I’ve discussed alternative C’Tan miniatures before, both in 2020 and in 2021 and had a lot of fun looking at alternative miniatures that one can use in the absence of accessible plastics from Games Workshop.
The C’Tan, for the uninitiated, are the fearsome space gods that once fed upon and enslaved the Necrons in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000. As the lore goes, The War in Heaven drew to a close and the Necrons turned on the war-weary and weakened C’Tan and broke them into shards. Now, ambitious or foolish Necron Lords use these shards as weapons, unleashing these avatars of once-mighty stargods upon their enemies. You know the gist, I’m sure.
As I explained previously, there are a few C’Tan models already available for use in your Necron armies. The first two of these are The Nightbringer and The Deceiver (now known as Shard of the Nightbringer and Shard of the Deceiver, respectively). Both of these are interesting characters but the miniatures are quite dated and in resin. There’s also the Transcendent C’Tan, a terrible, flat model that is only available as part of a much bigger, £105 model. Finally, there’s the Void Dragon. He’s a newer model and he is gorgeous.
So, let’s dive right back in and start looking at some more alternative miniatures for our Space Gods! I would encourage you to read the previous installments as well because I won’t be repeating recommendations. Here are the links again:
Right, let’s go!
Noctae the Voidreaper by Artel
This is obviously best suited to be the Nightbringer. You’ve got the scythe, the robes, and the slightly distended jaw. The multiple arms is a departure from Games Workshop’s offering, but it works well. The C’Tan are otherwordly and although they have mostly been depicted as humanoid, they are utterly inhuman. They are warpers of reality and that comes across here. Should you want a cleaner or more neutral head with a mask, there are alternative bits in here for you. I like being given options! Price-wise, you’re looking at around £40, which isn’t too bad.
Had I not recently painted my own Nightbringer proxy I would be considering this one.
Death Reaper by Den of Imagination
Another Nightbringer proxy, the Death Reaper is quite similar to Artel’s Noctae. I prefer the pose, weapon, and “roughness” of Noctae, but I really like the basing of this miniature, the sweeping robe, and the ball of exploding energy in the hand. What’s nice as well is that this STL comes in several parts, allowing more flexibility for conversions. At around £14, this seems an okay price for the files you get.
The Dice God by Fermented Zombie
This one’s a bit tongue-in-cheek; a bit more fun. This is an STL file for you to print out at home. It depicts a humanoid figure surrounded by dice. On the one hand, the dice can represent the capriciousness of luck or fate. On the other, it’s a cool meta piece. You’re acknowledging the game being played. It’s something I like, and I’ve started incorporating dice into certain models within my armies, as with my Ogors and Flesh-Eaters. I think this is probably why this model appeals to me. For what it is, this is quite an expensive STL at around £17, especially as you’re unlikely to print more than one copy. Still, it’s not ridiculous, but it doesn’t seem to have the same quality of sculpt as, say, the previously-featured Death Reaper.
Purple Sun of Shyish by Games Workshop
The Purple Sun (that’s my one, pictured!) is an Endless spell for Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. It was very popular earlier on in Third Edition, but it’s seen less often now. I’ve seen a fair few folk using this as the basis of a Transcendent C’Tan. Going with this one means really embracing the inhuman nature of these beings, presenting them as an unstable ball of energy. Personally, I would potentially use this, but not without a little bit of work. Some plating around certain sections would be nice, or having it being orbited by Scarab Swarms. The Scarabs are the best, really.
Initially, I was quite against this one, but actually thinking about it and about strapping on some Scarabs… it could work! If you’ve no interest in AoS, I’d try to get the spell separately, as the boxed set it comes in costs £47.50 from GW. If you do like AoS (and you should) then the Endless Spells are a worthwhile purchase, anyway.
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A Selection of Star Gods by JMO
JMO, a creator who sells his wares on Cults, has created a selection of C’Tan proxies. Each is priced at £1.57, so they’re really affordable and would make great proxies for Transcendent Shards with particular themes, all of which really play up the cosmic horror of the C’Tan. Let’s break them down:
- The Captured plays up the fact that the Necrons captured and imprisoned their Gods. Here, we see a C’Tan shard kept in bondage to his metallic masters. I like the Necron scorpion-thing that acts as his jailer, as it helps to tie this firmly into the army. My only complaint is that perhaps this one appears just a little too human.
- The Blighted One is probably the weakest of the four to me. The model is great, but is it way too human? I suppose the Nightbringer represents our idea of death, so perhaps it’s reasonable for pestilence to be represented, too? The lack of a face is good, really showing some inhumanity in there. I’m not a huge fan of the staff, but I do like the cube. The spiral of cloth down to the base is elegantly done, too.
- The World Shaper reminds me, structurally, of the Void Dragon. You’ve got the rocks being suspended by arcs or energy, and the long tail. This could really be the Void Dragon’s little brother! I’ve not a huge amount else to say about him. He looks good, and the aesthetic is pretty close to what already exists.
- Finally, The Sufferer brings us back once again to the themes of imprisonment that we really saw in looking at The Captured. The basing looks a bit delicate, and I’d be anxious about this thing surviving regular use on the table.
The Transcendent Shard by Dakka Dakka
Created by/for the DakkaDakka store, this is largely just a recreation of the Transcendent C’Tan shard. And that’s okay, y’know? He’s certainly better than the original GW miniature with more interesting detail and definition. At around £24 he’s not badly priced either, for a physical model, but I just don’t know. Is he interesting? Is he fun? If you’re going for fidelity and trying to stay close to the original, go for it.
Void Elemental by Creature Caster
Gorgeous. Creature Caster can always be counted on to produce truly amazing models. This one reminds me a lot of Sylvanus from World of Warcraft. That’s a good thing, by the way. I love that character, and the design works here. Is it a C’Tan, though? At around $80, you’d better be sure!
I’m not sure.
I love the vortex behind the central figure, which could highlight the reality-warping powers of the C’Tan. I like the weapon, which could be painted to represent ethereal flames. Is the scythe too Chaos-like? Perhaps. I think this could work, but it will need a good, specific paintjob to really sell it.
This is a 3D model that replicates the original Games Workshop miniature. It’s available for free on Thingiverse. It’s fine. It gets over the issue of the original model only being available as part of a bigger, very expensive kit. It doesn’t get over my own personal distaste for the mini, but that’s a subjective view. It also doesn’t have any setup for basing, but that’s not insurmountable. This is a solid shout if you want something like the original model without paying an eye-watering £105.
Okay, I like this one! The core figure fits in with the other C’Tan and is fantastic. What really makes this work, however, is all the stuff behind her. The Void Dragon has his wings and his arcs of energy carrying bits of debris. Genesis has her rings. The broken ring looks particularly suited to Necrons, whilst the smallest ring includes stellar constellations. This is fantastic. At €50.00, it’s also cheaper than you might expect. It’s not cheap, but it seems fair for what you’re getting.
This miniature is great. Some elements really work, though some perhaps don’t. The figure is great, and the tentacle-like cables are really nice. I love the multiple arms, too. The armour is something I’m less sure of. Is it a bit too Imperial? Something that might look more at home in the Mechanicum? I’m not sure.
This is one that I might pick up and print off for myself. At $15 for the STL it might be worth a punt. It also comes with a mechanical vortex device behind it, seemingly powered by emaciated slaves. I think I’ll leave that bit off. It’s a really nice piece, but it would be too much in this context.
Warsong Revenant by Games Workshop
This was not an obvious pick for me. It wasn’t even a consideration until I saw a Reddit post from the user, like9000ninjas. Here’s the conversion this user came up with:
This is quite an involved conversion. The model has been reposed and partially resculpted You can see this most noticeably in the outstretched arm. The closeness to the actual Nightbringer model is striking. The scythe, by the way, is from GW’s Mannfred miniature.
This is a solid choice. Although the Warsong Revenant will only cost you £37.50, remember that this will require a bit of work, possibly some other bits and, if you’re looking to replicate the work above, more than a little bit of skill.
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Lord of Lust by Titan Forge Miniatures
Titan Forge puts out consistently good STLs that I’ve never had any problem in printing. They’re a really polished and professional outfit. This mini is around the right size for a Transcendent Shard. For an idea of scale, that’s a 60mm base in the picture. It would actually also make a good Deceiver, I think. You can always rescale it as required, of course. The STL costs $15.
Conclusion
And there we have another batch of ideas for alternative C’Tan miniatures! Remember to check out part 1 and part 2 for loads of other suggestions.
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No Rerolls 
Some really great designs in here wow
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