T’au Empire: Army Set – Kroot Hunting Pack

Kroot models give painters a great opportunity to get creative with their colour palette. I have seen lots of unusual schemes that seem to suit this race as they’re able to evolve in different ways. Read on for my guide detailing how I painted the bulk of my new force from the Kroot Hunting Pack box (using Citadel Paints unless specified otherwise).

Flesh for the Flesh-Eaters

The skin of these avian-like xenos is usually green or brown but can be a dramatically different tone depending on their diet. I decided to paint my first twenty Kroot Carnivores with the classic green skin but I selected a few base colours to alternate between (Straken Green, Elysian Green, and Skarsnik Green) in order to give the skin tones some variation across the unit. To shade the flesh, I added increasing amounts of Waaagh! Flesh to the base colour until it was pure in the deepest recesses. For the highlights, I mixed in Deepkin Flesh with the base colour to pick out the edges and upward-facing parts.

For the quills on their head and smaller spines on their limbs, I chose red to make them stand out against the more muted colours of the skin and clothing. I basecoated using Khorne Red, then shaded with Carroburg Crimson, before highlighting with Mephiston Red and Evil Sunz Scarlet. FInally, I added some small line markings to the tips using Wild Rider Red.

For their eyes and tribal markings, I decided to use bright yellow to make them stand out. I started with Averland Sunset, then worked my way up using Flash Gitz Yellow and Dorn Yellow. I wanted the bellies and beaks of my Kroot to add some contrast so I basecoated these using Incubi Darkness. I then used a 50/50 mix of Incubi and Sybarite Green, and highlighted with pure Sybarite Green. I also stippled on some Calgar Blue and Warpstone Glow.

Fa Fa Fa Fa Fashion

I wanted to move away from the brown shades that are often used on Kroot’s clothing, so I selected black for the leather parts and light grey for the cloth. I basecoated the leather with Abaddon Black, then Mechanicus Standard Grey, before washing the areas with Nuln Oil and then highlighting them using Dawnstone and Celestra Grey.

For the cloth, I used Eshin Grey, Nuln Oil, Dawnstone, Celestra Grey, and a final highlight of Pallid Wych Flesh. I picked out any stitches on the clothing with Rakarth Flesh, as I wanted them to have an off-white tone. Then I also highlighted them using Pallid Wych Flesh.

Bang Bang, I Shot You Down

Most of the Kroot Carnivores carry rifles and small blades that feature wooden weapon handles. I basecoated these with Abaddon Black, then used Bloodreavers Flesh and Knight-Questor Flesh to paint on a wood grain effect, before blending everything together with a wash of Agrax Earthshade.

For the metal parts of the weapons as well as any bangles and adornments worn by the Kroot, I used Darkstar’s line of Molten Metals paints. I picked their Steel, Graphite, and Pewter metallics for the silver. On the gold areas, I chose Aged Copper, Royal Gold, and Platinum.

Non-Basic Basing

I knew I wanted my army of Kroot to look like they were fighting in the jungles on their homeworld of Pech. I applied modelling paste to their bases to give the appearance of uneven, muddy ground. I then glued on tiny pieces of cork to act as rocks and some 3d printed basing bits such as plants and logs. I basecoated the whole area using Rhinox Hide, then added a thick coat of Agrax Earthshade. A heavy drybrush of Knight-Questor Flesh really helped to pick out all of the muddy parts, logs, and rocks. I painted the plants using bright colours (incluidng Warpstone Glow, Yriel Yellow, and Mephiston Red) to make them stand out and added a few tufts as well for good measure. Then all that was left to do was to paint the edge of the base black and my Kroot models were ready to join the fight for the greater good.

I hope you enjoyed this painting guide for my favourite race from Warhammer 40k. Message us on social media @ZatuGames to show us how you’re painting your new Kroot models.