Kroot: Building a tribe

[apologist]

Kindred of the Bloody Moon

 

Alas, the new Kill Team box has not yet arrived with me, so I couldn't get stuck into the new Kroot. On the plus side, of course, this left my evening free to carry on with those already on the desk. Perhaps a blessing in disguise!

 

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Observations on the Kroot models

 

All of these figures are work-in-progress, but it's been a very long time since I've both struggled and enjoyed painting so much. I've always loved Brian Nelson's beautiful sculpts of the Kroot, but have found painting them difficult – though happily, not unpleasant. It's a multi-layered challenge – lots of organic shapes; lots of decisions to make on colours; and a surprising amount of little details. Being an older sprue, some of the details are slightly soft, so you have to be more aware of exactly where you're applying the paint.

 

Having said that, they also lend themselves beautifully to Citadel's washes – and I've used multiple layers of Seraphim Sepia on the skin. I've avoided using washes on the fabrics deliberately. Washes soften and blend edges – after all, that's what they're meant to do – and this creates a distinctive look. Because there's so much softness and an organic quality to the overall model, I want to make sure there's a variety of textures. Thus the skin and quills get washes, while traditional brush shading and highlighting is used on the fabrics.

 

The weapons will likewise get some harder edge highlighting to give a different look and help the various parts to read. The weapons and techy bits are likely the last piece of the puzzle, and that's what I'll tackle next to finish them off. I'm looking forward to tackling some woodgrain (and feel free to remind me of this statement in the next inload, when I come back cursing!)

 

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Colour choice

 

In terms of colour scheme, I've gone for a variety of warm oranges. Kroot, to me, suit a 'primitivist' underlying scheme, so that their really high-tech synthetic bits pop out from an overall earthy palette. Unsurprisingly, I've gone for a Predator-inspired scheme, and brought in some stippling (lots of little overlapping dots) on the top of the head, back and shoulders to create some visual interest. This also serves to frame the face. With the quills emerging from the back of the heads, it's easy for the top, rather than front, of the head to catch the eye – not great if you want to the face to be the focal point.

 

Further complicating this is the fact that Kroot (obviously) don't have human features like lips, noses or stubble, so there's less that's immediately 'readable' to catch the viewer's eye and add interest. To help combat this, you could paint the 'beak' as distinctly different, but – while I like the avian aura – I didn't want them to read too obviously as 'birdmen'. Instead, I pushed the highlighting on the edges of the mouths so that they read as sharp and dangerous, and also to increase the contrast and detail to draw the eye. Further to that, I've gone for a super-contrasty white on black for the eyes – the gimlet gaze of alert predators.

 

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Krootforms

 

The (now-old) Kroothounds really capture the bestial, debased feel of the concept, and are fun little metal sculpts. I found my way for the Kroot on them, and tackled them first. I tried out a couple of different fabric colours – including a grey-blue (Prussian Blue) before settling on Death Guard Green and Iyanden Darksun as the underlayers. These were then built up with Mummy Brown from Army Painter. I really rate this paint – it's a lovely versatile warm white that just flows beautifully. +

 

+ Still to do on these (and the Kroot Carnivores above) are details like the bombs (quill grenades?) and similar. I'm also tempted to add some decoration to some of the fabrics. The background, so I understand, suggests that Kroot aren't particularly creative or artistic themselves, but I'd still like to have some form of culture represented. I'll probably mine various classic patterns – zig-zags, dags, spots and stripes.

 

 

The other krootform in this batch is the hunting Knarloc. I'm very pleased with how this is coming along. On a whim, I decided to paint the previously-red Knarloc with a blue-green (Incubi Darkness) pattern. This was restricted to the top parts of the body, and I think it really helps to make the model pop, without being so saturated that it doesn't fit in. I painted the pattern in a couple of very thin glazes – that is, a layer of paint so thinned-down that some of the underlying colour comes through. I had already stippled the red skin underneath, and this read through the glazes. Nevertheless, skin will always look more realistic with more thin layers, so I also mottled the surface with further stippling.

 

The eyes are the most obvious thing that need finishing, but I also have the saddle and tack (is a saddle part of the tack?) to do.

 

Application elsewhere

The Kroot tracker will likely be used as a – uh – Kroot Tracker in Kill Team; so I'll need to work out a Pech'ra model to replace the token

 

And just off to the left of the previous photograph, you'll see two figures. One was a survivor of my old Kroot army – you'll note I had started converting him into a Tracker (armed with a sniper rifle) by trimming away the blades on his rifle. I clearly never got any further than that. In all likelihood, he'll remain as-is and be treated as a regular warrior, but I will rebase him onto a 32mm base to match the others – oh, and drill out the barrel.

 

Finally here, on the left, you'll see another misfit. This is the Kroot tracker 'Dahyek Grek' from Blackstone Fortress; who I painted up a couple of years ago – or so I thought. After hunting him down, I realised two things. Firstly, I hadn't quite finished him – the skin and cloak are done, but the rifle and details are outstanding. Secondly – and largely unintentionally – I'd painted him in with largely the same scheme. Clearly Kroot are orange in my head.

 

It's worth noting that this is one of the great strengths of colour schemes of armies with lots of skin or cloth. These organic materials weather and vary naturally, so some variety is not just okay, it's positively beneficial to a realistic result. Rather than sticking to strict recipes, as you might with (say) a Space Marine's heraldic Chapter scheme, you can simply remember 'orange' and play around with that. Different hues, techniques and approaches will all work.

 

This counts doubly for Kroot, whose nature means that they vary from Kindred to Kindred. It will, perhaps, require some more thought to make a cohesive army, but it also means that you've got unparalleled scope for playing with colour. I'm certainly planning to have Kindreds (squads or Kill Teams) with different schemes – and perhaps to play around with some colours or effect sthat I rarely use elsewhere. Sci-fi birdmen strike me as a great place to play with highly-saturated colour.

 

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I'd love to hear your thoughts, feedback or suggestions for what you'd like to see next :)

Edited September 20, 2022 by apologist

[apologist]

A selection of krooty faces; the light’s a bit better tonight.

 

[Mithrilforge]

Oh very nice indeed , My Friend Bought "Into the Dark" and I'm now the proud owner of the Kroot Killteam ....  I'm wanting to do the Yautja Colour scheme on my team also, thanks for showing yours and the tips I'm getting from your work !

 

Chers, 

M. 

[Rusted Boltgun]

Those close ups have really helped to bring the models alive for me, I really like the stippling on the heads. 

I think the orange you used really suits these models, they really work with orange and green for the reasons you noted earlier and really don't feel like 'space mercenaries ' to me. I'm struggling to visualise them in the Gallowdark, despite watching a couple of battle reports.

Your photos inspired me to mock up a few heads

So, thank you! Looking forward to seeing what direction your Kroot take in future.

Edited September 19, 2022 by Rusted Boltgun

[Valkia the Bloody]

I am seeing some great ideas I might have to steal for my own team of Kroot.

Great job!

Waiting to see more.

[sockwithaticket]

The closeups show off some really great work that wasn't so noticeable at greater distance.

Really like the gnarloc scheme. That much exposed flesh definitely needed something to break it up and maintain visual interest.

[apologist]

Very kind of you both to say. I’m delighted that the Kill Team box arrived; I fell on the sprues immediately – so here are the results:

From left to right: a cut-skin; cold-blood; warrior and kroothound. I had a lot of fun doing bits swaps and some minor conversion work to get a unique set of models. The cut-skin, for example, uses the spare blade left over from the Broker – added with a diagonal cut across the wrist/forearm.

The cold-blood is probably the most in-depth conversion, using a set of legs and torso from the old Kroot carnivore kit. Likewise, the warrior is a combination of spares from the new kit with a body and legs from the old. While some parts require a little conversion work – typically building up or resculpting a shoulder – a lot of them work with no conversion necessary.

Some of the figures are less well-suited to conversion – or the poses they’re in are already ideal to my eye . The pistolier is one such figure. Really has that alien cowboy swagger down. Also here is the second kroothound, another warrior – perhaps my favourite pose in the box – and the bow-hunter.

Of course, if you convert one model from a set like this, you’re forced to convert another if you want to retain the specialist. In this case, the bow-hunter’s body was used elsewhere, so I used the left-over cold-blood body (with the supplied natural leg, rather than the bionic) for the bow-hunter. This nicely shows that there are options for interchanging bits and bobs here and there, even where a flat shoulder joint is not immediately obvious.

The kroot warrior with scattergun (far left) uses the default body for the aforementioned bow-hunter. I think each specialist (or certainly the vast majority) can be assembled as a standard kroot warrior – and sometimes going the road less travelled is simply a case of building the model you like the look of best, rather than what has an in-game special rule. Here also is another warrior using the old kit as a basis – and given the number of cool spare parts, I’d thoroughly recommend mixing the old and new together – an alternative pose or head swap will go a long way to rejuvenating the (still wonderful) old kit.

Third from the left here is a heavy gunner with what I’m assuming is the Londaxi tribalest, based purely on the three vanes and ‘tri’ element of the name. The new heavy guns look fun and add a nice sci-fi element to the kit. It’s worth noting, for lorehounds, that the ‘Into the dark’ booklet has lots of cool hints about other minor xenos. It also gives some more info on the kroot’s own culture.

Finally here, the sharpshooter is furthest right. He’s another figure that I liked so much I left him (her?) unaltered and built stock.

The last picture shows the other heavy gunner – made with the braced legs from another specialist, and a left arm donated by a regular kroot from the old kit (this required a little cut at the elbow for the correct angle). The next one along is another warrior, this one reloading his rifle. It’s the subtle poses like this that I think really add character and value to the kit as an expansion of the older kit. Here also is a demonstration of how the shoulder joints could be hidden by a shoulder pad from the old kit, if you’re not confident with building up or converting.

Third from left is the Tracker. This is the only figure in the kit, I believe, that builds two of the specialists (the other is the Stalker), so you either need to decide or to convert. As I’d used some of the Stalker bits elsewhere, my kinband doesn’t have one (yet). The Tracker model is lovely as it stands, so the only change here was the use of my favourite head from the old kit. It’s this specialist that gives me my only (very) minor complaint about the kit, and that’s the lack of a Pech’ra in flight. 

Last here is a final kroot warrior with scattergun, rounding off a very, very fun building session. This kit is absolutely fabulous – I haven’t been as impressed with a kit since the release of the Adeptus Titanicus Warlord Titan, which I regard as the best kit GW have ever made.

Edited September 19, 2022 by apologist

[Hfran Morkai]

Awesome work! Glad to read the kit is great. I do like the old Carnivore kit as well.

 

Hope we see a little more Kroot appreciation (Knarlocs etc coming back and maybe some specialised Kroot would be great).

[Valkia the Bloody]

Great work!

You just gave me some ideas of what to do with my spare parts!  (I will keep my eyes on Ebay if some cheap old Kroot bits emerge)

I also love the new Kroot, the models and detail and character is amazing.

[Majkhel]

Very interesting thoughts on the approach to the color scheme! I like the spotted skin, it really appeals to my sense of the alien.

If I were to ever attempt some Kroots, and wanted to add more character, I would probably consider some war-paint in addition to the spots. Or perhaps a slight coloration of those quills/dreadlocks. Just a slight one, as I fully agree with keeping the focus on the faces.

[apologist]

On 9/19/2022 at 12:21 PM, Hfran Morkai said:

Awesome work! Glad to read the kit is great. I do like the old Carnivore kit as well. [...]Hope we see a little more Kroot appreciation (Knarlocs etc coming back and maybe some specialised Kroot would be great).

That's the dream – but alas, I'm not expecting anything any time soon. I'll keep my zygodactylic fingers and thumbs crossed!

 

19 hours ago, Valkia the Bloody said:

Great work! You just gave me some ideas of what to do with my spare parts!  (I will keep my eyes on Ebay if some cheap old Kroot bits emerge) I also love the new Kroot, the models and detail and character is amazing.

Great to hear – would love to see what you come up with :)

 

4 hours ago, Majkhel said:

Very interesting thoughts on the approach to the color scheme! I like the spotted skin, it really appeals to my sense of the alien. If I were to ever attempt some Kroots, and wanted to add more character, I would probably consider some war-paint in addition to the spots. Or perhaps a slight coloration of those quills/dreadlocks. Just a slight one, as I fully agree with keeping the focus on the faces.

Funny you should say this, as these figures were the very first that I've ever tried home-made paints on – and having experimented, warpaint and markings are planned for specific future models. 

 

  

On 9/15/2022 at 10:09 PM, Rusted Boltgun said:

Those close ups have really helped to bring the models alive for me, I really like the stippling on the heads. [...]I think the orange you used really suits these models, they really work with orange and green for the reasons you noted earlier and really don't feel like 'space mercenaries ' to me. I'm struggling to visualise them in the Gallowdark, despite watching a couple of battle reports. [...] Your photos inspired me to mock up a few heads [...]So, thank you! Looking forward to seeing what direction your Kroot take in future.

Hey @Rusted Boltgun – thanks for the kind words! It's probably a bit rude to ask, but is there any chance you could repost the heads you sketched? They were really awesome, and I was hoping (if you're cool with it) to use them as inspiration for some of my future Kroot. 

 

 

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The Kinband are now primed and ready for paint, but I forced myself to be disciplined and finish off the others first. You can see the homemade paint on the pauldron here – it's a deep mica-laden red. I've applied it sparingly for the practical reason that, if it turns out to rub off, or otherwise degrade, the actual underlying kroot will still be okay.

 

Overall, while I'm pleased with the results of these figures, I feel they're still lacking something – a bit of a pop. @Majkhel's idea of warpaint and a tint on the quills is a good one, so I might play around with that. 

 

Perhaps it's simply that they're very drab. Earthy models on earthy bases are perhaps realistic (insofar as we can apply that to eight-foot tall alien birdmen), but they lack a bit of oomph at tabletop distance. For now, I've contented  myself with some pink alien foliage to add a flash, and greened up the bases a bit.

 

Fortunately, the plan is to introduce some greater variety in skintone. While I want to retain the overall skin colour here for the dominant kinband, I do want to bring in some variety – some quite stark. The short-term intention, while still vague, is to paint some of the new kroot up with more distinctly yellowish and reddish shades – as though their Shapers have explored different options while away from their warsphere.

Some, meanwhile – and here in particular I mean the other krootforms – will be distinctly different; using blues and greens. I also plan for the Kin-broker and Cold-blood to be more clearly different from the others. This'll help mark them out as older veterans, or perhaps experts brought in from related families within the broader tribe for particular expertise.

Edited September 20, 2022 by apologist
Combining multiple posts into one

[Rusted Boltgun]

You're welcome @Arkhanist, I removed it as, on reflection, I thought I had been a bit forward in adding to your thread.

I did another five after that with much brighter colours but I'm thinking of going for the first white / blue / grey scheme for my ITTD Kroot and worked up a little fluff to go with it.

Anyway, back to yours - they really are quite menacing. Looking forward to seeing the Kinband.

[apologist]

Hoiked up from the depths, I've polished off a Tracker for my Kindred.

 

 

A fun little paint; I find the Kroot sculpts intimidating but so rewarding.

 

[Firedrake Cordova]

The Kroot are nice sculpts (they're pretty different to everything else, IMHO).  

 

I like the colours you chose - very "natural" (or "earthy").  One suggestion, if I may - the "alien" tuft is nice, but it's super-bright compared to the subdued palette of the model and pulls attention a bit.

[apologist]

They are rather vivid, aren't they? While it doesn't look quite so lurid in real life, a gently drybrush or dust with pigment might help it sit in a little more. Thanks for the feedback.

 

I realised that I haven't been updating this blog for a while, so there's a little backlog:

 

+ WIP Baggage Knarloc and kroot gunslinger +

 

Pictured above are the results of a second box of the new Kill Team Kroot together with some older metal Kroothounds, along with a few 3D printed extras designed by FelixtheCrazy and printed by the generous @Lucifer216, and some accessories from the original Kroot Carnivore kit.

 

 

The kroot background has a lot of appeal for me – on the one hand, they're savage flesh-eating aliens, but on the other, they've got a great tribalistic and explorative angle. They're self-reliant and self-improving, with a culture based around very different values from any of the major factions in 40k. Perhaps most appealingly, they're not an overblown galaxy-ending influence on the broader stage – merely an exemplar of the many, many hundreds of minor xenos that riddle the 40k galaxy. It's a refreshingly understated and surprisingly thoughtful area of the background, ripe for development.

 

Kill Team: Into the Dark expanded a little on the Kroot background, and provided us with some insight into their motives and way of war – and it's little snippets like this that really set my mind alight. Of course, the beautiful models and cool aesthetic really help, and I don't think I'd be anywhere near as interested if Brian Nelson hadn't made such a great job of sculpting the first batch of the basketball-playing parrot-Predator creatures.

 

Gaming plans
Out of interest, I worked up a quick 10th edition list using the models at my disposal – it comes to 810pts.
Faction: Tau Empire

Detachment rules: Kauyon

Units: 

Kroot Shaper – 40pts
Precision of the patient hunter – 20pts
Kroot Shaper – 40pts
Kroot Farstalkers – 70pts
1 Killbroker, 9 kroot, 2 kroothounds
Kroot Farstalkers – 70pts
1 Killbroker, 9 kroot, 2 kroothounds
Kroot Carnivores (10) – 55pts
Kroothounds (4) – 30pts
Kroothounds (4) – 30pts
Kroothounds (4) – 30pts
Krootox Riders (2) – 70pts
Great Knarloc – 100pts
Knarloc Riders – 110pts
Ambull – 85ps
The Archivist – 70pts

 

Background-wise, the Kindred aren't associated with the Tau, so it's more themed around mercenaries rather than auxiliaries. You'll spot a couple of units that come from the 'Legends' rules – the Ambull and Zoat – because this seems the perfect project to include all the weird and wonderful models that I've collected over the years.

[Firedrake Cordova]

I really like the Kroot in terms of background and model design, too  

 

I like the idea of a "Kroot mercenary" army (I imagine being led by someone like Dahyak Grekh from Blackstone Fortress)  

[apologist]

 

The recent preview of all the new Kroot has given me a boot up the arse to get my Kindred painted in time for reinforcements. 

 

(Seems I'm not the only one – check out the 'Kroot Killteam covenant' thread in the Tau subforum, if you'd like to join the fun. :))

 

Progress has been decent, with four new members of the tribe ready for the field of battle upon Paradise XXII:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2024 by apologist

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nice work.  

 

It's a bit of a "shock" to see Kroot with a different skin tone, but it works well and the muted/natural colour palette looks great

[ZeroWolf]

These look fantastic. Love the contrast between the models and the bases. Well done!