What paints do I need to paint Ultramarines?
Start with four pots: Macragge Blue for the armour, then Abaddon Black, Corax White and Leadbelcher. Together they cover the armour, undersuit, helmets and metal in the Ultramarines recipe that Games Workshop's painting team published in June 2023. Add a gold and a shade next.
The six-paint Intercessors and Paints set (£18.78, in stock) holds all four and is built around the classic Ultramarines scheme from the box art. The Macragge Blue pot on its own is £2.25 and is sold out at the moment. The 10th Edition Paints + Tools set (£21.73, sold out at the moment) holds eight of the twelve recipe paints, plus the tools.
The recipe, part by part
In June 2023 the Warhammer Painting Team painted the Ultramarines Terminators from the Leviathan box and named every paint. A Terminator is a Space Marine in heavy armour, and its blue, black, white and metals show the colours of the scheme.
| Part of the model | Paint in the recipe | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| Undercoat and blue armour | Macragge Blue spray, then Macragge Blue from the pot to tidy mistakes | Spray £12.25, pot £2.25 |
| Undersuit and gun casing | Abaddon Black | £2.25 |
| Helmets | Corax White | £2.25 |
| Crux Terminatus and rocks on the base | Celestra Grey | £2.25 |
| Parchment | Wraithbone | £2.25 |
| Eye lenses and purity-seal wax | Mephiston Red | £2.25 |
| Silver metal | Leadbelcher | £2.25 |
| Gold | Retributor Armour and Balthasar Gold | Balthasar Gold £2.25; Retributor Armour: none listed |
| Shades | Agrax Earthshade on parchment and gold; Basilicanum Grey in the blue recesses | None listed as single pots |
| Helmet recesses and blue highlights | Calgar Blue thinned with Lahmian Medium; it can also highlight armour or be drybrushed | None listed |
"None listed" means we do not sell that paint as a single pot at the moment. Retributor Armour and Agrax Earthshade do come inside some of the sets below. Each pot's stock shows on its own page.
Four ways to get the paints
The recipe names twelve paints. No set holds all twelve. The table shows how many each one covers.
| Where to start | What is in the box | Recipe paints it holds |
|---|---|---|
| Intercessors and Paints | £18.78, in stock. Two Intercessors, a brush and six paints: Macragge Blue, Leadbelcher, Retributor Armour, Abaddon Black, Corax White and Mournfang Brown. | Five of twelve. No shade. |
| Paints + Tools (10th Edition) | £21.73, sold out at the moment. Clippers, mouldline scraper, starter brush and 13 paints. Our listing says the paints suit Ultramarines and Hive Fleet Leviathan Tyranids. | Eight of twelve: all but Celestra Grey, Retributor Armour, Basilicanum Grey and Calgar Blue. |
| Paints & Tools (11th Edition) | £22.83, sold out at the moment. Brush, clippers, mouldline remover and 13 paints. | Seven of twelve. It has Retributor Armour and Agrax Earthshade but not Balthasar Gold or Wraithbone. |
| Getting Started with Space Marines | £86.11, in stock. A full Combat Patrol of push-fit models, 11 paints, a brush and a texture spreader. | Seven of twelve. Its shade is Nuln Oil, not the recipe's. |
Our pick for following the recipe closely is the 10th Edition Paints + Tools set, because it holds the most recipe paints and the tools. The box carries a 10th Edition label, and the paints inside are the Citadel Colour pots now sold as Warhammer Colour. Buy the Intercessors set instead if you want two models to practise on in the right colours.
What to buy first and what to leave
- Gold next. Balthasar Gold is the gold we sell as a single pot. Retributor Armour comes in the sets above.
- A shade before any highlight. A Games Workshop painter's plan for painting a whole company of Space Marines is basecoat, shade and basing first, highlights second. The same article tells beginners to shade anyway, and names a thin coat of Nuln Oil. Nuln Oil is £3.75 and is sold out at the moment. Agrax Earthshade, a shade the recipe also uses, comes in both Paints & Tools sets.
- Spray the blue if you can. The team undercoated the Ultramarines in Macragge Blue spray (sold out at the moment), because choosing an undercoat that saves you the most work is part of the plan. The pot is for tidying up afterwards, or for the whole armour if you skip the spray.
- The finishing colours can wait. Celestra Grey (badge and rocks), Calgar Blue (highlights) and Basilicanum Grey (a recess shade on the blue) can wait until the first squad is on the table.
Common questions
Is Macragge Blue the Ultramarines colour?
It is the blue the Warhammer Painting Team used on its Ultramarines, as a spray undercoat and a pot for tidying up. The pot is £2.25 here and is sold out at the moment. The spray is £12.25.
Are Ultramarines easy to paint for a beginner?
Blue is much easier to paint than yellow, and Space Marines in general are easy, though modern kits have more small details. That matches the top replies in one r/Warhammer40k thread on this question.
How many paints does it take to paint an Ultramarine?
The Painting Team's Terminator recipe names twelve, plus two thinning mediums and a Technical paint for the base. The six-paint Intercessors set shows you can start with fewer: it holds five of the twelve and no shade.
Do I need a shade as well as the Intercessors and Paints set?
Yes, if you want the recipe's finish. None of the six paints in the Intercessors set is Agrax Earthshade, Basilicanum Grey or Nuln Oil. Nuln Oil is £3.75, is sold out at the moment, and is the shade a Games Workshop painter recommends to beginners.
What undercoat do Ultramarines need?
The painting team sprayed Macragge Blue onto the models, so the armour starts blue. The team used Grey Seer for a white-armoured model and Wraithbone for the Tyranids in the same box, so the spray follows the main colour of the model. Macragge Blue spray is £12.25, sold out at the moment.
Recipe and undercoat: Warhammer Community, 15 June 2023 (Warhammer Painting Team interview on batch-painting the Leviathan box). Paint sets: Warhammer Community, 5 July 2026, and the product listings on this shop. Painting stages and shading advice: Warhammer Community, 18 July 2025. Ease of painting: one r/Warhammer40k thread, 2026. Single-pot listings checked 29 October 2026. Prices and stock: this shop, read live.