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PAINTING·WHITE DWARF 523

Exquisite Puissance: Emperor’s Children Defiler by Jes

April 2026·p. 54

THE SHORT VERSION

Jes uses the Defiler as an early addition to a new Emperor’s Children army, starting with a sprayed metallic foundation and picking out selected brass areas before the first all-over wash. Careful drybrushing restores the exposed metal, then purple panels and pale flesh are built over that framework. Glazed highlights and purple-tinted shading give the skin a smooth, unhealthy appearance that complements the extravagant armour.

AT THE PAINTING DESK

Paints in this article

Every named colour below is searchable across the archive.

LeadbelcherBrass ScorpionNuln OilNecron CompoundPhoenician PurpleXereus PurpleGenestealer PurpleRakarth FleshReikland FleshshadeLahmian MediumPallid Wych Flesh

Only explicitly named paints used in the feature are indexed.

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Defiler Glazing

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Find this article in White Dwarf 523, p. 54.

This is an original summary. Refer to your magazine for the complete article, rules, images and painting steps.

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EditorialWD 523 · Unnumbered editorial

Paragons of Honour

The editors introduce an issue devoted to Imperial and Chaos Knights and the new Iron Warriors releases, including the redesigned Defiler. They also explain the decision to publish Jamie Farquhar’s Iron Warriors collection as a tribute following his death in 2024: his conversions had already appeared throughout the magazine’s Arks of Omen storyline, but his whole army had never received its own feature.

Warhammer 40,000Imperial Knights
April 2026Read summary
LoreWD 523 · pp. 2–13

A Tapestry of Honour

Knightly heraldry records far more than a household’s preferred colours. This illustrated primer explains how the Code Chivalric makes crests, pennants, rank stripes and campaign badges a public statement of ancestry, allegiance and individual achievement, then compares Imperial, Mechanicus and Freeblade conventions. House Terryn and House Taranis demonstrate how historical victories and changes of allegiance gradually transform a crest.

Warhammer 40,000Imperial Knights
April 2026Read summary
LoreWD 523 · pp. 3–5

Knights of the Questor Imperialis

Imperial household crests usually pair a family emblem with the Imperial aquila, expressing loyalty to both lineage and Emperor. The history of House Terryn traces its white horse from a founder’s vision through a monster-slaying victory to an oath of Imperial allegiance. Sir Monteryn’s banner illustrates how shared house devices sit beside personal campaign and kill honours, while rank stripes may even use pigments visible only through a Knight’s specialist sensors.

Warhammer 40,000Imperial Knights
April 2026Read summary