Behold - A Painted Necron!

More of an update than anything....

After three different paint schemes, quite bit of searching around the internets and trying weedeater string (0.095" is perfect) for the tubes (it works, I just did't like it), I've decided on a paint scheme (somewhat based on this technique).

Basically, it's highly repeatable, will look good on all Necron models, and consists of these steps:
1. Base coat the minis in Krylon Matte Aluminum.
2. Dip them in Minwax (the Minwax product I had was glossy) and let them dry forever!
3. Coat them in Matte finish (which also seals in the Minwax).
4. Paint the armor Reaper Brick Red and then Drybrush in VGC Hot Orange.
5. Paint the desired tubes Hot Orange and wash the gauss gun near said tubes with a 1:3 paint water mixture. Do the same to the Necron's eye sockets.
6. Repeat the wash using a 2:1:3 Hot Orange, VGC Dead White, and water mixture until happy (I did it three times), adjusting the mixture to get the lighting effect. Don't forget the eye sockets.
7. Hit the edges with VGC Dead White and dot the Necron's eyes.
8. Base him however you want and varnish with matte.
9. Coat the tubes in Gloss Varnish.
10. Yell "Boo-Ya!" and freak out the dog.

The rod took several tries (settled on this one), and I decided against
varnishing the armor. Yuck!

Behold - Necrons!

When I started my Hawk Lords chapter, I debated and debated on which army to start with. Having been introduced to 40k by THQ and on a whim when I purchased the first Space Wolves Omnibus in an airport bookstore, I've always been a fan of Space Marines, Imperial Guard, and Necrons. Well, in a moment of weakness on my trip to Sacramento last week, I threw down the money for a Necron Battleforce and Codex, some extra Warriors, and a Necron Lord.

Now I realize that there have been rumors floating around for awhile now that a new Necron codex is on the horizon, following the Dark Eldar... er ... um... I mean the Blood Angels.... or was it Tau? Honestly, I don't think a new Necron codex is coming anytime soon. Besides, where I live, there are few Necron players anyway. So I bought them in a hopes to be unique on the table and to bring some variety to my painting table.

So now I have 40 warriors, 3 destroyers, 10 swarms, and a Necron Lord are on my desk (about 1250 pts), but I need to finish some Hawk Lords squads and my Space Hulk Terminators. Generally speaking, my initial thoughts were to base coat them in a metallic and dip them (I had some Krylon Matte Aluminum and some Minwax Stain laying around...) as a base. Then I'm thinking to highlight either wash or paint the armor (head, shoulders, greaves, etc) in some unifying color. I'm interested in red, my wife is pushing for blue. We'll see who wins this one.

Here's are some pictures of a WIP warrior, immediately following the dip phase (still wet). One thing I think I'll do from now on (regardless of army) is to leave the legs (the feet in particular) on the sprue through painting, and once the base is done I'll remove them and pin them. We'll see how it goes, but it prevents me from having to paint over a metallic primeer on the base.

This test model was dry this morning, and I think he looks pretty good. I'm really happy with the subtle shading I got from the dip. Of course he was glossy and required a coat of matte over the Minwax, but I didn't have time to snap a shot this morning and will so that as soon as I get home. I'll also do some more painting on the test color scheme and I have a few ideas/experiments to try with the gauss rifle, so come back and see where this goes.