It's about time that I started a blog for this army as I am beginning to work on it on a semi-consistent basis, now. Having had a Kroot Mercenary army since the White Dwarf chapter approved list, I've been using it in games since 2002. In that time I have added a slew of Forgeworld models, and genuinely had a great experience converting, painting, and playing the army as Kroot Mercenaries. Since the introduction of fifth edition, however, the army list fell into disrepair without any updates. While the tournament organizers at MI40k.com have been kind enough to allow me to use Kroot Mercenaries at their tournaments, I knew it was time to find a valid, sixth edition codex for a counts-as list.

At first I tried an Ork Kan Wall. Kroot as Boyz seemed like a logical jump, and the armies play very similarly. Oh, if only the Feral Orks still existed (ironically, they were in the same 2004 chapter approved as the Mercenary list). I could not use my Great Knarloc models as Deff Dreads, it was just too hard on the imagination to picture them exploding when hit by a lascannon. In addition, I never painted that many Kroot models to use as a viable horde army.

When the Grey Knights codex was released, I had put together an army idea using lots of henchmen, led by Inquisitor Coteaz (Inquisitor Krooteaz, as I would have called him). It would have relied on a shooting line of henchmen, backed up by some Death Cult Assasins as counterattack units. Great Knarlocs could be represented as Dread Knights, and everything in-between had a very reasonable counts-as choice. I had even finished my first counts-as Jokearo:



At that point, Grey Knights were considered ridiculously overpowered, an army I try to stay away from, and I've never been a fan of static gunlines, so the project never really took off. I still have all the bits I purchased for Inquisitor Krooteaz, and he will be finished one day solely out of principle.

Then came the Dark Eldar codex. After reading through the rules of the different units, I felt I had finally found stats that I envisioned my Kroot to have- lightning fast and deadly in assault, but with the same fragilities when it came to toughness and armor saves. I began re-writing the Dark Eldar codex to fit in with the Kroot fiction, and dropped every vehicle choice except the Venom. I let my Kroot models dictate the direction of the codex, as I wanted to use all my favorite models. The end result is exactly what I had hoped to achieve- an elite, all-infantry army that excels in close quarters and on boards with lots of terrain. There were a few additions to the codex as I played my first few games, namely the inclusion of webway portals and harlequins to deliver them. Trueborn were also added, to deal with enemy vehicles, which the list is extremely poor against due to the removal of all dark lance options.

I run the army in 8th edition as a footslogging Aeldari force. With the introduction of Ynnari and the ability to pick units across the craftworld/commoragh/harlequin universe, I have built my army around those various infantry and beast units. Please have a skim over the codex, the most updated link is in my signature.

Death By Pecking



Webway Portal



HQ Character (Used as a Succubus, Lelith Hesperax, Great Harlequin)



Wyches



Rangers with Illic Nightspear



Harlequins



Kroot with flamer (currently no rules for counts-as)



Wraithlord



Wraithseer



Baron Sathonyx / Beastmaster



The Yncarne



Some in-game action

Awesome! Can't wait to see what's coming next.

Here is a WIP of what I am trying to accomplish with the Reborn Kindred.





These models count as Wracks, and are quite simply Kroot zombies. The Elder Shapers believe, however, that they are reincarnating fallen warriors to once again take to the battlefield.

I really love the webway portal. Great job all together

Really love your conversion work, the painting is nearly very good.

Just a bit puzzled by the codex choice, using the Tau codex and using counts as for the tau parts would of been a much lesser jump.

Tortured-Robot wrote:Really love your conversion work, the painting is nearly very good.

Just a bit puzzled by the codex choice, using the Tau codex and using counts as for the tau parts would of been a much lesser jump.

I disagree - Eldar make very good Kroot, or vice versa, both are agile and dextrous race, only the strength is an issue.

I'm doing a similar idea myself - but based more around Jabba's Palace style court.


Nice work on them, little sad to see a lot of the models from your Kroot merc army used, was hoping to see a lot more new recruits.

Painted Reborn, which I'm not happy with:



In order to make it look more undead, I painted the skin over a grey basecoat instead of black. I also left the eye sockets untouched and used a paler, single color for the quill highlights and skin spots. The problem is, when combined with the absence of warpaint, the model looks unfinished. I think I will paint the eye sockets black, and go over the quills, but I think the skin tone is going to be the most important part to emphasize that this is an undead model. I'm also contemplating adding some grievous injuries on the model, and perhaps even adding the warpaint back on (freshly killed?). Please add your thoughts, and if anyone has a good method for doing undead skin I'm all ears.

I love the concept behind the list, but more than that the conversions so far are excellent.

On to the reborn - unfortunately the current paint scheme doesn't come across as being undead - it just looks like a lighter skinned version of his living pals. I'd be inclined to do something a bit more spirit rather than zombie-like and paint them in monochrome, perhaps like LOTR army of the dead:



There's a decent step-by-step on the GW site:

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?categoryId=cat460013a&aId=12300001

It's difficult since we don't know what kroot look like when they're dead...that also gives you a lot of freedom to decide for yourself at least. I'd add some grey and/or blue into the mix. I'd also make the quills really pale, as if they just lose all their colour when a kroot dies.

Ghost kroot would be pretty nifty if that's anything to go by, would fit with their 'ancestral spirit' neo-Native american beliefs. Plus, ghost kroot could be phasing through all sorts of crazy things!

I reworked the whole idea, and went full rotting zombie Kroot. I'm glad I did, I like it much better, although it loses the charm of a reanimated warrior and now falls into obvious necromancy.

Magnificent, thank you for posting this great work, I am so tired of seeing marine stuff. These models/rules are fantastic!

These are looking good, I really like your webway portal tree thing!

@axiom: That tutorial made me chuckle. GW have basically produced an army that can be painted entirely with an airbrush, 4 pots of paint and a citadel tank drybrush. Not like them to come up with a 'buy as little stuff as possible' paint scheme

I love this army, very different and the dead ones look very um dead the painting is good and the webway portal is very imaginative

Good luck with the rest of the army

Really, really great concept and beautiful execution, mate!

Thanks a lot for posting the re-worked codex too. That's a beaut of a job, and you've found fluff and rules choices that fit really well.

Can't wait to see what's next!

I finished the small unit of Reborn. It's only 3-men strong for the consumption token at the beginning of the game, which will be swiped by an IC. I really liked the idea of painting them up as spirits like suggested, but went with undead because of how they will be played on the table. The unit will give up their token and then hide the rest of the game, more suited for mindless zombies than resurrected warriors.





Here are some parts that I will be basing the War Skiff off of (counts as a Venom). Think lots of plasticard armor plates and netting with Kroot holding on as the skiff races into battle.

This army idea is brilliant! I might end up stealing the idea if you don't mine just because i've always wanted to do a kroot list...

Please do not stop here

That is an amazing army idea. Are you gong to do winged kroot for scourges?

I included scourges in the list as an option, but I will not be doing them. I can't determine a reasonable way to convert a 4+ save on a winged Kroot, so I will be relying on trueborn for my heavy weapons infantry. In the games I have played using this list, a unit of trueborn with blasters coming out of a webway portal has done very well for me.

@ Da Big Mek- I didn't spend the time making the codex if I didn't hope at least one person would try it out!

Wow, these look pretty awesome.

Some awesome conversions in this thread all around.

Where did you get those awesome plastic crossbows?

And the Rule of Cool shall be enforced. Very creative and detailed. Love the tree as the webway portal.

lunarman, the crossbows are bits from the Lizardmen range. I found them on eBay quite cheap.

I may have to rethink not making scourges after I took a look at how those sexy wings fit on a Kroot model.

:O are those the Scourge wings?
Absolutely adore what you've done with the list!!
Particularly like the 'Eaters of the Dead' very fluff based!
I've always wanted to do a Kroot army only I've never been overly enthusiastic about using tau with them - would it be cool with you if i steal the idea?

Any tips on how you did that Tree-Portal would be nice, I'm doing my army as 'Wood Eldar' (Exodites/Outcasts etc) and it looks like it would fit in perfectly.

An update, with a WIP model that I will be using as a Razorwing Flock.




It's a Dark Elf War Hyrda from the Warmaster range, with some quills and baggage items added over a greenstuff harness that is difficult to see in the images. The rest of the green stuff is just to fill in the horribly molded metal figure. I chose to use this model because it has 5 heads to represent the 5 attacks and 5 wounds of the Razorwing Flock, which all look amazingly similar to a Kroot Hound head. In fact, I'm attempting to make this model look just like an evolutionary parallel to the Kroot Hound.

Any thoughts on what to add, delete or change before I add paint? Also, I'm looking for a neat name to call it in the Kroot codex- Kroot Hydra just doesn't work.

some really nice work here man, I can tell alot of effort has gone into this.
How about Hydra hound for the name of the beast.

Razorbeak.

And, subscribed, my Kroot brethren!

--B.

I really like the idea you've got going here. I've always felt the kroot are very cool models that needed their own army & don't get the appreciation they deserve. Plus, I always thought the dark eldar were kinda a lame army lol I mean what's next? Cute & cuddly good guy Necrons? lol

.

Great looking army and a good idea. I've always liked the kroot models and felt they would look reallly good as an individual army. You've pulled it off so far keep up the top work. The scourges would look perfect judging by the mock up.

wow i cant wait to see the skiff done , subscribed !

Kroot Razorbeak is what I will call it, that's a great name. I'm going to expand the quills on the back so it doesn't look like a "Kroot head glued to the back of a hydra" and will prime it and put some pics up this weekend.

Love the idea! Kroot are such a cool race, and the Dark Eldar codex is money!

Subbed!

Excellent blog. There are some really interesting and original models here. I wouldn't have necessarily put Kroot and the DE Codex together but they seem to work surprisingly well.

Red_Starrise wrote:Plus, I always thought the dark eldar were kinda a lame army lol I mean what's next? Cute & cuddly good guy Necrons? lol

Since the new Necron codex is out, I thought I would point out this comment, since some Necron lords are now pretty much cute and cuddly good guys.

Dear god, I am inspired!

What a neat concept! I like it, well done!

Also:

This kroot has huge wood.

Our household is playing a Planetary Empires campaign, which makes for good motivation to finish up some vital models, and some not-so-vital additions. There are five players in our campaign, and only four different colored flags to claim the hexagonal tiles with. So, I volunteered to make up some new ones for my army:



I figure there is no better deterrent to attacking my tiles than seeing giant pink meat sacks sticking out of them.

Also, I finished my Hunter Kindred (counts as Trueborn with blasters), probably the most vital anti-vehicle unit in a WWP list for this campaign (the other armies are Mechdar, Grey Knights, Blood Angels, and Space Wolves, all mechanized).



The next couple of weeks should see some new models finished. There is a tournament on December 10 and I need to finish a second webway portal, a couple razorwing flocks, and a death jester for the list I hope to take.

I really want to have my Kroot meet your Kroot.

Please keep us updated on your campaign!

--B.

Subbed. I love kroot and these are an excellent example of why. That tree portal is super cool and the theme and execution are fantastic. I'll be watching with bated breath.

I've been wanting to do this for years! I'm glad someone finally did it! You've inspired me to begin working on getting enough Kroot to do this!

Great idea for an army. The trueborn are amazingly well converted and painted, I can't wait to see more from this blog!

Excellent work , your ideas conversions and painting are all inspirational.

I just wanted to update this blog to let anyone interested know that I have updated the codex to include sixth edition FAQs, as well as some Eldar allies. I have also added some images on my first post of models that I plan to use as Eldar allies. I am especially pleased to be able to use my Kroot Ancestral Spirit again as an Eldar Avatar, which is a conversion of the Inquisitor-scale Kroot model.

I applaud you for your effort. It takes a LOT of creativity to make a Kroot army with DE rules. Your conversions are beautiful as well. Just know that the minute you bring them to the table, the issues start.

quilava1 wrote: Just know that the minute you bring them to the table, the issues start.

I certainly hope not! It would be a pleaure to play against this army! It might be a bit confusing at the start, but anyone who has a serious problem with it isn't worth playing

Great inspiration for me Excellent work.

Not really an update to the Dark Eldar counts-as list, but thought I would post a pic of a model I thought was lost and buried until it finally reemerged during some basement cleaning. Was thinking of turning it into a Kroot Titan, and would probably use the rules for one of the Tyranid Gargantuan Creatures in an Apocalypse game. There's quite a bit of potential with the model, any preliminary suggestions?

Oaka! I didn't realise you were on Dakka too, I remember your army from kompletely Kroot, Great stuff! The titan looks very promising indeed! You thinking some sort of howdah set up on the back, like that massive krootox someone did? Not sure how well it would work, but might be an idea? Especially as the straps etc are already there.

This looks like a fun army to try, but how do you make things like kroot rangers, kindred spirits and those things, they arent on games-workshop or forgeworld so what units did you use to convert them? What would be the best way to start this army?

An update, I have made some Kroot-themed markers that are going to count as Dark Eldar Pain Tokens:



These are neat little markers than I can have follow my units. All three of the pikes are removable, so it is easy to begin a game with one trophy pike (due to the Haemonculus rule) and then add in new trophy pikes as the game goes on.

I also finished an Aegis Defense Line. Ever since 6th edition dropped it is almost necessary for a Dark Eldar foot list with all three heavy slots committed to Talos' to have some sort of air defense.



I'm quite happy with how my Krootox Quad-Gun turned-out:

This is an awesome Army Idea as well as execution. I've been wanting to play a Kroot army since I started 40k about a year ago. The Kroot Mercenaries WD was far too outdated, The Kompletely Kroot is alright, but not chapter approved, and I'd though of using tau rules after seeing some converted Broadside Knarlocs, but this seems perfect.

Do you have any pictures of the War Skiff? As well as what parts you were using? And could you give us a tutorial on how you made the Aegis Line and Quad Gun?

Massive props to you for putting in the effort to give Kroot their own codex This is one of the most refreshing projects I've seen in a while.

I'll be keeping a close eye out for more.

Cool man! Love your succubus and avatar conversions, neat ideas.

Gah. Love. I'm doing a similar army, all Kroot, albeit way way behind your progress, and different fluff wise. I'm in love with the rocket launcher guys, the scheme is super slick, and am curious how your getting so many slick positions. I'm newer to converting. The kroot box has few leg positions and the hands are always holding a gun or a knife. Are you sculpting the hands? If so, tutorial? also the legs, ive cut at the joints but then I have to resculpt knees et al with gs. Difficult to say the least. Curious how you're doing it so beautifully. Obviously practice. Lol.
Cheers
Bebop

Updated on my first post with all the models for this army, I will continue to update the first post as things eventually get finished. The latest thing I finished was the Kroot Razorbeak, to be used in Beastmaster units as a Razorwing Flock. I thought I was going to have it finished in October, 2011, but I get distracted easily.





I'll also answer recent questions:

@ Nogdakka - I put the War Skiff on hold after sixth edition didn't allow assaulting out of webway portals. It has really forced me to shift my tactics around a lot. I would like to get back to it eventually, but right now I need to flesh out models for a couple large beast packs. The Aegis Defense Line is made from these excellent stockade resin pieces by Acheson :

http://achesoncreations.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=867&category_id=71&keyword=stockade&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

They make some great 28mm era resin terrain, and all of their wall sets make excellent defense lines for 40K. The Quad-gun is a finecast Krootox with four Kroot Guns bundled together and a heavy bolter to make up the rear of the weapon.

@ bebopdrums2424 - I have been sculpting the hands on the Kroot holding the launchers. The Kroot hand, fortunately, is very easy to sculpt as it is symmetrical and consists of four fingers, two long ones and two 'thumbs'. I'm not a sculptor, but was able to make several hands with different lengths of putty as the fingers and a simple fingernail shape with a sculpting tool at the end of each finger. For arm and leg repositioning, I was originally breaking them at the joints and putting putty in the gaps, but you are correct this doesn't usually end up with a good result. What I learned works really well is you tape up the quills that exist on the forearms and thighs of the Kroot legs, and then hold the elbow/knee over a fine flame until it bends easily. I now do this over a butane torch, but years ago having a friend and a lighter worked almost as well. Taping up the quills is key as if they get hit by any flame heat they will lose their detail by melting into the plastic.

Great blog so far, very interesting and full of character!

Love what You're doing with the kroots (I always liked them)

Here are some shots of the army so far. Before I can start anything new, I need to finish two more Knarloc Riders (Beastmasters) and three more Razorbeaks (Razorwing Flocks). I have this bad habit of converting and painting one model, but then taking forever to get around to finishing more of them. I'm not sure where to go afterwards, but these are the ideas I have had been considering:

Counts-as Baharroth
Counts-as Farseer on Jetbike
Counts-as Fire Dragons (to man the Quad-gun)

I also would like to build the War Skiff, but it was going to be used as a Webway Portal delivery vehicle. Since I can no longer assault out of reserve, it's become a bit tricky to repurpose the core strategy behind this army list, but I'm working on it!

Funny, I hadn't even seen this thread but had just started on my own Kroot Stand-in Dark eldar army that I had planned for a year. Doing a few things differently than what you are doing, for instance the fact that I dont own any forgeworld models, but otherwise we are certainly sharing some similar themes.

i also came to the conclusion that Dark Eldar was the best choice, as the whole eaters of the dead matching up with pain tokens seemed as just a too perfect fit for me.

Keep it up!

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with your Kroot. One quick look at your gallery and I can tell you are capable of some excellent converting and painting work. I really like the bone armor on the head gear and shoulders of your Kroot, and may steal that idea if you don't mind. If I had one half of your skill with sculpting greenstuff, I would be able to do so much more with the Kroot plastics, they are a really excellent kit to manipulate.

[quote=Oaka 358656 5588165 256.jpgI have this bad habit of converting and painting one model, but then taking forever to get around to finishing more of them.

Just re-found this, I'm going to have a look at your codex and then maybe do this as my next army i'd love to do a kroot only army but the current tau codex doesnt let you :(
Definatly keeping my eye on this now

Young Logan

Very, VERY impressive!

This is brilliant. Way to go!

I'm quite excited about the new Eldar codex, and how it will affect my Kroot army. The Avatar is better and I now have a great counts-as option for the new Wraithknight.



I have updated the Kroot Mercenary codex to include the new Eldar codex rules and units:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/2013/6/Forces_of_the_Kroot_New_Eldar_Codex-05145226.pdf

Finished the models required to field a full Beast unit:

Two more beastmasters:


Two razorwing flocks:


A shot of the entire unit, led by Baron Sathonyx:


I am very pleased because now I get to spend the remainder of the Summer working on my Wraithknight. I will post pics of the bits and a crude sketch of what I hope to accomplish shortly.

Some images of where I am starting and what I hope to achieve for a model to use as a Wraithknight.

All the resin pieces with some preliminary dremeling to remove the saddle and ears.


Some porcupine quills shown next to the head for scale, the quills will be added to make the head look more like a Kroot species.


Some Kroot bits that will be used- the gunners will each count as a shoulder-mounted ranged weapon on the Wraithknight and will be in a howdah on the creature's back.


Ogre Kingdoms bits that will be added to the model.


Finally, a crude drawing of my plan.

I like the counts-as Wraithknight plan, it'll be really cool to see the finished model.

Out of interest, what is it that you're using as the basis for the build?

Unfortunately, I do not know where the model originates from. I was able to grab it from a friend's basement when he cleared out a lot of excess projects. I've gone ahead and magnetized the model, both so that I can work on the individual pieces without difficulty and to reduce eventual transportation headaches. Here is a nice size comparison shot. Models from left to right: Kroot Knosis, Kroot Great Knarloc, Kroot Knarloc Rider, Krootox, Kroot Carnivore, Kroot Hound, Kroot Bird. As you can see, he's big.

Is it going to get a pair of forearms eventually? Like all the former Kroot beasties?

I will not be adding any forearms. I'm envisioning the model to be a larger-scaled version of the Kroot Bird:



This model goes against the grain in respects to a lot of Kroot characteristics. The beak is more avian, it's missing its forearms, and it has only three digits per claw. Fortunately, it allows me to feel comfortable making a Kroot model that shares those characteristics.

I'm going to be working from the bottom up as different bits begin to arrive piecemeal. The base is already well detailed, so I've just added three stakes to draw a little bit of consistency with the army, as I used these stakes to build my Aegis Defense Line.

The base is finished! It includes scenic elements scattered throughout my army, to help tie it in together. I've based it with the same sand and gravel mixture I've used for over ten years, and then added patches of flock and static grass. In addition to the wooden stakes that were used for my aegis defense line, I added several small mushrooms around the base with green stuff and painted up in the same style as mushrooms on my resin bases I purchased for the pain tokens and some character models.



Now, onto the legs. Before painting, I'm planning on doing the following:

1. Sculpt the missing toes that broke off.
2. Putty in the cracked skin to make it appear like smooth muscle.
3. Add thigh quills that are present on Kroot models (planning on five quills per thigh with toothpick tips)
4. Build anklets on each leg to attach hooks of meat.

Cool idea.
I'll be watching.

Thanks for the interest, I feel like there isn't much of it. I have been trying to make this a proper blog but whenever I post my plans for this counts-as Wraithknight I get no feedback, so I'm not sure what to do.

This model is going to be my project for the rest of the 2013 Summer, so I want to take my time and listen to all criticisms at every stage.

Oaka, you know youve got my attention! im coming back to la this weekend so i hope to be painting while im there! looking forward to some inspiration from you!

Truly awe inspiring.

Possible counts-as Hellion or Eldar Jetbike in the works with the new Lizardmen releases? I played an 1850-point game this past week against Eldar and held my own, even winning all the small battles between units from each side. I ended up losing the game due to Eldar Jetbike objective grabbers on the last turn, and am sorely lacking that type of unit in my own army. With the Baron, Hellions can become Troops, and, of course, Eldar Jetbikes can be allied in. I think these new Lizardmen flyers would be great for either model choice, with a Kroot rider on each equipped with a ranged weapon to count as either the splinter pods on a Hellion or the twin-linked shuriken catapult on an Eldar Jetbike.

The Wraithknight performed amazingly well, and took all of the firepower on my right flank and survived, while also munching through a unit of Wraithguard, a Wraithlord, and Dark Reapers. The Avatar did the same thing on my left flank, and eliminated a unit of Striking Scorpions, Rangers, and a Farseer, before succumbing to a torrent of ranged weaponry. Perhaps the best part about it was that these two models took all of the opposing shots, allowing three Talos' to make it across the board unscathed behind a unit of beasts.

Cool concept and execution mate. I love the second blaster guy from the left, that's such a cool pose.

Look forward to seeing what esle you come up with.

Here is the work I have been doing on the legs, first up, some green stuff to fill in the cracks on the scales:



Close-up of the work, I tried to get the lines from the original sculpt to run right into the added putty:



Addition of toothpick tips to the thigh for quills like all Kroot models have:



More green stuff to blend the quills into the flesh:



Then, anklet strap were made to wrap around both legs, with some Ogre Kingdoms bits added to help identify the model more as a Kroot beast:



Both legs ready for some paint:

I really like the details on those legs, nice work.
Looking forward to see the end product, this is going to be good

Slowly but surely, progress is being made. The legs are finished.








I'm happy with them, other than the fact that you can probably steal my identity from the thumbprints in the legs, but it's still difficult to tell how it will all look when it comes together. I think I'll start working on the head next, along with assembling the howdah and weapon crew and painting them separately. The quills on the head are going to end up running right into where the howdah is, so I will need to build them simultaneously just to be sure everything will fit together in the end! I just registered for a tournament on November 24, so that has become my deadline.

The army's looking really good man. Good luck on at the tourney.

Here are a couple pictures of how the head is going to turn out. I've gone with seven pairs of quills running down the back, much like the pattern found on the knarlocs and great knarlocs from Forgeworld. The head needs some more work to cover up the dremel work, but is otherwise pretty close to getting some paint.




I also began to put together the gunners. These guys will count as the shoulder-mounted weapons options on a Wraithknight. There is nothing too fancy about them, just a couple Kroot Gun torsos from the Krootox model glued to some regular Kroot legs. They won't be on bases, they will eventually be fixed directly to the model. I was worried that the torsos wouldn't match up well with the plastic legs, but it works great because they are naturally aiming below them.



Since taking these pictures, I've bored out the barrels and added some accessories.

I really like the vision behind this project - I'm looking forward to seeing your big beastie finished!

Here are the pieces I have to build the howdah.



Rather than use the LotR Mumak model, I went for the less recognizable Great Beast of Gorgoroth howdah. I'm sure there will be some chopping and extending required in order to get it to fit on the back, but the proportions all work well and the shape of the howdah is such that it will drape over the back of the beast, allowing the Kroot gunners to stand on a platform on either side. This is what it looks like assembled, I have not done this yet with mine.



I will be painting the fabrics a dark purple to tie in with the rest of my army. The dark browns on the Kroot are broken up with blue warpaint and purples across all the models.

Howdah looks perfect for the job. Glad to see you continuing with such a great example of a counts-as army done right!

Thanks, I've actually had more fun building and painting models than actually playing games ever since 3rd edition. I ran a nasty Steel Legion list back then and also a White Dwarf Necron list and was able to win local tournaments without much effort, but I quickly learned that was the best way to lose casual gaming buddies. I love the models and the background, but just don't like how competitive the game can get. I'll probably roll into this tournament in November with an 1850 point list that I've never used before, lose four times, but have a fun experience regardless! And there is usually a prize for Best Painted and Best Army, so those are my new goals.

One thing you might consider doing is building up underneath the giant kroot beasts eyes. Even the Krootbird has recessed eyes. I think that'd nail it as being "Kroot", for me anyway.

Love this blog and keep checking back to see if the big beastie is complete. Great progress and interesting thread. Certainly from the look of the legs you're on to a winner!

 Medium of Death wrote:
One thing you might consider doing is building up underneath the giant kroot beasts eyes. Even the Krootbird has recessed eyes. I think that'd nail it as being "Kroot", for me anyway.

Great idea, and I had never noticed it before. Even looking at the knarlocs and great knarlocs, you're right. I'll work on it this weekend. Thanks.

Finished the crew, they will be in the howdah once that is done.





I think I have the head ready to paint, as well, and will work on that some more. I have a tournament in 21 days and the head needs to be painted, torso built and painted, and howdah built and painted, and they all need to fit together! After the tournament I'll have time to go back and add details and accessories to hide any converting flaws.

Head is finished, kind of. I completely forgot to add warpaint. Only two weeks to finish this model to an acceptable standard, so that will probably have to wait until December. I see a couple vacation days off work and some long nights ahead. Next up, the torso. My plan on that is to pick up some rough modelling putty in order to build up the back until I get it in the shape I want for the howdah to fit on it. Any poor areas that stick out and need to be covered up will be done so after the tournament with extra details such as bags, supplies, and prisoners.

Wow, just discovered your thread. I am impressed with the vision, passion and mostly execution.

This is wonderful demonstration of patience and dedication.
I can't wait to see what you will be doing with the body of this monster... it will make or break the model.

So far so good oaka, my kroot brother! My only critique, im wondering if his head needs more/bigger thorns? They look more "spiney" than the usual kroot beast. But still, comsidering the scope of this army, its a drop in the bukcet, Awesome work so far
Cheers
BB

Oh wow, that head is looking incredible.

Here is the howdah, now for the joy of using milliput for the first time to build up the body. I've already used the entire first package, and have to go back to the store for a second. I really should have read an online tutorial on how to properly use the stuff, but right now I'm only adding bulk to the back and haven't begun any detail sculpting work just yet.






I'm not terribly happy with the howdah, but I've decided to get the entire model done and then go back and go over things as needed. I'm certainly open to ideas and suggestions on how to improve it.

i think its modelled great. The color choices i dont love but the kroot themselves look great too. Its cool!

BB

Yeah, I wanted to add in the purple that I have scattered throughout the rest of the army, but it seems a bit forced. I'm also regretting how I did the leathers in different tones, and may go back and redo them to look like the howdah from the actual Lord of the Rings model.

I won't have it done before the tournament tomorrow, but here is the WIP on the body. The purple marker is where I will build straps along the flanks, or vertebrae bumps along the back.

That head looks fantastic mate, the only thing I would suggest could improve it is to blend the transitions on the spines alittle bit more. ATM they are really stark.

Putty work along the back and extra straps. I'm in the process of painting it and some accessories to add to the final model.

Excellent work on this, cant wait to see it finished.

I just wanted to update this blog and let everyone know that I am still planning on finishing my Kroot Wraithknight soon, but I lost all motivation after my last tournament. The game has changed a lot, and I don't like the direction it's going.

I'm doing a similar idea, however using my Kroot (the Metal Feather Mercenary Force) is a speedy ork army. It's always great seeing Kroot armies, and you did a great job on them. Keep it up .

This is awesome!

I moved into a new apartment and bought a display case for my Kroot army.

The body is finished:




And here is what it is starting to look like put together, compared with the other large Kroot models:



Just some extra accessories to help provide proper scale and this guy is finally finished.

The Kroot Knosis is finally completely finished! It has been a very long process from my first concept to this point, but it's a great centerpiece to the army. I don't play the game anymore, but I still enjoy modelling and painting as a hobby, and plan to keep expanding my Kroot army but now without any limitations on what they have to look like or be equipped with. I'm also looking forward to the rumors of new Kroot models in the near future.

Love it, great job!

This... I like this...

I decided to learn some quick casting. The squad leaders and character models are going to be updated to having the long head quills, and I have a feeling I am going to start scattering Kroot birds throughout the entire army.

When I originally was going to use my Kroot as a counts-as Ork army, I had made a model to represent a Big Mek with a Kustom Force Field. Well, I finally got around to painting him.

This is a great blog and I look forward to seeing where it goes without restrictions. When you say "I decided to learn some quick casting" do you mean you made molds of the models and then your own models? What material do you use for the molds and models?

Love this army! I have a soft spot for Kroot.

Orkish: I purchased the Smooth-On Pourable Silicone Starter Kit and then just messed around with it. Trial and error.

Here is a WIP shot of Inquisitor Krooteaz:

I cant tell you how much I like this! Genuinely brilliant conversion. can't wait to see the finished version.

Inquisitor Krooteaz is finished!

These are plastic casts all painted up, I think they came out pretty well.

My next project is a Krootox rider with added Tau tech to join the kill team. I'm looking for suggestions based on this WIP and am about to hit it up with green stuff to fix the defects. I'm trying to convey a Kroot feel but have it come across as an obviously enhanced Krootox.

With the army outgrowing it's current carrying case, I decided to upgrade.



I also changed up the Krootox rider a bit and slopped some paint on him.

Haha, that keychain!

I've picked up some gorgeous third party sculpts from Zealot Miniatures of three dynamic Kroot hounds. The models are wonderfully detailed, and while they share a similar side profile to the GW models, the real difference can be seen from overhead. The GW hounds look malnourished in comparison. I'm looking forward to getting these guys painted up.

Ok these look really cool

I've always liked Kroot, and want to make a small mercenary kindred myself. Will watch this thread with interest!

Hi!
I like your Kroots, especially all the modifications. I am realy impressed.

 Oaka wrote:
I've picked up some gorgeous third party sculpts from Zealot Miniatures of three dynamic Kroot hounds.

These are great sculpts, cheers for sharing

Also yay for moar kroots!

- Salvage

Current progress of my kill team. I've got many ideas for individual models to work on in the near future.

Yeah these guys are really cool very nice work.

The timing has been such that I began gaming again with some old friends right as the new Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel-Tan book was released. After my first 7th edition game and having to flip through five different books all the time, I have rewritten my Kroot Mercenary codex to be a Counts-As Aeldari army. Check it out and let me know what you think!

https://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/2017/2/Oaka's_Kroot_Mercenary_Codex-17011334.pdf

Neat idea I've always thought that'd be the best option for making a playable Kroot army. that or a Dark Eldar codex which is a little more CC-oriented, but with Ynnari you could take your pick

I had been using them as Dark Eldar, and while I will miss having Talos', I think adding all the psykers to the list as well as the Soulburst mechanic will make the army more interesting to play.

So I'm making Kroot models for the Heroe's Path Harlequin Formation. If you take a Shadowseer, Death Jester, and Solitaire together, they get Infiltrate, Shrouded, and Stealth. Now those special rules just scream 'KROOT' to me. I raided my bits and put together a counts-as Solitaire, attempting to make it look like the current Harlequin Solitaire model in spirit.




Any suggestions before the paint goes on? I'm pretty pleased with the way the Lizardmen parts add to the model, but I think I may change up the skull on the Space Wolf claw, as it may be too easily identifiable as Space Wolves.

I think the claw looks fine; paint will fix any Space Wolfy-ness.

Honestly, I'm mostly commenting because of your Demon Duck of Doom which is amazing. I just read through the thread and loved watching the development of his giant beaky face. Well done.

Very nice it might jsut be the angle, but I didn't immediately thing 'Space Wolf' when I saw the claw. I think it looks cool like that to be honest, and as they're scavengers it could even be fluffed that he stole it from a dead Space Wolf if you like

I have finished painting my Heroe's Path Harlequin formation. Included is a Death Jester, a Solitaire, and a Shadowseer. Of course, now we have a new edition to play, but I like these models and will certainly find a way to squeeze them into my army lists.





I have also rewritten my Kroot Mercenary codex using the Xenos 1 index. The counts-as Ynnari list uses the following units (ones I have models for or plan to build):

Yvraine
The Yncarne
Illic Nightspear
Spiritseer
Lelith Hesperax
Succubus
Shadowseer
Hekatrix Bloodbrides
Kabalite Trueborn
Beastmaster
Death Jester
Solitaire
Wyches
Rangers
Harlequin Troupe
Khymerae
Clawed Fiends
Hellions
Venom
Wraithlord
Wraithknight

https://1drv.ms/b/s!Aj6GE6OtMZUykwXByez_EAEhhoGw

Loving these conversions!

A quick little project that yielded an excellent Kroot-themed counter so I can keep track of my available Command Points (My 2000 point army gets 12 of them).

That's a great army! I like very much the conversions and the painting, but especially the overall look is unique!

Great work on the Krootequins, as well as the counts as codex. Always happy to see Kroot pop back up ... and once again I'm thinking about returning to my eternal Kroot project

Counter looks great too!

- Salvage

Just a small, fun update. I thought it would be neat to provide army lists to my opponent with a faux wax seal.

Hey Oaka, that was seal is awesome! Have you presented one to an opponent yet? If so id love to know the reaction haha. I'm glad to see this thread still going, your conversions are inspirational and it'd be a shame to see no more of your kroot. You inspired me to Start a Kroot Army using the DE codex waaaaayyy back in 2012, though it doesn't seem that long since I'd attempted it.

Due to my inexperience at converting at the time as well as my close friend deciding to play DE when he started, I shelved the Kroot Army I had going. Now years of playing Orks and Nurgle Marines later I decided to pick it back up again, not as DE as my friend still plays against me with his regularly- But as 8th Edition Space Wolves.

I know modeling a 3+ save onto Kroot believablely is dubious, so I've opted to not use standard Space Wolf units aside from some Bloodclaws ive converted from Sauras Warriors to represent heavier armor. Instead I'm using the new Vanguard Detachment in 8th edition to bring loads of Space Wolf Scouts, they fit the Kroot aesthetic with Snipers, Combat Knives, infiltrate, etc.

Your most recent projects are very well done and I especially love the fist weapon on your Harlequin Heroes. Also where did the bit for the Heroes' Scythe weapon on the right come from? It seems a bit DE in appearance but im not sure.

Anyway, just wanted to say that you've been a huge inspiration both on Dakka and Kompletely Kroot and I hope you plan on posting your latest projects (P.S. Any chance we'll get to see that War Skiff?)

Thanks for the kind words, and I'm interested in seeing how your scout army goes. While Dark Eldar have worked out well for me, I have been taking a gander now at the Genestealer Cult rules with the ambushing and taking Tyranids for the Kroot beasts, but so far I've been really happy with Ynnari as they afford my Kroot models a level of elitism as I'm not interested in painting any more rank and file troops.

The scythe is from the Sylvaneth range. When it comes to fantasy bits, I've liked including bits from wood elves, lizardmen, and ogre kingdoms to keep the primitive look for my army.

Funny you mention the skiff. The rules for the Tantalus would be a great addition to the way I play and I've actually been messing around with my bits to make a skimmer. I still have a few infantry models to finish to flesh out an 8th edition army but might get working on the skiff after that.

I looked at the Genestealer Cult too but decided the Space Wolves had more opportunity for Krootification, like the Thunderwolf Cavalry into Knarloc Riders and fenris/cyber wolves into Kroot Hounds The ambush mechanic of GS is quite krootish though. But I didn't have any kroot painted or assembled so wanted to go with a less Hordeish army than GS, but they could work well, not as well as Ynnari I'm betting, and less opportunity for using the models you already have, but well enough.

Are you currently working on a project from that list you posted a few posts ago?

Yes, I am currently working on a mounted character using the citadel woods tree as a flying base and the Seraphon terradon as the mount. I'm hoping to magnetize the rider torso so I can use it as either a skyrunner psyker or a beastmaster. I'm planning on posting WIP pics but first I need to paint two more shapers with eviscerators to help bring my army up to five troops choices.

The most recent work has been finishing up some squad leaders so I can run six Troops choices to use a Battalion formation. The shapers with eviscerators count as a hekatrix with agoniser.



After playing a couple games it has become clear that I need a way to deal with vehicles that doesn't rely on melee, and 8th edition has been kind to Dark Reapers. Here is my first attempt at a Kroot Dark Reaper, preliminary thoughts?

This thread is made of so much win. I dare say I haven't seen such great appropriation of parts since Hive Fleet Moloch.

I'm kinda meh on the Dark Reaper kroot. The helmet makes him look a bit too much like the old XV15 stealthsuits rather than Kroot using tau tech. Otherwise I like how you changed the burst cannon into something that can be the equivallent of the Reaper's launchers.

I actually really like the way the Kroot head 'fits' into a breacher helmet. It's tricky trying to justify a 3+ save without tons of armor, but the model does look a bit too clean and Tau-approved. I wanted to extend the barrel of the burst cannon to look more like a launcher but I think I will also add some bits to the gun as well as the shoulder pad to tone down the clean look. I do feel a bit lazy using mostly stealth suit parts, but they do all work well together when you're going for a 3+ save with stabilizers. I'll use the exarch as a way to dress down the unit and add in a little more character. Probably more body parts, I've always looked at Kroot as if they were Ewoks minus the cuteness. I mean, those little buggers were about to burn Han Solo alive and eat him.

I finished a second dark reaper, adding some more Krooty bits to it and the first one.



I tend to prefer similar poses for counts-as models to the actual models they are supposed to represent, so the third Kroot dark reaper will be an exarch, but which pose seems like it would look better? Should I just bling up a similar pose with a larger gun or go for the pointing hand?

I'd vote for big gun mode, that seems to designate the exarch more.

I'm partial to pointing hands myself, i think that gives a leaderly air more than giant hats or guns.

(everything here so far is amazing by the way)

Before Photobucket implodes, here is the old write-up I did when I converted the two Forgeworld great knarlocs into mounted versions:

The rules for the Forgeworld Great Knarlocs are quite beneficial to a Kroot mercenary army, which otherwise lacks noticeably powerful units. Great Knarlocs have multiple wounds at a high toughness, fleet of foot, and rending all for a reasonable points cost. I knew that to build a competitive Kroot army, I had to use Great Knarlocs. The goaded Great Knarloc, unfortunately, suffers from poorly written rules and is an awkward unit to use. The mounted Great Knarloc, however, is a fantastic unit. Providing the Kroot with ranged weaponry that only a Krootox can match, I decided I had to have the maximum number of mounted Great Knarlocs allowed- 3. The problem is, Forgeworld only makes one version of the model, and I did not want 3 identical copies of it as a single unit.

So, I decided to convert the two Great Knarloc models into mounted variants. My goal was to adequately copy the Forgeworld mounted Great Knarloc so the unit looked coherent together.

I first used greenstuff to model the harness from which the Kroot riders and bolt thrower weapon would then be mounted to. I rolled very thin strips of putty and then smashed them into place along the body of the model. Using a putty tool, I pushed inward the edges of all the straps so that they would be linear and belt-like.



I then modeled some small details onto the straps. When two straps come together, I added either two staples or a nail that connected the straps. I also made a buckle for the rear strap to match the Forgeworld model. These details were added with the putty tool, and were kept simple. The bolt thrower harness was copied from the Forgeworld model, with four nailheads in the corners of the fabric.



After painting the straps, I could tell that the model was coming along quite nicely. I began to work on the riders next. The most difficult part of the riders was bending the legs into appropriate positions for the Knarloc, and it was a trial and error situation. The riders were painted separately and then added onto the Knarloc afterwards.



The bolt thrower was made from the Dark Elf Repeater Thrower. I can’t remember exactly how I constructed it, but it was quite simple and all the pieces seemed to fit together exactly how I wanted them after some cutting here and there. I replaced the arrow head on the visible bolt with a Kroot round to match the Forgeworld model. The hand crank was added to the right side to match the Forgeworld model.



After painting the riders and bolt thrower separately, it was a simple task of gluing them onto the Knarloc and varnishing the model as one piece. It came out better than I had expected, and is nearly indistinguishable from the actual Forgeworld model. I will probably use the plastic High Elf bolt thrower for the third model, and this will give a great sense of how the Kroot scavenge the battlefield for their weapons and why none of the three bolt throwers will be identical.






Automatically Appended Next Post:
And the mounted great knarlocs all completed.

I got around to completing my fifth and (for now) final shaper equipped with an eviscerator.



I've liked the look of the Seraphon bone jaws on Kroot models, so have kept them for squad leaders. Now that I have five shapers, I can finally run a Shaper Council from the old Kroot Mercenaries army list if it ever makes a return. I have changed some of my painting up with the more recent models (different drybrushing, different fabric and warpaint colors), but they blend in well with models that are over 15 years old now.



For 8th edition, I've found that my favorite way of using standard Kroot infantry is as a footslogging Wych unit, led by a Hekatrix with an agoniser (eviscerator counts-as). Now without transports, foot Wyches do not last long, so the lists I've had some success with include a small unit of 2 Khymerae to go with each Wych unit (Khymerae represented by Kroot Hounds) and by using Ynnari rules. The majority of my army is then fun Character units, so there is nothing else to shoot at except these basic units. If the 2 Khymerae die, I get a Soulburst, either on the Wyches or a nearby Character. If they are ignored, then they charge in first and either die to Overwatch or tie up the enemy unit to prevent them from firing at my more elite units. On the table, the standard setup of the two units (Wyches and Khymerae) looks very much like a Kroot war party.



And now I have a complete 5 Troops choices and 5 Fast Attack choices that don't cost too many points and allow me to fill out larger detachments for extra Command Points. They don't win games, but they let the good stuff do the work.

Props on finishing up your Shaper Council. It may not mean much currently in the game but that's gotta be a milestone for every Kroot player (the handful of them)

I continue to love your Kroot minis, and am impressed with where you've taken them on the 48k battlefield. Your scheme with the Ynnari Wych + Khimera core is cool - keeps the points down, gives the Kroot war party bite where it feels like they should have it (preternatural combat prowess), and the soulburst mechanic could be pushed in some interesting shamanic ways.

Do the Great Knarlocs feature in that army? Wraithlords / wraithknights come to mind, but maybe you're just allying in actual Great Knarlocs (assuming FW has rules for them)!

- Salvage

I use the Great Knarlocs as melee Wraithlords. Without the heavy weapons, the points cost is reasonable to throw them in and charge them forward with the rest of the army. I've always envisioned the Kroot being a mashup of infantry and beasts charging through heavy terrain:




As far as I am aware, there are no current rules for them but they are expected, as per the Forgeworld FAQ:

Q: There are no datasheets for Firestorms, Great Knarloc,
Knarloc Riders, Mega-dreads, Battlefortresses or Grot Bomb
Launchers – are there datasheets I should use for these models?
A: Datasheets for these models will be published on the
Forge World and Warhammer Community websites.

KROOOTS!!!!!!, Ahem I love your work keep it up lad.

Cheers.

I put down the green stuff and glue for a week and painted up the first spined hound that was available as a limited release from Zealot Miniatures. This is such a nice model, and was a joy to paint up. I probably put him on a base that is too big so I may need to either replace the base or add some more items to it, but I didn't want to simply blend these hounds in with the GW models as they are worthy of a more prominent place in the army display. These were released as sets of three and limited to 250 sets, and I was lucky enough to snag several sets but I'm sure after painting a few of them I'll move onto a different idea. Still, it's nice to know I have the models available for future use.

Shame they're a limited run; I'd love to have some of those to work on. :(

Three spined hounds finished:



I also painted up the first counts-as Dark Reaper. I'm kinda torn on this one. I'm so used to drybrushing skin that when I actually have to paint armor it never comes out the same, so none of my Tau-armored Kroot have the exact same color. It's not noticeable on a table, but I know. It's also a little too much Tau, especially when looking at it from the front. I'm not sure what to add to make it less clean, perhaps some battle damage and a bayonet-type blade? I tried painting warpaint onto Tau armor before but didn't like the result. This may just be one of those models that I really enjoyed converting but couldn't figure out the paint job.

This is outstanding! Way to keep the kroot alive. Did the war skiff get finished at some point? I didn't see it reading through.

No plans to start on vehicles yet, I've been more inclined to make infantry and beasts. Next up is a jetbike-type character that I'm planning to magnetize so it could be a warrior, seer, or hunter.



The flying base will be the citadel tree and I'm going to try out the new bendable vines on it. The jetbike will be a terradon suitably converted with Kroot details. If all goes well the rider torsos will be interchangeable to make different types of characters.

I have started to put together the jetbike character. For the flying base, I wrapped around the vines and clipped branches from the top to allow the terradon mount to fit. I also added a couple magnets so that the character can be removed from the mount itself and the tree for ease in painting and transportation.



The mount itself mainly uses the terradon rider bits but I did do a head swap with an extra spined hound head. Since the skinks stand on top of the terradon there really wasn't much room for a saddle along its back so instead I've just draped the legs over the neck- not the best result visually but it lends itself to the rider engaging into combat more than just sitting back for a nice Sunday flight. I wanted to be able to swap out the torso so that I can use different character types. The first one I've built up is going to be a psyker, likely a farseer, so I went with the older looking Kroot head that came with the Kroot on Big Ape third party model. He has a feathered collar from the Skink Starpriest and a Sylvaneth Branchwych staff, as well as a little spell power from a Slaanesh chariot.





Once assembled together, I worked on the pose to make it look like he's swooping down to engage an infantry-sized enemy. I think it's coming together well in terms of the size of the character and the size of the tree, one doesn't really outshine the other. I think I will go over the cracks with greenstuff as well as add some Kroot bits along the back of the terradon, possibly some leg straps for the rider to make him look a bit more secured on his mount rather than balancing off the shoulders.

Last month Wargame Exclusive released the Greater Good Wild Hunter.



What a ridiculous model, I ordered two. Mainly I was interested to see how the pieces were assembled and whether I could try casting some extra bits for more conversion work. The models arrived yesterday, and while I've never ordered anything from Wargame Exclusive I must say how impressed I am with the quality. The model was separated into many pieces, which was great as I was most interested in duplicating the head and the bow. The model size is also equivalent to that of the GW Kroot models, a head swap looks great and so does the bow. One of the great things about Kroot hands is they are symmetrical with no thumb so the bow arm will work as either a left or a right hand for some variety if I were to make a unit of archers.

Heh, I did the same thing ordering a few of the WGE Kroot to see how they’d work out. One got to stay as-is, sans the space-boobs WGE seems to love, and the other became my Vulturekin Shaper. I’m also converting one into a Cadre Fireblade for a friend. If these guys weren’t so cost prohibitive I’d love to see someone (you) do a whole unit of archers. Upside: WGE is supposedly doing more of these not-Kroot models.

I went into a building frenzy and started to put together the first war skiff transport, which will count as a raider, as well as a unit of scourges. The war skiff uses a battle wagon floor, with devilfish engines and a pirahna hull.



To help strengthen my anti-vehicle choices, the scourges have been equipped with haywire blasters, which are actually the bolt weapons from the stormcast castigators. The squad leader gets the cool Tau-style bow that comes with the wargames exclusive kroot sculpt. The entire unit has had head swaps to test out some alternate sculpts I came across that have much larger eyes.

MORE KROOOOOT

The skiff is particularly brilliant, great start

Glad to see this project is still alive. Your conversion work is very effective -- evocative, characterful, and masterfully resourceful. Thanks for sharing!

Full speed ahead on a counts-as Drukhari army for Adepticon 2021. The scourges are complete, as is the first raider.




The next project will be to build a unit of counts-as wyches rather than using standard Kroot carnivore models. Using the Corvus Cabal set, the first model came out pretty well.

Those all look amazing, very excited to see this army in the future!

Great stuff in here Cool project and some lovely building. Particularly like the raider skiff.

Great work. Loving all the counts-as choices for this army.

The first three models built from the Corvus Cabal kit are finished:




It was actually quite easy to clip off the human feet and replace them with Kroot feet, and stick a Kroot torso on top of the waist with minor green stuff work. The real challenge was trying to keep the feathered collars and backs that the cabal models had, which was the main reason I wanted to use the kit. I ended up keeping the arms from the cabal kit and just replacing the hands, but each collar had to be fitted onto a Kroot torso by shaving away from the torso until I was happy with the result. I kept all the cabal weapons because I actually liked the look and feel like it fits well.

Oaka,

Interesting idea and nice execution so far.

Cheers,

CB

That's a brilliant idea and the minis look great, conversion- and paintjob-wise! They have a little Predator feel to them.

Was hoping this was an update and not thread necro.
Great to see you back adding to the kroot, there’s truly some amazing models here!

Really smart conversion and great execution / paint. Always happy to see more of your Kroot

Damn, this project is weird and wild!! Amazing ideas roiling here -- and impressive craftsmanship. I will be following this avidly...

I have definitely been working on more models, just not posting until full units are done. I did want to share the WIP of this guy, though. He's currently the leading candidate for a counts-as Grotesque. I do have five other versions that are awaiting bits from overseas to arrive before they are finished, so eventually I will have six variants to choose from and hopefully finally decide on what I want to do for a full unit. Models are being made from a Krootox, Raptoryx, Flesh Hound, Sylvaneth, Wulfen, and this guy, an Orruk.

Great work, as a fellow Kroot Shaper I find your stuff a great inspiration. I always thought the Kroot plastic kit was one of the most versatile and easy to convert that GW has ever made, and you just prove that even more! Well done!

How come I never saw this thread?!? This is gorgeous work, absolutely stunning! It never ceases to amaze me how much creativity is within the Kroot-Community. You should check out Instagram there are a few hardcore Kroot-Enthusiasts as well! Have you seen the whole SiegeofPech stuff?

Image dump of things I have been working on since the Summer. The release of a new Drukhari codex will help guide which units get built and painted first.

These are absolutely ballin!

Great conversions I've only looked through the last few pages, but when I get time I'll definitely be starting from the beginning.

Favourite conversion is the thumbs up kroot on the krootox.

 howie wrote:
These are absolutely ballin!

Great conversions I've only looked through the last few pages, but when I get time I'll definitely be starting from the beginning.

Favourite conversion is the thumbs up kroot on the krootox.

I must agree - and I too will be running through the backlog.

Thanks v much for sharing - an unearthed gem for so many of us!

Love your work! Great conversions, sporting all kinds of surprises. Looks like an entirely unique army shaping up. Well done.

Wow, that's impressive, and it looks really nice. Excellent Posing too. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how clean those kitbashes are without greenstuff to clean up the joins

The work on this thread is absolutely glorious, and I love that you’re printing them for other armies too. The mega death chicken came out fabby, just really nice thank you for sharing

More pictures of some Kroot I got around to painting this year. I also started messing around with fluorescent powder to add to the warpaint.

What an ingenious use of other models. Like the Corvus Cabal set. I never thought of that, but it's a great fit.

And... Actual Glow in the dark Kroot! :O

Those Corvus legs pulling that gun platform! XD

Great conversions. The commissar coat with the Corvus bits is so striking. That root riding the drone reminds me of Oblivion... though I'm not sure anyone ever rode the drones in that. Very cool glow in the dark paint too. I'd love to see those guys on one of those dark LED lit necromunda boards - skulking around in the shadows.

Chakram-wielding shadow Kroot, utilizing more of the glow pigments in various colors.

Great job, does the fluorescent powder need a black light to glow or just charging under a regular light before turning off the lights?

The Lit powder from Culture Hustle retains glow from regular light, but if you hit the models with a black light first they certainly come out stronger. The second picture was taken right after they were primed with UV, but there is no light actively on them.

Awesome conversions as ever, good to see more Kroot from you after a break Glow is a nice xenos touch.

I made an enlarged base so that I could use an older model as Yvraine now that she is a compulsory choice for an Ynnari army. A benefit of this is that now my warlord model represents the codex art I had commissioned a couple of years ago.

The upcoming release of so many new Kroot models is both unexpected and a little bittersweet. I'm thrilled to start working with modern designs but at the same time there is now no justification for using a converted counts-as army as it seems like a full Kroot army will be fleshed out in full. That shouldn't stop the conversions, though! First on the hobby table was repurposing the war skiffs, which were used as Drukhari Raiders, into a couple of Hammerhead Gunships.

Beautiful work mane. I actually thought of you when I saw the release of the new Krootox and wondered when we'd get to see your take on them.

New additions to the skiffs look good, Star Wars low fi sci fi in a good way.

The masked kroot on the gun drone (autarch wayleaper/skyrunner?) is gorgeous as well.

Glad the project is still alive!

Stealth Battlesuits appear to be a logical unit to act as an observer for Hammerheads, and these Kroot have been able to plunder the decommissioned XV15 suits.

 Oaka wrote:
The upcoming release of so many new Kroot models is both unexpected and a little bittersweet. I'm thrilled to start working with modern designs but at the same time there is now no justification for using a converted counts-as army as it seems like a full Kroot army will be fleshed out in full. That shouldn't stop the conversions, though!

I feel you. I'm thrilled to finally have more Kroot to work with - I've got two of the Kill Team box in my paint queue right now and I'm preparing to preorder the big fancy Kroot box this weekend - but it does feel like Kroot fans are finally leaving that Wild West period where we converted everything because that was the only way. For better and worse, as happens with progress.

THAT SAID your not-Hammerheads and not-Stealthsuits are excellent as ever. I've got some of the plastic stealths that I may tear apart to mimic yours here. Hooved power pants ftw!

EDIT: I will say, I think the new hounds are the only miss of the new sculpts we've seen, just some really meh anatomy going on with those stumpy dogs. I've got some truly excellent 3D sculpts I'll use instead.