Into the Woods: Painting Endor’s Tempest Force

There is something iconic about the way the pristine white of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps clashes against the deep greens and browns of a forest moon. For my latest project, I’ve been working through a Tempest Force themed army, and I really wanted to capture that feeling of a long-term occupation where the environment has started to leave its mark on the gear.

 

The standard squads were essential to the project, as they provide that visual baseline for the entire Tempest Force. To differentiate the units on the tabletop, I incorporated subtle squad markings—using colored stripes on the shoulder pauldrons and the vertical ridge of the forearm armor. This allows me to keep the overall look cohesive while still being able to tell my units apart in the heat of a game. I also took the opportunity to repose several of the miniatures to avoid the "clone" look that can sometimes plague large infantry forces. By carefully swapping arm sets from the upgrade expansions and slightly adjusting the head tilts, I managed to create a much more dynamic sense of movement, making it feel like each trooper is reacting individually to the dense Endor terrain rather than just repeating a single pose.

Moving up in scale, the AT-STs provided the perfect canvas for some heavy-handed environmental storytelling. I wanted these "walking tanks" to feel grounded in the terrain, so I went quite heavy on the lower legs with mud and grime. It was important to use the same technical colors I used for the infantry bases to ensure the walkers didn’t look like they were floating above the table. For the lead vehicle, I added a vertical red stripe to the faceplate to denote it as General Marquand’s command walker. Seeing the General himself shouting orders from the open hatch really brings that specific model to life and breaks up the sea of utilitarian gray.

Of course, the glue that holds this whole project together is the basing. Following the recipe I’ve established in my previous articles, I used a dense mix of dark soil and forest litter, including fine bark and dried herbs to mimic the floor of a redwood forest. I made sure to vary the heights of the ferns and tufts across the Stormtrooper squads and the massive footprints of the AT-STs. This consistency ensures that whether it's a single trooper or a massive walker, every piece of the army looks like it’s standing on the same patch of Endor.

The real challenge of this force was finding a way to integrate units that aren't traditionally associated with the forest moon. The Range Troopers were the perfect candidate for this experiment. While they are usually depicted on high-altitude, cold-weather frontiers, I realized that their heavy silhouettes and textured gear could be re-envisioned as specialized jungle survival suits. Instead of treating the collars as traditional fur, I painted them as thick, layered ghillie-style leaves. By carrying these organic greens and muddy browns down into the heavy fabric of the coats, the models seem to dissolve into the treeline. It turns them into a sort of heavy-duty frontier guard that feels like they’ve been out on long-range patrol for weeks, using their bulk not just for protection, but as a base for their own mobile camouflage.