Corsairs, Exodites, Craftworlders and hopefully Kabalites soon

Well, plastic glue arrived so I've finished making my Cult of Ynnead



Just a reminder, the fluff on these guys is that they're the guardians of the entrances to each entrance to the world spirit. Exodites are inducted into the cult at a young age, and spend their life in martial training. Part of their pre-battle rite involves ingesting copious amounts of the Eldar drug Painbringer (purchased from the Dark Kin, along with their ranged weaponry). This heightens their resilience to levels not otherwise possible for an Eldar. The quantity ingested is even enough to numb any sensation of pain for the duration.

However, a lifetime of these repeated extreme dosages has a number of side effects. Firstly, it slows the Eldar's natural phenomenal speed and reflexes, as well as their wits and intelligence. They are still far superior to a human's, but definitely below the average Eldar. The slower pace at which they stride across the battlefield is what gives them their name: 'Walkers'.

The second effect is that it changes their physiology slightly, causing them to grow significantly larger than a normal Eldar otherwise would.

Seriously, these guys are tall.

Picture to show scale between a Walker and a Guardian:



Yes or no on the Rule of Cool?

I just love the idea of a 'roided up Eldar striding purposefully across the battlefield and punching a marine square in the face. Seems like such an un-Eldary thing to do, and fits with Exodites being a bit different.

Such a shame Wracks aren't S4 anymore. Stupid nerf.

Irritatingly cool!    Are they going to be count as wracks?

Thanks!

Yep, counts-as Wracks. Thought up entirely so I can try the Ossefactor out as it seems fun

I need to concoct some sort of Exodite Venom so I can use the Scalpel Squadron formation. Maybe something to do with the Dark Elf Scourgerunner Chariot...

I've now got a backstory to my exodites someone over on dakka had this idea:

Quote :

I was thinking it might be interesting to frame all the bio-grown wraithbone implanting in your exodites in a story about overcoming a gift of Nurgle.

I got a fever, and the only cure is MORE Wraithbone!

The more I've thought about it the better and better it sounds

Selestini
During their early years, the Selestini exodites were invaded by daemonic Plaguebearers. Although they were repelled at great cost, they left behind a terrible legacy. A gift from papa Nurgle ravaged their world, causing death and decay to everything it touched. The Selestini only conquered this plague by excising every ounce of infected tissue from their world and themselves, replaced with wraithbone equivalents. This event weighs heavily in their collective memories, and to this day any wound or infection is swiftly replaced with wraithbone.

Selesti is the name of an exodite world mentioned in passing I think in the Iyanden supplement, that it was protected from an ork waaagh by the manipulations of Sylandri Veilwalker. I thought I'd expand on that further

It would also explain why all the bases of my exodites are a barren gravelly sand. Most of their ecosystem was wiped out by the nurglite plague, and is taking thousands of years to recover.

Thought I'd do a sneak-peak of what I've just started working on



Currently undecided as to whether it'll be a counts-as Wraithknight, or a counts-as Talos.

What's closest size-wise? I must confess to not having seen either of them in person...

This is an amazing project - I love the fusion of the new wood elf bits and the 40k kits!  I tried something similar when I started Dark Eldar in 5th but the scope of the conversions was a lot more modest - mostly just capes and some hooded helmets.  This is really inspiring, I may steal some of your ideas!

Damn dude. I dont look at your log for a week, and all this amazing stuff comes out. I love the look of the wrack legs on the guardian torso. Do they marry up well, or are they like the WFB stuff where the "male" and "female" portions of the torso/legs is reversed making it a B****?

Also, LOVE the dragon tank. Please post more of that. I will be stealing it as soon as I get some more time or they drop a supplement on us (forcing me to make time )

Korona wrote:

This is an amazing project - I love the fusion of the new wood elf bits and the 40k kits!  I tried something similar when I started Dark Eldar in 5th but the scope of the conversions was a lot more modest - mostly just capes and some hooded helmets.  This is really inspiring, I may steal some of your ideas!

Thankyou! It's amazing what praise does to one's self-esteem and motivation with these sorts of project

I agree with the scope for modelling being a lot better these days. I think it was 5th when I last did anything to do with 40k (had to google what the hell a Wraithknight was when I came back, and then spent ages wondering what the hell it was doing in my skirmish level game and not running around in Apocalypse).

I've got a couple of exodite guardians made from the old-school Kabalites and wood elf archers which probably look similar to what you made.

Steal away! I'm flattered if anything make sure you post up your creations though. Might be something I can steal back

fisheyes wrote:

Damn dude. I dont look at your log for a week, and all this amazing stuff comes out. I love the look of the wrack legs on the guardian torso. Do they marry up well, or are they like the WFB stuff where the "male" and "female" portions of the torso/legs is reversed making it a B****?

Also, LOVE the dragon tank. Please post more of that. I will be stealing it as soon as I get some more time or they drop a supplement on us (forcing me to make time )

Hah thanks man. The Wrack legs were probably the least-marriable thing I've done so far. The Wrack bodies have the torsos directly connected with the legs, so I needed to clip off the top half of the body, and then carve out a little dish with a dremel for the Dire Avenger torsos to sit into. There's a bit of tidying to do around the edges once you've done that as well. That's the same technique I've used with the guardian torsos and glade guard legs as that's a ball-to-flat-plane job.

Honestly, the cheapy dremel I got from Halfords is the most useful thing I've bought for conversion work. It makes it so much easier to marry stuff together. Previously I was carving stuff out with an old hunting knife I had. Not a good idea if you've had a glass of wine or two of an evening...

I hate the Harlequin bits in particular for the reversal of the legs and torso arrangement from every other Eldar and Dark Eldar model to date. It's not even as if the torso and legs are in the same proportion to other Eldar units. Bah!

I'm still thinking up ideas of what to do next with the Carnosaur. I think another Raider hanger-on on the other side wielding some sort of converted hand-held scatterlaser thing would be useful to make it WYSIWYG. Either that or a Splinter Cannon if I want it to be a Talos.

If it's a Wraithknight, I also need to work something out to mount the suncannon. I've got most of the bits for that, but I think I need to cannibalise a Wraithknight arm from somewhere for the other bits.

The mount for the shield generator is made from wraithguard hip plates and a bit cannibalised from a thigh I think...

I'm overcome with sweet nostalgia, that carnosaur totally reminds me of the Dino Riders i played with as a kid.

It also looks very good, continue.

Marrath wrote:

I'm overcome with sweet nostalgia, that carnosaur totally reminds me of the Dino Riders i played with as a kid.

It also looks very good, continue.

Thanks man that's what Exodites are aren't they? Grimdark Dino Riders

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Latest bit of work

Seeing as most of my army lists so far feature an Autarch with a Power Axe, Fusion Gun and Banshee Mask I thought I'd convert something up to be WYSIWYG.




I must admit I'm not the biggest fan of the Banshee Mask bit, but I can't think of a better way of doing it...

Wych running legs are the best bit ever though

Then I put together a proof-of-concept model for my Cult of Faolchu. They can either count as Scourges or Swooping Hawks, and because my Exodites are pretty much the same paint scheme as my Craftworlders I can use them for both armies




Lastly, I had a load of spare bits lying around so I thought I'd put together an alternative squad of Wardens to go with my more feudal-looking Hunter squad (really like how those turned out, but they don't fit with the rest of the army).




I've been thinking of coming up with a couple of different Exodite cultures using different tropes, and producing a codex of sorts as a bit of inspiration for people looking to do exodite conversions of their own. Here goes

Selesti (my exodites)

Spoiler:

Ybaric Cluster

Spoiler:

Teleth-ai

Spoiler:

Haranshemash

Spoiler:

Carnac Wanderers (potential spoiler for the Carnac Campaign books)

Spoiler:

Tirathain

Spoiler:

What do people think?

God-damnit, I've just had the coolest idea for my Corsairs which will have me have to re-do the whole lot of them :S or at least go back and change them.

Here's the idea:

Khaine's Ravens
Eldar Corsair force that has a standing contract with the Haemonculi of the Dark City. Each new recruit has a pair of jet-black wings grafted to them, in the image of the black ravens of Morai-Heg. In Eldar myth, these Ravens were the eyes and ears of the Crone goddess.

During the Fall, Morai-Heg bid her ravens to fly with Khaine and peck at the eyes of Slaanesh during their titanic battle.

Khaine's Ravens take after these birds of legend, spying on the forces of the Ruinous Powers, and conducting surgical strikes to take out their leaders.

Looking at the prices of Scourge wings from the usual places I can tell this is going to be an expensive thought...

As an aside, Corsair rules seem perfectly suited to making a Scourge murder-flock army...

Finished modelling my Cult of Faolchu (all but one model which I've run out of wings for).



I must admit, I think the Scourge wings are my second favourite bit after the Wych running legs

Also, thanks a million to Drakheart over on Dakka for sending me some spare Fusion Gun bits. My Son of Asuryan looks so much better with the proper little fuel canister jobby, and I'm thinking of using one of the old 2nd ed. Eldar Fusion Guns to make a mold so I can cast some more I wonder if you can melt sprues to cast bits in plastic...

This weekend I decided that I really should be painting some of my growing mountain of primered conversions...

So here is the finished Cult of Ynnead





I still hold up my hand and say that I'm far from a stellar painter, but they look good enough from a distance with my fuzzy eyes (I really should get some glasses). Tried to make them look a little whited out and ghostly compared to the other, more colourful exodites they'll be fielded with.

Now I just need to do another squad of 5 and sort out two counts-as Venoms and I can field a Scalpel Squadron

Next up is the finished Cult of Kurnous. Really pleased how these guys have turned out




Lastly, I've fitted wings to my Corsair Prince, Baron and Void Dreamer, fitting in with their new incarnation as the Khaine's Ravens corsair band.



The army's slowly coming together

Oh, forgot. Balestrikes!




They're much more balanced on Scourge legs rather than Harlequin ones I used previously. Look the part too. I really much commend the GW design team on the Scourge models. Great looking things

Well, I think I've screwed the pooch painting my Daughter of Khaine. I've got a fair amount of experience now painting bone colour armour, but the last time I painted metal was on the shoulder-pad of a Kroot Carnivore I painted on a whim nearly a decade ago...

Cue a terrible paint job on a unique converted model.

Drat.

So, options?
1. Make another (I've got some different ideas of what I can do to make her look more Avatar-like)
2. Anyone had any luck stripping paint from plastic models without melting them into goo?

Honistly, I just re-prime in a series of very light coats. You dont loose much detail so long as you dont get antsy and just giv-er.

Regardless, please post the pics!!

That's the issue unfortunately :S I went a bit heavy on a black/gloss wash so I think if I spray over that it'll have pooled up in the recesses and mask most of the detail :S

Can't hurt to give it a try though...

I'll have a crack at stripping it somehow, but I've ordered some bits for a replacement just in case.

I've even got an idea for a mini-wailing doom which I'm rather pleased with

This evening's activities Painted my Son of Asuryan. Not sure if he's too blingy tbh, but I'm warming to him. He is supposed to be an Exodite lord after all...



Also, I've been looking at pics of ravens in real life and they're not actually jet black. In reality, they're a very, very dark shade of almost blue-green with a glossy sheen to them.

So, I mixed up a wash from abaddon black, incubi darkness, water and a couple of drops of acrylic gloss.

It doesn't show particularly well in pictures, but it's worked really nicely much improved.

Well, I've changed the undersuit colour on my Son of Asuryan/counts-as Autarch to the darker Bestial Brown and it looks much better than the slightly yellowy Balor Brown haven't got a pic though...

I do, however, have the first two proof-of-concepts for my Exodite Guardians



What do you reckon?

Ynneadwraith wrote:

2. Anyone had any luck stripping paint from plastic models without melting them into goo?

Depending on the type of paint used, stripping is pretty easy. This is a short guide:


-Enamel paints :
*Maybe you can use the model as scenery/casualty?


-Acrylics :
*Denatured spirit or anything with high enough alcohol content, will dissolve the paint, primer and some times the glue, but leave the plastic intact after being submerged for 24 hrs.

*Pine tree oil or whatever is in the simple green/pine sol will remove some of the paint and leave the primer. You might have to soak the mini for a couple of days and scrub it several times.

Thanks for the tips. I'll try some denatured spirit. I've definitely got white spirit and meths lying around that I can test some bits on

Also, it being my birthday today, I've got the day off! Used the morning to finish off the rest of my Guardians






Also took the opportunity to take the first shot of the army all together.




How does anyone paint up a full 1850pt army? It feels like I've been painting for yonks and all I've got is 10 counts-as Guardians, a support weapon, a warlock, 8 scorpions, 5 wracks and an autarch!

Still, it's a good start

Congratulations!
To your Birthday and a nice, innovative little army
And actually it's not all that little.
Been in the hobby for more than 3 years now and have 1 less painted Dark Eldar model than you
Even though 4 are Venoms w/gunner, and i got distracted a bit by Tyranids...
Anyway, it's cool, keep up the good work!

@Stripping paint:
I have no personal experience, but at my local GW everyone says this is good for stripping and cleaning brushes:
http://www.produktkatalog.bode-chemie.de/produkte/flaechen/bacillol_af.php
I think it is pretty much what Scrz advised.

Thankyou!

Personally, I'd count each Venom as at least 5 models each. Part of the motivation for making this army was that I'd never have to paint another vehicle ever again! Fairly certain I fell asleep halfway through doing my Fire Prism

Also, I've got a fun idea for a Tyranid Kill Team bubbling away at the moment: Looted Tyranids!

I'm picturing a Zoanthrope with an Ork Mekboy sitting on its head, control panel in hand and wires leading down to the Zoanthrope's brain. Then, a host of little Gaunt gribblies with crude warpaint (red wunz go fasta!) and some Ork metal jawbones attached

All these ideas, not enough time!

Pass on painting this evening in favour of a little modelling

Thanks to the fantastically generous Drakheart on Dakka gifting me some 2nd ed. Eldar Fusion Guns I've been able to finish the last two Fusion Reavers for the Khaine's Ravens



I must say they've been fantastic fun to convert. Real commendations to the people who designed the Eldar and Dark Eldar kits. The level of interchangeability is phenomenal. Aside from the arms (Dark Eldar have flat joints, Eldar have ball and socket) which is easily corrected, everything fits together. Heads fit onto torsos fine, and torsos onto legs. Even the front and rear portions of Kabalite Warrior and Guardian torsos fit together!

Really cleverly done

Had a big shipment of bits arrive today, the upshot of which is i've doubled my dino count!

First off, my Beastsinger (counts as Beastmaster).



You can't see it, but the little chain that normally holds the hellion legs to their skyboard sits neatly on the Pterradon's crest nice coincidence

But, what's a beastmaster without her beasts?



My thinking is that i'd have to do something to represent the khymaerae's 5++ save, so i thought little shield generators would work nicely mirrors their bigger brother too:



I've settled on it being a Talos. Partially because it's not quite tall enough to be a Wraithknight, and partly due to philosophical reasons (why has Apocalypse corrupted my skirmish-level infantry game?).

So, i chopped up a Talos tail, mashed together some Hellion legs with a Wych torso and the weapon arms from a Raider and got this dude



Lord knows what he's aiming at, but he seems happy enough. Also, took a closer picture of his companion (made from a Raider hanger-on, a Dark Elf Corsair cloak, a Wych head and a Sylvaneth Tree Revenant arm