More Wraithguard, 2 Wraithlords started, Harlequins updated

Hello everyone!  As I have begun repainting my Eldar army, I figure this time I would use all of the skills I have picked up so far. I've enjoyed showing off how far I've come and plan to share just how ambitious I wish to be with the project when it is completed.

First, we'll start with the Harlequins-

This Shadowseer I painted during a craft festival my wife was attending.  The natural light did wonders for my painting and I had just decided to start using a wet pallet.  It was also my first attempt at the non-metal metal technique, which I feel was only mildly successful.  There's not a whole lot I would change on this model as I think it's one of the best I've done.

Fairly stock Harlequin.  Right now my plans include doing something on the back of the cloak (maybe some theater masks, comedy/tragedy) to remove some of the blank space.  I'd also repaint the backpacks as they were meant to work with the old color scheme and the new scheme is so different it seems sort of strange to look at next to each other.

Again, something with the back of the cloak.  Painting that checker pattern inside the cloak gave me fits and I found myself painting a square, undoing it, repainting it over and over again.

Other than fix the hair and maybe do some highlighting on the sword and gun probably not much to do here. Looks a little 'Superman'ish though, doesn't it?  I think the blue and red boots are what does it.

With this one, probably find a way to redo the sword and lighten the purple checker a bit.  Right now it's just too dark and doesn't separate enough, tending to blend together what should be contrasting and bright.

On to the new stuff!

Progress on the Wraithguard have been somewhat slow, really.  The red paint for my airbrush clogs more frequently than I like and causes quite a few delays.  Fortunately I was able to finish the red and paint all of the gems to my satisfaction.  Still, I have to decide on a hose color, though that will probably be green as well (there is enough red and more black/grey would just look as it does now).

Wraithlords Ahoy!  At the moment I am planning out some swords for these guys and am left with some detail work for missile launchers to go over the shoulder (a la Predator style).  Since they are magnetized I can add or remove them as I please.  After painting the model, the Milliput additions I made no longer seem so obtrusive or out of place.  Still, there is a lot I can do for these guys and I think it will take some time for me to figure out just what.

And for SebastionSynn, the weapons platform thruster images.  Afraid they don't look all that exciting!  I figured since no one would see them, there wasn't a whole lot I needed to do to them.

Well, that's it, really.  This week I'm hoping to finish the hoses, paint the Wraithlord missile launchers, and perhaps even begin converting a third Wraithlord to act as my Wraithseer.  Till next time, happy building all!

Scratch built Eldar Weapon Platforms painted

Hello again fellow builders!  Welcome back to another hobby progress update here at SB40k.  Last week I posted pictures of the scratch built Eldar Weapons Platforms I built for use with my Guardians.  Over the weekend I found time to paint them.

This is the first platform.  I may add a little detail to the gun barrel (lighten up the edges) and highlight the red a bit, but for the most part I'm pleased with the result.

The second weapon platform.  Looks a lot like the first one, really.

Additionally, I was surprisingly able to find time to finish 4 more Wraithguard.

All I can say is WOW, they have a lot of gems.  Highlighting each one with 5 blends really helps to point this out.  Not a job for those who hate repetition!

Well, that's it for now.  Hopefully I'll have images of finished Wraithlords soon to go along with these fine Wraithguard.  Till next time, happy building!

Scratch building Eldar Weapon Platforms, updating old Wraith Lords

Welcome back all.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I bought my Eldar army a long time ago.  How long?  When I bought the army they still had separate lists for the Iyanden craft world (which I loved).  I wasn't, however, a fan of the blue and yellow colors.  Unfortunately for me when I bought my Guardians they didn't yet come with the weapons platform as they do now.  So many years, twenty Guardians, and platform-less I decided I would try to craft my own.

Using some plasticard (for sale signs) and some Milliput I was able to construct what we see above.  I know it doesn't look like much there, but after I cast them the result below turned out pretty well, I think.

I still need to create the cylinder engines that hold it afloat (which I admit is giving me fits), but I think I'll be able to pull it off eventually.  For now this will have to do.

The Wraithlords definitely show their age when you see the old models compared to the new ones.  They are very static and the metal makes repositioning them very difficult.  That didn't stop me, though!

As you can see I added larger knee guards, shoulder pads, and a wider neck piece.  I also built upon the neck with Milliput to give the model a bit more size.  Toss in a loin cloth and bend the arms a bit and it looks pretty good for such an old model.

Hopefully after this weekend I'll have time to prime and paint these two fellas.  With the missile launchers and bright lances I'm hoping they can make a nice anti-tank unit to go with the army I've designed.  Till next time, happy building!

Unboxing the Warp Hunter and Hornets

Welcome back everyone to SB40k.  Despite my earlier woes on the time I would have to wait for the Forge World order made at the very end of February, the models arrived fairly quickly.  Friday I was greeted by the package at the front door and it didn't take me long to dive right in.

I quickly removed all the contents to get a better idea of the kind of work lay ahead of me.

The Warp Hunter appears to be a lot of work but was probably the easiest to assemble.  Basically it is a Fire Prism with Forge World bits in place of the Prism Cannon.  The Hornets, on the other hand, were quite a bit of work.

Coming in at almost all resin casting, I was surprised at the lack of air bubbles and flaws.  For the most part I only had to worry about removing extra resin and trimming away any excesses.  The Hornets had an assembly guide (though I'm not entire sure it was very important as the model was fairly self explanatory) but the Warp Hunter I was left to fumble with (I may have left off an extra bit or two which I'll add later on if needed).

Overall the resin fit together nicely and the kits were a joy to put together.  These will make great additions to the army and I'm excited to get right down to painting them.

As an added bonus, the Hornets both came with weapons sprues.  The Hornet pictured above has the metal Scatter Lasers from my Wraith Lords attached as I decided the WL would use Bright Lances and Missile Launchers (which came with the sprue) and not the Scatter Lasers they already came with.  In the end I had just the right amount of each weapon that I wouldn't have to trade with someone for the ones I needed.  Bonus!

Well, that's it for today.  I may update again later this week with some progress I've made in hobbying (adding flock and leaf litter to the Emperor's Pride army and modernizing old Wraith Lords).  Till then, happy gaming all and thanks for reading!

To repaint or not to repaint...

For those of us who have been in the hobby for 10+ years, we often start to see the advances in our techniques and modeling prowess staring back at us in the form of our older models/armies.  And though we often still have fond memories of those models, seeing them next to the newer models can be a painful experience.  Lets take these Eldar models I've painted as an example.

These are Wraithguard I painted almost 6 years ago.  As you can can see, I hated the crests in the back and filed them off (I did this with 25 Wraithguard).  Lets first look at the colors- although not awful, the yellow is obviously drybrushed over orange.  While drybrushing certainly does have its place, we can see here that it looks a bit clumsy and half hazard.  There is very little outlining to speak of and the gems are flat and lifeless. The harlequin mask on the upper portion looks ok, but could have been highlighted better.  Overall the model is somewhat cartoon-like, not at all fitting in the grim-dark world of Warhammer 40k.

Now lets look at a repainted Wraithguard I started yesterday-

There are still a couple bits I need to pick out like the hose, but over all I much prefer this model over the one I painted 6 years ago.  The reds were airbrushed over black and have been highlighted properly.  The black areas have had the grays highlighted in raised areas and on the trim.  The green gems are colored with a lighting source in mind and seem to pop off the model, contrasting well with the red and the black/grey (christmas curse be damned!).

It can be tough to accept that as our skill improves our older models will start to show their age.  However, if we accept that our armies are never truly done, they are just waiting for us to finish them properly, we'll never run out of things to do in our hobby.

The Pride Goes Muddin

After discovering it could take 28 days for my Forge World order to arrive (read the fine print, Ira), I decided to do a little extra work on the Pride of the Emperor custom chapter I've been building.  For all intents and purposes the army was done and playable, perhaps table top quality or even just a hair better.  Is any army really ever done, though?

Predator with Autocannon and Lascannons

Predator with Autocannon and Lascannons

Las/Plas Razorback

Mk1 Land Raider

Librarian Dreadnought

Land Raider Redeemer

As you can see I added some battle damage to the vehicles and a healthy supply of mud splatters.  The effect was easy to do and only took a couple of days to implement.  I've also ordered some Secret Weapon Leaf Litter packages to help spruce up the ruins bases of the troops (who have also received some battle damage).  When that arrives I'll be sure to add images of those as well.

It always amazes me what a few added details can do to help add character to the army!

Buying from Forge World...

So on Tuesday I came into a nice chunk of money and checked into Forge World's site.  For quite a while now I've been eyeing up the Eldar Hornet and Warp Hunter models, and with the added influx of surprise cash I put in an order for 2 Hornets and a Warp Hunter.

It may fly but it travels by sea turtle.

Every day since then I've logged into the site to see what my status is on these orders.  Still it says the status on the order is "Awaiting Packaging".

Very tough to box.

Is this a common practice at Forge World?  Do they routinely take more than 3 days to package their orders?

I'd love to hear what your experiences are and discover if this is normal!