Riders in the Wind

Just a small jetbike squad this time around.  Again, going for the craftworld colors.

I had been up to this point using white as the main secondary color, though I'm really digging the way the gray works in it's place.  I can still use the white as a spot color here and there.

 Also did a small conversion on the riders by replacing the aging leather-jacket-wearing coneheads with guardian torsos and heads.  Like them much better this way, although I wish the big GW would come out with new versions already.  Saim Hann supplement anyone?

Cheers!

Wave Serpent Reinforcements

Okay, so catching up with blog updates...

Ready to go are not one, but two, "we are the new hotness" Wave Serpents.

I had finished these two a while back but thought they looked a bit too drab so I went back and did some color changes, painted on some small details, and added decals.  I think they look much better now.

At this point I have a pretty solid 1500-1750 point army, though there are other units I really want to add.  Namely Jetbikes, Dark Reapers, and Wraithguard.  WIP shots coming up!

Wraithknight rises

The big guy is ready to roll!

Used just about every technique I've dabbled with so far: airbrushing, oil washes, edge highlighting, and varnishes.

He took a while but he was well worth it. I can now easily add at least 240 points to my army.

Can't wait to give him a spin on the tabletop!

Eldar Guardians Attack!

Aaaaand, back to Eldar....

What we have here is a unit of Guardians, painted in my Craftworld's scheme.

I suppose I have a very roundabout way of working on my stuff. I'll take one unit and get about halfway done with it, then I'll just break something else out only to return to the previous one once that new one is done.

Which is exactly what happened here. Pure hobby ADD.

The good thing is, I'm now one more unit closer to having a fully painted Eldar army. After which, it's back to Tau.

No, really! *looks at June White Dwarf*

Oh, and kudos to BlackDog Painting Studios for these awesome backdrops. I think they really improve the look of my pics.

- JD

WIP: Eldar Farseer

There is no question to the usefulness of a Farseer in an Eldar army.  With that in mind, I've started work on this guy to see if I can get him on the tabletop soon.

About a week's worth of painting so far.  I gotta say, the biggest challenge for me has so far been choosing a scheme for each unit.  This guy especially since I redid some of the colors mid-way.

Should be done with him soon now, though!

Fire Dragons Unit Ready

Another month, another unit complete.  I'm getting close to being able to field a fully-painted, tournament sized army.  Can't wait!

The scheme is exactly the one I used to complete the initial test mini.  Doing that really helped me to run through the rest with no problems as all the colors and method of application had been nailed down.

Now I need to get these guys a ride...

Fire Dragons Test Mini

I kinda like to start with a squad by painting one miniature to an almost-finished state.  This helps me nail down the colors I'll be using and to identify areas that I'll need to be careful not to mess up on.

So here is a test mini for the Fire Dragon squad I've started.  I'm satisfied with the colors and I like how I can now see the effect of the airbrush in the shadow areas.  Still have to get more time in with it but at least now I can see what it can do.

The colors I'll be using will be Macharius Solar Orange for the base, followed by a zenithal highlight of said orange mixed with Bad Moon Yellow.  Then it's a lining-in of Macharius mixed with black and after that I go in with a 2:1 mix of Vallejo Orange Fire mixed with white. 

For the black it's just a highlight of Codex Grey and for the metals I'll be using Tin Bitz followed by Chainmail.

I had a bit of trouble finding a green I could use for the gems from what I have on hand.  Thankfully, some Camo  Green mixed with Bad Moon Yellow did the trick!

I'm still debating whether to keep the sash black or maybe use my Craftworld colors of white and turquoise..

Eldar War Walker Squadron Complete

Finally done! These bad boys took me a while. The model is beautiful but boy are some spots tough to get to.

I also had a hard time deciding on how best to apply the color scheme I'm using for the army, debating whether they should be all white with turquoise panels or vice versa. In the end, I went with both but tied them together with two being identical and one looking like "squadron leader".

With this addition I can now field about 750 points of painted minis. Onwards to 1000!!

Eldar Combat Patrol

Last weekend I got a chance to participate in 'Combat Patrol' tourney at a local store.  It was a great opportunity to get my (now painted) Eldar on the table and try out this new 6th edition of the game. Needless to say, the experience was quite fun and served as a great opportunity to try out some of the changes that this new edition has brought.

The list I ran was as pictured and consisted of:

9 x Dire Avengers - 135
Exarch with Power Spear and Shimmershield

1 x Wave Serpent - 110
Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon, Lower Turret Shuriken Cannon, Energy Field

5 x Rangers - 95
Ranger Long Rifles, Shuriken Pistols

1 x War Walker - 60
Scatter Laser, Scatter Laser

Total: 400 points

I played 3 games. First round I got destroyed by a Dark Eldar Wych patrol, second game I lost to a Tzeench Sorceror and his cronies, and last round I managed a win against a Space Marine detachment. All in all, good times. It really helped that those I played against were willing to help with rules and generally just had a great attitude.

The 'Combat Patrol' format is a great way to get a feel for the basics of the game and is the perfect starting point for a new army. Games are also rather quick and can be played in about 45 mintues.

Wish I had co-workers that were into 40K. My lunch breaks would be way cooler!

Anyone played any 'Combat Patrol' games recently?

Wave Serpent Complete

Wave Serpent transport ready for deployment!

The Craftworlders, tired of traversing alien terrain by foot, have recquisitioned the speed and protection of the ubiquitous Eldar skimmer.

This one had been sitting idle on my desk for a while now so I took advantage of the painting frenzy that's come over me recently and finished her up.

I'm still not wholly convinced on the canopy. I think the black makes it look a tad unfinished. Any suggestions?

Hobby Mode



One down!

The hobby wheels are turning once again and just in time for the newly released 6th edition. I've certainly been idle for quite a while now (life and all that) but I'm very glad to finally be back.

Work continues on my Eldar, and with the new Allies rules, I'm jumping for joy at being able to include some Corsairs from the also fairly new Imperial Armour 11.

My preciousss...

Here I have some WIP conversions for the Corsairs. More to come!

Corsair Bike Squad with Felarch

Corsair Felarch on foot

Warp Spider Unit Complete

Finally some progress!

Fresh off the painting table is a unit of 6 Warp Spiders led by Exarch.

They're ready for some deep striking shenanigans on the battlefields of the 41st millennium to lay waste to the hordes of Necron scarabs that are intent on eating my tanks!! ...or at least try.

Eldar List Mongering

Art by GW. Color by MajesticChicken.

Things have slowed down on the painting front, unfortunately. Real life just seems to creep up on you and put a hamper on your hobby progress. Darn responsibilities!

Thankfully, there's another aspect of the hobby that doesn't require as much time and is still pretty darn satisfying. This of course would be list building and army tactics.

The following list is something I've cooked up with the 'theme' being "paint and use the models you already have and really, really like".  Winning is secondary...

HQ

 

Farseer - 138
Singing Spear, Spirit Stones, Doom, Guide, Runes of Warding

 

Autarch - 125
Warp Jump Generator, Fusion Gun, Power Weapon, Mandiblasters

 

Elites

 

6 x Harlequins - 184
Shadow Seer, Death Jester, 4 x Harlie Kisses, 2 x Fusion Pistols

 

Troops

 

5 x Pathfinders - 120

 

9 x Dire Avengers - 150
Exarch w/ Power Weapon and Shimmer Shield, Defend

 

3 x Guardian Jetbikes - 76
Shuriken Cannon

 

Fast Attack

 

5 x Warp Spiders - 142
Exarch w/ Dual Deathspinners, Withdraw

 

Heavy

 

1 x Wraithlord - 155
Eldar Missile Launcher, Brightlance, 2 x Flamers

 

5 x Dark Reapers - 227
Exarch w/ Tempest Launcher, Fast Shot

 

3 x War Walkers - 180
Scatter Laser, Scatter Laser

 

Total: 1497

 

 

The idea is to set up a firebase with the Avengers, Wraithlord, Reapers, and Pathfinders (all in cover preferably) with the Seer throwing down psychic powers on them.

 

The Harlies hang back, maybe in reserve, to act as a counter-assault unit, while the Walkers and the Autarch-led Spiders hit the back field with a flank attack and deepstrike, respectively. Finally, the bikes are held in reserve and are mainly a late game objective grabber.

 

As always, comments are most welcome : )

Warp Spiders WIP

Some spiders in the house! Nothing like a big, hi-res pic to see what you're doing wrong.

These are looking a little too sloppy for my tastes but I like to think that it's just the sculpt showing its age...ha!


Hope we get some brand new plastic spiders next 'dex, but until then these will have to do.

Tried to go for a deep maroon for the armor. Did 2:1 mix of Mechrite Red and Chaos Black. Came out a little more on the purple side but I do like how it complements the Bone and Green (which is the now defunct GW Scaly Green...lovely color!)

Gonna need to tidy up those highlights and pretty up the gems and gun barrel next. Let me know if you think the scheme works!

Warwalkers WIP II

Awesomesauce!!

Finally some progress on my Warwalker. I've stuck with my original color scheme and am so far satisfied. Things started looking a lot better once I got more coats of white on the sucker and started on the details.

Still takes waaaay too long than I would want so I went ahead and picked up a cheap little airbrush to see if I can use it to paint the rest of my vehicles (mostly to lay down that darn white).

Still some work left to be done on this one and I'm thinking that when it's done, I'll start on my next infantry unit instead of another walker to keep things interesting. Stay tuned!

Pathfinder Unit Complete

Pathfinders unit is finally complete! A paint scheme change midway through my first model and the constant battle with painting white caused me to take longer than expected. Was also not sure as to whether or not I was going to do camo on them. It really depended on how well I could pull it off. Thankfully, I was satisfied with the result.

Ooh, and better camera means better pics!

Okay, now on to some vehicles...

Pathfinders WIP II - Le Camo

Painting continues on my unit of Pathfinders. These three are pretty much near completion. Just need a wash on the cloth, some highlighting on said cloth, and then a touch up on any overbrushing/washing that results.

As you can see, I'm doing camo on the coat. I wasn't very satisfied with my first attempt but after consulting with a friend and making some adjustments it went much better. Turns out larger blotches and lighter colors were much more effective at getting decent-looking snow camo. Hooyah!

Eldar Corsair Logo and 750 Army List

I wanted to do a kind of a 'piratey' symbol to use on army list printouts and maybe as decals for troops and vehicles. This is what I came up with. It's a little rough around the edges but I think with a distort/weathering filter (or weathering on the model itself) it will look fine.

Also, take a look at my initial army list. I'm going to try and complete painting on playable increments to coincide with a league that one of my local stores will be running. First list is for 750 points:

1 x Autarch - 92
Power Weapon, Mandiblasters, Avenger ShuriCat

9 x Dire Avengers - 150
Exarch w/ Power Weapon, Shimmershield, Defend

1 x Wave Serpent - 145
Twin-Linked Bright Lance, Spirit Stones

5 x Pathfinders - 120

1 x Vpr - 60
Scatterlaser

1 x Vpr - 60
Scatterlaser

2 x War Walker - 120
Scatter Laser x 2

Total: 747

Eldar are tough to make small lists out of so I'm sure this list has some deficiencies. In any case, the plan is to run the Autarch with the Avengers inside the Serpent. They will try and contest enemy objectives while the Serpent targets enemy vehicles. Vypers will try to outflank enemy positions and vehicles. Pathfinders hang back to claim an objective and target any advancing units while the Walkers hang around close by and shoot up anything that tries and get too close. Well, that's the general idea.

Autarch Painting

This is a very special model in my collection as it is the one I've poured the most time and effort into. The reason for this is two-fold - 1. I'm entering it into a local commander painting competition and wanted to give it my absolute best shot and 2. I figured a well painted commander will inspire me to put the best effort into the painting of the rest of the army.

So on to the colors used:

•  Armor: Basecoat 2:1 Mechrite Red/Chaos Black followed by Red Gore, Blood Red and Flaming Orange Highlights
• Cloth: Basecoat Shadow Grey "blended" (or at least my best attempt) up to Skull White using  Space Wolf Grey as a midtone, Turquoise Details
• Gold: Basecoat Shining Gold, Ogre Flesh Wash, Burnished Gold Highlight
• Gems: Black, Regal Blue, Enchanted Blue, Ice Blue, Skull White
• Sword - White undercoat followed by blending Black out into Turquoise
• Leather, Pouches, Grenades : Chaos Black Undercoat followed by a 1:1 Chaos Black/Grey Highlight

Humble beginnings...

I was initially very intimidated by the prospect of trying out techniques that I had never used before (namely blending and freehand) but was ultimately very satisfied with the result. I'm glad I gave it a shot and am looking forward to improving. Let me know what you think!

  

Pathfinders WIP

Painting has begun on my unit of Pathfinders. Here you can see an almost finished test model.

I undercoated dark areas with a 3:1 mix of VGC (Vallejo Game Color) Falcon Turquoise and VGC Chaos Black. For the armor I used VGC Falcon Turquoise and for the cloth and rifle barrel VGC Dead White. The 'leather' areas I'm doing with a Khemri Brown undercoat followed by a VGC Khaki overcoat. Finally I did VGC Gory Red for the gems' undercoat. Highlights are up next.

I went through one other iteration of the scheme before I settled on this one. Rather satisfied with the result and will be doing the entire unit like this.