What mini to use to make a culexus

I've been contemplating making a culexus assassin to add to my DE force. Using a Medusa is a possibility. Hell, I could use the standard model and claim it to be captured and rendered mostly subservient by my Haemonculus coven but, I would rather create something more unique. Recently, I've been considering using a Tyranid model and converting. The idea of making having something like a Xeno from the Alien franchise appeals to me. Suggestions please.

If you're looking at Tyranid, my suggestion would be to find something that looks like a smaller scale Zoanathrope (something of the same size as a standards Culexus). What better working materila for an anti-psyker could there be than a full-on psyker brain?
I'd also suggest making sure to implant lot of tools and maybe some fluid jars in the back of its brain to show it being controlled or drugged.

First and foremost a culexus assassin is a soulless human person in a bodysuit and helm so they are a they, not an it, unless a specific one told you it was a non-person enity in which case it would be an it, but all other culexus assassins are still they's.

Aside from the potential for having your culexus assassin as enslaved non-dark eldar I always feel like the assassin rules are a great way to instantiate "loner" Dark Eldar/eldar characters who don't really associate with anyone except as assassins or high priced bodyguards. For instance If I am not bringing a CAD and I wanted Illith Nightspear or another Eldar pathfinder sniper, to act as a lone sniper in but away from my army, I would discuss using the Vindicare assassin rules for them with my opponent and 9 times out of 10 they are for it. Furthermore with a little more conversion I'd have a suitable counts as conversion for competitive play in my hands.

As for a culexus, I firmly believe the sort of weapon is more important then where on ones body it is located. I'd conceive of it as a super-powerful baleblast and use Culexus rules for Kheradruakh. It's fluffy since there are no rules for him, but he's fiesty and when he arrives he doesn't really play nice with others, exactly what will happen if you field a culexus assassin in a Dark Eldar army.

I used part of a broken finecast culexus to convert mine.  Basically I just cut off his head and cut back the tubing on the helmet so it could attach to the rear of a wych's head with a bit of green stuff.  To be clear, the culexus head is still attached as well, so he's kind of 2 headed (I also used a small piece of talos spine coming out of the helmet), but with the diminished tubing they're both only about as big as the originally huge culexus head.  Fluff wise, he's just borrowing the culexus' "soul" (or lack their of) to cloak himself and power the weapon.

You could duplicate this easily enough without an actual culexus, as you really just need a skull/severed head, the weapon/nozzle, and a way to attach both to a dark eldar.  It might actually make more sense this way since the dark kin would find it easier to capture a random blank than a fully trained assassin.  If I had it to do over again I'd mount the skull and/or weapon separately, possibly on the wrist for easier aiming.

I also put the grenade arm from the scourge kit on one side, and a hydra gauntlet on the other (because cool).  The wych body already takes care of body suit thing.

amorrowlyday wrote:

First and foremost a culexus assassin is a soulless human person in a bodysuit and helm so they are a they, not an it, unless a specific one told you it was a non-person enity in which case it would be an it, but all other culexus assassins are still they's.

As for a culexus, I firmly believe the sort of weapon is more important then where on ones body it is located. I'd conceive of it as a super-powerful baleblast and use Culexus rules for Kheradruakh. It's fluffy since there are no rules for him, but he's fiesty and when he arrives he doesn't really play nice with others, exactly what will happen if you field a culexus assassin in a Dark Eldar army.

I really like the idea of using the Culexus rules as a stand in for Kheradruakh and this is definitely food for thought.

I do have the spare parts (minus the Culexus head) listed in the last post and will try test fitting them to a model to see what I can make up. Not as Kheradruakh but, just to see if I can build something that looks good.

I'm still considering wanting something more "alien" looking and tossing around ideas for suitable lore in my head.

Based on lore, the Culexus temple tend to take in Untouchables, those with no psychic presence around whom psychic powers just don't work. I think its something about not having a soul.
In all of 40k, the only examples are human (Culexus, or Eisenhorn's trained Untouchables) and I believe Necron Pariahs (who sadly don't actually exist anymore).
I don't think there's ever been anything else (discounting the influence of Khorne), so "lack of a soul" is pretty much the way anti-Psyker goes.

According to various 40k lore these blanks and pariahs were uniquely created in humans by the pariah gene, which may have been inserted into the genome by the necrons.  This was a long term scheme to eventually harvest these unfortunates, and turn them into necron anti-psyker weapons known as the pariah.

The removal of the (necron) pariahs might have to do with the story complications of necrons interfering with human genetics at some previous point, possibly millions of years ago on terra.  It prompts a lot of questions regarding human/necron interaction, and it would also mean some of the imperium's greatest weapons were based on xenos technology... cuz that could never happen right?

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Pariah_Gene

As far as using a culexus in a dark eldar list, the one eye open rule makes perfect sense as the dark kin would not want to be anywhere near him, and would probably have a difficult time not simply attacking him if he came too close.

Also if you wanted to use your head-hunter; you could claim his many trophies are the skulls of blanks, who combined are equal to the power of a pariah.

My Vindicare is a Kabalite with Scourge head and a rifle made of the Darklance and the Hexrifle.

My Eversor is a "mini-talos" made from a Wrack.

My Callidus is basically Kheradruakh from a Mandrake, Wrack and Inccubus.

I still have no clue for my Culexus but I guess it will be some kind of floating Vault/Sarcophagus/Artefact.

Like this on a jetbike base with added chains.