Beautiful Haemonculi

I'm playing with the idea of including a haemonculus in my army. What's stopping me is the model, which unfortunately holds little appeal for me. I looked around and found some good 3rd party models / conversions but I got thinking, why not take my shallowness a step further?

So my fluff question: does a beautiful (or at least aesthetically pleasing) haemmy make sense? My idea is that this is a DE who got horribly maimed, and though the haemonculi were able to repair the damage, the experience left emotional trauma. So this eldar sees herself as a still mutilated figure and is on a never-ending quest to make herself beautiful again--namely by finding attractive specimens, then cutting and splicing bits of those victims onto herself. The more I describe this the more I realize that this idea sounds like anorexia meets Silence of the Lambs. I honestly hate haemonculi but they do kick ass in game, and I do want me some troop wracks....

But first, does this back story match the fluff?

why not??? I can see a dark eldar going into the haemie arts to learn how to make themselves "perfect" Infact one could say that is what all haemies do, just they look for functionality, not beauty. I say do it.

Also what model do you have in mind??? Personally I think your have a hard time getting the stitch look you want. Maybe if you can paint stiches on sigvald (Warriors of Chaos model) but then again, he isnt an elf... so who knows.

I would agree - the Haemonculi become distorted more from regeneration and age than anything else. All you'd need is a younger Haem or a Haem highly focused on maintaining their looks.

I think that a lot of Haemonculi work to make themselves ft an ideal standard of beauty. It's just that their aesthetics tend to be very, very twisted. Those who strive for perfection in their own eyes may not look ... normal ... to the rest of us.

That said though there's no reason at all why they all have to look like monsters, given that they can make themselves look however they wish; I think that your backstory works perfectly with established fluff. With the legendary ego of the Dark Eldar at work their quest for perfection in all things could easily encompass their appearance.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for a model!

I would say that there would be at least one Haemonculi obsessed with beauty.
Litttle off topic but the warmachine necrosurgeon could be used as a base for the stiched effect. http://privateerpress.com/warmachine/gallery/cryx/units/necrosurgeon-stitch-thralls

I actually run one of those as a Haem in my army.

Randomly, while poking around Chapterhouse today after posting here I also found this;
http://chapterhousestudios.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=135

that chapterhouse model looks god aweful though...

It's the proportion of the legs to the body I think - looks stunted.

Thanks for all the interest and feedback! Now I'm starting to think that maybe lots of Haemonculi begin their 'careers' in pursuit of physical perfection, only their concept of perfection gets seriously twisted as their lives progress.

I hadn't really thought of which model I wanted to use, but Raging Heroes minis are part of the reason I got into DE in the first place, so of course they're a candidate. Specifically, Skaryaa. Another candidate is the Aow Dark Elf Queen/Witch. I'd add links, but new members aren't allowed to do so. Go figure haha.

In either case, I'd saw off an arm to add a liquefier gun. But the search continues!

Have you had a look at Domina of Torment from AoW's Horde of the Apocalypse for inspiration?

http://www.avatars-of-war.com/eng/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&prodcode=49&prodname=Domina+of+Torment&id=118&Itemid=120

That sounds really sick, twisted, and gruesome but awesome, and I think it definitely fits. I might be stealing this idea at some point, since I have a similar issue as you with the Haemy models.. I'll be interested to see how this turns out, please post pics once they're done!

Thanks for the suggestion, Nightseer. The 4-armed figure threw me off, but it got me thinking about demons/succubi type base models, so I started searching. It turns out there're plenty of those on the web. I'm pretty pleased with what I was able to find. I'll be using the now-defunct Spyglass Miniatures' Lilith Demoness (be careful googling this if you're at work). She's a little stubby, but I plan on converting some kabalite warrior limbs onto her, and naturally the Liquefier Gun as well. She'll take a little while to get here in the mail. I plan on posting updates in the Painting & Modelling section once I'm underway.

Thanks again for the encouragement!

I have used this model, converted Dark Elf sorceress:

love this idea. May try to include something like this in my army

Lhamaen would make a great base for a female haemonculus. Her pose is rather menacing and her armor is quite similar to coven models. Just stick in some extra arms and she's ready to go : D, here's an example:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/303459-Female%20Haemonculus.html

I love the idea from a fluff point of view!

Why not approach the modelling idea from the other end: search for minis of classically beautiful women, then convert them as appropriate?
Browse some of the good collected sites (I find the shop on coolminiornot helpful here), and look for iconic figures and poses like film stars etc; then modify them to add weapons arms and details.
Betty Page figures, Pin-ups and poster girls, Morticia Addams, Elvira...

The wives from the Keanu Reeves film "Devil's Advocate" come to mind: rich, impeccably dressed and made-up, normal human women...with a very dark side!

i too am a fan of beautiful hammies. i used the body of a mordeheim sisters of sigmar augurary (i think thats the name - the blind caster with her eyes closed and 2 knives). i removed the head and weapons and replaced them with DE parts. i'll try and post up some pics when/if i get the chance. and yes i think that your idea of a beautiful hammy is good. btw the way, and sorry if it derails the thread, but how does one go about recruiting hammies? do they go down into the lab one day and learn the trade or are they raised by the hammy and grow accustomed to the lifestyle from a young age? or is there a more sinister way?

Nobody knows. Wracks are rumoured to eventually "graduate" into Haemonculi, but no facts are known. The Haemonculi themselves certainly aren't telling.

I played vampire the masquerade (original WoD) and the Tzmice always fascinated me.

For those who never got into the RPG, the Tzimice where a bloodline of flesh-crafting vamps who could meld themselves (and others) as easily as a child shapes clay.

What always facsinated me was the various interpretations of the aesthetic ideal. Some would relect the monster inside with a hideous form, others would go in weird directions. I remember one player in my group who created a Tzimice that was all angles, no curves to his body, it was all sharp angles.

I think where this rambling is going is that the GW Haemie is one interpretation, but when you are dealing with masters of flesh-crafting, what exactly is the limit of aesthetics?

I've been toying with an anime-monster style Haemie, all tentacles and claws with enough of the eldar within to be recognised and highlight the horror he has turned himself into.

Yet the idea of a beautiful Haemi is just as terrorfying when you think about it. Imagine an image of perfection and beauty inflicting the most hideous and painful tirtures upon your mind and body? The conflicting imagery of what should be a creature of grace and beauty revealing the utter depths of pain and horror.

Sounds liek something that would appeal to a Dark Eldar.