My Journey Painting a Full Necron Army on a Budget

Meta Description: Discover how to paint a stunning Necron army on a budget! This guide covers essential tools, step-by-step techniques, washes, drybrushing, and cost-effective tips for a tabletop-ready result. Perfect for Warhammer 40k beginners.

Embarking on the journey to build and paint a Warhammer 40,000 army is thrilling, but the costs can quickly add up. As a hobbyist on a budget, I set myself a challenge: paint a full Necron army that looks fantastic on the tabletop without breaking the bank. Through careful planning and some clever techniques, I discovered that an impressive result is absolutely achievable. This is my story and my guide to doing it yourself.

Why the Necrons are Perfect for Budget Hobbyists

The Necrons are, frankly, the ideal army for anyone looking to maximize their painting output while minimizing cost and time. Their aesthetic—ancient, metallic robots emerging from tombs—forgives minor mistakes and rewards simple techniques. You don't need a hundred different paints or expert-level blending skills to get a army that looks cohesive and threatening across the gaming table.

The Budget Hobbyist's Toolkit

You don't need the most expensive gear. Here’s what formed my core toolkit:

• Brushes: One medium-sized synthetic brush for base coating, one small detail brush for touch-ups, and one cheap, sacrificial brush for mixing and applying texture paints. Don't waste your good brushes on rough work.

• Paints: I focused on a limited palette. My essentials were:

• A good black spray primer (Chaos Black by Citadel or any matte black automotive primer).

• Leadbelcher (or any other silver metallic paint) for the base coat.

• Runelord Brass (or a similar bright brass) for dynasty accents.

• Tesseract Glow (a magical technical paint for glowing green effects).

• Nuln Oil (the liquid talent—a black wash that does the hard work for you).

• Models: I started with the Necron Warriors from the Elite Edition starter set, which is incredible value, and expanded with a Combat Patrol box.

My Step-by-Step Budget Painting Process

This efficient process allowed me to batch-paint units quickly.

1. Thorough Preparation: I cleaned mold lines with a hobby knife and assembled the models. This free step ensures a clean final look.

2. The Foundation: Spray Primer: I gave every model a smooth, thin coat of black spray primer. This acts as both a primer and your base shadow colour, saving you time and paint.

3. Heavy Drybrush of Metallics: Instead of carefully painting every nook with a brush, I heavily drybrushed Leadbelcher over the entire model. This technique catches all the high points and leaves the black in the recesses, creating instant depth and highlighting. It’s fast, easy, and incredibly effective for Necrons.

4. Applying the Wash: I generously applied Nuln Oil over all the metallic areas. This magical wash flows into the recesses, deepening shadows, tying the metallic finish together, and making the details pop. This is the step where your army truly comes to life.

5. Picking Out Details: I carefully painted any armour plates, symbols, or weapon details with Runelord Brass. For the glowing green parts (eyes, weapon coils, chest orbs), I used a base of Corax White followed by Tesseract Glow, which creates a vibrant, glowing effect with almost no effort.

6. Basing on a Budget: I used Stirland Battlemire (a texture paint) applied with an old brush. Once dry, I drybrushed it with a light brown and added a few tufts of static grass I bought in a large, inexpensive pack.

The Result: An Army Reborn

The final result was an army that looked unified, menacing, and perfectly tabletop-ready. The metallic scheme tied everything together, the green glows provided fantastic pops of colour, and the basing gave them a grounded, realistic feel. Best of all, I had painted over 2,000 points of Necrons for a fraction of the expected cost.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the single most important tool for painting Necrons on a budget?
Without a doubt, it's a good black wash like Nuln Oil. It adds instant depth, shading, and definition to the metallic surfaces with minimal effort or skill required, making your army look professionally shaded.

2. Can I use cheaper alternative paints from other brands?
Absolutely! Brands like Army Painter and Vallejo offer excellent quality paints at a slightly lower price point than Citadel. Many have conversion charts online so you can find matching colours. For priming, a matte black automotive primer from a hardware store is a fantastic budget option.

3. How can I make my Necrons look good without an airbrush?
Drybrushing is your best friend. A heavy drybrush of silver over a black primer creates perfect highlights and coverage. Following up with a wash then smooths everything out. This combination is incredibly effective and requires no airbrush.

4. What's the best way to get the glowing green effects?
The easiest way is to use Citadel's Tesseract Glow technical paint. Simply paint the area you want to glow with a white paint (like White Scar) first, then apply the Tesseract Glow over it. It will create a bright, translucent green effect that looks like energy.

5. How do I add variety to my army without buying more paints?
Use different basing schemes to differentiate units. You can also pick out different details on characters; for example, paint a Lord's head or shoulder pads in a different metallic colour like gold to make them stand out from the rank-and-file warriors.

6. Is a starter set really the best value for starting a Necron army?
Yes, the Warhammer 40,000 starter sets (Elite/Command Edition) are arguably the best value on the market. They include a full Necron force, Space Marines to keep or trade, and the core rules. It's significantly cheaper than buying the included Necron units separately.

Conclusion

Painting a Warhammer 40k army is a rewarding part of the hobby, and it should never be a barrier to entry due to cost. As my journey with the Necrons has shown, with a limited palette, a focus on effective techniques like drybrushing and washing, and smart model choices, you can build a magnificent-looking army on a strict budget. Remember, the goal is to get your models on the table, ready for battle. So embrace the metallic sheen, let the wash do the work, and watch your legion rise without emptying your wallet. Now go, and may your dynasty conquer in style!

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