color Steel.
I covered everything with Nuln Oil.
A generous drybrush with Corax White after the Nuln Oil dried.
All the gems were first painted cleanly with Corax White and then covered with Frostheart Contrast, except the gem on the shoulder piece, which I did with Flesh Tearers Red.
The blood on the open part of the snake body with the Slaanesh symbol was Blood for the Blood God.
For the skin, I used Ironrach Skin to highlight it.
The eyes were done with Phoenician Purple.

Painted Fulgrim from a slight right-front angle, highlighting cape, armor details, and blade.

Painted Fulgrim from a slight left-front angle, showing sword pose and ornate armor.

Flawless Blades

I built one squad with a single blade each and the second squad with two blades each, just for variety. These poses really did it for me, and they were good fun to assemble and paint.

All suit parts and sword handles were done with Black Templar.
The armor was done with Volupus Pink.
The cloth pieces were painted with Luxion Purple.
The skin with Cadian Fleshtone.
I then painted all the trim with Retributor Armor Gold.
For the blades, I used Vallejo Mecha Color Steel.
Additional armor details were done with Runelord Brass.
I covered all of them fully with Nuln Oil.
I followed with a drybrush of Corax White.
The blades were covered with two coats of Magos Purple.
For the skin, I used Kislev Flesh to highlight.
The liquid containers were done with Gutrippa Flesh.

Painted Flawless Blade warrior in aggressive stance with twin swords ready, front angle.

Painted Flawless Blade with two blades, viewed from a top-front angle.

Noise Marines

While I really like the Noise Marine models, I wasn’t excited to paint them again because I already painted two squads of six from the launch box. So I left them for last, and they took longer than Fulgrim and the Flawless Blades combined—but I finished them, and I still love them.

All suit parts and sonic blasters were done with Black Templar.
The armor was done with Volupus Pink.
The cloth pieces were painted with Luxion Purple.
The skin with Cadian Fleshtone.
I then painted all the trim with Retributor Armor Gold.
For the blades, I used Vallejo Mecha Color Steel.
More armor details were done with Runelord Brass.
I covered all of them fully with Nuln Oil.
I followed with a drybrush with Corax White.
The blades received two coats of Magos Purple.
For the skin, I used Kislev Flesh to highlight.
The liquid containers were painted with Gutrippa Flesh.

Painted Noise Marine with elaborate armor trim, shown from a slightly elevated front angle.

Painted Noise Marine with sonic blaster, front angle.

Favourite Details

For the entirety of the Emperor’s Children range, my favourite part has to be the pink. I don’t know what it is that excites me about it—maybe it’s because pink is used so rarely—but I just love painting pink armor. Also, the way I painted Fulgrim’s skin was fun. It seems like a perfect way to paint Nurgle-like skin too. Maybe I should consider starting a Death Guard army next?

Next steps

Transportation and a Daemon Prince are now high on the list. I plan to work on the Votann Battleforce next, but after that, I’ll consider buying a Rhino or two and the Daemon Prince—that should bring me over 2,000 points.

Painted models for this army

Epic Hero

1x Fulgrim
1x Lucius the Eternal

Characters

1x Lord Exultant
1x Lord Kakophonist

Battleline

1x Tormentors (10 miniatures)
1x Infractors (10 miniatures)

Infantry

2x Flawless Blades (3 miniatures each)
3x Noise Marines (6 miniatures each)

Beast

1x Fiends (3 miniatures)