Staff Hobby – Mandalorian Warriors

Across the galaxy, Mandalorians are known for their distinctive armor and for hobbyists, that legacy creates an exciting opportunity. Every plate of armor, every color choice, every weathered edge, and every personal marking can become part of a larger story on the tabletop.

In this Atomic Mass Transmission, members of the studio team share their own approaches to painting miniatures from the Mandalorian Battle Force for Star Wars™: Legion. From bold synth wave colors to soft rose white armor, these projects show how the hobby side of the game can turn familiar warriors into something deeply personal, expressive, and unique to each player’s collection.

Will Shick – VP Creative Development & Strategy
Something I’ve really begun to embrace in the last couple of years in my hobby journey is becoming more willing to stretch my skills and embrace “failure” not just as part of the painting process, but as something to be enjoyed and appreciated. I know that may sound weird, but stick with me for a second.

So many times, I would see an out of the ordinary style or technique and think to myself, “Boy, that would be awesome to try, but I don’t want to waste time on something that might not work out.”

My concern wasn’t necessarily that the things I learned by trying a new style or technique wouldn’t be rewarding or valuable to my overall improvement as a painter and hobbyist. Instead, I was worried that having something “not work out” would delay or hinder my ability to enjoy the gaming part of the hobby.

Part of this is that I found myself expecting a certain standard for what I put on the table. My enjoyment of improving my hobby skills had, in some ways, become a prison. I had lost sight of the truth that the best gaming miniature you can have is the last one you painted. As Dallas often says, “The best paint color is the color Done.”

With the opportunity to paint just a couple of early samples of the Mandalorian miniatures, I had an incredible chance to break myself out of this self-inflicted hobby prison. Once the frames were in my hands, I knew exactly what I wanted to try. I had been enamored with several synth wave schemes I had seen from other painters. The bold, vivid colors, wild gradients, and retro feel all seemed tailor made for the Mandalorians.

I also relished the idea of how a synth wave style would push me outside of my comfort zone, forcing me to focus on aspects of painting that I knew weren’t exactly my forte.

In the end, while these two miniatures definitely took more time than I would ever feel comfortable with if I were trying to knock out an entire army, the experience was every bit as fun and enjoyable as I had hoped. And while I am super happy with the end results, what I love most is seeing the improvement between just these two miniatures as I became more confident and comfortable with the demands of the style.

Being able to work with such bold and striking colors, full of saturation and attitude, was also a blast and so dramatically different from anything I’ve ever really done before. I don’t think I will be fielding a full synth wave Mandalorian army anytime soon, but I am absolutely going to apply this style to more of my hobby projects in the future.

Dallas Kemp – Creative Director
I think about hobby a lot and what is unique to this hobby. What the miniature hobby structure provides that other hobbies do not, and what that means for us miniature hobby enthusiasts. One of the primary differences is customization of unparalleled depth. The ability to truly make the miniature “yours” and have your force stand out on the table amongst its peers.

That is so fascinating to me and what really drew me into this journey so long ago. Even when my friends were better painters and able to do much cooler conversions on the minis, I felt happy about my miniatures next to them because it was my idea, time, and hard work all focused into these tiny warriors on the table. I did it, and that was enough.

Now, with the Mandalorian Battle Force, I got inspired all over again. I wanted to paint something unique and hopefully attempt something I had never tried before, pushing myself into places I had not gone.

The goal was not to paint these to the highest level possible, but to take the time to make them clean and cool without busting the bank on time. I started playing with a few ideas and testing them out on paper to see what worked. I wanted to avoid red, black, or green for this project, and I kind of wanted to avoid white.

Weirdly…I landed on white. But a rose white felt unique and different, and it was something I had never painted before.

I started with a warm white, Heavy Warm White from Monument to be precise, and worked in some pink and brown tones to create shades and tones on the armor. Then I used a pinch of pure white on the edges to define the armor’s sharp lines. For the undersuit, I felt a very neutral brown would be the most appropriate.

I once again went back to some sketch paper and laid out a bit of the armor’s tones. I needed to pick a color for the capes and made a few swatches next to the armor color to see what felt best. The winner was a nice desert green. Not too saturated or too dull, and shaded with purple to bring the warmth back to it.

The metals were a cold gold using Monument’s Magnesium and some silver tinges. All that was left was details, rocket plumes, and basing!

The end result was quite satisfying and feels very distinct on the table. I guess I need to name my Mandalorian clan now. Once again, that personal touch and the ability to take part in a narrative with your friends and community is what makes this hobby so special. Already, new ideas for Mandalorians are popping up in my mind…maybe we will see if we can explore those soon.

The Mandalorian Battle Force offers a powerful canvas for hobbyists to explore color, identity, and storytelling through their miniatures. Whether you are building a unified clan, experimenting with a new painting technique, or simply finding the color scheme that feels right to you, every choice adds another layer to the force you bring to the battlefield.

How will your Mandalorians stand apart on the tabletop? Share your own armor schemes, clan inspirations, and hobby experiments with us in the comments.

Until next time,

Atomic Mass Games