Warhammer 40,000 - The Ahrmen’Korah Dynasty

This weekend, my first major Painting project that I had ever done regarding painting miniatures has reached completion. The project for the Games Workshop Inner Circle contest is on display at my local store waiting for the final judging this Saturday. This was my greatest undertaking in painting by far. Through this project, within a few months I learned more about painting miniatures than I had during years of playing and painting prior. Before, I only painted the miniatures to make them look just barely presentable. I had been disregarding an integral aspect of miniature war-gaming. Also, since I’ve finally realized that I’m a mediocre general at best, my armies can look fabulous as they’re cut to shreds. So, without further ado, here is my Necron force, the Ahrmen’Korah Dynasty!

Why did I attempt the Inner Circle competition?

1. I was assured by the manager at my local Games Workshop that there will be a scoring rubric that would provide a level playing field.

2. I had been wanting to buy some new units for my main army.

3. I had finally come to terms that my grasp on tactical war as a general was weak, so I’ll make my forces the best-looking forces in my area.

What did I learn from the Inner Circle competition, and what did the Inner Circle help me accomplish?

1. I learned how to better layer and add glowing effects to models.

2. I learned that you can go back and fix what you think are mistakes. No model is perfect but it can get better after you’ve gotten better with some practice.

3. Acrylics are better to use on models than enamel.

4. Washes add a depth to your models that simply basing and layering cannot let you achieve.

5. Not everything can be accomplished in a certain time, but giving yourself a painting deadline can really jumpstart your painting schedule.

6. I learned how to use Green Stuff and how to convert a model

7. I finally started showing my work to the world.

8. I finally started this blog.

The blueprints for painting

The scheme for the Necron forces that I painted before the beginning of the competition were undercoated with a black spray paint, based in Testor’s aluminum, green and copper. Three colors. That is the tabletop standard that many people and companies abide by. Literally the bare minimum. If I wanted to win or at least do well in the competition I needed to step up my game.

The Forces that I painted after I joined the competition were painted with much more care. I used Rust-oleum Flat Antique Nickel to get a consistent base coat and then blocked out the other base colors. The green was Army Painter Greenskin and the bronze was Army Painter Weapon Bronze. Almost the entirety of the force was washed in Citadel Nuln Oil, (Which I did end up spilling a few nights ago while fixing up some details). And the Green was highlighted with Citadel Warpstone Glow and then Citadel Moot Green. But something was missing. Just one last color was needed to round off the scheme, and in the end, I discovered that a quick addition of red was just the thing I needed. I used Army Painter Pure Red, and a wash of Carroburgh Crimson to subdue the brightness.

The Bases Still Needed Basing!

Since I didn’t think of basing as a crucial point to painting, I needed to find a solution to getting a texture on the base while not getting too close to the feet of my models. Enter Citadel texture paints. These magical pots of painted sand and texture saved me a lot of headache, I simply used a texture tool to spread out the paint over the base, waited for it to dry and hit it with a strong drybrush of Citadel Eldar Flesh. But something was still missing for me, earthen soil needed some sort of vegetation in my mind (even if it isn’t an easily habitable planet) so I ended up using a mix of the Army Painter Battlefield XP Frozen Tufts and Mountain Tufts. Simply pull whatever vegetation that you need off the paper backing and glue in place and you have a wonderful little base to work with. But I wasn’t done there. Because I was using grass that was either frozen of from a mountainous region I needed to add some snow. Citadel Valhallan Blizzard was another quick and easy step to add into the entire composition.

Are water transfers really a big deal?

Short answer, yes. Long answer, they give a level of detail that is almost unobtainable by hand, so yeah, they’re kind of a big deal. Micro Sol and Micro Set can be your greatest friends when it comes to uneven surfaces. Simply cut out your desired transfer, let it soak individually, follow the instructions on the bottles for each transfer, and repeat for desired effect. Obviously, if you’re putting the transfers on an even surface Micro Set and Sol aren’t necessary, but you should always seal all your transfers with a non-gloss varnish (or gloss it’s your choice really.)

LET THE BLOOD FLOW FREELY!

The final addition to my forces was the most fun. I was convinced at the store to buy some Blood for the Blood God technical paint from Citadel. I was told that simply putting a little bit of paint on a tool and using my fingertip to flick it at the model would produce an excellent gore splatter effect. What I failed to consider was the size of the tool correlated directly to the size of the blood globules thrown at the model. So, taking my handy texture tool in hand I dipped it into the pot and let the blood fly! Of course, I used a box to keep my workstation relatively clean, but the carnage was amazing. Giant blood splatters covered my models and as I learned to control the amount from larger torrents of blood to smaller droplets I covered my entire force with a steady random covering of blood.



Major take-aways and what will I be doing from now on.

The most beneficial thing that I learned from this competition is that you NEED to take steps outside of your comfort zone to further yourself in your hobby sometimes. I had always been slow to attempt anything at this scale, but through the help of some awesome people and a lot of hard work I am extremely happy with my finished product. Even if I don’t finish in the top three I did get a pretty cool pin for participating.

This competition ended up sparking a modeling and painting flame. Currently I’m now painting the Flesh-Eater Courts Start collecting box for fun, and a Space Marine Librarian for another competition. I’ll be documenting both projects progress on this blog with another larger post at the end, but if you’re hungry for other Warhammer projects follow me on Instagram or Twitter!

For better quality pictures and some extra pictures that didn’t make it click here! https://imgur.com/gallery/5sDGI