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mage.
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Home › Forums › Painting in Tabletop Gaming › Seeking advice on colour choice for ruins
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hey guys,
I’m painting up some bronze space marines and pale mint green death guard. There is terrain and ruins I want both sides to fight across, and what I have is pictured below.
What colours would people suggest I do the ruins to take the colours of the army as well as red crusty earth bases into account?
I’m really not sure whether to go with a colour that contrasts to both force, matches the base, is more subdued or vibrant or what to do. Or even if I should go complimentary
Any advice would be appreciated ?
Thanks in advance! ?


Consider who lived/worked there before they got bombed and base your colour scheme off that; then consider how long they’ve been ruined for and who, if anyone, has been squatting in them since (eg if Death Guard have been using them as a base make the metal extra rusty/corroded, stone/concrete/etc extra worn, etc).
Obviously pink! I’m sure @amachan would agree. 😉 #scnr
On the other hand if the ruins will be used on more games than just these Marines maybe make them more generic. And keep in mind what @lordofuzkulak said.
I’d like the ruins to work on various tables also
i would imagine the planet they are on has been fought over and bombed repeatedly several times over centuries or millennia and been rebuilt. So, there must be something important or strategic about the planet.
maybe it’s been bombed with something like ‘just’ Missiles to keel the surface ‘relatively’ workable
i don’t wanna go mad with death guard corruption so I’d imagine their presence is relatively new
I’d imagine survivors squatted there and it was a mining world, feudal world or fabrication world. So something with industry, and a population which is mostly a work force
As i started painting these models properly in the last month or two and committing to them then I figure it’s the opening stages of the wire and a comparable amount of time has passed, so no more than six months I guess
You’re probably better off trying to match the ruins to the colour of the boards you’re using rather than the miniatures. If you’re going to play on a board that also has a reddish colour to it then I would use the blue/black colour scheme you see on some of the box photos

I would say that this would not obscure either of your forces (the pale green or the gold) and it’s unlikely you have a blue or black background for the board so it will stand out against that too. You could always get a weathering pigment to match the board and add some dirt to them when you’re finished.
Wow!!! Very , Very , Very Cool!!! Nice!!
I think you need this thesis reflection sample
@Anonymous I think you might be right, a thesis reflection sample might be just what is needed.
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