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Thanks guys, I appreciate your comments.

I'm not sure about the rider, if I'm honest. The colours were a bit weird to paint with a regular brush, there was no smooth blends like you get with an airbrush. But overall, I'm warming up to them. I'm not really sure how I can improve/change it. Ideas? How would reversing the colour look? Yellow body/arms/legs and purple head? Could that work, or look ridiculous?
I'll work on alternative guardian paint jobs on my next batch of bikes. If anything, the alternative painting can symbolise different squads.

Currently, I'm working on a Vyper:


It's right at the early stages.
The Vyper might seem like an interesting choice of model, but it was cheap on Ebay, and I'll be running 4 if I stick to the list I'm shooting for.
Anyway, it's kind of stalled at this stage. I'm waiting on some humbrol clear paint, so I can tint the canopy green. So far, it's taken 4 days longer than estimated, which is a little frustrating. Once it's tinted, I can glue it in place, and liquid mask the topside ready for it to be painted.

One more thing: I'll be at the LGS tomorrow, what should I pick up next?
Seeing as I've already worked on small and medium skimmers, I'm leaning towards a full out grav tank. But which one? (I plan to use all of them, so there is no preferance).

Z

Reversing the colours on the riders might work, but really, what's needed is more contrast. Reversing the colours or brightening the helmets would go a long way towards that.

I think it's the brightness of the blue that washes out the yellow a little, so just lightening that to a brighter (more white than brown) yellow would do it, I think.

A full-on tank would be pretty cool, so maybe a Fire Prism.

What is your overall army goal? Is this another built to a list army, or just collect and paint what looks cool, and worry about lists later? How competitive are you looking to be?

The Falcon is what got me into Eldar. Mechanically, it’s a little lackluster these days. Mostly due to how brokenly good Wave Serpents are. But I have a soft spot for grav armor, and it fills it. I like Fire Prisms as well, and they should be a little better on the table (according to my totally theoretical POV)

If you want your army to be on the more competitive side, get wave serpents. If you are already fielding Vipers, it might be worth picking up the battleforce.

Is FW an option? I have no idea what the rules are like, but those heavy grav tanks are very nice looking on the website. I drool a little bit every time I click over there.

Are you using the GW bit for the underslung ShurCan? I either need to pick some of those up myself or figure out how to kitbash the spares I have onto a bike mount.

@Para. Ok, I see where you're coming from. I'll see what I can do with brighter yellows. Should I also brighten the yellows on the guns, too? What do you think of changing the colours of the riders completely?

@Nev: Currently, I'm looking at this army to be a progressive thing. I've got a 2k list in mind, but that is mainly for me to get the models to allow me to play a game. The list itself is quite 'balanced', in the sence that I'm not spamming any one thing (except bikes, but I need troops...). I'm thinking about 2 Farseers, 15 bikes, 2 serpents, 2 falcons, a prism, 4 vypers, Warp Spiders & fire dragons. I think I touch quite a few units in this initial list, that once it's done I'll be half way to anything else.
FW might be an option, just not right now. Those Shadow Spectres are sweet, and those Hornets... Who doesn't want a unit of 3 Hornets that can put out 12 S8, AP2 shots a turn!
As for the ShurCan, I'm kitbashing my own. I basically take a ShurCan from the vehicle sprue, cut it down, drill a hole for the mount and whola. Next time one crosses my desk, I'll make a how-to on it.

And just so this isn't completly text:


My SR is getting a small amount of love between the Xenos. Currently, just finished the AssCan turret. Did a simple job on the servitor before I put the canopy in place. Main cockpit still in progress.

Z

SR progress is looking good, and the internal detailing is great.

I think changing the colours on the riders might not be the best idea, I find Eldar look best when kept to a very 'simple' two-tone scheme, preferably with high contrast between the two. So I'd keep with the blue and yellow, and then use reds or greens for spot-colours. The idea of reversing the colours might be cool, though, so yellow riders with blue helmets and bikes.

 Paradigm wrote:
SR progress is looking good, and the internal detailing is great.

Thanks mate
It's only a simple paint job on the guys inside, with the glare from the canopy and the fact you need to get right up close to see properly, I can get away with a rough TT job


Hex pattern on the Vyper done. I used the medium sized one, thinking it would scale up nicely... But as yet, I'm indecisive about whether or not it looks right.
I think this size would be good on larger grav tanks, but maybe not on the Vypers... Thoughts?
I really screwed up the canopy, too. I got black paint from airbrush over-spray on the underside. And that yellow tint is from a tin of Humbrol clear green paint. Not a clue as to why it's yellow and not green. I think I may have a dodgy tin, it's blotchy, ruined a brush and smells like buffalo ass (not that I'm an authority on the smell of buffalo ass). I'm not too torn up about it, seeing as yellow is part of the scheme anyway.

I played the new IG codex Tuesday night. Taurox's are supprisingly good. He had 4 of them, and with fast, and re-rolling DT tests, he was in my face with melta around turn 3. I lost by a point, and I think if I didn't brain fart so hard at the start, I could have pulled a win. I deployed first, and thought 'Well, his deployment is going to be spread out, so lets spread out too', which was totally slowed because he hadn't deployed yet and he ended up piling up on one side
Anyway, I got myself a Grav tank, too. I got the only grav tank in the store - A fire prism!

Z

I think that works on the Vyper in that size, and the yellow tint probably fits better than green anyway.

Were you playing Scars or IG against the IG? Tauroxes can get in your face very fast, the trick is to take advantage of their limited firing arc for the hull and side weapons to force him to expose weak armour, or to just get a flank/rear shot and glance them to death. (I think they're 10 side). I haven't faced them yet, but on paper they do seem very much a glass cannon, if you don't put them down fast they're going to hurt, but if you can concentrate fire the they'll die fast too.

Looking forward to the Prism, I've always loved the look of those tanks.

Hi guys,

Vyper finished


Thoughts?
I added some red gems as suggested. Also, I tried a brighter yellow, but the difference isn't all that great

Onto the fire prism now All pieces are cut and cleaned, just have to magnetise some pieces then good to go.

Z

Looks great (and super-fast too). The yellow is certainly noticeably better now, it looks much more defined that the shade used on the jetbikes

Also, an idea that occured to me looking at the last pic: have you considered using a dark blue wash (Asurmen blue, or whatever the equivalent is now) on the riders of both this and the jetbikes? Given the detailing on the Eldar armour and what you said the other day about the blue being a bit duller when not airbrushed, a nice dark wash in the recesses would do a lot to make them a little sharper.

Good stuff!

Vyper looks great mate but I'm still not convinced on the gunner. He seems to just be part of the same midel. Maybe reversing the colours would work, so yellow body etc. Nicec and neat tho but all the work in the vyper seems masked by the rider/-pilot not standing out

Afternoon folks,

Been working on my Fire Prism recently. I worked out a way to magnetise the turret weapons so I can swap between a prism and a Nspinner. The Spinner is a bit of a dissapointment, rules wise, and even more so when you consider it's occupying a highly contested slot (Heavy Support). But I have the option of running it, which is better than not having the option.


As you can see, I have 2 magnets on the join between the weapon and the pivot thingy.

And the whole turret:



I'm enjoying painting the prism. It's relatively straight forward, and because it's not fully assembled, I can focus one piece, until it's finished, then the next etc. Really helps give you a sense of speed and completion.

Finished model will come over the next few days

Z

Nice bit of magnetisation there, a rather clever way of doing it. Is the Prism getting the hex treatment as well, or is that just for the various types of Jetbikes?

 Paradigm wrote:
Is the Prism getting the hex treatment as well, or is that just for the various types of Jetbikes?

I was fully intending on doing the hex on the Prism. I painted the blue shades, and left the pattern for another time. A few days later when I came to doing the hex pattern, I realised the blue is actually really nice, so I kept it
The hex works on the bikes because, imo, it's so dense. Add to that, the front pannels of the bikes are really deviod of detail; It just works. On the Vyper, I was a bit dissapointed, as the hex pattern didn't scale all that well, and it looks a bit silly.
However! I really like the way the blue turned out on the prism, so I will probably do the tanks in this scheme, and for the jetbikes, keep the hex, just swap the blue and purple around.

And here it is, in all it's cerulean blue glory:


What an absolute joy to paint.
It's a shame it's back-heavy. I have to weigh the front down with blu-tac to stop it tilting backwards and looking up to the sky.
The top two pictures, looking down at the prism, I think the weapons blend in a little too much. Maybe hit them with yellow...?
And definately fill the inside of the canopy with some kind of mask. Got overspray on the inside plastic again, and now the crew are almost completly obscure.

I made a swap shop thread a few days ago, trying to shift some old plastic and sell my IG army (I know, I know). Anyway, I got some interest in some daemons, and I went to my parent's house and rummaged around in the attic to get them. And what did I stumble on? A bag of Eldar boxes. It dawned on me that I had totally forgotten that I had collected Eldar way back in... '07, maybe. Anyway, it was before I quit and came back. In these boxes, were a whole host of things...

Pictured above; 2 Vypers and a Falcon.
Unpictures: 2 metal harlequins, 3 metal warlocks, metal farseer, metal avatar, metal autarch, metal fuegan and 3 shining spears that are half on sprue and half built.
Only the falcon and the Vyper and one or two others are painted. I should be able to break them apart to strip and re-assemble.They're going to need some TLC, but it's definately worth it seeing as I dont have to buy it. Also going to built the SS as regular jetbikes.
Not to mention, the afore mentioned daemon trade is netting me 10 DA and 6 FD. Also I won an Ebay bid for another (cheap) NoS Vyper... Looks like I have quite the influx of Eldar this week

Z

Nice find with all that Eldar, should bolster the ranks quite nicely.

The Prism looks great, but I agree about the gun, just add some yellow to brighten it up and make it more obvious!

I hope your IG finds a good home. Shame to part with it, but if it doesn’t match your play style...

Have you thought of tinting the crystals for the prism? Adding a vibrant splash of color there might help them stand out.

I know, its a bit of a shame to part with the army, but such is the cycle of plastic addiction (buy, paint, sell). The fact that it's painted well in a 'difficult' scheme, is magnetised for all weapon options, has all of the spare bits and the IG/AM codex is really good helps with its re-sale value.

As for the eldar, definately getting some more colour on the weapons. I tried tinting the canopy for the vyper before, it didn't turn out well before so I skipped the crystals on the prism. I can use a different technique next time and see how that works out. I could also paint it. Really not sure how it would come out if I painted it. Would probably need to airbrush it for smooth blends

My extra eldar are doing ok, too. I've broken down the falcon and currently stripping it. Same with the vypers, except their black primer isn't coming off. I'll let it soak until tomorrow, but I may have to proceed without fully stripping the Vyper.
I checked the SS's over properly and a few parts for the riders are missing. Soon as I find replacements for them I can get them done and out the way.

Hey guys,

It's been quite an unproductive week.
I've only done the second Vyper, same scheme as the prism. I switched the blue and yellow around on the riders, I think it works


I took the Scars out to the FLGS last night. Made a debut with the VV and the SR. I ended up playing an Ultramarines Drop Pod army. I kept the VV in the SR, with a ST escorting it, and it didn't show up until turn 3(!) of a 4 turn game. Never the less, I bloodied the VV by skipping through most of my turn 4 just to get to combat - we had around 5 mins before the store closed and he was ahead by 13 points. Not only did the 500 points above not come on, but I forgot to drop my pod on turn 1, and rolled poorly for the bikes I held in reserves, too. I dont think they would have helped much, It was 10-0 (to him) at the end of game turn 1 - we were playing the last maelstrom game and he got the warlord trait that gives an extra VP for control objective X. I almost came back a few times in terms of scrubbing the board, but got no where near with the VPs.

There is no Eldar on my painting desk at the minute. I'm moving house on Saturday, so I dont want to get into anything larger than one or two infantry models. But I did get the urge to paint yellow when I was doing the Vyper, so I dug around in my bits and come up with a marine who'll get a nice Imperial Fists paint job.

More soon,
Z

Very impressive stuff!

I am very intrigued about what material you use to cut out your stencils for the airbrushing? The pattern on the jet bikes and eldar fliers with the hexagons is so perfect and tight. What material are you cutting out of if you don't mind me asking?

Looks good, and the reversed colours do work better, I think.

10-0 after one turn sounds absolutely mental, you must have done a good job just hanging in there. Shame you were messed around by the reserve rolls, that can put a dent in the best plan.

Imperial Fists? Nice, looking forward to it, and with how you handle white, yellow shouldn't be an issue. Any plans for an army/detachment, or purely a display mini?

fireangel wrote:Very impressive stuff!

I am very intrigued about what material you use to cut out your stencils for the airbrushing? The pattern on the jet bikes and eldar fliers with the hexagons is so perfect and tight. What material are you cutting out of if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks a lot, fireangel
I use a pre-cut stencil from Anarchy Models.

Paradigm wrote:Looks good, and the reversed colours do work better, I think.

10-0 after one turn sounds absolutely mental, you must have done a good job just hanging in there. Shame you were messed around by the reserve rolls, that can put a dent in the best plan.

Imperial Fists? Nice, looking forward to it, and with how you handle white, yellow shouldn't be an issue. Any plans for an army/detachment, or purely a display mini?

Lol, dont suggest an army/detachment... I want to keep going with the Eldar!
The 10 VPs were down to luck, if i'm honest. He got a whole bunch of secure objective X tactical cards on turn 1, combined with his warlord trait giving him +1 VP for each secure objective X AND his drop pods allowing him to go where ever... Not to mention the dual alpha-strike of Ultramarines w/ Marneus (use tactical doctrine twice - and with tactical marines all up in my grill on turn 1 and then again on 2). And he had 2 TFCs. I've never realised how infuriating they are to play against...

So, here he is, in all his muddy glory (zoomable in gallery):


Lots of fun to paint! A battle brother of Imperial Fists 5th Company. I think the black of the 5th company helps with the contrast, and makes it visually pleasing (the chest eagle is still red, but you cant see it in the pics...)
I was going to try and keep it clean, but after the wash over the yellow I realised it was too late. So I embraced the dirt!
I used Bebop's Chipping Tutorial (about half way down the page). It was very helpful, but I dont think I've mastered it yet...
It was also really weird to do the iconography at the start. Usually, decals and freehand are the last thing to happen on my Scars. This time, It was second (right after the wash). That way, I could chip on/over the markings.

I scrounged some more bits together and I've got another Marine waiting. I've got a few things I want to change around, and I'm going to seek feedback on the weathering, then I'll give him a crack.

To be continued...
Z

Looks good, I like the depth of the yellow and the weathering. Maybe one more extreme highlight on the yellow, though, to really make it pop.

Haha, one marine is how it all starts... then another, to perfect the paintjob... and once you start down that road, there is no going back... before you know it, you're writing army lists and planning displays and then BAM, you've gone and bought an army!

You know that after all the flitting about with the swift but fragile Eldar, you are going to crave the solid persistence of the Imperial Fists. Work up a dev squad and HQ to ally in your lists. With tank hunter, they can form a solid AV firebase that will be the anvil upon which your swift hammers can crush your foes.

Very nice weathering by the way. IMHO it’s the way the ‘Fists should look. They’ve been to hell and back, and frankly don’t care. That one marine has taken more fire then it would take to down your entire Eldar army, and he’s still standing, ready to fill you full of bolter rounds.

Hey guys,

I've got no updates for you. I've had to move house, and now I've got nowhere permenant to set up a paint station. So not much of anything is getting done.
I lost interest in the second IF. Moving had a lot to do with that, but it's close to hand if I want to jump back into it.
I also slowly started on some Fire Dragons. I mentioned previously, I traded a bunch of daemons for 6 FD and 10 DA. 4 FDs are being painted, the other 2 require stripping. It's slow going, one layer at a time, but they're making progress and most of the model is blocked in.

No more updates from me for at least the next week. Going camping on Friday, for 8 days. Good news is, it'll be my Birthday the week I get back And I'm pretty sure I've got some Eldar coming to me.

At the LGS last night, I found out that there is a GT heats (or something along those lines) at my LGS in September. Part of me wants to do it, part of me doesn't want to sell out and go crazy waac. Still trying to make a decision.
And just a quick mention of my game... Scars against Tau. I rolled telepathy, trying for invis. Didn't get it, got 2 of the 'useless' powers, mental fortitude and terrify. My turn two, I thought 'why not', and ended up terrifying his commander+suits off the board edge

Updates soon,
Z

If instead of sleeping you paint all night, you can use the space your bed is in to fit a workstation. Plus get more time to paint! Is this a summer move thing, or long term? If it look to be for a while, you might want to pick up some sort of folding table/paintstation, and/or some sort of portable organization system for your paints and gear.

I went camping a lot when I was younger. Good times. I’m a little too accustomed to the soft life of civilization these days, but The Wife keeps making noises like she wants to go camping as a family. Luckily she’s not the best at planning, so keeps forgetting until the season is over.

I can’t offer much advice on the tournament thing. The local tournaments I play in are basically 3 normal games back to back where you keep track of who won. Not a lot of hyper competitive lists or WAAC guys. Back when I played M:tG I steered away from the competitive scene because it did have those elements, and that was a game I didn’t want to play. 40k might be like that as well. I’m not saying there aren’t great guys, but in my experience, tournaments bring out the worst in people. You know your local crew better then I do.

That said, your Scars list looked mean last time I glanced at it. You might need to tweak it for 7th, but I believe you can give a good showing in a competitive environment. Don’t let the threat of failure hold you back.

There are very few useless things in 40k. Just because you don’t have “The Best” does not mean you have nothing. Good for you for taking something sub-par and putting it to good use.

Camping is always good, hope this decent weather holds out for the duration.

As Nev says, it's perfectly possible to play a good list without being WAAC (WAAC is usually the player, not the army). Scars are a naturally decent SM build, and I'm sure you could put up a good showing with the list you have and a few tweaks.

Great Stuff Zambro! Where did you get those GJB heads or did you sculpt that little bit on the mask? I like it alot. Really nice Prism.

Keep it up!

Ive wanted to do eldar multiple times, my biggest problem with it has always been staying true to eldar, for me they are missing that something that always has me looking out for other directions.

Love the marines, I'm yet to actually ever try painting yellow myself xD

Read 14 pages in one go, I'm a fan, subbed.

I'm baaaaaack!

@Nev & Para: Thanks guys, your comments are always welcome I've decided I'm not going to do the GT heats. I'm just not feeling it. They're in 3 weeks time, so I have time to change my mind - but as it stands, it's a no.
@Mars: Thanks mate, the prism was a joy to paint. The GJB head and torso are from Spellcrow. I like them more than the standard GJB heads. I checked out your scratch building blog, and it's crazy good! How did you get so good?
@Sasa0mg: Yellow is a tough one. As tough as white, imo. Airbrushing it helps... I've not seen anything on your Minotaurs blog recently. You still chugging away on them?
@Meph: The whole blog in one go? How long did that take? Any favourites? I took a peak into your BA blog... It's full of awesome. That extended SR is pretty cool.

I hoped everyone's summer was great. Mine was generally good. Unfortunately I didn't get much warhammer time. But now, I'm back living near my University and have a few weeks to kill before I start again - AKA hobby time!
So, I picked up the brush properly for the first time in two months, and got to work on the Eldar I've started to stockpile over the summer.

Here is the past two days worth of hobby-time:


I've got Jetbikes and a Falcon NiB ready - they joined my ranks over the summer.
I'll be making a start on these over the next few days. Unfortunately, I cant get too far ahead, as I lost my 1mm drill bits(!), I'm going to do one more last look for them before I accept defeat and buy new ones.

More soon - probably the weekend,
Z

Hey, welcome back! That Spellcrow stuff looks awesome! I may have to pick some of those up.

Thanks for the kind words. Keep up the good work. Post an army shot when you can, I'd love to see it.