On a semi-whim, I purchased a box of necron warriors a little while ago. I intend to use necron parts for conversion work on chaos space marines to represent bionic replacements - it'll work out cheaper than using the Iron Hands box set. But having bought the box of necron warriors, I then found myself wanting to make some of them up and paint them, just to see how they'd work out.
Aims and Model.
I do like the "metallic undead" feel of the necron warriors, but wanted something other than the usual silver / chrome / rust looks that I've seen on many playing tables. So, my inspiration for this necron paint scheme comes from Dawn of War in the main part: Verdus Prime.
Painting.
The six images above show the various stages that I went through to achieve the final look. The first two (gluing the miniature together and undercoating in black) are straight forward. After letting the undercoat dry, I drybrushed the weaponry, recessed areas and primary joints (knees, elbows, etc.) in silver (image 3). I wasn't too careful here as any excess silver on other areas can readily be corrected later on. Pure skull white was then applied to the armoured surfaces (image 4). A combination of gold paint, chestnut ink and black ink was then painted on in rivulets to simulate the appearance of leaking fluids coming out from the internal workings of the necron (image 5). Additionally, the eyes were painted red and some green paint and ink was applied to the recessed areas of the weaponry and one of the tubes coming out from the gauss barrel. The bits sticking out from the base were also painted in brass. In the final step, the gauss barrel was glued in to place and given some streaks of dark green and the stone gravel on the base was drybrushed (image 6).
The image at the top of this article displays the final product in 3 orientations with the inclusion of some green scatter glued on to the base.
Evaluation.
I'm pleased with this miniature overall, especially considering this is the first necron that I've ever worked on. I like the feel of the leaking joints, perhaps sustained from battle damage. In hindsight, I think I could have added some lowlights around the rim of the white armoured portions and some chipped paint work to show darker metal underneath. Next time, I might basecoat in space wolf grey and highlight or drybrush with pure skull white. I was also sorely tempted to paint the gauss barrel in flaming reds and oranges akin to the hellblades on my bloodletters, but I was glad to have resisted.
Aims and Model.
I do like the "metallic undead" feel of the necron warriors, but wanted something other than the usual silver / chrome / rust looks that I've seen on many playing tables. So, my inspiration for this necron paint scheme comes from Dawn of War in the main part: Verdus Prime.
Painting.
The six images above show the various stages that I went through to achieve the final look. The first two (gluing the miniature together and undercoating in black) are straight forward. After letting the undercoat dry, I drybrushed the weaponry, recessed areas and primary joints (knees, elbows, etc.) in silver (image 3). I wasn't too careful here as any excess silver on other areas can readily be corrected later on. Pure skull white was then applied to the armoured surfaces (image 4). A combination of gold paint, chestnut ink and black ink was then painted on in rivulets to simulate the appearance of leaking fluids coming out from the internal workings of the necron (image 5). Additionally, the eyes were painted red and some green paint and ink was applied to the recessed areas of the weaponry and one of the tubes coming out from the gauss barrel. The bits sticking out from the base were also painted in brass. In the final step, the gauss barrel was glued in to place and given some streaks of dark green and the stone gravel on the base was drybrushed (image 6). The image at the top of this article displays the final product in 3 orientations with the inclusion of some green scatter glued on to the base.
Evaluation.
I'm pleased with this miniature overall, especially considering this is the first necron that I've ever worked on. I like the feel of the leaking joints, perhaps sustained from battle damage. In hindsight, I think I could have added some lowlights around the rim of the white armoured portions and some chipped paint work to show darker metal underneath. Next time, I might basecoat in space wolf grey and highlight or drybrush with pure skull white. I was also sorely tempted to paint the gauss barrel in flaming reds and oranges akin to the hellblades on my bloodletters, but I was glad to have resisted.
4 comments:
That is a cool paint design. I like the idea behind the grease/oil stains. Did you paint just the one or multiple models? and about how much time did it take for you on average per model. I dont know if its just been a while for me since I last painted but the necrons just seemed to take a while for me with all the small armor plating.
Hi Lach, thanks for your comments! I tend to do single miniatures or small groups at a time. For this particular necron, it was done on its own over the course of an evening (not including undercoat drying time, etc.). I reckon it was a total of something like 1.5 to 2 hours, maybe. I agree that the small armour plating takes a while to do! I think that the time is worth the result though, unless you're specifically painting to meet a tournament deadline. I like to take my time on painting, if possible, as I personally find it a good way to relax.
I think the green was a good choice too. I like the weathering from the grease and oil but would be interested to see one done up from the grey like you mentioned and having the paint chipped away too.
Hi Ron, yes - next time I'll do it a little differently, but I need to have a think about how to paint chipped paint properly ... I'm currently (re-)reading through Grey_Death's posting and others :)
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