The new Gang Stronghold gives your fighters their very own defensible base from which to lead their operations against other gangs. Any self-respecting gang leader will want their home turf to be ready to face whatever the underhive is going to throw at it, so we asked Matt from the Sprues & Brews blog for his advice in painting up the Stronghold.
Matt: I constructed the set in a series of sub-assemblies, making it easier to paint and store once completed. There are a couple of ladders in the kit that can be pushed onto any platform without the need for glue. To make sure these can be used on any of the individual pieces, I put a small drop of glue on the bottom of the ladder and attached them to some spare bases. They could then be held by a Citadel Painting Handle to make these small pieces easier to hold.
I used Chaos Black Spray to undercoat the sub-assemblies as this gives a good, dark base for the gritty, filthy look that I wanted the finished piece to have. When building the doors, make sure not to glue them in place so they can swing open during your games!
There are quite a lot of metallic areas on these terrain pieces, so the next step was to get some base colour down on these. For this, I used Iron Hands Steel, as it’s a dark metallic that suits the grungy feel of Necromunda really well. You don't have to be too neat here as any stray paint will help with the later steps and add to the chipped, worn feel of the finished piece.
For the next step, I got the majority of the base colour of the walls down on the model using a technique that is quick and easy to do, while leaving it with a smooth finish. Essentially, I lightly dusted the area with Mechanicus Standard Grey while focusing it on the raised areas that would catch the light. Leaving the recessed areas dark from the black undercoat will give the illusion of highlighting and shading without you having to spend a lot of time building the layers up. Again, don't worry too much if you miss and hit some of the colours you have already done, as we can tidy those up easily.
Following the box art, I wanted to create a white tank that would stand out on the battlefield, as it would make a great focal point or objective in games of Necromunda. To add a bit of variety to the barricades, I also mirrored this colour on a couple of them. To start, I carefully applied Ulthuan Grey around the body of the tank itself, making sure to leave the darker colours in the recesses. Then, once dried, I used tape to mask out the area that I wanted red – this made it a lot easier to create a solid line. I then blocked in the colour with Khorne Red.
With all the base colours down, it was time to go back in and touch up any of the detail on the metal areas such as the pipes and doors I missed earlier – use whatever colour you used for the original metal. Then, with a small brush (I used an XS Artificer), I carefully picked out all the rivets and scratches in the walls. This took a little time but is well worth the effort when it’s done as it gives the final piece a variety of textures.
There were a couple of details left to paint, such as the lights! I wanted these to be blue to match the lighting on the rest of my terrain collection. I started with a base coat of Kantor Blue, followed by a highlight of Baharroth Blue to give the light an unnatural glow.
Now, we get to the really fun and messy part! To create the effect of built-up grime and muck, I started by flooding the gantries and level surfaces with water using the biggest brush I had. Then while this was still wet, I got a brush loaded with Agrax Earthshade and let it drip into the water. This leaves the pattern to Chaos and gives you a little more realism to how the filthy water would flow and collect naturally on the surface. Then, I stippled the areas with Rhinox Hide using an old brush, letting it flow into the water that was already on the surface. Be sure to leave it to dry fully as the terrain is going to be very wet at this point!
With the scenery grimed up, it was time to add some rust. I used Typhus Corrosion on the areas that I wanted to be rusty – for example, the walkways and doors – and once this was dry, I simply drybrushed it with Ryza Rust. A little bit goes a long way here so make sure to wipe most of it off on a piece of tissue before you start to use it.
And with that, my gang has their very own Stronghold – I hope this has inspired you to paint up your own! I'm already looking forward to painting up another set to make my Stronghold even bigger.
Thanks, Matt! The Gang Stronghold also comes with rules that you can use with the kit to give your games even more narrative flavour. Can you protect your home from an invading gang? Download the rules now and start planning your defence (or your attack).
The new Gang Stronghold is available to pre-order from tomorrow. It’s fully compatible with the Zone Mortalis kits – make sure you pick some up so that you can expand your hideout and be the pride of the underhive.