Greetings-

I just recently got back into the hobby thanks to the amazing new Dark Eldar models. I've been lurking around these forums for some time now and thought it was finally my turn to contribute something.

So enough with the typing - here's what I've got so far.



My first box of Kabalites, just need some bases and they'll be ready to die to bolter fire.

Next project: Their very own Raider transport.

Looking pretty good. What colour bases?

Very cool. Same color scheme that im going for! Like the looks of these, cant wait to see the Raider

I'm planning on a light desert-ish looking base color with dead grass. The models themselves are fairly dark, so the contrast of the light base will really make the model pop.

So your Raider wont be the same color as your warriors?

I think he means Base Colour as in 'the colour of the round base', not the 'basecoat colour' of the model.

Nice work!

Nice, can't wait to see some more of your work! I am currently doing some too with a similar colour scheme

Popsicle wrote:I think he means Base Colour as in 'the colour of the round base', not the 'basecoat colour' of the model.

Nice work!

OOOOOhhhhhhhhh that makes more sense

I think I would have gone with a slate grey...but, light brown will serve just as well.

Heh, I wondered how long it would take for someone to make a blog called "another DE blog"!

Those guys look great the green armour is very striking. Can't wait to see more!

First, thanks for all the encouraging comments from everyone. If you have any suggestions I'd like to hear those too.

Here are some shots of the Raider I'm working on. The model is great but great models are a pain to paint! I'm painting each bit before assembly to hit all the details.


A shot of the hull.


Another of the engines / underside.

The new Raider is a good deal smaller than the older one. Which is great for hiding behind things and not exploding.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Here's a little update on the Raider.







I still need to paint up the crew and some minor details.

Also- The instruction manual says that I must glue the flying base in place, which is strange to me. Has anyone assembled this baby and not glued the flying base in? Any feedback on this item would be appreciated.

Dont glue it. Its kinda silly to glue it in place considering its a ball joint. I am definitly NOT glueing my raiders to their bases. How did you get your white to come out so smooth on the aethersail?

Planning on not gluing. I just find it strange that the instructions say THIS MUST BE GLUED. And everywhere else it reminds me of everything that does not have to be glued.

As for painting white - my other army is high elves. I have a lot of practice

I start out with a watered down gray base coat. Then, a slightly lighter watered down coat of gray. Then and even lighter watered down coat of gray. Finally coat after coat of watered down white.
The trick to smooth white is patience (you'll be painting that thing 6+ times) and watered down paint. You'll be on your fourth coat and think, "Gee if I didn't water this down this will be my last coat of paint!" And you'll try it. And it will just look gross, you'll see all kinds of brush strokes and clumpy-ness.

It says to glue it because otherwise it'd tip too far on an angle, potentially breaking either any extras you put on the bottom of the raider, or whatever may be under it.

It's up to you though, try it out. I didn't plan to glue it either, but I didn't realise how annoying it is.

I've been quiet for awhile but I recently got some painting done. Here's a pretty substantial update on the my DE.

First, the Raider is finally done!


Archon, nearly done. Not sure if I like the skin color or not.



...and some wip Reavers. Bikes are pretty much complete, just missing the riders.


Wyches are up next!

The raider looks fantastic! The sail white is very smooth, just makes the model pop.

Archon looks good too, I think a shade lighter on the skin would be good. Depends if you want a deathly look (which he has at the moment) or a "Just fed" look

Been way too busy at work to post recently. Here's a quick update of what I've got.

Warriors are finished!


My first Wyche Squad is done as well.


Detail.


A few Pain Tokens.


Forgot the WiP pics for the Wyches. If any of you are interested on the colors I've used on these guys post your questions in this thread! (I've gotten a few PMs about it.)

Next up: A second raider (trying out a new method on this one), also - an Incubi unit.

Looking great mate, encouraging me to get cracking on mine!

Can't wait to see the Incubi. Good idea for the Pain Tokens too, I take it those are the extra poles from the Raider kit?

Pain tokens were made using the extra spears off the raiders, some dark elf warrior spears, and a few random skulls and marine heads I had lying around. The rocks are tiny rocks I found outside... that I painted to look like rocks.

You're guys look great. The green with gold is a great combo. I like the random red details too, they really pop. Keep it up! I can't wait to see more.

Very nice! Love the color scheme are everything looks so tidy. Fantastic! Threads like this make we want to start a DE army, but I'm not allowed. :(

Awesome job so far but can I make a suggestion of using a wash on the archon's eyes as he looks a bit starry at the moment and the rest of him looks awesome.

Haven't posted anything in a long while, but I have actually been painting. Pulled out my High Elf army for awhile and got to work on some models I had yet to paint. I also picked up a Dwarf lord and may be starting an army for him soon. Here's the High Elf stuff. Sorry for no WIP pics. I always forget to photograph while I'm working.

White Lion Chariot -



Mounted HE Noble



And here's my Dwarf


I also managed to work on my Dark Eldar again! Here's a second Witch Squad and a Ravager.


I was really pleased with how dynamic some of these posed turned out. Here's a two favorites from this squad. (unfortunately this picture didn't turn out so well.)


and a Ravager.


Just got my Venom and Scourges in the mail. Hopefully you'll see some updates soon.

Red sail looks great, suitably bold and threatening!

Fantasy stuff is also excellent, love the dwarf in particular.

Hopefully my Venoms are on the way too if you've gotten yours!

Very nice fantasy stuff you have

Mini Update-

Took this photo during a game at my LGS. Used a cool effect on my phone. I think it turned out pretty well.


WIP pic for my Archon's Raider.


And more High Elves... My BSB. Saw this conversion in a white dwarf I think, so I can't take credit for the pose.

Taking another small break from the Dark Eldar. I've been working on a conversion to count as a Teclis model. I'm rather disappointed by the ancient GW model. It's just too static. Here's what I've been playing around with, using the IoB make body as a base. I can't take full credit for this model though. I think I may have seen something similar to this on Dakka or some other gaming site.





Let me know what you guys think!

Here is my third completed Raider (sans crew). I plan on using this one as a ride for my Archon. I may have went overboard with all the spears, skulls, and the flag... My Archon does tend to massacre units though, so I figure he should get to show off a little.



I've had a squad of Incubi sitting on my desk for months. I don't know why but I'm really intimidated by them. When I get the nerve, I'm going to start throwing some paint at them.

Incubi are so awesome! Paint them!

great work btw - solid paint job and fitting theme, but ur not basing your flying bases? I always feel like they look strange and not fitting to the other units if they are as they are

@SnakeByte

I haven't decided if I want to base the flyers like the rest of the army or just leave them clear. Any other people want to chime in with their opinions?

Thanks for all the comments guys. While I may not have tons of views, just the act of keeping up the blog motivates me to paint.

I've forced myself to start painting the Incubi. I'm working on five at a time. Here's the WIP shot of them...


I've also finished my second Ravager. I'm really proud of how the freehand on the sail turned out.



Question for anyone who's listening:
How can I make an effective wash out of the standard citadel paint? I've heard adding water and a dot of dish soap works well. Any comments?

At the Forgeworld Tank Masterclass they suggested mixing gloss varnish with any standard citadel paint would create a wash. Haven't tried it myself yet though... Oh, and your Dark Eldar are looking great!

Thanks for the tip Arakasi. I'll try that out and let you know how it goes.

Here's a shot of my still WIP Incubi squad. I'm pleased with how the armor has turned out. I'll probably have them finished and pictures up again tomorrow. I just need to hit the details, faces, and weapons.


I've painted the Incubi armor using a slightly different style so they should pop when standing next to my basic Kabalite.

C&C welcome.

Here's the latest Incubi update. I used the water + varnish to make the purple wash on the faces. I think it turned out nicely.


I've got to force myself to finish these tomorrow. I've got so many more unbuilt things on my desk!

Next I'll be working on some Trueborn and a Venom.

Everything looks nice mate

Don't know how I missed this blog but I'm glad I did. The freehand on the Reavers looks ace and the Incubi's really pop. If ever I can scrounge enough coin to get started on a DE list, I'll definitely steal your idea for pain tokens. Very original way of representing a crucial mechanic.

huge post incoming...

My five man Incubi unit is finally complete. I'm so glad I forced myself to paint these. The sculpts are really amazing and I'm very pleased with how they look. For those of you wondering, these Incubi are NOT the finecast version.

Here's a shot of the entire squad. These pictures aren't the greatest. I still can't find my camera charger so I had to use my phone camera >< (however if you click on the image, it looks like you can zoom in fairly well.)



I'm using this guy as my Klaivex. I swapped his helm with the horned one from the Archon kit.



I've been getting a lot of PMs about how to achieve the green color scheme on the armor. Here's how it's done!

To paint them, I've been using the step by step on the GW website here: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/article.jsp?catId=&categoryId=cat440170a§ion=&pIndex=5&aId=12400033a&start=6&multiPageMode=true
I've simplified a lot of the paint mixes from the website. Some of it is so complicated it just efficient time wise. Here's what I use:

For the Gold color, I use Shinning Gold mixed with different amounts of Scorched Brown to get the different shades. First a darker gold + brown, then gold + less brown. Wash with devlan mud Highlight with that mixed with Mithril Silver. I also use Scorpion Green for the eyes on my models. The GW step by step uses a lot of complicated mixes, but I mainly just use the one for the green. I've mixed an entire pot of each green color they've used on the tutorial. This way I will have enough to do the enitre army without having to worry about re-mixing and trying to match colors. To paint what they are calling the bodysuit, I've just used black then codex grey highlights. The purple areas are just liche purple, then liche + white for the highlight. The flayed skin was done using Tallarn flesh undercoat, then dwarf flesh, then an elf flesh highlight.

For the reds on my Raiders, I base with the GW Foundation Red, then slowly add thin layers of Blood Red mixed with a dot of Chaos Black so it's not too bright.

Let me know if you have more questions. Post them in my Blog!

Also - here's a sneak peak on the Trueborn conversions I've been working on. Four Trueborn will have blasters and one Dracon with a blast pistol.

Incubi look great. In fact, it all looks great!

Small update! I've completed one Trueborn from my 5 man squad. I used this guy to test my paint scheme on the helmet and cloak. I went back and forth a lot between a red or purple for the cloak scales. I decided to test the red first, and I think it looks great with the brown / flesh of the cloak lining. I'm afraid a purple scale will be difficult to blend into that flesh. What do you guys think?

I'm really loving the paintwork, keep the updates coming, I'll be following this

Really liking the red scales with yellow highlights. I'd say you've got a winner for the combo.

Excellent effect on the cloak, can't wait to see the full squad!

A lot of people have been using the corsair capr/reaver helmet kitbash (myself included). I think it looks fantastic, you did it justice!

Thanks for the pics. I'll be following this thread from this point with interest.

Beautiful! Your painting skills are awe-inspiring. Big fan!

This thread really makes me want to do Dark Eldar. A lot.

Agreed. Good thing I don't have 637.75 (not counting HST) to spare or else I'd be be working on some DE right now. In the meantime I'll just keep on using this thread to live vicariously through other players.

Thanks for all the comments guys, I really appreciate them!

Finished up the rest of my five man Trueborn Squad today. They're armed with blasters and ready to melt some enemy armor. I started working on a Venom today to get them up close and personal with whatever needs exploding. Here's a few shots of the completed squad.



This was my first real attempt at conversion work beyond a swapped head or repositioned arm. I think they turned out pretty good!

They look awesome! The cloaks and helms look really good as a squad. Where is the pointing arm on the Dracon from?

Thanks Vanq! I was afraid the cloaks and helms would be "too much" but it really sets them apart from the basic Kabalite. That pointing arm got snagged from the new Scourge box set.

Yep, these look awesome.

Love the incubi and trueborn!

Your incubi and trueborn look great! I love the capes on the trueborn. Makes me wanna do the same thing for my trueborn

The trueborn look cool. That reaver jetbike head conversion always looks good.

Today I started work on the Venom. I'm not really a fan of the splinter cannon gunner standing over the pilot thinking about putting both splinter cannons under the hull. What do you guys think about that?

That idea sounds like it make the Venom look even sleek while also giving more standing room to a squad of True Born. In other words, sounds good to me.

I think that is a sweet idea. You should do it

My plan exactly for my Venoms...I was going to make a sort of underslung turret on one of them, and for the other I was thinking of mounting them in the top canopy (sort of like how cannons are mounted on many modern jetfighters)

I agree totally on the top gunners ruining the flow of the Venom, especially in that ridged upright pose they have

Look forward to what you come up with

Alright guys, made some progress on the Vemon today. I finished up the under slung splinter cannons. Basically I just cut the twin linked rifles off their mount and pinned two cut off cannons in their place. I'm planning to use this Venom for my Incubi, so it will have tons of trophies/skulls. Here are some of the wip shots...

and the cannon...


I have a second Venom I'll be using for the Trueborn squad. Depending on how awesome the under slung cannons look, I may leave the second Venom's cannon on top. This way I can model the gunner with the reaver helm and cape like my Trueborn squad.

Man, the twin cannons look vicious...definitely doing that with mine!

Twin cannons look good - but also look twin linked? I wonder would it be possible to put one under each wing? Or maybe spaced apart more at the front?

Your trueborn are awesome! Fantastic work on the helmets!

Arakasi has presented some good points. Thanks!

Possible new game plan with the Venom Splinter Cannons. My initial thoughts when I finished the initial under slung gun mount was that it did just look twin-linked and not like two weapons. The up side to that is, twink linked cannons is not an option for the Venom so... there shouldn't be confusion in a game, right?

Anyway, the new plan is: Use the smaller gun mounts for the cannons and put one under each engine on the Venom. I have a feeling that the cannons may stick out too far though...

Opinions?


Also - Sent an email over to GW last night. Why? Their amazing new finecast models...
From the photos, you can see that large areas of his feet, cube hand, and back part are completely consumed by a large block of flash. I don't know if the model separated prematurely or if areas of the mold had been eaten away, but so much of the detail has been eaten away by it. I circled these areas in the images.



Edit - The new splinter cannons really didn't take any time at all to construct. So here they are, tacked to the Venom. I think they look much better than the original idea. Thanks Arakasi!

The venom looks sweet. May have to steal that idea. Are the new splinter cannon mounts just ones form the jetbike splinter rifles? Hope GW sends you a new Haemy. I havent heard much good stuff about finecast. Makes me a bit hesitant to buy any of the new DE finecast stuff

Glad my idea was of help. It's good to know it works - for future reference

Future reference indeed! I have a few of those mounts getting around too...

I've been steadily getting more paint on it and it's turning out well. I'll probably have some finished pics up tomorrow-ish. The jetbike mounts I used were actually the ones from the blaster ends I cut off for my trueborn.

Also, I heard from GW this morning. They're sending me a new haemonculus. I just hope this one doesn't have problems too...

Venom is very near completion. Basically, I'll just be finishing off the flag and cleaning up the free hand a bit. Planning on using this Venom for the Incubi, which is why skulls and trophies have been stuck all over it. Incubi have been absolutely brutal in the games I've played with them. Not entirely sold on the flag yet... what do you guys think?




After I finish this up, I'll get the entire army together for a group shot.

Very nice, the underslung cannons look unbelievably good.

shamelessly stealing the idea. sorry, imitation is the biggest form of flattery.

I think it looks beautiful - flag included I wonder how cool that cannon set up will look next to a Razorwing? (Makes it look like a mini fighter!)

My painting drive has been slowing down recently... Hopefully next week I can pick it back up again. Maybe I just need to take a small break from the DE and work on another dwarf.

First, here's a very early wip of my ten man scourge squad.

Two of the carbine arms don't have sleeves! What the heck? A 4+ armor save does not mean you're wearing a tank top! I'll be cutting these up and swapping them with some kabalite armored arms.


Started an objective marker too. Here's a wip shot on that.


AND a few group shots of what I have completed so far...

Mmm, a delicious slave. Always important objectives... And of course it's a sleeveless armour plate! Every Dark Eldar is so juiced up with drugs that his skin is as effective as any armour. Or I would assume, since that would also give good reason for why space marines can survive in an active war zone just as well without helmets...

Otherwise, this is all some pretty solid work, even if the colour scheme is on par with Ultramarines, in GW servicing (though I do, of course, paint Ultramarines, so we're even).

Kaesar II

Army looks great! Can't wait to see the Scourges, and I stole the idea with the cannons on the Venom too

Quick update guys... Here's another shot of the Scourge squad I'm working on. The armor on them is finished. Just have some details to pick out now.

Looking good so far, whats the plan for the helmets?

I'll just be using the basic helmets that are provided in the Scourge kit. It actually provides 8 or 9 different heads so you really get a variety. I may use the leftover ones on my now headless reaver jetbike riders. Tomorrow, I'll be playing a 40k game, so hopefully I can get this squad done by then. Pictures soon to come!

so... on Monday I somehow managed to stub my toe so hard on a doorway that I broke it. Ouch. I've basically been lying around, watching star trek, and painting (although more slowly than usual.)

Despite the broken toe, this scourge squad is taking much, MUCH, longer to complete than I thought it would. I haven't even started on the wings yet, but it looks like the bodies and weapons are complete. Heads and wings soon to come!

Here's a photo of where I'm at.


Let me know what you think!

You don't need toes to paint!

Looking good though...what colours are you going to use for the wings?

Looking great!
Also, you might wanna check the spelling in the title of this blog (Scouge wip?)

Amazing work. I don't see how I could have missed this one.

STILL working on that Scourge squad! I will probably take a look at my Dwarfs next after staring at all the green and purple for so long. These Scourges just need their wings finished off for me to call them complete. Here's a look at what I have so far...




Really hoping that I can finish this squad off on Monday.

They look awesome mate! Heads are brilliant, very vibrant colours.

Damn tempted to get some Scourges now

Nice! Those looks great so far.

Thanks for all the comments guys. They are much appreciated.

I've finally finished up my Scourge squad. These have got to be my favorite models in the new DE range. They make Swooping Hawks look like little kids with towels around their necks for capes. Each model has amazing detail and there are so many options available in the kit. Even though their are only five models in the box, the interchangeability of the components gives you tons of different ways to assemble these guys. I was very surprised to see so many weapon options and 8 or 9 different head options per kit. Some people have been complaining that the kit has bat and bird wings in it. I think it works with the DE sense of individuality, desire to customize themselves, a be unique.

This squad took much longer than expected to paint, but I think I now have a new centerpiece for the army. Let me know what you think of them.



(I forgot to include a front shot of the squad leader, so her picture doesn't have my cool setup.)









I've given the entire squad Shardcarbines. They work great for anti-infantry (or anything with a T value). The ability to deepstrike in and release 30 shots can be a game changer!

Those Scourges are fantastic. I agree with Vanq about the heads. Awesome job!

Just received this little gem in the mail (finally!)



Looks like it's time for a short* Dwarven diversion.

*pun intended.

Great job on the scourges, I like the shard carbine set up too, nothing like deepstriking in on a demon prince and showing him why toughness doesn't mean anything!

I blame you for making me buy enough Scourge bits to make another 5 birdmen, damn you

They look fantastic mate, the wing detail on the feather guys in particular is very nice!

It's incredibly hot here. Due to the way spray primer reacts in this kind of heat, it looks like I won't be able to start any new painting projects till things cool down. These guys have been on my desk for months... without anything else to do, I finally finished them up today.

Very nice, I really like the freehand on the front of the bikes.

Hellion heads look good on the Reavers...nice work!

Huh, I totally just noticed that now you bring it up Vanq, How did I miss that?

What paints are you using (brand)?

The sleeveless arms on the Scourges bothered me a lot too. Especially since the arms were going on some trueborn.

Thanks again for everyone's comments. I feel like Vanq is my biggest fan

@Ysclyth I'm just using GW's Citadel colors. On the bronze I use their oop brown ink. I think their devlan mud wash would be a decent substitute but I'm going to hold out until the ink runs dry.

Currently, I'm assembling some dwarf warriors and staring at the new haemonculus model. Trying to figure out what I can do with his arms to make him not look like an idiot looking for a hug. Anyone have suggestions or a link to a conversion using the new haemonculus as a base?

Fantastic painting. I see your post about the heat. I always onder about that - because here in the UK we dont have to worry about heat!

whatisntart wrote:Thanks again for everyone's comments. I feel like Vanq is my biggest fan

You are consistent with the pics and they are full of great ideas to pinch, unlike that whatisntart guy, he sucks

A small distraction from the Dark Eldar... I present the humble beginnings of my Dwarven Throng. There's a shot of my Thane a few pages back. Here are my first five clansmen. Their cloths are different colors to make each individual, but the entire unit's shields will be the same blue color. I plan on picking out the metalics with more gold on the Longbeard unit as well as using different earth tones for their shields.




Thinking about using these guys for my unit of Hammerers.
http://gamezoneminiatures.de/zwerge/zwergen-schutz-des-hammers-ii.html
What do you guys think of them?

Great highlighting on the blue cape! The black beard is also very nice.

Haven't had a chance to post much of anything for awhile. I went on a little vacation with some family, then a surprise road trip halfway across the country with a friend. Now that I have a few days, here's a few more dwarfs!





Next, I'll be finishing up my second Venom.

Can't wait to see the progress on the Venom. FYI, you need a big credit for inspiring me to start Dark Eldar. Hopefully I'll pay proper homage with my own work.

First update in a long while. I've been on some surprise vacations a lot this summer so haven't had much time to paid anymore. Now that August is nearly over, I'll be going back to work soon as well. I was able to nearly complete a Razorwing Jetfighter this week. The weapons and missles are magnetized, unfortunately I've forgotten to get some wip pics of that ><





I used the rubber bands to hold the wings together while the glue dries. Overall, the model was fairly easy to put together.

Razorwing Jetfighter finally done!





Missiles and weapons have been fully magnetized.

The freehand pattern around the cockpit looks really cool.

I'm definitely stealing your ideas for the Venom's Splinter Cannons

Awesome!

The freehand work on your models is amazing, really adds character to the models and breaks up the flat areas.

What's next on your to-do list?

Well, I have two new haemonculus models on my desk. Once I figure out how I'm going to convert them to not look stupid I'll start painting them up. In the meantime, I'm putting some more hours into my dwarf army. wfb has started to take off in my area.

Love the razorwing, the red markings are fantastic!

I actually got a chance to use the razorwing in a game today. I kitted it out all anti-infantry. It was actually pretty devastating, very happy with how it all played out.

Love the vibrant colours of your scourges' heads!

Haven't been able to post here in awhile. I'm back at work after the summer so unfortunately that means less painting time...

Dark Eldar are taking a break until the rest of my 40k buddies can get their armies up to the point value I have going. Until then I will be slowly painting my Dwarf army as well as my shiny new Dreadfleet box!

First, here's a (terrible) shot of the Dwarf miner box I just finished...


The first Dreadfleet ship I'm working on is the Heldenhammer. The model is very detailed and looks like I'm going to pull my hair out with all the tiny detail. I'm painting this up in pieces, but here is it dry-fit together.


Next I'll be working on the Blood Reaver, the island terrain, and the auxiliary ships.

Ooooh the first WIP ship I've seen so far!

Steadily working along on the Heldenhammer. After this guy is done I'm going back for a squad of Dwarfs. These ships are definitely a pain to paint.

You definitely earned a pain token for your progress. Great job on painstakingly small little alcoves over the cannons.

Are all the ships this detailed?

The heldenhammer is coming along very nicely. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the other ships in the fleet.
@Dark_Gear- Yeah the ships are all incredibly detailed. They are very nice models

Thanks Dark.

Yeah, all the ships are as detailed as this one. The Heldenhammer and Bloody Reaver have the most components. The other ships are only 4-5 pieces, but still as detailed.

Finally finished the Heldenhammer last night. Here's the final product...

Stunning work! The sails are very impressive


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Just noticed the DE ship, wow!

So, at first I thought the Heldenhammer was bad...

The Bloody Reaver seemed to have even more detail and tiny bits. She was more difficult to put together for sure. Here's the finished product. Sorry no wip shots on this one.

Those models really seem incredibly detailed for their size, almost like GW was banking on the fact that the ones who would buy this game would be expereinced painters and modelers, i.e., the veterans of their market pool. I don't see any problem with that at all.

What I really about this model isn't so much the ship, which is fine work yet again, it's the fact that you've the painted the water on the bases with what seems to be the exact same colours as the mat to the point that they almost vanish.

@dark_gear
Thanks for the comments! I'm incredibly impressed with the detail of the dreadfleet models. I think now that I have the heldenhammer and blood reaver done, the rest of the ships should fall into place. The bloody reaver may be the most time consuming piece in the box to paint.

So again, I'm taking a short break from the ships and going at another dwarf unit. Here's what's on the table now:



The dwarf "beserker" models from avatars of war. These guys are great; easy to create dynamic, individualized poses, and they seem to rank up fairly easily as well.