My first and main 40k army is that of the Necrons, that of the Nihilakh Dynasty. The Necrons always fascinated me, transferring from Warhammer fantasy they did related the most to the Tomb kings and Vamps. Large and expansive armies were the goal.
Originally my scheme started off with a simple orange energy and silver metal however trying to find parts that I could swap the general green rod with near impossible. I tested painting the green rods but I could never find a way that satisfied my vision.
I believe it was through a white dwarf that I found the Nihilakh dynasty. This was perfect for what I was looking for, different to the general Necron scheme but with hints of the Tomb Kings. I picked up some old broken green rod Necron Warriors. These warriors have been stripped and repainted countless times trying to find the right scheme.
With the release of the Indomitus Necrons, I picked up the elite starter box. This was my first purchase of Warhammer after getting back into the hobby. I assembled the Necrons, dry fitting the models and planning on which model to paint. After pulling out my old citadel paints and giving them a good shake, and boy did they need a shake, I coated the Scarabs with a watered down layer of Leadbelcher. No I did not prime the models.
Now not too long after my first Necron purchase, I did end up picking up some hobby supplies from The Combat Company. A new brush, super glue, paints, Primer (Thank Fuck) and basing supplies soon arrived.
The Paints I was using by this point:
- Lead Belcher
- Abbadon Black
- Retributor Armour
- Sotek Green
- Corax White
- Nuln Oil
- Riekland Fleshshade
Now I did use a white energy colour here and am currently still using this for eyes and lenses however it originated as I was still unsure what colour I’d use. My bladed weapons were coated in Nuln Oil and a little bit of Blood for the Blood God. Not until a certain miniature did I come to my next discovery, the Plasmancer. Now you may have already seen this image as I do recognise the Plasmancer as the first Mini that I was publicly proud to show off.
Playing around with the colour of the Plasmic Lance really developed the next colour to the scheme. Purple. Based on images of amethyst, or the closest I could get to it, I attempted to paint the energy colour to represent this colour. As I already had green on the base, the colour that would mostly stand out was its opposing colour. I did also bring in some other paints, building the scheme with highlights and contrasts.
- Naggaroth Night
- Genestealer purple
- Vallejo Model Purple
- Vallejo Model White
- Vallejo Model Black
- Stormhost Silver
- Temple guard blue
- Gullimans flesh
- Snakebite leather
As you can see with the Plasmancer, I introduced some Vallejo paints. I used these mostly for mixing with paints and just creating a little more depth. I found the purple Vallejo to water down better than the other two purples I had been using. This helped a lot with my first attempt at contrasting on the Lance. Another first was using contrast paints on the cape. I worked my way down with layers of the contrast for a glaze effect.
I have also been slowing developing a jungle/marsh themed basing scheme for my Necrons. Lots of tufts, paper plants and mud. I’ve also added small industrial and structural machinery in some of the bases, adding some history to this Necron planet.
Find a Guide to the Basing and the Painting of my Nihilakh Paint Scheme here:
I will be sure to post many update posts for my Necrons, I should be adding some Characters alongside the rest of my forces. My next addition will be a Triarch Stalker and a Doom Scythe. Hopefully I start these soon before I begin another project.
