How Long Does It Take to Paint a Warhammer Army?

A battle-ready 2000-point army takes 40 to 100 hours depending on the army and your painting speed. A Combat Patrol takes 10 to 20 hours. These estimates assume a solid tabletop standard with base colours, a wash, and basic basing. Speed painting techniques can cut these times significantly, while parade-ready painting can double or triple them.

How Long Does It Take to Paint Different Warhammer Armies?

Painting time varies dramatically between factions based on model count, detail level, and colour scheme complexity. Here is a realistic breakdown for a 2000-point army painted to battle-ready standard.

Fastest Armies to Paint (20 to 40 hours)

Imperial Knights take 20 to 35 hours for 4 to 6 models. Each Knight is a large centrepiece model, but the flat armour panels take paint quickly, especially with an airbrush. With only a handful of models, you can have a fully painted army in a few weekends.

Chaos Knights take 25 to 40 hours for 4 to 8 models. Similar to Imperial Knights but the Chaos aesthetic with spikes, mutations, and weathering adds some additional detail work.

Adeptus Custodes take 25 to 40 hours for 15 to 25 models. The iconic gold armour is achievable with spray primer and a wash, making Custodes one of the fastest armies to paint to a good standard despite their elite appearance.

Medium Painting Time (40 to 70 hours)

Space Marines take 40 to 65 hours for 30 to 50 models. Power armour takes paint well and most chapter colour schemes use 2 to 3 main colours. The modular nature of Marine kits means painting can be done efficiently in sub-assemblies.

Necrons take 35 to 55 hours for 35 to 60 models. Necrons are famously fast to paint — spray silver, apply a wash, pick out details, and add glowing effects. A basic Necron scheme can be completed very quickly.

Death Guard take 45 to 70 hours for 30 to 50 models. The grimy aesthetic of Death Guard is forgiving of imprecise painting, and washes do heavy lifting on the detailed armour. However, the organic mutations and tentacles add detail work.

Thousand Sons take 45 to 65 hours for 30 to 45 models. The ornate armour trim is time-consuming but the models look stunning when finished. Batch painting Rubric Marines is efficient.

Longest Painting Time (70 to 150+ hours)

Astra Militarum take 80 to 150 hours for 60 to 120 models. The sheer volume of infantry is the main time sink. Each Guardsman is relatively simple to paint, but painting 60 to 80 of them to a consistent standard takes considerable time and patience.

Tyranids (horde builds) take 70 to 130 hours for 60 to 100 models. Contrast paints work exceptionally well on Tyranid flesh, but the model count in swarm builds makes this a lengthy project.

Orks take 80 to 140 hours for 50 to 100 models. Ork models are characterful with lots of individual details. The saving grace is that a rougher painting style actually suits the faction’s aesthetic.

Aeldari take 60 to 100 hours for 35 to 60 models. The smooth, clean lines of Eldar armour demand precise painting, and many schemes use contrasting gem-like colours that require careful application.

How Long Does Each Painting Standard Take?

The time estimates above assume battle-ready standard. Here is how painting time changes at different quality levels.

Primer Only (2 to 5 hours for a full army)

Spraying your entire army with a single colour primer gives you a unified look with minimal effort. While this is not truly painted, it looks far better than bare grey plastic on the table. A black or coloured primer that matches your army’s dominant colour is a common shortcut for getting models game-ready fast.

Speed Paint or Slap Chop (15 to 40 hours for a full army)

The slap chop method involves priming black, drybrushing white or grey to create highlights, then applying Contrast or Speed Paints that provide colour, shading, and highlights in a single coat. This technique can produce surprisingly good results in a fraction of normal painting time. Many competitive players use this approach to get armies table-ready quickly.

Battle Ready (40 to 100 hours for a full army)

Battle ready is the standard most hobbyists aim for. It involves applying base colours to all major areas, applying a wash for shading, cleaning up base colours, and painting the base. This produces a model that looks good on the table and at arm’s length. Most tournament painting requirements are set at this level — typically defined as three colours and a painted base.

Parade Ready (100 to 300+ hours for a full army)

Parade ready involves everything in battle ready plus edge highlights, layered blending, freehand details, weathering effects, custom bases, and other advanced techniques. This is the level you see in White Dwarf magazine photos and painting competition entries. Achieving this standard across an entire army is a massive commitment that most hobbyists reserve for special centrepiece models rather than every rank-and-file trooper.

How Can You Speed Up Painting a Warhammer Army?

If the time estimates above feel daunting, there are many proven techniques to paint faster without significantly sacrificing quality.

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Batch Painting

Paint the same colour on all models of the same type before moving to the next colour. For example, paint all Space Marine helmets red across 10 models, then all the weapons on all 10, then all the details. This is faster than completing one model at a time because you reduce the number of colour changes and your brush stays loaded with the same paint for longer. Batch painting 5 to 10 models at a time is the sweet spot — larger batches become tedious.

Sub-Assembly Painting

Paint certain parts before fully assembling the model. For example, paint a Space Marine’s body and bolt rifle separately, then glue them together. This gives you better access to hard-to-reach areas and prevents the frustration of trying to paint behind a weapon or arm. However, be careful not to over-complicate your sub-assemblies or you will spend more time managing parts than painting.

Contrast and Speed Paints

Games Workshop’s Contrast paints and Army Painter’s Speed Paints apply base colour, shade, and highlight in a single coat over a light primer. These products have revolutionised army painting, allowing hobbyists to achieve tabletop-quality results in a fraction of the time. They work especially well on organic textures like skin, fur, cloth, and Tyranid chitin.

Drybrushing

Drybrushing is a fast technique that highlights raised surfaces by wiping most of the paint off your brush and lightly brushing across the model. It produces quick, effective highlights on textured surfaces like fur, stone, chain mail, and dry earth. While not as smooth as traditional layering, drybrushing is dramatically faster and looks great at tabletop distance.

Airbrush

An airbrush is a significant investment (100 to 200 pounds for a good setup) but dramatically speeds up certain painting tasks. Base coating, priming, and creating smooth gradients are all faster with an airbrush. For large models like vehicles and Knights, an airbrush can cut painting time by 50 percent or more. For infantry-heavy armies, the time savings are less dramatic but still meaningful.

What Is a Realistic Painting Schedule?

Here are realistic timelines for completing different army sizes, assuming you paint for 1 to 2 hours per session, 3 to 4 sessions per week.

A Combat Patrol of 15 to 25 models at battle-ready standard takes 2 to 4 weeks. A 1000-point Incursion force takes 4 to 8 weeks. A 2000-point Strike Force army takes 8 to 20 weeks depending on faction and painting speed. A 2000-point army at parade-ready standard takes 6 to 12 months or more.

These timelines assume consistent painting. In reality, most hobbyists have periods of intense painting followed by breaks. The total hours remain the same, but the calendar time may stretch longer. This is completely normal and healthy — painting burnout is real, and taking breaks keeps the hobby enjoyable.

Do You Have to Paint Your Entire Army at Once?

No, and you probably should not try. The most effective approach is to paint in stages. Start with a Combat Patrol sized force — enough to start playing games while you paint the rest. Add units gradually, painting each new addition before moving to the next purchase.

This approach has multiple benefits. You start playing sooner. You avoid the overwhelming feeling of staring at 100 unpainted models. Each completed unit feels like an achievement. Your painting improves over time, so later units will look better than earlier ones. And you can adjust your spending based on what you enjoy playing with rather than buying everything at once.

Should You Pay for Commission Painting?

If you love gaming but dislike painting, professional commission painting services can paint your army for you. Costs vary significantly. Basic tabletop standard typically runs 5 to 15 pounds per infantry model and 30 to 80 pounds per vehicle or large model. High-quality display painting can cost 30 to 100 pounds or more per infantry model.

A full 2000-point Space Marine army commission painted to tabletop standard might cost 300 to 600 pounds on top of the model costs. This is expensive but provides a fully painted army without the time investment. Many hobbyists commission paint their less-interesting units like basic troops while enjoying painting their characters and centrepiece models themselves.

Summary — Painting Time Expectations

A Combat Patrol takes 10 to 20 hours at battle-ready standard. A 2000-point army takes 40 to 100 hours depending on faction. Speed painting techniques can reduce these times by 30 to 50 percent. Parade-ready painting doubles or triples the time. Most hobbyists painting 4 to 8 hours per week can complete a 2000-point army in 2 to 5 months.

The most important advice is to not let painting time discourage you from starting. Paint what you enjoy, at whatever pace works for you. An imperfectly painted army on the table is infinitely more enjoyable than a perfectly planned army still in the box. Start with one model, then a unit, then a Combat Patrol, and before you know it you will have a fully painted army ready for battle.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to paint one Warhammer model?

A single infantry model usually takes 30 minutes to 2 hours at battle-ready standard, depending on detail and technique. Characters often take 3 to 6 hours, and large monsters, vehicles or Knights can take 5 to 15 hours or more. Batch painting a whole unit together brings the time per model down noticeably compared with finishing one at a time.

How long does it take to paint a 1000 point army?

Roughly 20 to 50 hours at battle-ready standard, sitting between a Combat Patrol (10 to 20 hours) and a full 2,000-point army (40 to 100 hours). Elite factions like Custodes or Knights sit at the low end, while horde armies such as Orks or Astra Militarum sit at the high end. Painting a few hours a week, that is about 4 to 8 weeks.

Do you have to paint your Warhammer army to play?

No. Casual games, store nights and learning games are happy for you to play with unpainted or primed models. Many tournaments and some organised events do require a fully painted army, usually to a battle-ready standard of at least three colours and a finished base, so check the event pack. Painting in stages lets you play while your army comes together.

How Long Does It Take to Paint a Warhammer Army?