The Exiled Forces of Ciirian D'raque - *updated 1/18/15 custom Coven force added

I have been working on a story to fit with my unique force for some time.  Would love some opinions on it.  I think it sticks to the Dark Eldar theme quite well but I'm no expert, so please I welcome the comments and critiques.

**Edit with WIP pics, I apologize for my camera skills.  Remember everything is still WIP, need highlights and tattoos on some models**
Ciirian and his personalized Court









Haemonculus Tendrilon







Former Succubus of the Poisoned Fang, now count as a Haemonculus (need a good Dark Eldar/ Succubus name)





a WIP of a member of The Black Guard

Looks Awesome, I Especially like the Haemonculus!

Hmm... How about "Arachnia" for the Spider-wych? That could have been her nickname before her legs got crushed... as for her "real" name, how about something like "Nirgurtha", means "many deaths" in Elven?

Yeah, I was thinking about the name Arachnia and think I'll go with it. Thanks for the help with that naming.

Also I made a post trying to get some advice on how to make my fluffy army get a bit more of an edge. Check it out here.

https://thedarkcity.forummotion.com/t1505-the-exiled-forces-of-ciirian-d-raque-1850-themed-list-comments#16602

How have I missed this thread? I really like all of the conversion work and very well-crafted background. I really dig the Haemonculus conversion and crazy spider-Succubus.

I take it you are using the following:
Bloodletters as (demonic) Urghuls
Black Guard as Wracks
Very clever use of the Madussae mini: An Archon and TWO Madussae out of one blister is cunning indeed.


I feel like a real slacker without making a background for my army! This is good stuff.
It sounds like you are doing a bunch of altered units for your army, yes? This is very cool stuff indeed.

I wanted my Archon to wear a robe and the Medusae model just made the perfect starting point for him. The extra two Medussae were really an awesome bonus.

The Black Guard count as Wracks. I see them designed for combat instead of as lab assistant roles. A special commisioned project for an exiled Archon who lacks acess to many troops.

Yeah those demon models are my "Count as" Urghuls as I feel a Court would be customed to his Archon. The "Bloodletters" are painted as a sort of "Shadow Demon", was thinking Illidian from WOW. Painted in same way as my Eldar flesh (Dheneb stone and the Purple wash stuff). Painted the scaley parts of the "bloodletter" black and cut off that huge forhead thingy.

I plan on writing more background on the Spider-Succubus. I thought in addition to just "counting as" a Haemonculus (wwp, liquifier, venomblade), I could also use her as a "Count as" Duke. Think about it, being a Spider she could *produce* her own poisons (the rules for rerolls on Drugs, and the upgrade poisons for the Trueborn) That and being that she was the former Succubus of a Wych Cult, make use of lots of Wych troops in game. Then as for a Trueborn squad.....

Along with this thinking I thought of how to make best for the Duke's poison upgrade rule/how it would fit with my "count as Duke", Archnia. When Ciirian D'raque sends Arachnia out on her own, perhaps he doesnt nessicarily trust her since the transformation and the Trueborn squad isn't nessicarily there for her protection but to make sure to protect his intrests. Pics will come soon but after reading some posts on the forum I just finished converting 8 Trueborn w/Shardcarbines and 2 w/ Splintercannons. To add a bit more of a personal touch to the squad, each member (allmost every member) is individual looking and I'll try to make a story for each member. The two who share similiar heads will have an interesting story I hope you enjoy involing one of Haemonculus Tendrillon's many "accidents".

Hopefully I'll learn to take decent pictures soon and get something updated.

.....and if you liked my Spider conversion, wait till you see my new Haemonculus who's WIP name is "Scorponox". I plan on having 6 "Haemonculus" in total reflecting venomous creatures as part of the main Haemonculus creations.


*edit* Had to click post because I was being rushed for time, got a few more mins so can finish my thought, I appologize.

I picture the main Haemonculus, Haemonculus Tendrillon (the Doc Oc looking guy) to be a mad scientist sort and like to experiment. I plan to have a few "count as Haemon" that are some of his more original experiments. (The Spider-Succubus being the first of many). Also have plans on having a Grot squad being added one day in the future.

(I hope its okay that I am posting here. I know its an old topic, but its my project log, should I just start a new one or roll with this? )

Haven't been too into Warhammer lately, but a few weeks ago I had a sudden interest to pick up my brush again. I had begun the paint work for my Trueborn squad (2 Splinter Cannons, 7 Shardcarbines, 1 Dracon(forget the name atm) So far all but 2 w/ Shardcarbines have been worked on.

Also, in the meantime, while cleaning my room I discovered my camera. Pictures will be coming eventually! When I get the pics up, I'll have a bunch more questions.

After seeing an image in Massaen's Project log and being inspired by his Duke, as well as the awesomness of a very nice person on the forums who sent me wings cuz I was ripped in the past, I ended up picking up my glue and brush and get some models going. Somehow with some luck, I actually managed to get some good pictures of them. If someone could give me some advice on taking pictures I am more then happy to share my armies progress in more depth. So here is a brief description of my newest models.

Here is the new WIP fluff for my Wych Cult part of the army, the Cult of the Poisoned Fang.

The Cult of the Poisoned Fang was a small Wych Cult in Commoragh lead by a fearsome Succubus known as Arachnia. The Cult was known for being almost entirely female and having large ranks of savage beastmasters. The Beastmasters of the Poisoned Fang brought some of the deadliest creatures Commorah has ever seen. Arachnia herself was always a sight to behold. Her specialised suit of armor offered much more protection then a typical wych suit, yet none of its hinderance. In addition, four specialized drug canisters were fixed to her back, pumping her full of the toxin needed best for the fight. When leading Realspace raids, her Wyches always seemed to have an edge over all others fueled by strange intoxicants. For such a small Cult, the Poisoned Fang seemed to have someone's favor, for they always seemed to posses superior ships, exotic weapons and some of the deadliest poisons. However, Archnia's luck seemed to run out after launching a Realspace raid on world that housed Chaos Cultists. It's unknown why the Cult of the Poisoned Fang would attack such a world to begin with, less than half of their numbers returned alive. Archnia finally met her match upon that world when her spine was snapped in combat with a Demon Prince. Unfortunatly for Archnia, her end was not met that day and she ended up on the workstation of Haemonculus Tendrillon.


Once again, thanks Massaen for the inspiration for this model, hope you don't mind.






This is Archania, and my Count - as Duke. I was really inspired after seeing that model that I thought she could of looked like that before her transformation into the Spider Creature (For Spider see image below).

(Sorry for the lousy photo)

Also, I managed to get a few images of my Trueborn squad that occompanies the Arachnia "The Duke".In total I have 10 made up - 2 with Splinter Cannons, 1 Dracon 7 with Shardcarbines (with one who could be a second leader if need be). To make them stand out in the army I gave them all matching Corsairs Cloaks. All of them (except for one) has a different bare head so they all have an individual look to them. I even went as far into writing a short blurb about each one of them

This is Dracon Hydraxis, the squads leader.



Raxis was expert marksman that has served Ciirian since his coupe. During their exile, Ciirian learned of Raxis' importance to his group. Eventually, Ciirian arranged for Raxis to be involved in an explosion. After the many months in Haemonculus Tendrilon's chambers, Raxis discovered that he was not alone in the chammbers, and a duplicate was being spawned.. Since then,twin Raxis strive to outproove the other hoping to show who is the true Raxis and who is the mere clone. Both wieldi Splintercannons and serving in Ciirian's Trueborn guard.
( At the moment I only have the one picture. The other is painted in identical armor and has the other male masked head from the Wych spure used)


(Need a name) serves as second in command in the Trueborn guard unit. He is a master tactician and anxiously awaits Dracon Hydraxis' one false move so that he may take his place. (I modeled him with the holstered splinter rifle and knife that cane from the Raider sprue hanging from his back and a pistol in his hand. I thought with that face and the pointing arm it looked as if he was scanning for a target and barking orders.))




(had a name but cant remember now) is the daughter of Archon Ciirian and the Succubus Archania. She is extremly lethal in combat. When an assasin made an attempt on her father's life, she alone defeated the attacker and in the process shattered his huskblade. Fastening the shard into a dagger, she keeps it close waiting for the right time to strike so that she can take control over the forces and return to Commoragh instead of living in exile.

Here is a group shot I got as well that came out alright.

My army is coming along pretty good so far. Tomorrow I plan to touch up my 18 Wyches to Arachnia's standard. Still need to figure out paint schemes for all my vehicles. If anyone has suggestions on how to take good pictures please let me know, I'd love to repost a more ogranised project log with much more pictures. These ones some miriacle came out good and would love to add more.

Thanks again to everyone who takes a look at this, let me know what you guys think.

The Duke, and the purple, green, and brass/gold are really working for me. I really think that you have the color palette down for your vehicles. It really will be a matter of figuring out where to apply them.
A couple possible layouts:
1. Green hulls/ purple runes/ whatever color you used for the skin on the sails/ brass weapons(I think this would work best
2. Brass hulls/ purple sails/ green runes
3. I'm drawing a blank because I really like the idea of option#1
I suck at photographing, but I use black pieces of paper as backdrops to make the models stand out more. As far as camera adjustments-I use a Droid X phone to take my pictures...that's how little I know about taking photos

Did some more touch up work on my Wyches today. Here's some pictures, once again sorry for the crap pics.





The bottom picture features both Arachnia before and after her modifications. The colors on the Wych suits/ armor is inverted on the different Wyches. Got the idea from the WD article on Wyches and thought it would add some variety to them. I like how the purple ones came out and the ones with the black armor still need some work done to them. I own another new box of Wyches and am trying to decide if I should a) make another unit or b) make up some Wyches with special weapons. Currently I am thinking Hydra Gauntlets and the Shardnet are the best choices.

You're very welcome!

Always flattered when others use my ideas!

Hopefully this picture of the Wyches is a bit clearer. I hope its sunny tomorrow, I will try to take more photos tomorrow if so. Really not sure how those Trueborn pics came out so well.

So I decided to paint all my Wyches in the above color scheme. Also started some work on the Raider for the Wyches. I decided on Purple hulls / Green Runes for the Wych Raiders. Painted 12 more Wyches to the above standard as well as painted my first Venom for my Blaster Trueborn. Just throught my "Duke" in there because she looked pretty cool. None of the Raider yet but heres the WIP Venom



Also I know its a poor picture, but I did a bit more work to my Archon. I drilled a hole in the Chaos Sorcerer staff to remove the eye symbol. My plan is to cut down a Star Wars lightsabre for the red semi clear plastic and shave it down into a crystal shape. Then I hope to glue it into the hole within the staff, hopfully giving it the appearance that the gem is "floating" in the staff. Anyways, sorry again for the crap picture, he is still wayy WIP

Alright so did some work today and managed to paint my Raider. Right now it is the hull is painted and the floor is made is a brass color. Sorry for the poor picture quality, it looks the same purple color as my Wyches armor above. Here is what I have so far for my Raider.


Also the pictures aren't the greatest, but I decided to take one pic of each different types of squad in the army. They are a bit more finished then earlier pics and clearer as well.

For starters we have a regular Wych:


The next image is of a Wrack, no customization done, straight out of the box. I decided to make his "coat" out of flesh.


Lastly is a unit I call "The Black Guard". In the game the "count as" Wracks, yet I picture them to be a sort of special order combat Wrack. They are to be completly loyal servants skilled in combat with tons of combat drugs and steroids being constantly pumped into them to make them more resillant.



I made them out of Dark Eldar Warrior trosos/ male wych torsos with greenstuff sculpted over them to make it look like their muscles were buldging out. I used the legs from Dark Eldar Warriors and the arms from the Wyches. Also used some modeling putty on their backs to make it look like they had some muscular growth and stuck in some "venom tubes" from the Dark Eldar Talos kit. . I used the domed heads from the Wyches/Dark Eldar Reavers because I thought they were just so awesome. I think the dome should have some color but cannot figure out what, any suggestions?

@Ciirian - you would really probably be getting better feedback on this in the project logs section.

Do you want to keep the thread here?
Move the thread there?
Have me split the thread and leave the story part here and move the painting/modeling stuff there?

Let me know.

Regards,
Thor.

If you want a quick and easy way of doing the flesh coats like worn dried skin let me know - very quick and easy to do.

Can you get some better pics of the haemy which used the chronus tentacles please?

I am keen to see how it was done so i can copy it!!!

-Thor, Wherever you think its best to put it / get seen more. I just feel the background does belong with the minatures and couldnt figure where to put both.

- Massaen, I'll try and get more pics of that Haemoni. All I did was glue the two tenticles pegs together (from the chronos) the way they would go together, Glued it to the back of a torso and sculpted a buldiging spine and hump for the tenticles to come out of.

Since you seem to be more likely to update miniature pics than the story I'll move the whole thread to project logs, methinks that's the core theme of the thread.

These are looking very good. Keep up the good work.

Alright, here is something I am having difficulty on and would like some advice with..From the last set of three pictures I posted (the Wyches (my Cult Forces) and the Wrack and the "Black Guard"(my Coven forces)) do you think they can all "share" the same color Raiders? I know it isn't very clear picture but I painted the Raider with the Foundation Purple (cant remember name atm) with the Purple Wash and Lich highlights. Was thinking possibly giving them green runes as well. Also since I have Wracks piloting the Ravagers, they too will be painted in a similiar way.

I think the colors between the three different infantry models above go well together and I was trying to get the look like they a) look like seperate forces (the Cult and Coven units) while at the same time b) maintaining unity between the two. I think I managed to maintain that with the skin tones.

I could see them perhaps wanting some individualization on their Raiders (coven marks on the Coven one, Wych marks on the Wych one, yadda, yadda) but think it makes perfect sense to have the color remain the same across the board - I think the army ties together nicely.

I like the idea of unique colors vehicles to match squads but was thinking my Coven / Cult squads shared the same stuff since they worked for the same boss. I am planning to have male Wyches piloting the Raiders. While a Wrack is piloting the Ravager.Was also juggling with the idea of having all the pilots hardwired into the vehicle in some sort. Was just wanted some feedback on my thought process to it all.

I would like to add some uniquness to the vehicles. So far this is what I have planned. My Kabal units are going to have green vehicles like my Venom pictured previously. I have very few Kabal units in my army and picture them as the fragments of the orginal Eldar who worked alongside the Archon when he fled Commoragh. They have their own color scheme as well to match the Archon and can be seen pictured above. The two units I have are a)Duke's Shardcarbine/S.Cannon squad, and b) a Trueborn squad with Blasters. Also since I wanted their color scheme to be as if they are the elite, I also gave the same color scheme to my Scourges. Also, I plan to make a special looking Raider almost like a "Command Ship" with magnetized guns to represent the Dais if I ever want to. Its a thought I have had numerous times, I picture that one as well being painted green like the Venom.

Finally I was thinking I should have an extra spikey Black Raider with Red Sails and tons of trophies piled on / hanging off the sides of it for my Incubi.

Here are some images of my Raiders. I decided on three diffterent vehicle colors. The Cult / Coven units will ride in purple vehicles, not sure on the sail color yet. So far I have two Raiders painted like this and a Ravager (piloted by Wracks)



For my Kabal units I plan on using green vehicles. I have a 10man squad of Trueborn and they go in this Raider. I also have a Venom painted in a similar fasion for the Blasterborn squad. I'd like to add another Venom to the list as well as paint a Raider that I can use as a Command Ship / Dais of Destruction. Anyway here it is.



Lastly, I decided to make a Raider match my Incubi squad. I'd like to add more trophies to it, but for now I'm pretty happy with how it came out.

Nice! Have you thought of using whatever color you used for the flayed skin as your sail color? Might look nice with the purple hulls. Glad to see that you got these going finally

Thanks man. I thought of it but not sure how it would come out. For the flayed skin I use Tallaran Flesh basecoat and a Delvun Mud wash.