Third Edition Army Project: Necrons

After spending a few years almost exclusively within the realms of Age of Sigmar/ AoS28, I’d been struggling to get a foothold into 40k. Whereas AoS was new and ill-explored, 40k felt a bit too mapped and played out. When my group’s Horus Heresy campaign (more on that here) began in 2021, however, I fell in love with the Sisters of Silence, and used that as a bridge back into the well-known space game, and I haven’t really done much in the realm of fantasy since (to my dismay). I ignored the off-putting rules of 9^th edition and set to work on a quest to re-envision my favourite three factions of the setting, as well as the setting itself. The setting/ sandbox/ backdrop/ liminal space that is the universe of 40k is something I have developed strong aesthetic sensibilities surrounding since, and is a topic I will cover in a future post. But for the time being, I wanted to get some models on the table (or shelf, at least).

              My three favourite factions for 40k are the weird Imperium side of things (Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy etc.), the Tyranids and the Necrons. I’ve amassed a fun mixed Imperium Army (more on them here) over the last couple years consisting of Inquisitorial retinues, Imperial Knights, Astra Militarum, Custodes and Sisters of Silence/ Battle, but the collection is so disparate that it’s not really playable as a force. The same is true for my Tyranids (more on them here)—painting them scratches an itch from time to time and presents a new challenge, using oils and glossy paints, but they’re not something I want to throw myself into for a large army just yet.

              With the advent of 10^th and it’s streamlining of rules, I also wanted an army I could actually play with--one that is recognisable on the tabletop, in which it doesn’t take 5 hours to paint a single infantryman. The solution to these issues was in my third love—the Necrons.

              The Necrons had a large range refresh in 2020, with many new units and updated designs harking back to the classic third edition book. Warriors became spindly and leaked cabling, Flayed Ones looked like classic updates on the original models, and Ophydian Destroyers were clearly an update on the Wraiths of old, rather than their Canoptek counterpart. The Necrons also had a range refresh during fifth edition, as well as a lore update, which changed the trajectory of their faction. Many design cues and elements of lore were abandoned—gone were the silent, implacable armies of silver husks ruled over by eldritch star gods—in were bickering dynasties, sympathetic robots and imprisoned shards. I don’t particularly dislike the newer lore, but that old third edition book is so beautifully crafted, that I knew, armed with the new models, my Necron force was to be based off this era.

              So, I’m setting myself a challenge: I’m building a playable Necron army using only unit entries that appeared in the third edition codex and Forge World books at the time. I’m allowing myself some substitutes, such as Pariahsà Lychguard, and I’m giving myself access to Crypteks because I like painting characters. I might allow myself more as time goes on, but the core of the army will be built around the lore, constrained army list and design principles of this original book.

              I bought a bunch of Necrons in bulk with the Hachette magazines, but I’m starting, appropriately, with the core of those old school Necron armies: A Lord, some Scarabs and some Warriors.

              Necron Lords in this codex are described as ‘leaders and energy loci for the Necron warriors. Clad in crumbling vestments and wielding ancient, arcane staffs, they are a chilling sight on the battlefield, directing their warriors’ attack in unnatural silence… Glittering arcs of energy surround their every gesture and soulless fires burn in their empty eye sockets.’ Lords have somewhat been replaced by Overlords since their most recent update, though they still have rules, have no real model now. Luckily, I have the limited edition Hamosteph the Resplendent lying around for this. The model is an homage to the pose of the original Necron Lord (not Overlord), but I did make some further changes to fit the third edition aesthetic better—namely removing the “vents” from the back and downsizing the shoulder pads and carapace. I also hollowed out the eyes with a pin-vice to match that prior lore description and replaced the stock staff with brass rod for a more agile look. The base of this model, and all my Necrons, are built up from brick, resin parts and Citadel skulls, painting in drab and realistic oils to make the force feel more grounded.

The WIP version

  It was important to me to be able to have an army with a core that was easy to paint, and Necron Warriors are renowned for being speedy. I did some minor conversions to this unit to match the BEAUTIFUL artwork from the original codex, adding extraneous wires spilling out their arms, removing jaws for the creepy-factor, and lowering their heads just slightly for a more slumped appearance. To paint them, I loosely followed Lil Legend Studio’s guide, available on YouTube, though I ended up diverting rather quickly, so I may make my own guide here in the future.

The new Scarab Swarms are pretty perfect as is, and they come with the Warrior kit, so I used them as a cheap and simple test unit for the paint scheme. I left them unconverted, save for their bases, which I replaced with Forge World debris from the Abbadon vs Loken base to better represent ‘swarms so thick they blot out the sun.’

              Here is the complete force so far; I’m aiming for 500 (and then 1000) points initially to get some games in, then slow down from there and build/ sculpt some truly unique C’tan, though I’m unsure if I should treat them as star gods or shards just yet. I’ve got another 10 Warriors and 3 Scarab bases at least to add to the force, so I will be using what I’ve learnt from these first ten on the next group, hopefully improving along the way (I'll definitely be using a more subdued brown this time). When this is done, I hope to have a nightmarish horde of unthinking machines marching from Monoliths under the command of ghostly Lords and C’tan. Wish me luck, and return soon for future updates on the army.

Thought of the Day:

+++Even the Iron Still Fears the Rot+++