Painting the Nightveil Spearguards: Building a Wall of Shadow and Steel

Max

Sep 2

5 min read

Nightveil Spearguards 75mm resin display figures

A disciplined formation can be every bit as dramatic as a lone hero. The Nightveil Spearguards from the Obsidian Starfall collection are a group of five 75mm-scale poses built around that idea: spears braced, shields raised, layered armour and cloth creating a unified wall of steel. Each figure stands roughly 75mm tall plus the base, and Maximum Minis offers the poses individually or together as a full set.

Because the figures share a strong visual language, they are an excellent painting project for experimenting with consistency. The challenge is not simply painting five attractive models; it is making them look as though they belong to the same force while still giving each warrior enough variation to feel individual.

Build a Cohesive Nightveil Palette

Start by choosing three visual anchors for the whole unit: one armour colour, one cloth colour and one accent. A classic Nightveil scheme could use near-black steel, charcoal cloth and a restrained cold-blue accent. Avoid using pure black across every surface. Very dark greys, blue-blacks and muted metallics leave room for shadows and highlights, allowing the sculpted armour detail to remain readable.

For a richer alternative, try dark bronze armour with deep burgundy cloth and pale ivory markings. A colder scheme could combine gunmetal, desaturated teal and frost-grey. Whichever palette you choose, repeat the same core colours across all five poses, then vary small details such as leather, shield wear, hair, straps or individual armour panels.

Making Spears and Shields Work for You

Long weapons naturally pull the eye across a display, so use the spear shafts to reinforce the group rather than distract from it. Dark stained wood, weathered ash or almost-black shafts will keep attention on the faces and shields. A fine highlight along the upper edge can give the shafts definition without making them visually dominant.

The shields are ideal places for controlled variation. You could keep every shield identical for a formal guard unit, or introduce subtle differences in scratches, faded markings and edge wear. For chipped paint, add small irregular marks in a lighter version of the shield colour, then place a tiny dark or metallic mark inside selected chips to suggest deeper damage.

Armour: Contrast Before Complexity

At this scale, armour benefits from deliberate contrast. For dark steel, begin with a charcoal metallic or dark gunmetal, deepen the recesses, then reserve brighter steel for exposed edges, corners and areas most likely to catch light. The brightest highlight does not need to appear everywhere. A few sharp points around the helmet, shoulders, shield rim and weapon can make the entire figure feel more metallic.

If you prefer non-metallic metal, the repeated armour shapes across five poses make the set a useful practice project. Establish the same imagined light direction on every warrior. Keeping that lighting consistent will do more to unite the formation than perfectly matching every individual blend.

Cloth, Cloaks and Controlled Variety

The layered cloth gives you a softer surface to contrast against the armour. Keep the deepest folds noticeably darker than the raised areas, but avoid highlighting every crease equally. Concentrate the brightest cloth highlights on upward-facing folds and prominent edges.

One useful trick for a five-model display is to mix tiny amounts of neighbouring colours into the same base cloth tone. One cloak might lean slightly bluer, another slightly greyer, another a touch warmer. From a distance they still read as one unit, but close inspection reveals individuality.

Basing the Formation

Displayed together, the bases can tell a larger story. A continuous environment across all five models makes the unit feel intentional even when each figure stands on its own base. Broken dark stone, ash, ruined masonry or a windswept fortress floor would suit the disciplined, shadowed character of the Spearguards.

Consider repeating one small scenic element across the group: the same pale grass, fragments of the same masonry, patches of snow or a recurring rust colour. The bases do not need to physically connect. Repeated visual cues are enough to convince the eye that all five warriors occupy the same place.

Imagined Lore: The Oath at the Veiled Gate

The following is an original story prompt inspired by the models and is not official ArcaMinis lore.

The Veiled Gate had not opened in three hundred years. No army had ever crossed it, because no army knew where it stood. Hidden beneath a permanent midnight sky, the gate was defended by five warriors whose names had been surrendered when they took the Nightveil Oath.

They were not ordered to win battles. They were ordered to remain. Kings died, borders moved and the fortress above them slowly became a ruin, but the five Spearguards continued their watch. Then, on the longest night of the year, something knocked from the other side of the gate.

The first knock cracked the stone. The second extinguished every torch in the fortress. Before the third could fall, five shields locked together and five spears lowered as one.

For a display, that story could inspire subtle environmental clues: ancient stone underfoot, cold light catching the armour, or a faint unnatural glow coming from the direction the warriors face. Rather than showing the threat, let the formation tell the viewer that something terrible is just outside the frame.

A Secondary Narrative or RPG Hook

Although these 75mm figures are primarily suited to painting and display, the characters can still inspire a campaign encounter. The party discovers the Nightveil Spearguards guarding a sealed passage and initially assumes they are enemies. The real question is what lies behind them. Defeating the guards may be easy compared with surviving whatever their oath has kept imprisoned.

A more interesting solution could involve learning why the oath exists, deciding whether the gate should remain sealed, and discovering that the guards themselves may no longer remember who originally commanded them. The five warriors become a moral obstacle rather than simply another combat encounter.

Preparing and Finishing the Models

Maximum Minis supplies the Nightveil Spearguards as unpainted models printed in Grey Standard Resin. They are printed on demand, cured and supplied with supports removed, although small support remnants may remain and should be checked before finishing. Some models may require assembly; the product listing recommends cyanoacrylate-style super glue. The figures are intended for experienced modellers and are display models rather than toys.

Before priming, inspect joins and support points carefully. Cleaning those areas early will make the later painting stages much easier. Once the set is assembled and primed, painting all five in stages—armour across the whole group, then cloth, then leather and details—can help maintain colour consistency.

Create Your Own Last Line

The Nightveil Spearguards are available in five poses, sold individually or as a full set. Individual pricing starts at $35 AUD, with the full set available as a separate option on the product page. The models are sold under commercial licence from ArcaMinis and form part of the Obsidian Starfall collection.

Whether you paint them as immaculate sentinels, exhausted survivors or warriors who have stood watch for centuries, the strongest result will come from treating the five poses as parts of one visual story.