Tyler Mengel is here with a new guide to making models look great easily, and he’s turned his attention from the Mortal Realms to the far future – specifically the aeons-old warriors of the Necrons. Take it away, Tyler.
Tyler: I’m a fan of all things undead in Warhammer Age of Sigmar, so it’s no surprise that in the 41st Millennium, I’m drawn to the Necrons. I actually used to have a full Necron army, but it’s been more than 15 years since I’ve collected them. With the new models from Indomitus, I knew it was the perfect time to jump back in.
I wanted to keep the colour scheme simple so I could paint up an army rather quickly. I thought an ancient Egyptian feel would work well – enter the teal and gold. This colour scheme is actually based on an older test model I did a long time ago. I also decided I was going to utilise sponging for some of the highlights on the metallics to speed things up and give them a suitably aged and ancient feel.
Silver
Step 1
The model is primed with Leadbelcher spray.
Step 2
It’s then given an all-over wash of a 50/50 mix of Basilicanum Grey and Contrast Medium. Make sure this doesn’t dry in any weird pools.
Step 3
Next, I drybrushed the model with Leadbelcher. I only did this on certain areas, such as the face, the top half of limbs, and hands – sections that would have light hitting them. Think of this as a selective highlight instead of an all-over drybrush.
Step 4
I then went in with Nuln Oil Gloss and picked out some of the deeper crevices. Paint this directly into these areas rather than washing all over.
Step 5
Using a piece of foam I sponged on some Stormhost Silver. I only did this on areas that would make sense for wear and tear, such as hard edges. This gives a nice worn look in a random pattern. Use this sparingly.
Step 6
Finally, all of the prominent edges were edge highlighted with Stormhost Silver. Since this guy is a Character, I picked out more edges than on units like Warriors, where I just did the face, hands, carapace on the back, and selected edges. For example, I didn’t highlight the feet on any of my Warriors, and most of their shins were left untouched as well.
Teal
Step 1
All of the teal areas were basecoated with Sotek Green. For this model I did a stripe on his head and another along the most forward edge of his carapace. On regular Necron Warriors I just did the carapace stripe.
Step 2
I then highlighted these with a mix of Sotek Green and Screaming Skull.
Step 3
I finished it off by mixing in more Screaming Skull for a final highlight on the very corners.
Gold
Step 1
All of the gold areas were basecoated with Retributor Armour. On regular Warriors I didn’t do any gold – but the more important the model, the more gold I incorporate into it. I also painted the cartouche in his chest black before doing the gold, since the gold goes on top of it.
Step 2
The gold was then washed with Agrax Earthshade.
Step 3
Next, I edge highlighted the gold with Liberator Gold.
Step 4
Lastly, I picked out all of the corners with Stormhost Silver. You want to be very selective with this so it doesn’t overwhelm the gold.
Weathering
I wanted the teal to look beaten up and aged, so I used some Leadbelcher with a little bit of Abaddon Black mixed in to ‘chip’ up the teal. Just focus on areas that would make sense for damage. Try to be random, vary it up – and less is definitely more.
Black
Step 1
All of the black areas were basecoated with
. I used two coats of this to get solid coverage. I find Black Templar very easy to work with, and it covers really well too. These sections include the gun, as well as any wires and tubes other than ones you want to be glowing later on.
Step 2
These areas were then edge highlighted with Dawnstone. On the barrel of the gun, I didn’t highlight any of the areas around the parts that would be glowing since that would get lost in the glow anyway.
Step 3
To finish them off, I added dots of Grey Seer to the corners of everything – if there’s a corner, put a dot on it. I dotted some of the longer, rounded edges as well if it made sense for light to be reflecting from there. I went lighter on the tubes and wires to make them feel a little bit softer.
Gauss Effect
Step 1
All of the glowing gauss areas were basecoated with Corax White. With the eyes you want to make sure you get the whole eye socket.
Step 2
For the green I used a roughly 80/20 mix of Contrast Medium and Warp Lightning. This is actually a trick I picked up from a fellow hobbyist on Twitter! Just coat all of the Corax White with this. You may want to make the green darker in areas – I did near the ends of the tubes. Wait until the first coat has dried and apply a second coat of the same mix, and then do a third or fourth if you want to keep making it darker.
Step 3
For highlights I used White Scar with a little Warp Lightning mixed in. I picked out the balls on the barrel of the gun, the eyes, the raised ridges on the power source of the gun, and a line along the tubes.
Step 4
Lastly I took pure White Scar and did a smaller highlight in the middle of the previous one. On larger glowing areas, like on the Canoptek Reanimator, I had to do more layers to get a smoother blend.
With that your model is done! Just base them how you want and you’re good to go. I went with a nice desert look for the Setrakh Dynasty.
This model was a Character, so a bit more care went into him, but on units of regular troops, like Warriors, this goes even faster. I applied the same basic steps, but was a little more relaxed with certain highlights.
Here you can see some examples of how I applied this colour scheme to other models in the army, varying up the markings and amount of teal and gold depending on the model.
Thanks, Tyler! If you want to replicate this colour scheme, pre-order yourself a new Warhammer 40,000 Starter Set – the Recruit, Elite, and Command Edition kits all contain a selection of Necrons models to try this guide on. Remember to show us how you get on with #New40K on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.