Corsairs, Exodites, Craftworlders and hopefully Kabalites soon

I originally planned to get my Storm Guardians painted, but the exodite bug's bitten me again...



Nuadhuin, Wrothspear, Son of Kurnous. Hound of the Hunt.





All Eldar, by dint of their heightened experience of the world, are vulnerable to the harrowing effects of warfare. The warriors of each eldar fragment must deal with this each time they descend into battle. Through meditative training and psychological dissociation, the Craftworld Eldar construct a 'War Mask' that can be donned and shed at will. The Dark Eldar revel in the slaughter, and need no protection. The Exodites, through wild rituals and psychotropic drugs descend into an animalistic state, embodying the feral predators that stalk their worlds. Their battles aren't fought like the careful orchestras of tacticians, or the grinding stalemates of attrition. Theirs is a feral fury, and a cunning borne of intelligent minds put to predatory purposes.





Once to awaken the wolves of Kurnous
Twice to sharpen the blade
Thrice to hearken the hunt to us
Where bloody murder be made



I've also come up with a bit of an idea for a 500pt (490pt) army for these (with models doing double-duty as INQ28 warbands and a 40k army). These Hounds of the Hunt will be counts-as Striking Scorpions. Raodruin will be a counts-as Visarch. Then I've got two squads of Hunters/Kabalites with Blasters, a squad of Howling Banshees and two Clawed Fiends (wait 'til you see what I've done for them!).

Might take a while if each model is as heavily converted as these guys, but 500pts isn't a terribly lofty goal so hopefully not too long

They're Angvai I think, by the look of their banners. Belligerant warmongerers. In collusion with the cloners of the Dark Kin to bolster their forces, which has had a rather marked effect on their outlook. They maintain little of the reverance for Eldar life that other craftworlders hold. Why would you when you can just grow more? Be careful of them, cousin. Dangerous folk to associate with...or be within range of, come to think of it.







Deserters? If caught in the act they're shot on sight. Either that or sacrificed to wake the Avatar. Alas, there are enough of us who are…uneasy…with our treatment of our vat-born clones to mean that if we catch them after they've deserted it's a little less straight forwards. Usually, they're sent on suicide missions. Sometimes, if they come to us with something of value, they're pardoned, provided they continue to be useful. Either way, they have to prove that they are worth the life we have given them.







Yes, it's despicable, but what precisely would you have us do? Our world teetered on the brink. Unlike Iyanden, we weren't blessed with ranks upon ranks of wraith-shells with which to guard our survivors. Our pact with the Dark Kin has provided us with numbers, but numbers which are ill-suited to craftworld life. They must be forged anew in the crucible of war, taught stricture and discipline. Once they have proven themselves, they are granted citizenship, and all the safety the craftworld provides. The blood of a hundred thousand Eldar stains our hands, but a hundred thousand more survive because of us.





I suppose on some level they know that they are murderers. Why else would they adorn themselves with the bloody hand of Khaine?





Now I remember why I moved to painting models on a more individual basis! I'm just not cut out for batch-painting :S although saying that I'm dead proud of these guys that little bit of extra weathering really hits a sweet spot of what I was after with making Craftworlders look a little grittier than your usual clean-cut paint schemes (not that there's anything wrong with those mind, just not my style).

In a fit of masochism I've also decided to start naming my dudes on the back of their bases, purely because I really like the idea adds a great deal of immediately visible personality to a warband which for now I feel is worth the hand cramp!



It's also given me the opportunity to link in the fluff of my Outcasts with the Craftworld they were cast out from remember this bit of fluff?

Why did I desert? I'll tell you why. They didn't even give me a name. 'Warborn', is what they called me. One of thousands upon thousands, dragged from the vats of Commorragh, dressed in the uniform of Craftworld life and thrown into the meat-grinder of their pointless wars. I gave myself my name the day I deserted. Do you know what Ilgaith means? No longer faceless... - Ilgaith who Wanders

Well, I've followed that through



Next on the painting table is some more exodites which I can't wait to share. Got some rather creepy ideas for what just how grimdark the exodite world of Selesti has become...

Selesti had once been akin to any other maiden world, a lush and verdant paradise.

No longer.

The gifts of the Plaguefather had reaped their toll, and even after he had been expunged the exodites struggled to recover their shattered ecologies. Their last-ditch ploy to stem the foetid tide had collapsed their webway gates, dashing the hopes of outside aid. Desperate measures were taken to ensure their survival.



See those insects buzzing yonder? They are not flesh and blood, but little wraithbone constructs, flitting about like clockwork mayflies. Our ancestors sung them into being. Created to balance our stricken biome, to replace those vital functions that were lost, and to forge anew a world adapted to our desertified conditions.



In ancient days we were capable of giving life and intelligence almost an equal to our own. Those days have long since passed. These little clockwork constructs we can produce are little more than children's toys. They are not enough to maintain our world, or our people.

We rediscovered the great life-engines of our ancestors, lying dormant beneath the barren sands. We discovered that channelling our world-spirit through them would imbue them with life oncemore. We crafted new bodies for our departed souls, amalgams of flesh and wraithbone in reverance of our lost fauna. Upon death, we are reborn as the beasts of the wild, our minds shaped to suit.





So it is that we hunt our ancestors through our world. A despicable desecration of our dead, they say. They do not see the honour it brings the Horned God. For is not everything, even eldar, prey to something?



But the life-engines are fickle. We discovered their purpose was not to create a haven as we had once believed. Late we learnt that their purpose was to create a jewel to be viewed from afar, splendid in its ferocious beauty. It is not just prey that stalks our skeletal land. Predators lurk deep within its reaches. Rare is the eldar that can reach their minds now, so changed are they by the process.





Thought I'd have a go at a slightly different way of worldbuilding/showing new dudes I've made won't do it for everything, but offering little teasers of new models alongside fluff is definitely a fun way of telling a story here's the new models in a clearer set of pics

Thraoren, Huntfather, Son of Kurnous. Hound of the Hunt










Counts-as Striking Scorpion Exarch in 40k (I gather Biting Blades are in in 8th) or an exodite warrior in Inquisimunda/INQ28.

Exodite Hunters














Counts as Kabalite Warriors in 40k (needs a Blaster and a Sybarite seeing as they're free now), or ganger-equivalents for INQ28/Shadow War (if they ever release non-Wyches).

The Beast that was once Muirnuil








Counts-as Clawed Fiend in 40k (or Khymaerae/Ur-Ghul/Grotesque depending on how the mood takes me...)

And finally the Exodite Warhost of Selesti so far





Approaching an army! Just need to finish the squad of Hunters/Kabalite and add another, finish the squad of Hounds of the Hunt/Scorpions, do another Beast/Clawed Fiend and sort a squad of counts-as Howling Banshees

Hope you like the fluff too. I really wanted to turn up the grimdark with exodites but I was wondering how I might take it further than I already have. Inspired by the Thorne Moons stuff over on Iron Sleet where there's a whole ecology of twisted techno-biological humans, and the whole 'there are no wolves on Fenris' thing I thought 'what if Selesti is to all intents and purposes a dead world, or at least inches away from death, populated solely by Eldar and the weird clockwork wraithbone techno-biological creatures they've created in a desperate attempt to keep themselves alive?'. Things that blur the line between technological artefacts, biological beings and eldar themselves.

I'm currently weighing up whether there's any non-eldar life on Selesti at all. Whether the few animals left are treated with reverence and a source of status among the Lords of Selesti, or if basically everything is dead apart from the eldar and they've created (unintentionally twisted) techno-biological facsimiles to replace their ecosystem.

Another neat thought is that when they invade another planet they can effectively 'Selesti-form' it by setting up one of their life engines and a rudimentary infinity circuit. Even dead worlds would be fair game

Oh, it also means that every single one of them qualifies as a cannibal. Savage indeed...

Always a pleasure to see you sharing other wonderful miniatures Thanks a lot

Brilliant! Also i love to read your story!

Thanks guys! Really glad you like them I think the story-writing suits me. Not so great at stitching together a full narrative, but building it up with little snippets is much easier

Oh, as a little WIP update I've had my first proper stab at using greenstuff was actually a lot more straight forwards than I was anticipating to do fur. Stick a blob of GS on, roughly mould it to shape, wet a teeny little screwdriver (like those ones you get in christmas crackers) and make a load of little indents in v-shapes. Et voila!



Just have to learn how to do ragged cloth and that's pretty much me sorted for GS requirements

And done!



And so they come, worming through the webway towards us. The other self-interested, drawn to events like moths to a flame. The Beltane, the Hanni. Curious who it is to see who these ripples of fate will affect.



Endil the Beltane, the Homeless, the Little-more-than-Corsair. Greetings.







Osutharal the Snake, the Wildling. Good that you are here, the more we might understand these savage natives.







How may the humble Angvai be of assistance?

These two are part of another idea I had about expanding the aesthetic differences of the 'big 5' craftworlds beyond paintjob and army composition (because why have one project when you can have a dozen at the same time?).

Basically I saw this kickass picture and got jealous, so thought I'd do an Eldar one



It also gives me an opportunity to flesh out how my homebrew craftworld interacts with others, which boils down to insults, disdain and the shadow of a deep-rooted inferiority complex. Basically I read up on how the Spartans treated everyone they ever met and applied that to my belligerent, bellicose, short-tempered eldar

Nice.

I love how almost every miniature is treated as if it was it's own character.
Phase 2 : Pack 'em all
Phase 3 : ...
Phase 4 : Profit !

this is easily my favourite part of the dark city, these models are simply beautiful.

Thanks guys! Really glad you like them

Yeah the whole 'every model's a character' thing stemmed from me getting really rather bored of batch-painting the same dude over and over! I'm honestly in awe of how some people can do it, especially on Guard armies and horde Orks and things.

Came across the INQ28 thing where the smaller scale facilitates going to town on each model and away i went!

To put it simply, he's no prophet…he's a warlord. He cares not for the salvation of the eldar. In truth I cannot fathom his motives. As far as I can scry his sole aim is to tear his enemies asunder. A blunt instrument by which Ynnead enacts her will.







I have travelled there once, to the derelict palace of the Wight King. The flickering hulk of a dead craftworld adrift in the void, shrouded in nebulae. I don't know of its name, nor its true location. Only that the forces he has amassed are terrible indeed. Ranks upon ranks of his barrow-wights. Terrifying and glorious to behold.





30 years ago to the day a lone figure staggered through the empty ghost-halls of Iyanden, swatting at the whispers of the dead seeping through the walls around him.

"Hear me Dead God," he howled through the tears. "My life, my soul in eternal servitude. I am yours to command. This I offer you. With but one condition...you bring her back."









I've had the idea for the Wight King for ages but only just got round to making him stemmed from the whole porting characters from Fantasy/AoS over to 40k with a twist, and then I saw this kickass model and thought 'I need that'



Next issue was that I'd run out of plastic robes and suchlike and the GS capes were a little hard to master. However, a very helpful chap over on the INQ28 boards pointed me towards this tutorial for making them out of tissue paper and it worked brilliantly (I did coat them in superglue once they'd dried to give some extra stiffness): http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/286080-tutorial-capes-made-from-tissue/

I've also had the Yvraine model knocking around from my Triumvirate that I'd half-cannibalised and didn't really know what to do with until I saw this drop-dead gorgeous Null-assassin model by a chap called Exanimus:



Finally triggered an idea! My Wight King needs a Corpse Bride

That helped tie together a whole host of neat things it ties into the idea that Ynnari keep gravitating to a prophet/guardian model in a sort of instinctive symbolism thing after Yvraine and the Visarch. It also gives the Wight King a solid-gold reason to pledge his soul to the eldritch god of the dead

Another thing it does is the first step along a bit of a worldbuilding idea I had. Basically each of my little INQ28 warbands that are taking their first fumbling steps into the Scar are backed up by more powerful factions behind them with motives entirely their own (not necessarily supportive of the motives of their compatriots). So, like the beginnings of WW1 the scrapping arguments of little polities rope in their bigger and more powerful friends until tensions fray and war erupts



The last thing these guys do is finally give me something that shows off just what I was aiming for with the Ynnari paint scheme (shown off best when contrasted with my Dark Eldar):



They're the ghosts of living eldar

All those looks fantastic (as always), and I really like the originnality you give to the miniature by mixing them.

The mixed wracks/guardians really make me feel like the undead army from the 3rd andy hoard book (path of archon).

I'm not usually blown away by models, but the work and effort put into each of these is phenomenal. Such a uniquely exquisite force and loving the fluff for each piece...keep it coming, I am hooked! haha.

Thanks a ton guys!

I haven't read Path of the Archon yet, but if they evoke feelings of an undead legion then i'll count my work as done!

Glad you like them Nakariial shall do!

Thanks man

Update!

What?! Are you insane?! I've met some truly unhinged eldar in this fair city…but this. This puts them all to shame. Consume the soul of a Bloodthirster? Cure your thirst? Utter insanity. I will have no part in it.



What do you mean it worked...







Just what the hell are you...



Had another idea around the whole winged vampire lord model I like so much following the whole idea of porting AoS/Fantasy characters/concepts into the 40k universe I was reading up about Abhorash, the progenitor Blood Dragon vampire who slew a dragon, drank its blood and cured his thirst.

With Dark Eldar being basically soul-vampires, I thought 'what if a Dark Eldar was insane enough to try and consume the soul of a daemon and try and cure their thirst'. What if, against all odds, it worked. It would have to be a Khornate daemon given their patron's rivalry. It would have to be a Bloodthirster, otherwise everyone would have tried it (and it's more fitting to the Fantasy legend).

Definitely see it as an example of 'Gone Horribly Right' though. Containing that much volatile, alien and intelligent energy within oneself would be produce some significant and mutable side-effects. Plus, it opens up the door to being influenced by the Blood God. A whisper in the ear, an inexplicable urge.

And so it is that a third Ruinous Power gains an unwitting agent within the Eldar...

My two Blood Dragons side-by-side mirrored and opposed.



All I need now is a name. Abhorax? Abhoraish?

Really nice poses and colors. Meh I'm running outof compliments with you :')

Thanks dude! Yeah I've found commenting on other people's work has forced me to learn new complimentary words

I've got an update too this guy's been 99% made for ages but I've been waiting for a Harlequin's Caress to come into stock on bitz sites. Finally got bored of waiting so bought a whole Harly kit (£15 for one bit!). I'll use the rest of it elsewhere though so it's all good

Alileath felt for the presence of the seer, reaching out with his psychic senses. From high above the seer appeared as a placid lake, barely a ripple disturbing its cool surfaces. Familiar. The Path of the Seer required utmost concentration. Damnation awaited those who wavered. However, this time curiosity got the better of him. He leant in closer, desiring to look beneath the surface. Instantly he wished he hadn't. Roiling, seething rage howled beneath the placid surface. Loss, anger, desperation. Wailing around and around and around doing nought but gather momentum. Sweet mother Isha. What kind of mind could hammer that into submission. Alileath couldn't decide whether to be reassured or terrified that such a mind was leading the Angvai.





'Bellatheral' they call him. 'Warmaker'. Never had a name been more fitting.





Bellatheral stalked the ruined battlefield. Around him his warriors fought and fell. The might of the mon keigh filth was strong here, but he couldn't stop now. After all they'd been through, after all they'd lost. To give up now would be unthinkable. They must prevail.





An axe-wielding brute charged towards him, shrieking its litanies and chants. As their gaze met Bellatheral momentarily shunted all of his grief, all of his loss, all of his anger directly into the poor primitive's brain. His moment of catharsis was rather marred by bits of the unfortunate creature striking his armour.

Perhaps some day he'll have transferred the very last drop and the momentary tranquillity would last forever, but as yet that well had proven bottomless.

Love the pose and the sword fixed in his back.

You sure don't want to mess with this guy haha

Haha that was the idea

The concept behind my Craftworld is basically 'Eldar Angry Marines'. Their world's been decimated and they are pissed

Whereas in Iyanden their loss has manifested in grief and mourning, in these guys it churns around and around building rage and resentment.

So yeah, eldar with menace

So I just realized my short break from the hobby has been over 3 months, and I've neglected to look at all of your wonderful conversions! If I was an Imperial I'd be screaming heresy!

Well to start off I have to say your getting a ton out of the Tree Revenant kits, what you've been pulling off with them is truly spectacular.

Anyway I'm gonna go in order of each post so bear with my for lot of praise, and since I don't want my compliments being longer then your posts I'm gonna shrink it a bit.

August 1st / Khaine's Ravens :

Nurgle Update:

The Outcasts + Nomad Prince:

Touch-ups and Makeovers:

Only now do I realize how much I'm catching up on commenting on, Plz help I've been typing for at least 15 minutes xD:

"I have created Tree animals outta Tree People your argument is invalid":

Undead are cool:

Vampires:

The End is NIGH!:

Closing:

Hey Rhivan I had noticed you hadn't been around.

Thanks a million for all the supporting comments must have been a marathon of typing! I'm going to be selfish and pick out choice comments to reply to

You're absolutely right with the psychic trauma of an eldar losing a bonded partner. I don't think I mentioned it here, but as a bit of a convo elsewhere I sort of developed the idea that as eldar bond together their minds grow more and more alike (hence the mirrored poses). They sort of wind up as one joint mind sharing two bodies, so if one of those bodies dies then it's quite literally like having your mind torn in two. Pretty high risk being an eldar in the 40k galaxy...

I'm really excited about the nurgly dudes I keep meaning to make more of them now that it's sort of entrenched in the official fluff:

Spoiler:

I've been thinking that they need a little repaint as they're not looking grimy enough. The off-white of Saim Hann's primary colour would really suit the grimy look, and it'd also let me tie in my Saim Hann dude Osutharal into the picture (he's travelled here hunting his former kin).

Borrow away on the ported characters front there's so much potential in Fantasy characters, and it's right up your street

Yeah my Void Dreamer profile pic is one of my unexpected favourites wasn't intended to be, or even particularly ambitious but I think I managed to luck into something that just works about him the Greyfax Prince's coat is actually just Greyfax's coat with the little Inquisition symbol filled in with Liquid Greenstuff

Funny you mention the insectoid look of my DEldar as that's a bit of a theme I've been trying to do throughout my various factions. I really like the more alien-looking and insectoid older artwork for eldar as it really differentiates them from regular humans. With my Dark Eldar it's pretty obvious with the 6-legged look, and my Nurgle guys are sort of a cross between elk and flies (I've got ideas for more, but missing the bits). Then my exodites, following on from the nurgly guys, are sort of inspired by both stags and stag-beetles

The Storm Guardians are actually a really simple bits mix that works together really nicely Wych legs, Guardian torsos and Harlequin swords and pistols. That's all they are, but I was surprised at how great they look as Storm Guardians

Haha I can definitely see getting pissed off a Phil the shoddy marksman I am giving myself a little break though in that only character models and warbandy peeps get names. Nameless mooks will remain nameless mooks for now

The tree animals you see is basically the one that made the cut from a number of failed attempts. I must admit they are a little tricky, but I've got ideas for at least one more that I must get round to doing plus, I've got a Drycha model that needs hacking up into pieces...

The Wych Elf kit is an interesting one. I'm a little miffed at the prevalence of monopose kits with newer stuff, but there are some dead useful bits in there. Just a whole kit of female bodies is valuable enough in itself, and they'd make killer alternative Harlequins

Thought you might like the Barrow Wights

Yeah it took until that Yvraine/assassin model to see the potential in the kit as well. At their core the Triumvirate are beautiful models, but for my liking all but the Visarch need quite a bit of busyness shaving off. I do have an idea for Yvraine's skirt thing as a Mechanicum Matron, but alas I've already hacked it up a little too much :S

Glad you like the Vampire guys, and yeah I like the idea that the Blood Dragon is completely and utterly bonkers I'm not sure how I was planning to use them in games. It's pretty liberating to just make something and then sort all of that out afterwards. They're probably best suited to Inquisimunda games, or as NPCs in an RPG-type thing. I was thinking the Blood Dragon needed some Blood Knight followers though

Glad the Farseer principally comes across as pissed off there's also something I quite like about him not holding his sword but still looking menacing. As far as I'm concerned, if you're a psyker as powerful as a Farseer...the sword's not strictly necessary...

Anyway, great to have you back man now to get back in the swing of things with your dudes

Ynneadwraith wrote:

This evening's work:
Isn't there those Harlequin bikes with a pilot and a rider?

So, a little eBaying and rooting through the bitsbox and here we are! My jetbike Autarch!



Heat lances from a Talos represent the Fusion Gun, and that kickass glaive thing from Dire Avengers is the Power Spear I'm just missing a Windrider helmet to craftworld it up a little, but I'm really pleased with how its turned out

I've got an idea for a Farseer as well, which should materialise at some point soon. Also, all of the new Eldar jetbike models are simply beautiful. Really capture the essence of sleek, alien speed that they should have. At some point I want to make a craftworld/corsair scene with some civilian jetbikes.



...

completely irrelevant, and months late, but the little cut-out bits of sprue holding up the prow of these bikes cracks me up.