Corsairs, Exodites, Craftworlders and hopefully Kabalites soon

Haha by all means, harp away! I'm absolutely with you

I always find that finishing off the base on a model is a really nice feeling. Perhaps because it's the last thing that I do, but that last little tuft of static grass really makes a model look complete.

I also agree that good basing can really tie an army together, even if the individual models are quite disparate. It's also quite a tricky thing to gauge properly, as you want the base to look good in its own right, but not to draw too much attention away from the dude(tte) that's standing on it

Oh, and @Rhivan I've found him! Behold, the wonder that is my first ever 40k model!



Turns out, being 12 and high as a kite on the solvents you've used to glue him together is neither conducive to good modelling nor good painting. Literally not a clue what my artistic vision for that was. Going out on a limb I'm going to say Abstract Expressionism...

1. Hunched over pose
2. Shoulder pads on the wrong way up
3. Clutching a Bolt Pistol in 2 hands
4. Arms at different heights
5. Random bolter stuck to his thigh
6. Extra layers of paint confer a 2+ save
7. Wilful determination to paint completely outside the lines

At least I had the good grace to know that beakie helmets are cool

By the time I'd got to my first Eldar model I had inched forwards slightly...



At least I'd learnt to roughly paint between the lines (sort of), and that if you paint the base they look a little better. Still had the standard +1Sv from the sheer thickness of paint on him though...

On the plus side, I did uncover some cool dudes that my catastrophically haphazard younger self hadn't yet got round to ruining. First among which is this kickass R/T era Assassin class Ghost Warrior (and a little chainsaw-wielding buddy as well!).

Yes I agree . It is a hard balance to find between a complimentary and over the top basing scheme.

Love the old school models. I am impressed that you kept them. I got rid of mine years ago (my first army was chaos space marines, and these were also painted in enamel paints from my local hobby store. It is good to look back and see how far you have come

Apologies! I write pretty much as i speak, and i'm usually quite good at going back and filtering them out. This one must have slipped through :S thanks

Yeah i think it's important to keep these ancient models around i know with all the utterly beautiful models (yours included!) around it's nice to see that the painters were once human too!

Couple of little updates I had my copy of Gangs of Commorragh turn up the other day, so immediately got to producing some Reavers I must admit jetbikes have never really done anything for me (despite my love of Saim Hann), but these guys alongside the kickass Harlequin Skyweavers have sold me on them. They're so damn cool! I suppose it's easier for me to suspend my disbelief about jetbikes strafing past and cutting your head off than heading straight towards you guns blazing (presenting the easiest of targets to shoot).

Anyway, here they are



Kickass blank-faced helmets to denote arena champs (my main reason for buying GoC was to get a decent supply of those!). Also, notice 'Mr Untransportable' on the far left with his agoniser extended at the most inconvenient angle. looks cool though!



Also thought it would be cool to give one of the champs a trophy rack, them being Wych Cult units after all. That way, if I ever do 6-man blobs with an Arena Champ then I can use that to denote who it is

Lastly, with the excess supply of Hellions (bought for the Hellglaives and tattered-clothes torsos which are just made for Exodites), I thought I'd have a stab at making some Modern Synthesist Jetbikes.

Now, if anyone hasn't seen these guys before you're in for a treat! One of the best DEldar conversions I've ever seen, this guy decided that his Haemonculus Coven army should have a twisted techno-biological Haemi version of all the Dark Eldar units in it. For his Reavers, this is what he came up with:






Unbelievable!

So, I thought I'd have a go myself with some leftover bits now, mine won't be anywhere near as good at all due to my stubborn refusal to use greenstuff, but I quite like the challenge of making something similar entirely out of plastic

Here's where I'm up to so far




I also think that if anyone wanted to make some small scale Eldar Void Craft then attaching Hellion Skyboards to the back of various Jetbike canopies would be really really cool!

Oh, and if anyone wanted to see what the Modern Synthesist stuff looks like painted, here's his idea of a Venom!



Unbelievable!

Really want to get the gangs of comorrah (skint unfortunately, my wedding coming up next month) but I too am not sure what to do with those hellions. I might flog them but pretty sure no one would want em really.

I have long been a fan of Mr Pinks work. His creations are both creepy and exceptionally thought out and executed . Interested to see how your take on it come out, they are looking good so far

Congrats on the wedding dude some things (not many) are worth passing up little plastic aliens for

Yeah the Helliosn are tricky. If I hadn't already got 10 of the guys (as well as an extra 5 fro ma previous purchase) I'd offer to take them off your hands as the hellglaives and torsos are useful, but I'm already inundated!

I've only just discovered them but they're brilliant hopefully mine will be somewhere near as cool I was thinking of connecting the arm stumps to the bodywork with bits of tube and cabling, but I need a source for them in plastic (one of the few times I wish I worked with GS as those tube-makers are neat).

Any ideas?

Thanks

How come no greenstuff? You could use plasticard tubing, or electrical cable (the thin stuff) as this is pretty bendy. Also dragonforge do pewter cabling that is pretty useful if you don't want to go down the tentacle maker route

No worries

Ah it's sort of a personal challenge I've set myself. Anything I want to make, has to be made out of plastic

Not sure why, but it's something I've decreed I expect I'll break it eventually, but for now that's where it lies. I do however need to pick up a pot of Liquid Greenstuff for gap filling which may be the start of a slippery slope...

Well, the story for Fracture of Biel Tan has finally made it out into the public domain! It's a hell of a read I must say, and has assuaged many concerns I'd had about the direction of the fluff and the general tone of the 40k universe link's here if you haven't seen it:

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/717304.page

That does mean that I get to wheel out my Craftworld's reaction to it all, nicely coinciding with some work I've just done on my decade-old Guardians

Spoiler:

Despite initial skepticism, I'm definitely excited about the plot moving forwards so many opportunities for cool narratives

As for actual models, I've always had the idea in my head that I would just paint my models as well as I could accomplish quickly at any particular point, and then go back and do some touch-up work as and when my painting had improved. First on the list for improvement is the ancient Guardians I'd painted well over a decade ago!

Before and after:



Just a quick dab of Reikland Fleshshade in the recesses and to shade underneath some of the bumps in the armour, some embellishment on the bases and a quick wash over the cloth elements. Hope it's done the trick!

Also, one thing I do not miss in the slightest is the tendency for the old Skull White spray paint to occasionally produce a really bumpy surface. New stuff is much better. Good riddance!

Sorry for not commenting Ynnead, I've had your page open for like a week now and each time I'm about to start typing I get distracted xD

Your Space Marine certainly deserves a 2+ FnP save as he shouldn't be able to feel ANYTHING through that paint As fory our vision that read dot I saw on his backpack I initially thought was a red cross and thought you were trying to make a Medic Marine (Apothecary)

Grats on Gangs of Commoragh I won't be able to buy it for a while woo! (Have to make room in my budget for the Ynnari Triumverate (and some of the models I plan to convert them with, I have some ideas to make them more deathy )

I've browsed the web a fair bit for Dark Eldar conversions and I have run across the Haemonculus Hellions, but I have not seen that Venom... It's pretty cool.
As for your version greenstuff would help (you stubborn fool! ) but good luck on your challenge to not do it, but I welcome you down the slippery slow I'm falling on currently xD

The model itself is interesting and I look forward to what your going to make it as (What are you converting this into?)

As for the guardians I'm glad you've improved them

Cheers for that link to the fluff summary dude. I am not going to buy the book (not in the near future anyway) so to be able to read a summary of the story was really good. Cheers

Good work on the guardian, he definately is an improved now

No problem Rhivan! I'm doing the same thing on your Slave Games fluff :S usually do it as procrastination at work, but the environment this week hasn't been conducive to imaginative jaunts (too noisy!). I'll get to it though

Haha! Yeah 2+ FnP but counts as being Immobilised the whole game not certain I knew what an apothecary was at that point!

I've got designs on the Triumvirate myself, but ordered GoC before pre-orders were up and ran out of moula! Looking forward to what you do with them an Avatar of Death fits in very, very nicely with your Kabal's theme

The covens guys will eventually be Covens Reavers like the Modern Synthesist guys, but will probably end up looking quite a bit different due to the no GS thing. We'll see if they look passable. If not then my stubbornness might have to concede!

@Spellcheck2001 No worries I didn't plan on buying the books either, saving my moula for models, and that guy's fluff summaries have been really helpful in meaning I don't have to! He's got a great prose too so it's entertaining in its own right

Glad to hear the little guy's improved just goes to show that you shouldn't just give up on your earlier efforts as your painting improves

Looking good Ynnead! Always love seeing Eldar in really pale colors... I love the more ghostly look especially for Craftworld models. Great stuff man...

Right there with you as far as the old Skull White, the new paints are amazing. The longer I do this comission painting thing, the more amazed I am at the quality. The yellows are simply crazy... I can't believe how easy it is to paint white and yellow.

Anyway great stuff man. Love it!

Thanks dude yeah I can't wait to get my hands on the Triumvirate and apply it to them I think it'd work quite nicely!

Oh yeah I remember the old yellows. Had to do about 5 or 6 thin coats just to stop the primer showing through! I think that's why I switched to a white primer as well, just because yellows were impossible! Hats off to the GW/Citadel paints team. I've yet to find a paint in the new paint range that isn't excellent

Commorragh Burns, 999.M41
Curious, Khaharkyth mused as he wrenched his sword from the burning corpse of a daemon. He hadn't felt this exhilarated, this invigorated, this alive in centuries. Not since his early days in the arena. "I think it's the element of risk," the tinny voice of Wilson added from his hindbrain. "When was the last time death had a semblance of permanence to it?". Khaharkyth paused for a second, nodding sagely. The insight was well made.

"Welcome to Commorragh!" he bellowed jovially, turning to face the yawning chasm above, "I know a very nice place just around the corner. If you can make it there before I hack your legs off you can have one of my playthings."

Dysjunctions are fun, he thought as Commorragh burned around him. We should have these more often.



Finished 5 more Kabs the picture doesn't show it at all, but if you look closely IRL they're covered in blood spatter.



Oh, and writing about Khaharkyth is fun I imagine him to be a cross between Brick Top from Snatch, Jack Sparrow when he's stuck in Davey Jones' Locker, and Hannibal Lector. Not necessarily all mashed together. More like each personality takes its turn

An account of the final days of the Crone Cycle, as written by Farseer Bellatheral of the Angvai - Part 2
It was the 7th day of the Serpent subcycle when they came. Draped in rags and sporting the blank face of the dead, the prophets of the Dead God filtered through the webway portal. Miracles, they brought with them. Those gifted among them they called 'reborn' walked among the Ghost Halls. Amidst a gathering crowd, they placed a hand upon the psychoplastic bulk of a Wraith before them. The touch of the revenant's palm caused a startling change in the Wraith's demenour. Suddenly it appeared to take a juddering, desperate breath. As if it had just surfaced from icy waters. Where its fellows moved languidly through the arches and boughs of the ghost hall, this awakened Wraith stared intensely at its hands, digits moving as it tested its perception. As the revenant passed on by, the onlookers saw the awareness ebb away. The movements of its fingers that had not seconds ago appeared fundamentally alive slowed as its arms dropped listlessly to its sides. Whatsmore, the eldar could feel the change. The bright spark that had flared into light at the touch of the prophet was fading to a whispering flicker oncemore.

The Angvai seers were cautious of these pilgrims. Manifold are the strands of fate, and only a very few offer any form of salvation. Through the windswept paths of the future they cast their gaze, alien intellects interpreting the actions of a thousand chess pieces on a board that extends for centuries. Methodically, they altered variables and watched them ripple through the weave of fate. Much change this new development had wrought. It would take years to chart these new seas. Years, as many paths suggested, the Angvai might not have.






Yeah Ynnari are awesome. If you think about it, the events of the Fracture of Biel Tan happen in only a small section of the galaxy, meaning that for the majority of Eldar the Ynnari are a pretty mysterious movement.

So, I came up with the idea that they started sending prophets and preachers through the webway to spread the word of the coming of Ynnead, like a religious cult.

As for the model itself, I wanted to try and bring a bit of a ragged look to an Eldar model, which isn't something I've really seen before, Eldar of all sorts usually being pretty clean and elegant. An Eldar Death Cult seemed like the perfect opportunity to try that out oh, and I managed to work in quite a few little bits from the AoS Vampire Counts as a little nod to the sort-of-necromancy the Ynnari are doing the stave is the base of a Grave Guard Standard, and the ragged cloak is two parts of a Wraith from the Corpse Cart stuck together

I've got more ideas to come with the Ynnari as soon as bits arrive I'll have a go at some Dire Avengers too

I'm going to need to practice posing with my Kabalites more. Plain and simple. Really like them

As for the Prophet I REALLY like that conversion and may have to play with a version of it myself. (Is that a Haemonculus or a Wraithseer?) Overall I'm really looking forward to the Death cult conversions that you do (I left some ideas on your Deaht Cult thread btw )

The Ragged Cloak and Staff are very good the hand is a very nice touch as well (I'm going to need to grab a few I can already tell it's such a good bit IMO!)

As for the Dire Avengers I'm eager to see what you do with them to make them Ynnari (I may get some inspiration for them as I want to convert them but pretty clueless what to do.) Wish you luck! (Perhaps some Dragon Blade or Drakespawn Knight armor would be good for them since it is 3+ armor?)

Any spoilers for ideas your willing to share?

Haha thanks man glad you like him

As for posing, one thing I've found that really helps is I stick the legs onto the base first, and then get the body glued together but don't glue it in place yet. Then I get an array of cool arms that I could use, as well as the head I've chosen, and lay them out around it. Then, I physically enact the pose which the arms/legs are doing, and take note of what angle my body and head is at in relation to my legs. Then, I copy that for the model it helps get your poses looking natural. Oh, and the head goes on last

Yeah that Wrack skeletal arms is perfect for your undead dudes I love the idea of 'undead' in 40k being vaguely techno-skeletal. Fits nicely

For the Dire Avengers I've got some Grave Guard legs on the way for the ragged look, but haven't quite decided what to do for the rest of them yet

Dude... you have smashed it! Love the painting on those kabalites, they just look really menacing, and that Seer/messenger conversion is just inspired! He is regal yet creepy at the same time, and I really like the washes out bone colour you have painted him in. Makes him quite ethereal somehow

Haha thanks dude regal and creepy is what I was going for like a vagrant prophet

I've got a bit of a burgeoning story for him that he's a former Wrack whose latent psychic abilities were triggered when Yvraine was reborn, although I think I prefer the idea that he's been an outcast for a while, wandering the skeins of the webway.

Might make covens bits and pieces mixed with CWE and Fantasy Undead a bit of a theme for my Ynnari

Added one little touch to the prophet dude, a little Harlequin mask clipped to his belt a la Visarch



I've got a little bit of headcanon that Harlequins gift a mask to people deemed to be friends and allies of the harlies

It also completes the whole 'melding of all eldar factions' aesthetic that Ynnari have going on

Ooh! The prophet dude looks awesome! How will he work gameplay wise?

Thanks man! He'll either be a Farseer or a Spiritseer for a small Ynnari not-CAD attachable to any of my other (still incomplete) eldar factions.

I think Spiritseer would work better for the fluff you've written up for him. While on the topic of Wraithguard have you thought of how your going to make them more Ynnari? I myself am thinking of using a Necron Torso on them to give them a more skeletal appearance.

As for your Dire Avengers you mentioned using Graveguard Legs, do you think their heads (Specifically the ones with skulls and batwings) would fit with the theme as well? Or do you think they are too fantasy to fit for 40k and or Eldar/Ynnari.