This opulent Warhammer 40k Adeptus Custodes Land Raider tank, covered in 24 carat gilt leaf, is the work of hobby YouTuber PLASMO. PLASMO shared their step-by-step process on Sunday via a YouTube video, so that you too can dazzle your opponents with an absurdly shiny mainline battle tank.
The Adeptus Custodes are the elite guardians of the Emperor of Mankind, marching to war in ‘auramite’ armour, a made-up metal with a brilliant gold colour. While there are plenty of gold metallic paints available from Games Workshop and other manufacturers, PLASMO uses actual, 24 carat gold leaf in this model build.
While the gold leaf gets the video headline, it’s full of modelling advice for anyone who has experience painting miniatures and wants to take their tank modelling game up a notch.
Although the Custodes share the Land Raider tank with the Space Marines, and they are both genetically engineered superhumans, the two orders have different purposes and are created in different ways. Space Marines are created by implanting new organs into baseline humans, whereas each Custodes is a unique creation.
The Custodes have spent most of the 10,000 years since the Horus Heresy defending the Emperor’s throne room, and only recently joined the wider wars against the myriad Warhammer 40k factions threatening the Imperium of Man. You can discover the precise moment when they joined the fight in the Warhammer 40k book ‘Watchers of the Throne: The Emperor’s Legion’ by Chris Wraight.
You can check out PLASMO’s YouTube channel for lots more modelling videos.