alternate Haemonculus color schemes?

Hi, everybody. I'm thinking about starting a new Dark Eldar army in the new few months. I loved the idea of the army and painted up the models that came with the 3rd Edition box, but strayed away from 40k for a while (school, work, other interests, the usual). Now that I'm back, I want to put together a small Kabal of the Flayed Skull force. I love their fluff, the helmet/spear Archon conversion (which solves the plastic Archon's stiff BLAHH I AM A DRACULA pose pretty handily) and especially the color scheme in the Raiders of Comorragh book, which is sinister as all hell without leaning too heavily on black or the omnipresent dark greens.

However, this leaves me in a bit of a bind as far as finding complementary color schemes for an allied Haemonculus detachment. Right now, I'm thinking of starting with the Hex (for my first HQ Haemonculus and a Scalpel Squadron to cover the two required Elites in the Covenite Coterie detachment) and the Everspiral (for the second Haemonculus, who'll be part of a Dark Artisan formation with a Talos and a Cronos). Both use palettes that would mesh nicely with the Kabal of the Flayed Skull- the Hex looks like it would use the same light flayed skin color, and Wrack masks (and, I guess, Venom hulls) in the same bone color as the Kabal's Archon, Incubi and armor accents, just drained entirely of red (a nice parallel given the pictured Wrack's deathly white skin) and the Everspiral Cronos shown in the book looks like it should be a stark, bright white with red fluid vials.

Has anyone else tried emulating these color schemes based on the illustrations in the Haemonculus Covens book? I think I could work out a nice, balanced palette given enough time and experimentation, but I'm not sure I want to do that experimenting on rather expensive models

And a second question: for fellow fluff nerds who've tried to represent other Covens (or made your own!) with distinctive color schemes, how have you approached painting Haemonculi? The flayed skin cloaks give them a very distinctive look already which I'd like to keep intact, and looking over the current plastic model, it seems like the only areas that carry a distinctive Covenite paint scheme are the corset and spinal sump.

A lot of people also seem to theme Coven forces around skin color.

My "Disected Mind" Coven units have a color scheme based on the Hex's, with pale skin and dark clothes. Armor plates are the same dark blue as my Kabal's, since they come from the same production. Weapons, bionics and masks are colored like steel, with little bits of brass in a few places. Fluid vials and tubes are usually blood red, sometimes black to represent cables. Light effects from power weapons and such are a cold cyan.

My currently only Haemonculus does not have a flayed skin cloak. The plastic Haemy I bought had snapped in some places while I tried cutting it out of the sprue, so I begrudgingly converted my own from a Scourge and a few spare Cronos bits.

Sounds like a cool design- do you have any photos?

Sorry to hear about the plastic Haemonculus, though. Which bits gave you trouble? I've looked through the back of the clampack and it definitely looks like there are some worryingly tiny bits on the sprue...

merzbau wrote:

Sounds like a cool design- do you have any photos?

Sorry to hear about the plastic Haemonculus, though. Which bits gave you trouble? I've looked through the back of the clampack and it definitely looks like there are some worryingly tiny bits on the sprue...

I'd love to, but I don't own a digital camera.
Someday I will though!

I think the Haemonculus has to be the most fiddly and fragile sprue GW has produced so far. And it basically requires you to paint it before you glue the bits together, since you can hardly reach some of them afterwards.
The parts that broke were the tail and the small tube leading to the shoulder vial.

My hamey is not going to be wearing a flayed skin cloak. All my coven elements will be a red/black theme, and all the cloaks etc are being painted as black pvc lab aprons, so plain black with a gloss varnish finish.