Fixing BAD Games Workshop Minis with PAINT! 

I feel sometimes models just need a good painter for their display image since some of those models are actually pretty good

Honestly, I got the box of catachans yesterday and I gotta say they're mich better than the painted examples make them out to be, to be fair, a few of their faces look weird (a bit like rocky after his boxing match) but the rest are superb Bitz

imo the catachan look alright, the issue is that the GW paintjob on the website is one of the worst of any of their display pieces i am NOT a good painter and my catachan look better then theirs do

I like the fact that each of the human factions all represent a different country in some way in terms of aesthetic

I love the catachan. They're my main army, and although the sculpts are certainly old, a whole army of them still looks pretty darn good.

I always get a real Small Soldiers vibe from these old Catachans

Out of every single RU-vidr I've seen that does paint jobs you are the most thorough and the most detailed and you also talk about it step by step and show your work. Keep it up !

Me: *smiling, taking notes to use for use on my SPQR Gaul army. Jay: . . . not some dumb historical. Me: . . . . now how's that supposed to make me feel.

That skin technique is incredible. Ive lost all my catachans somehow :(

This hit me right in the "childhood" I used to play eldar and my friend played catachans, to see these upgraded almost 20 years on is fantastic. Great work!

3:55 Correction: _Casting_ has come a long way. The sculptors were kind of restricted by the limitations of spin-casting metal. If it won't cast cheap and easy, it's a non-starter even if it looks great.

The old IG metals are really cool. I almost bought a lot of Valhallan's a few years back, but they were expensive. They had everything though, all of the heavy weapons teams, etc. If you look out on eBay, you often find bundles of the metal stuff.

Im trying to do the same but with the Armaggedon Steel Legion. lovely models for a perfect Veteran guardsmen Kill team.

The metal Catachan snipers were the first models I painted and when I started. Ah memories

I love the metals, they have proper deltoid and traps definition. They look proper muscular, where as the plastic guys just look a little inflated, no traps, odd proportions and a horrible arm/shoulder seam. They could have had the glue joint be where the arm meets the clothing of the tank top, but instead it's right on the flesh of the shoulder... I'd green stuff fix the issue if it was just one mini and not the entire horde.

I just bought a box of catachan fighters this week! I fell in love with their Derpy faces, so I knew I had to integrate them into my custom Warhammer setting. I wasn’t planning on including the Militarium, but the idea of these commandos trekking through the titanic forests of Sagittarius II was too cool to pass up. That’s why I’m here actually! I wanna get some ideas on how to go about customizing them for the setting! I’m gonna be retrofitting their jungle attire to be more like scrap/junked Guardsman armor. I’m gonna be splitting them into 4 unified micro-factions; though they’ll all be on the same side, their attire and personalities will be different. Some will get a blood red paint job, some will get a neon blue paint job, some will get a forest paint job, and some will get more serious military paint jobs. Idk why I’m really telling all this, I think I’m just excited! Anyways, I’ll be using this video as a guide! So thank you! :)

the jungle fighters i got from hardcore miniatures are a great substitute catachan. and you get terry crews as a radioman

Turd well polished. Good job, Jay!

Fun story: I started collecting miniatures when i was 12 or so. I never got to go in person to the gamestore, and a friend would get them for me. Looking back i think he stole them for me, and used my cash for whatever he wanted. I painted for a few years, but felt like it was "too nerdy", so i stopped. Anyways, I started up an imperial guard army sometime around 2003 (got back from fighting in Iraq and had some extra cash). Well needless to say, that didnt hold my attention long then either, and I gave up after getting some paint on a few models. I've carted them around since then, moving about 20 times. I just pulled them out to go through them last night, and look who had the same models. Thank you for doing this as i am going to be taking on them soon.

These came out great! I see Rambo Plissken of The Bug Stompers, ready to endanger some species 👍😁

I LOVE the old metal model, and I would love to see a video where you tackle on a squad of this specific metal range ! great video as always !

as an Australian i can confirm that this is what it is like in Australia

I admit, if I hadn't already had a number of Cadians.... my Guard army would have been Catachans, given their big influence was Vietnam-era US Marines... And being a Marine veteran myself, well.... not much of a stretch as to why. :P

Nice Paintjob for the Catachan. The funny thing when comparing Space Marines and Astra Militarum is. While their is one modelrange for all Marines, each chapter is restricted to basicly 4 Battlecompanies in the lore (+Veterans, Reserve and Scout Companies) while with Astra Militarum we have (or had) so many Modelranges and each Range could have thousands of armies. Astra Militarum is way more lorefrendly when creating your own army.

I'd have painted the gun handle and butt a dark brown to give it some contrast on the gun and make it more in line with the modern look from Rambo/Predator/etc. And at least gotta try the eyes.

Those GW-painted photos may look ridiculous now, but I remember when they first came out - and we were all "What the heck is this goofiness?" then too. I never got any of them - the one time I was in a Guard mood, I repainted my old Escher gang as the command team of a Xenonia regiment, but just for display, they never had an army to go with them - but those were the days of plastic minis suddenly being awesome poseable multi-part kits like the 3rd edition Marines, rather than boring low-detail junk compared to the metal minis as they'd been earlier, so it's nice to see even this lesser example get some love, and turn out looking pretty respectable after all.

Catachans we’re my first army when I was a kid. Still love them. I can’t believe the metal sniper sculpts are still in production. I still have a box of the last chancers. This inspires me to bust them out for sure.

Catachans, my First Army

when he zooms in into the first catachan in the image and puts a screaming sound makes me laugh

I can’t say I’m a fan of Warhammer, but there’s some serious talent and hard work on display here!

Painted a space marine scout after watching this filled with hope. Dreams crushed.

Damn dude. Tryin real hard not to fall in love with basic guardsmen at this point. So many badass options.

I now have a template to go off of. First time in 40K, chose Catachan well because they look cool and I like the lore a lot. Thanks for the video!

this is gonna be an all-timer warhammer vid

I like that you show an interest in the original metal figures Jay. Each metal fig has is a joy for me to paint. Soon, they'll be unobtainum. Also, your paint jobs are terrific, I dig them (especially your Malifaux figs) but...few gun finishes are just a silver metalic with highlights. There are many awesome colors to paint a future gun, dark green composite stock for example, blued barrels, or gray barrel, etc....jmo. Great vid, can't wait to see your Catachan Kill Team complete. 👍

Don't forget Wargames Atlantic, who are personally reviving multiple defunct Guard regiments in glorious, cheap plastic. For when you _actually_ want to field tons of troops, but don't have a 3d printer and don't want to bankrupt yourself on pre-made resin minis. Between their dedicated "Death Fields" kits, their various historical kits, and the "Death Fields weapon sprue", there are a wide range of armies you could field using _just_ WA's products. (Though you only sometimes get army-appropriate parts for commanders and the like, so you might still need to source these from Anvil or Victoria; unless it's the "Les Grognards", in which case the Heavy Weapons & Support kit has you covered).

Apart from the fact that they don't always fit together well, I like the way the Catachan kit uses weapons. It gives more freedom on how to build the model, means you can use the weapons as decoration, and makes it easier to kitbash alternative loadouts. The worst thing about the Jungle Fighters kit is that dome of the right arms are completely flat on the inside of the upper arm. (The other Catachan kits don't have this problem). My technique for painting them is: 1: optional Bugman's basecoat (depending on what colour I primed them). 2: basecoat in a flesh colour (Cadian or Kislev). 3: glaze with Reikland Flesh Shade. 4: repeat step 3 depending on how dark I want the skin colour. 5: layer or drybrush with flesh colour. Depending on how many coats of wash you use, and what combination of Cadian and Kislev you use, that gives a good range of white, tanned, or brown skin colours. For darker skin, I use the same basic method but using Agrax wash and varying combinations of Catachan Flesh, Mournfang, and Bugman's.

Personally I think the older sprues GW still sell are some of the better ones. Maybe nostalgia, maybe just not being interested in the busier designs of new models, but I think they're all great. They're charming.

I have loads of these. I painted them as a penal legion with orange pants and white T-shirts. Each squad as a old lead guardsman in a greatcoat painted as a Sergeant / Prison Guard

I still miss all the other regiments, but thankfully you are right, the 3rd party manufacturers took out up our banner.

Those screams cracked me up every time xD

You did awesome they look so much better than the official website paint job.

I really enjoyed watching this and seeing the potential. Been looking at my LOTR metal figs from 20 years ago and wondering how some of them will shake out when I apply my new paint skills to them.

Lol I love how the white box is old mobiles when 1/2 of a night haunt armies come in 3 labels boxes.

How man times do I have to teach you this lesson old man!!! Paint some commissars!

I will always love those chunky catachan sculpts

Horrors long forgotten = obsolete plastic toys. I love the hyperbole!

DUDE your painting is always so inspiring!!!

you forgot that Sly Marbo is standing above audrey 2 from little shop of horrors

I know this is an old vid..but in case anyone needs to know the style the skin is painted in the gw pics is a specific style that has been used deliberately in historicals for years to emphasize physical proportions when grouped. The idea was it made for more visual interest on table rather than close up

The Catachans are a big part in the Indomitus Crusade story with Guilliman stopping at Catachan to grab Strakken and a bunch of Jungle Fighter Regiments after they had beaten back a chaos incursion. The Catachan command box and Heavy weapons teams aren't bad. The base infantry box definitely needs an update and a Catachan Devils Killteam box would be an awesome addition to the line. Until GW gives the Floristralians...Errr Catachans some love, I am going to stick with 3rd party like Reptilian Overlords Spacenam and Anvil Industries bits to field my jungle fighters...Until that is, I get this sculpting thing mastered and make my own stls lol Great work on the classic minis. very much an improvement

Man those sudden endings still give me whiplash lol

Zenethal and contrast paints are for real the most satisfying way to paint

These look amazing!

I love how they came out!

this kit is brilliant

I'm a simple guy, every time that face and stock scream appeared, I laughed. Also that was a great paint job!

the grenade launcher is a rare example of GW doing female sculpts for armies other than Eldar and SoB. In reality, they should have male and female options for all their guard kits.

Lovely paint job! I've always like the Catachan but agree the models do need an update. It would be great to get another video if you do get more or do that kill team.

They need to do with the Guard what they did with Space marines - Come up with a generic 'base form' (Cadians), and then make 'upgrade packs' like they do with the various unique chapter bits for Primaris. This way, they'll have a 'core range' that can cover everything, but they can do the add-on stuff much more cheaply, with upgrades rather than full kits (apart from the occasional special character or whatever).

This is soo good almost mesmerized

Sweet vid. I was thinking of getting some jungle fighters.

I saw Catachans, I gasped and clicked! I’m excited! (Addition now that I’ve finished the video.) This is making me think of snapping my boys off their lame bases and doing them your style. And I definitely need to go back on their skin. Not that I was a crap painter, I did quite good, but I’ve been painting more since and I have more skills to apply. Seeing this has given me more inspiration to go back to them. But for now I’ll continue to paint my original character jungle boy’s most hated faction, the Drukhari. Since I have the Rusty Nurgling to compete in.

Love them old sculpts. Wish I could buy one of those old 20 model boxes and have a relaxing evening of assembling but there is so much other stuff to buy and paint :P

The Catachan paint job by GW is so unbelievably funny.

They look great!!

I recently started Catachan and after thinking about it, I suspect that GW only keeps them around because they're a predominantly plastic range while all the culled regiments were metal.

Im still happy that I have my old original Pretorian Models

I don’t know, but I love these guys!!!!

They look awesome!! I love Catachans!!

A big issue with the Catachan models is most people don't understand how to pose modular minis. They make the absolute goofiest poses ever and for some reason aren't bothered by it.

Fun fact In the lore they specifically say it’s easier and safer to live on a gas giant than in catachan

Looking amazing buddy

Nice work! I feel this way about the Bullgors, the paint job really doesn't help the sculpts...

They hold up much better when combined woth other kits. I'm kitbashing them with Cadian and Necromunda bits to make a Necromunda 8th army and I'm really happy with the results.

They look great!

Cadians weren't always Starship Trooper ripoffs, the metal ones were Colonial Marine ripoffs. I do hope GW comes out with 2 or 3 modular kits that can build several regiments of the Guard.

They look great especially the metal one. would love to see you do that kill team of retro catachans

Honestly I think it’s mostly the paint job on the box that makes them seem drpee but once you give them a good proper paint job like this they look really nice

I like old minis there's a charm to them that sometimes is missing in modern ones. I think the main issues is GW kind of not letting you know these are old casts on the site.

Just a note on Cadian Shock Troopers, they have been around longer than the film Starship Troopers. I’m pretty sure the metal range came out in 1993/94! Who copied who eh?

I like your paint work on these models. I prefer the plastics over the metals. I have a single box from 2001.

Truly a challenge...they were cool when they came out....just the concept rocked.... think Platoon... 👍 Well, a good job!

Catachans are awesome -- look at thename generator in the 2019 kill team, it's stuff like "snake eyes" and sh*t, please do show us your kill team and let it have a missile launcher and melta-gun just like that hapless squad eaten by a lictor in the 2nd edition tyranids codex! Also great video and an interesting lesson in how more contrast is *not* necessarily a good thing after all, thanks a lot

'Not some dumb historical'. You cheeky boy 😊

This video, more than any other, made me realise I should just suck it up and buy the damn air brush. V. enjoyable watch!

I love episodes of “Jay paints a thing”!

To be fair Cadians were before starship troopers, so they must have been ripped off of something earlier lol

1:10 - and yet they get 'upgrade sprues' of physical bits for each Loyalist Founding Legion, GW didn't even make it so that the Krieg kit could be easily used for Valhallan, Armageddon and Vostroyan regiments. And the "you can always use third party bits" is a cop-out as that forbids you from using them at most official events. Part of the high cost of the figures is the ability to use them at stores, tournaments, etc.

GW has definitely missed a trick not doing a Predator inspired Catachan Vs Striking Scorpion kill team set...

I think they came out nice. Personally, I've never been that big of a fan for Catachan; Rambo and Vasquez don't do it for me, and the same anachronistic look of them, next to other factions of the 41st millennium, just aggravates me, much like the Atillan Rough Riders. I've always preferred Cadians, but I assume since Catachan are more popular, since their rules often seem better, they'll stick around. It's a shame GW doesn't really support kit bashes and custom minis, anymore, because they could really have some diversity. Oh well.

The old catachan parts are a great source of bits for mutants. Their oversized muscles, strange proportions and awkward poses suit some misshapen renegades better than they do humans.

Fantastic paint job. Rumours are out that GW is starting to refresh IG troop lines. First Krieg, now it sounds like they are going to put out new Kasrkin models.

they came out ok i think, certainly better than the studio army.

I own thousands of Games Workshop 40k Catachan Soldiers Metal and Plastic and some recast. To make up a Female Company I had to Buy from Victoria Miniatures and some APCs and lots of Scrappers bags. I have lots of Support Armour Different Variants Of Leman Russ MBTs, lots of flamer tanks, Devil Dogs, Artillery, lots of custom support vehicles with ammo carriers, a convoy of a Royal Imperial Army Ordnance Company, a section of rough riders, not horses but Cold ones from a Dark Elf set, a Dozen of Imperial Knights, a large air wing and other units I have converted from kits, etc. I don't play the game but I love painting and converting kits, be collecting Catachan since the early 90s, I got codexs, mags, lots of ForgeWorld books, and lots of rare and one-off books, and a few with the autograph of the author, I have a major problem, I'm a disabled Army veteran as I live out of a wheelchair as I got very stuffed up back in 2008-2009 in Afghanistan, but modeling helps, and lots of people have helped me over the year, my military family, a game shop here in Australia hall of heroes, and lots of others especially Victoria Lamb a great soul. Cheers all, Bob.

They do look awesome! The sculpts are pleasing after all... next up: AoS Bullgors! Take the old 'kebab meat' PJ off the Bullgors... I've seen some PJs which make them look really nice too. But that female Catachan... she's really good!

Fun fact, the correct pronunciation is cata-can as per a white dwarf, ch like chitin, though we all still say chann like weeabos'

Cant open the box without fortune son playing in the background.

The Harakoni Warhawk regiment in me wants to point out that ain't no Elysian!

You’ve done a great job on those mate :)