Dark Eldar Grotesques WIP Conversions

A slightly different project today. As I've been working on my Dark Eldar (which have a Haemonculus Covens theme), I knew I wanted some grotesques. Like many who came before me,it didn't take long for me to realise that the options are limited as GW only makes one model that's both expensive and finecast. 

I had a look through the options for conversions, and Crypt Horrors to me seem to be by far the best kit to use as a base. All the mutant spines and stuff work in your favour, and they're half way there from the beginning. I picked up a set of them on eBay, and then combined them with spares from the Talos kit.

In terms of the conversion, I mostly just had to trim their heads down to fit the masks and replace some of their hands with weapons from the Talos. I added tails too, as they looked good with the poses. Handily, as I'd built legs for my Talos I had a lot of tanks left over, so I had plenty of them to add to the spines I'd cut off to look like it had a lot of chemical feed lines stuck in them. 

The only other part of the conversion was trimming off and shaving down the hairy bits on them, as it just isn't right on grotesques. I still need to finish adding some more bits and then greenstuff the gaps etc, but they're getting there. I'd like to add a bit more armour to them too - just so they'll blend in well with the rest of the army once they're painted, as the gloss red scheme is quite distinctive.

Dreadtober Talos 2nd Week Progress

Painting has commenced on my Talos with legs conversion. There's still a long way to go, but it's starting to actually look like something!

In terms of the work so far, I began by painting the bulk of the gloss red areas, as getting the high shine effect is quite labour and time intensive. It worked well though. After that, I basecoated the flesh areas with Rakarth Flesh, and painted the base too.

Personally, I like the mantra "bases and bases" when it comes to painting. Often getting a basecoat on your mini and painting their base gives an impression of the final model, and also gives a decent tabletop level finish. That's prettyour much where we're at now.

Next steps will be finishing the smaller red gloss details, and then washing and detailing the skin. Somewhere in there I need to start on the metallics too, so there's plenty to be getting on with.

Dreadtober - Dark Eldar Talos with Legs Conversion

I'm quite proud of this conversion. My Talos with legs is complete and ready for paint!

I looked at different options for kitbashing, but in the end I decided to sculpt the legs myself. It was a bold move for me as I'm not that great at sculpting, and normally I'd intentionally avoid a project like this. That said, I really wanted the legs to match the style of the model as well as the rest of the force and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on the conversion. With that in mind, I set to sculpting the legs I wanted.

In the end, it wasn't that difficult. I built an armature out of some large paperclips. I bent them to the correct shape for the legs, and then set them into a spare block of wood to work on. After that, I built the basic structure of the legs with some white milliput. I actually just shaped it with my fingers and then smoothed it out to get a basic design. It didn't take that long to get a decent look (maybe half an hour?).

I let the basic leg shape dry and then I used an engraving tool to smooth out and reshape what I had. After that, I etched in the lines for the muscle fibres (designed to sort of match the look of the Wracks). Once that was done, I stuck it all together and then it was just a case of adding spare armour from the Talos kit and using greenstuff to make the straps and add details to the feet etc.

That pretty much sums up the work. I'm quite happy with how it looks, but I think it'll be a challenge to paint! So far I've added an undercoat and a little extra white to the mask and skin areas, but there's still a long way to go.

Dreadtober - Dark Eldar Talos

Just a quick update on my plans for Dreadtober this year. As I've started working on my Dark Eldar again, and given the Haemonculus Coven theme, it seemed fitting to do a Talos for the event. I've got the kit and have started constructing it, so work is already underway. 

As with most Dark Eldar kits, it's a really nice thing. Just great details all round, from the grizzly flesh-hooks that hold its carapace on; to the emotionless mask head and all the tanks and vials. That said, as I started building, one thing struck me as odd - the lack of legs. Sure, it floats, but the Talos has a perfectly formed hip section with ports just screaming out for a suitable pair of legs to be added. So, in the interests of science, certain conversion works will be conducted.

Luckily, here at Tabletop Apocalypse, the design department were able to sketch out a rough idea of what a futuristic space elf monstrosity with legs might look like:

Don't rush yourself, just take it all in. Obviously, this is just an impression of what the final piece could look like, but I think you'll all agree it has great potential...

Dark Eldar Wracks (Drukhari) Painted

After my latest Steel Legion push, I knew it was time to shift gears to something less batch-tastic, and a bit more artistic. While searching through the cupboard of doom and having a bit of a clearout, I came across my half-finished Dark Eldar project and thought it was high time to get some of them done. Long-term readers may remember the "week of evil" a few years ago where I started them, but somewhere in the mists of time and the first ever Squaduary, progress halted; only to be resumed in the last week or so.

I said when I first started working on the Wracks that they were probably one of the best plastic kits ever made. A few years haven't changed my opinions there - the details are really crisp and they're a kit that basically has no bad parts and plenty of spares too. I enjoyed finishing the last 3 from the unit too, as I got to actually paint to a higher standard than I do for most armies, which feels both fulfilling and somewhat annoying all at once. It's nice to get something you're really proud of, but at the same time, I get frustrated by how long they take!

The funny thing is that I've almost painted them too well, as I can't actually capture the colours and effects on them very well with my camera. The red is actually highly reflective and there's a lot more depth to the skin tones, but the crappy phone camera can't really keep up.

I've been working on more Dark Eldar units too, but I haven't been able to take pictures of the other unit I've finished yet. Still, at some point the blog will be updated. I've pledged to work on a Talos for Dreadtober too.

Dark Eldar Warrior Colour Scheme Test

I still haven't given up on my latest project (despite the aforementioned painting competition I need to be working on). I painted up this warrior as a test of not only the high-gloss red armor, but also the converted masked look that I'd gone for on the Warriors. I'm really happy with how it came out, but getting it that gloss was a bit of a stretch for the secret technique that I've been using!

The Valhallan Blizzard snow effect has been well worth it too; helping to add a bit of interest any dynamism to the bases without taking too long to pull off. I've also been using that old green wash technique that I developed for adding interest to statues to add a bit of mildewed greenery to the floor that certainly gives a better impression than those plain Goblin Green bases we used to do in the 90s (don't lie, if you were hobbling back then you did it too...)

If you missed the article about real world references and adding a bit of green in, you can find it here.

The mini looks good anyway, so enjoy the pictures. As always, I love the Wracks!

Converted Reaver Jetbikes

Continuing on with the Start Collecting set, I've built these 3 jet bikes. In keeping with the rest of the force, I wanted to keep the sinister feel going and my brother had mentioned the idea of arming them with some of the spare spear polls from the raider. I built the first one and liked it so much that I built the other two the same way. I did have to do a bit of conversion for the third one, as the spear was a trophy spike with a bunch of skulls on it. I swapped the end for a skaven spear head (I really like plastic glue for this kind of thing as it gives a lot of strength) which seems to have worked well.

Needless to say, I went with the helmed heads, as not only are the cool, but masks are a key theme of the Haemonculus stuff, so it was an easy choice. I did think of saving them to use on another unit down the line, but in the end I couldn't help but use them.

I haven't glued them in the flight stands; as I want to be able to paint them. These last 2 pictures show them with some airbrushed basecoat layers in grey/white. I'm planning to use white on some parts of the bikes, and white and black are both much easier to paint with the help of the airbrush as it lets you lay down a very smooth coat of paint, not only allowing for a subtle blended look, but also avoiding some of the problems with the inherent claginess of most white paints.

Well, that about rounds out everything in the box set. I guess I'd better get to work actually painting some of it!

Dark Eldar Raider WIP

Swoosh! Zoom! Wattango .... ok maybe not that last one. I built this Raider over the weekend (my boys need transports and lots of them). After years of playing against Dark Eldar, one thing I know is that the transports are key - it's all about manoeuvrability and the army's ability to engage on their own terms. Nothing like a Raider or two then. It helps that I absolutely love the model too.

Build-wise it's a pretty complicated kit and it took me some time to get all the bits together and cleaned up. I haven't glued on the flight stand (obviously as I want it to be clear, not sprayed black!). In addition to that, the Dark Lance on the prow still comes off, and so does the central sail assembly. I'm hoping that it'll make it easier to paint, but I'm not holding my breath as this is one complicated figure. It'll be worth the effort though when I finish it (if...)

I also built the crew for it too. I used a few more masks and bits on them as well as the Wrack torso from the Venom Pilot (what a jip those Wrack pilot bits are - you'd have to use legs and torsos from the actual kit if you did it their way which would be half a box per transport!). The Venom Pilot is a spare though, so I took his torso and merged it into the armoured legs of the gunner; job done!

This picture really highlights my custom Raider stand - get yours today from only £29.95...

 

I know that a lot of people leave the crew off, but I'd feel like it was somehow a cop-out. They look so nice on there that even if it takes ages, I'm determined to paint them all up. They're still detachable too, so I'll mount them on a board for painting to make it a bit less painful!

 

Converted Dark Eldar Haemonculus

My week of evil continues at a good pace. Today, I'm unveiling something truly heinous; this converted Dark Eldar Haemonculus!

Apologies to anyone who clicked on this link yesterday, as I slipped when I was writing it up and accidentally published the post when it was half finished! It's all done now though, so enjoy.

The conversion work is quite extensive on this guy. I have variously cut and switched every one of his arms as well as adding in parts from several different kits (although a lot of the parts came from the Wracks as the kit had some great bits). Build wise, I thought that the mask would make him look nice and sinister (nothing says evil like a re-breather to rasp through). After that, I wanted to make a custom Liquifier gun for him, so I took a Dark Lance from the Warriors Kit and remodelled it with a few bits from the actual Liquifier gun to build him a big weapon!

The only problem with all of the modifications was that they then required me to remodel his other arms to fit in with the new armament. I still have a long way to go as far as greenstuff work is concerned too as all of the conversion has left a lot of gaps and joins where he needs to be re-sculpted and joined back together. I often think of this stage in a conversion as the "Frankenstein Stage" where the form is there, but it's all different bits and it needs to be melded together.

Overall, I'm happy with the look, and I think he'll make a nice characterful leader. I just have to name him; which for me is always a key stage as he'll build up a character as I play games with him and it always feels more defined if he has a name to hook it on. That and I've found that names only really feel natural if you give them early on, rather than add them later after the mini has already been used for months as "Sergeant no 2". 

Well that does it for today. Check back tomorrow to see how I get on with building the next part of the army.

Converted Dark Eldar Warriors

On The second day of evil, I present this for your viewing pleasure...

I went with a splinter rifle for the Sybarite as they'll mostly be shooting out of the Raider at anything that moves. I'm really happy with the pose; at ease with her mask in one hand. It took a lot of work though and I ended up cutting her hands off and swapping them out to pull the pose together. I'm rather happy with it though. I had the idea of having a character removing their mask a while ago when I was thinking about the force; it also makes for a cool pose for a female miniature.

I have used a few regular warrior heads and some bare heads too in he unit to mix it up - I think the mismatched look also adds a slightly shambollic flair to the force (non standard issue or something). Besides it wouldn't do to have everyone look like Voldo! (did anyone else play that game?)

 I used a few more masks in the second half of the squad, as well as a Jet Bike head to keep it interesting. I went with a Splinter Cannon and Blaster in the end; hopefully giving them a bit of versatility.

Well, that pretty much sums up today's evil. Stay tuned though, as I'll be posting up another diabolical creation from beyond the Thunderdome tomorrow.

A Week of Pure Evil - Dark Eldar Day 1

Join me for some incredibly naughty evil this week as I surge full speed into the unforgiving void of a new army project. Regular readers might remember the Wrack that I painted recently, well he's back and he brought some friends (ok I've only finished one more so far thanks to some Squaduary related delays). I have base coated  the others though, and they make a fine looking squad so far. The camera really doesn't pick up the scheme well though, which is a bit disappointing as the flesh tones are a lot richer in person and the reds are really shiny and reflective.

Anyway for a bit of fun, I thought I'd do a special set of posts on this new project - every day this week, I'll be gluing and painting fresh miniatures for your dark amusement. It's gonna be a hell of a thing.

The squad - some people don't take Ossefactors, I say any gun that kills through uncontrollable bone growth will always have a place by my side!

At this point you might be wondering about the other subjects of this weeks malificent experiments, well, I picked up this rather indelible Start Collecting set recently and it is high time to get building it.  Interestingly, I had a look at both the regular Dark Eldar codex and the Covens Suppliment, but ultimately settled on a Haemonculus themed force rather than actually using the Covens rules; there were just too many nice units in the regular book and Covens kind of annoyed me with its over reliance on formations.

I think it's probably one of the better value sets - the Raider is a must have for any force (not to mention that I just love 'em). Warriors and Jet Bikes are both equally cool units. I have no idea what I'll do with the Archon, probably just hold on to him for the minute till inspiration hits. 

Speaking of inspiration, I've got some spare masks from the Wracks, so I'm going to integrate them into the Warriors and try to really evil them up. I want to hopefully get some fairly striking conversions going without spending too much time detailing every miniature; pose is key too for any unit!

In addition to the box, I grabbed this Haemonculus model to work on (naturally). I'm a bit undecided on the sculpt; it has a lot of good elements, but I'm going to give him a few tweaks to really try and get the best out of him.

Just before posting, I built this guy as my first warrior. Anyone want to Internet high 5 me on a job well done?

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for another tantalizing installment of forbidden, naughty evil.... Bwaaahahahaharrrrr....