In this wargaming base painting guide, we'll demonstrate how you can use some interesting technical paints to achieve a filthy, rust-eaten look on our Necropolis bases. We've used a 32mm sized base and chosen a weathered metal colour scheme accented with some classic yellow hazard stripes.

This technique uses washing and stippling, and if you want the hazard stripes, a little lining. We're going for a dirty underhive look to complement the new Necromunda gang one of our team have been working on, but you could easily adopt this look for any grimy sci-fi setting like Star Wars Shatterpoint or Stargrave.

You will need:

• A fine-tip brush for lining
• An old basing brush for applying washes
• A stiff-bristle brush for stippling

Colours we used:

• A white undercoat (we used cheap car primer)
• A metallic silver as the base coat (we used Citadel Ironbreaker)
• An accent colour for the hazard stripes (we used Citadel Averland Sunset)
• A brown wash (we used Citadel Agrax Earthshade)
• A technical rust paint (we used Dirty Down Rust)
• A technical dirt weathering paint (we used Citadel Typhus Corrosion)
• A dark neutral colour for the base rim and hazard stripes (we used Citadel Abaddon Black)

Apply your base metal colour over your white undercoat. It doesn't have to be pretty as we'll be weathering it up later, just avoid any major streaks of paint that might become more visible as we paint over it later. 

We've used Citadel Ironbreaker, but any metallic silver colour will do fine for this stage.

All good dirty sci-fi panelling has some extra colour thrown in, perhaps as long-forgotten warning labels or replacement parts, and this base is no different. We're using hazard stripes as they're viscerally industrial and very straightforward to do.

Start by basing the panel you want to be hazard stripes in your base colour, we've used Citadel Averland Sunset for a muted yellow.

We like to do our light colours first, then layer dark colours over the top. With our yellow down, it's time to add some black stripes. We've used Citadel Abaddon Black.

The lines don't have to be straight or neat, just try to keep them roughly the same width apart from each other. Any mistakes can be covered up by the weathering later on.

You want something to dull the shininess of the metallic paint and add some depth to the recesses. We've used Citadel Agrax Earthshade as our brown wash. 

You can really glug it on at this stage. The end result is better without a smooth finish, so don't worry about trying to smooth it out as you apply it.

Apologies for the potato photo, but you can see the effect we're going for!

In this step we'll be applying rusty colours. We've used Dirty Down Rust, a high matt water soluble rust effect paint that produces some great effects straight out the bottle. As with any technical paints, it can take a little bit of experimentation to produce desired results (and likes to be at a certain temperature before application, so might need a little bath or pop it under your armpit for a few minutes).

We've globbed it on with an old brush, wiping it away from some areas to create different gradients. 

Another round of weathering with technical paints! Make sure the previous step is fully dry, and take care when applying any kind of paint over Dirty Down Rust as it can reactivate when wet.

We've used Citadel Typhus Corrosion for this stage, and using an old stiff-bristled brush we've stippled on some granulated matt brown paint onto the base. We've tried to aim slightly more for raised edges and corners so the next stage stands out better.

When everything is completely dry, break out your original metallic colour and a fine-tipped brush. You want to use the flat of the brush and dab at exposed edges and corners of metal where corrosion or rust might chip off from passing traffic.

You're looking to apply the effect in a semi-random fashion and not too neatly. The random dab sizes will help sell the chipping effect. Avoid going too hard on this step - less is more. If you think you've overdone it, simply break out the Dirty Down Rust or Typhus Corrosion again to cover it up!

The final step (and one we find incredibly satisfying) is to finish off the base by painting the rim. We favour two thin coats of a dark colour that complements the overall base colour scheme, usually black, dark grey, or dark brown. Here, we've used Citadel Abaddon Black to maximise the contrast between the rim and the pale grey of the stone.

Some people don't do this step, but we believe that painting the rim of the base is like framing your favourite poster or wall hanging - it fully finishes off the look by tidying, containing, and presenting the artwork you've invested in.

And you're finished!

What do you think? Would you like to see it in different colours, or on different sized bases? Let us know in the comments below or through our social accounts.

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Pick up your own Necropolis bases here and get experimenting!