H.O.W. TO: Painting Necron Warriors

A simple guide to painting the forces of the ever-living.

In August, I made a monster purchase on craigslist, and grabbed $300 worth of Necrons for nearly half of the retail price — and I've been working away at them ever since.

I completed the first 15 warriors last fall, along with the rest of the battle force box, and figured it was time to do a tutorial now that I've got a few under my belt.

Phase 1: Shoulders
If you are not going to paint the shoulders a separate color from the body, OR you are using a paint with excellent opaque coverage, like blue, you can skip this phase.

1. Prime the shoulders white. This will ensure the color you place over them is clear and vibrant.

2. Apply your color. I've chosen yellow for my army.

3. Mask your shoulders. This can be done with a liquid mask (as shown here) or poster putty. If you are brush painting your models, you can skip this step.

Phase 2: Body

4. Prime the model black. If you are going to paint your army non-metallic, consider a white primer.

5. Apply the metallic paint. Here, I've used Vallejo Gunmetal (a middle value metallic) and then sprayed Vallejo silver from the top down only, to create a natural highlight.

6. Once the paint is dry, apply a wash of GW Agrax Earthshade over the model and then drybrush using your metallic paint to raise the highlights from the washed recesses. This gives the model depth. Pure metallics can appear flat and lifeless.

7. Paint the details on the model. I'm going to use a vibrant green here, so I will undercoat them white to make sure the final color is bright. Use a fine point brush to do the eyes. Carefully drag the SIDE of the brush across the ankh on his chest, to catch the surface details.

8. Apply your color. Here, I've used Vallejo Scorpion Green.

9. Paint the Guass Blaster. I've chosen black so that the green pops, and the weapon is clearly separate from the model.

10. Base your model. As you can see in the earlier photos, I've used GW Steel Legion Drab on the rim, and GW Agrellan Earth to create the cracked desert surfaces. Choose whatever you like, but a good rule is: Dark model, Light base. Light model, Dark base.

11. If you masked your shoulders in Phase 1, remove the mask. Here, I've used a rubber sculpting tool to remove the hardened liquid mask without scratching the model's surface.

12. As the final touch, add the green rods. The gun is flexible, so you should be able to place the rod with a small drop of elmer's glue on each end. If you want to paint over the rods, simply assemble them before you begin painting.

May your legions march forth and reclaim their lost empires!

-trip