Thursday 16 August 2018

CLXXXII. Kill Team: Necrons

Everyone is talking about Kill Team these days. Been a while since my last delve into 40K (I don't think I've done anything since Tor Megiddo). For a while I've been thinking about messing with Necrons, so now's the opportunity. They're space undead, I like their fluff. But I'm not too fond of the models. Especially the more recent ones. My brother still had some minis from the time he wanted to build a Necron army, so I raided that for parts. I also have some really cool Mechanicus bits, like all the techy parts left over from the Techpriest and two Belisarius Cawls that were/will be made into fantasy minis.


Going for a more organic look on my metal men. Retrofuturistic looking weaponry. I'm using Beksinski and Giger art for inspiration. Necrons should be unsettling and alien.




A simple Necron Warrior. The first model I built for this. I replaced the head with a human skull, the weapon with a slightly modified Skitarii rifle. Love Skitarii weapon designs, so my gauss flayers and other Necron weaponry will look a bit different... 


Made him not too hunched forward. The squatting poses really annoy me on these models. They're supposed to be cold, soulless, fearless robots, relentlessly marching forward. They're represented much better in artwork. But anyway, despite that, I kept the legs as they were because I want the Warriors to be shorter than the Deathmarks and Immortals, and I intend to build most of them from Warrior parts. Did a few edits with putty, most notably on the torso and the back of the skull. Added texture with dremel, putty and liquid green stuff. When I started painting I had no idea where I was going. I painted until I settled on this.



Deathmark. I barely have anything but Warrior bits, so I'll be using those as base for most of the warband. Deathmarks are snipers, so I gave him the longer Skitarii rifle. Added a scope to communicate better that it's a sniper type of weapon. Straightened his legs, which made him appear taller than a Warrior. 


Used the Green Stuff World tentacle maker for the first time for the head tubes. I love it! The official Deathmarks have cyclops heads, so I went with weird faces on mine too. Covered eye sockets and drilled a hole in his forehead to represent that one eye.

There are only four unit types available in a Necron Kill Team, and they have virtually no equipment options to choose from. That actually makes it easier for me: I don't have to build extra models for various options, plus it's less confusing. A Warrior will always be armed with a gauss flayer, and a Deathmark with a synaptic disintegrator. Everyone just needs to be able to tell a Warrior apart from a Deathmark. I'm not sure what I'll do next, but my goal for the project is to end up with 3 Immortals, 2 Deathmarks, 4 Warriors and 3-4 Flayed.

29 comments:

  1. I love them ! I think the head swap is a very good move, they really look alien now with that perfect oldschool sci-fi look.
    I think the guns would benefit from something more to break the toy-like aspect of the single colour.
    The effort to straighten their legs also paid ten fold really. Really eager to see the rest !

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    1. Oh and I just remembered who the guy on the left reminded of ! He definitely has some relation to Joe Pineapples from 2000AD's ABC warriors !

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    2. Cheers! The single colour guns are a part of what gives them that oldschool sci-fi look, so I don't think I'll be changing them.

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  2. Nice! These really do have a much creepier vibe than the standard Necrons. I really hope the Warriors get re-done before too much longer. That hunched pose is really awful, and straightening out the legs is a pain.

    The Deathmark kind of reminds me of something from some old SF movie, but I can't quite figure out what, or which film. The Warrior, on the other hand, looks like he'd be at home on the cover of a heavy metal album*, which has long been my personal goal as a 40K aesthetic.

    *I may have to borrow the idea and do one in the same pose, but with one of Spellcrow's guitars instead of a Radium Carbine ;)

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    1. Thanks! Yes, the Warriors definitely need a new kit to bring them up to date.
      The warrior does have a guitar pose, haha. I wasn't aiming for it, but it's amusing how it turned out.

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    2. I have been working on Noise Marines lately. That's probably what put it in my head ;)

      Also, I haven't had a chance to look through it yet, but I just got the White Dwarf that has the Blanchitsu column featuring your work. Looking forward to checking that out.

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  3. Brilliant. Not a fan of the metallic 'Terminator' look of the Necrons, so these are right on the money for me.

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  4. Superb!

    I love the red guns - there's something almost eerie about the vivid colour against the drab red of the robots.

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  5. I think this is the first time ever my eye has been immediately caught by Necrons. I really like the approach and results. Top notch!

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  6. These are superb, looks like something taken straight from a Heavy Metal/2000AD magazine cover. You've really captured the Giger feel with the headswaps and subtle resculpt of the torsos.

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  7. I really like these. The red guns and replacement heads make me think of Moebius for some reason.

    I've been working on some necrons recently. The warrior models are old sculpts and the kit feels dated. However, converting the legs to stand upright and replacing the "glowing" bit on the guns improves them greatly. Making them stand up and walk forwards really helps the "implacable" feel. It's a lot of work for an army, though - which is why Kill Team is such a good idea!

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    1. Cheers! Yes, reposing the legs on a whole army sounds like a nightmare. Kill Team, like other skirmish games, offers a great format for exploring new ideas without getting overwhelmed by the number of repeating models.

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  8. These are lovely.
    I think the straight legs on the deathmark looks a lot better than the ones on the warrior. I don't think the different heights of the miniatures matter, as long as you have different heads and weapons. So you should definitely fix the legs on the rest of the warriors you make.

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  9. Fantastic work, Ana! Those have to be the best Necron warriors I have seen so far! I think they actually look like relics of a past war, and actually remind me more of the rumoured "Men of Iron" than of alien robots. The headswap on the second model is particularly cool (although the human skull also works so well).

    Anyway, brilliant stuff! :)

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  10. These remind me of ralph bakshi's wizards, I love them!

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  11. I like the organic look, especially the one with the respirator pipes.The skull i don`t like so much, I think he needs some pipework too.
    Now I want to make an rusty Necron Kill Team(This morning, I thought about making an Eldar Kill Team).
    The red Weapons look a bit odd, I think there should be at least one red part on the Models, too, maybe the head or a shoulder pad.
    I also thought about using some of the new Nighthaunt models to convert Flayed Ones, if this helps you.

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    1. Cheers! I don't yet know what I'll do for flayed ones. At the moment I'm torn between two concepts, one of which is indeed to go Nighthaunt-based. The other one is more challenging and would cost extra money, but the result would probably be a lot more impressive. I have to create some mockups to help me decide, but knowing me I'll probably go for the more difficult option. :D

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  12. Brilliant. These are the first necrons I have ever liked. Great work.

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  13. Amazing work. Always hated plastic Necrons, too cartoony- much preferred the old metal ones which at least had an 80s 2000AD vibe. The head swap and repose (such a little thing) on the warrior makes them properly creepy

    Do Tau next!

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  14. This is sooo Beksinski, I love it! The pose modifications and little details really give them a much more dignified, alien and scary look. Any photos of the minis mid-WIP?

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    1. Thank you! No, I don't have any wip photos. I often forget to take pics while I work, even sometimes when it's important to do so.

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