Hello everyone, and welcome to my first painting/converting blog on Dakka Dakka.

After collecting and modelling Imperial Guard for longer than I care to remember, this summer I decided a change was in order, towards something spikier, faster and more close combat based. I chose Dark Eldar after reading an excellent tactica here on Dakka, and also after seeing the great range of models... and the great opportunities for conversions.

I'm an enthusiastic converter, and as I'm sure lots of you feel the same way when I say I love the concept of making the models truly personalised and uniquely mine- I love the idea of nobody else having versions of models quite like my own.

I knew from the start that I wanted to buck Dark Eldar trends and go for a bright paint scheme that wasn't black with additional colour, or the ever common sky blue DE. I decided my primary colour would be off-white (Pallid Wych Flesh) with pink and purple as supplementary colours. All metals would be bronze-based, to offset the white.

After this I drew up my first DE 1500pt list as a target to work towards, and in brief here it is:

Archoness, 4 Incubi retinue, Venom
5 Incubi, Venom,
10 kabalites, Raider,
10 Wracks, Haemonculus escort, Raider
10 Wyches, Raider
10 Wyches, Raider
2 Ravagers, all dark lances

First off then, in order to gain some spare parts for conversions, I bought the kabalite box-set. I wanted my DE to be themed along a slightly less evil, slightly more rogue Eldar pirates theme. I toyed with the idea of using the Corsair list in Imperial Armour 11, but in the end went with staying pure Dark Eldar. To help reduce the number of evil pointy helmets, I used Wood Elf Glade Guard Hooded Heads, kindly donated by my flat-mate. The results of the first 5 painted and converted are below:


Stay tuned for regular updates!! I'm getting a Raider next, with the aim of using both aethersails rather than just one, moving the dark lance and modelling something to represent splinter racks.

All questions, comments and advice welcome, there's plenty of room for improvement in my painting.

Well, when you said you wanted a different color, you meant serious business. Never saw such a DE color combination before

That idea of using Wood Elf heads, wow, so simple and yet it made such a huge difference. Something I notice is their dark skin. Going for a drow look?

Regardless, like it a lot so far

Thanks!

Yeah I figured with all the ceramic white on the body armour, I needed a dark skin tone: drow is definitely the right idea, I was actually looking to imitate the dark elves on Baldur's Gate, Dark Alliance 2- the cover elf especially.

Its built up from a black base with layered greys.

Got the Raider assembled this afternoon! This will carry the kabalites, and thus has a few splinter rifles glued to the railings to represent splinter racks.

I didn't want to add too many of the spikes and additional parts, as I imagined these Kabalites favouring a sleek and pared down look. Also the spikes and gory trophies will be stored away for use on the Wracks Raider, which I hope will take on the appearance of Reaver transports from Firefly

The most obvious conversions here are moving the Dark Lance forward to sit on the prow ram, and squeezing both sails in using the freed up space- cue comparisons to Jabba's Sail Barge!! I wanted to have two sails just because I think it makes the Raider look more like a skimmer which could actually fly at a fair pace.

I have some pics below, as always comments welcome. For future paint scheme, I was thinking a fade from bottom to top of the hull from purple through pink to white- if I dare! It could all go horribly wrong.

You'll also notice a lack of crew- I'm saving them to convert an Archoness and Incubi bodyguards. The models hanging on to the side of the Raider should provide some interesting angles in which to place spears and swords, lots of movement in the models. Pics to follow soon, stay posted!

 Scoundrel13 wrote:


I didn't want to add too many of the spikes and additional parts, as I imagined these Kabalites favouring a sleek and pared down look. Also the spikes and gory trophies will be stored away for use on the Wracks Raider, which I hope will take on the appearance of Reaver transports from Firefly

The most obvious conversions here are moving the Dark Lance forward to sit on the prow ram, and squeezing both sails in using the freed up space- cue comparisons to Jabba's Sail Barge!! I wanted to have two sails just because I think it makes the Raider look more like a skimmer which could actually fly at a fair pace.

Wait, wait, wait... you are mixing elements from Firefly, Star Wars and Drow elves all in the same army?

 Scoundrel13 wrote:

I have some pics below, as always comments welcome. For future paint scheme, I was thinking a fade from bottom to top of the hull from purple through pink to white- if I dare! It could all go horribly wrong.

You'll also notice a lack of crew- I'm saving them to convert an Archoness and Incubi bodyguards. The models hanging on to the side of the Raider should provide some interesting angles in which to place spears and swords, lots of movement in the models. Pics to follow soon, stay posted!

Hum, it's a neat idea. Remember that to improve yourself and yer models practice and experiments must be made! And if you hate the look you can paint over it not that much of a problem when you thin your paints.

Archoness + Incubi also sounds very good to me. Love the incubi models and now that I am reading the "Path of the Incubus" I have to resist so much the urge of buying a pack of Incubis to paint.

I have a small bucketful of darkies sitting around gathering dust, so I've got a soft spot for the evil things.

This is neat. Keep it up. Will be watching.

Thanks Grimdork, I'll bear in mind your watchful gaze

DraconicLord, I think we're of the same mind lol

I love dark eldar (and drow too actually) but I've never come up with a scheme or theme I'm happy with so I must live vicariously through better painters and modelers such as yourself.

@DraconicLord- buy those Incubi!! They are great-looknig models. Being a student and (stereotype being fulfilled) fairly poor, if the (usually stingy) GW Raider set gives me 4 spare torsos and legs which should be useless Raider "crew", I clap my hands with glee and steal them away like a good Haemonculus to convert into useful unit models. If you paint up Incubi I'll definitely come see!!

@GrimDork- I'm literally falling in love with the models as I buy them, not since the renovated fantasy Chaos Warriors came out have I drooled so much over models. I keep scrolling to that profile Raider pic... and I'm really quite flattered, I consider myself a "neat" painter rather than inspired. So thank you

Those extra models are half the reason I even got a new raider kit! They make fine trueborn next to 3rd end warriors.

Occasionally I make a neat conversion but I've always been a dark/messy painter and consider myself more paint by numbers mechanical than artistic. Elf armies lend themselves to proficient painters so I like to leave such projects to talented individuals such as yourself.

New incubi rock however I have a pair of asdrubaels trench coat incubi and those win for me.

Ah, thanks for the vote of confidence I know I won't be able to resist them forever, I love the Dark Eldar models. I desire to paint almost all of them. The Mandrakes are a another good example. They have to be one of my favorite models of all time. A pity their rules suck, I would love to see more armies fielding them.

A quick update before I run off the the dentist- I present two home-made conversion Incubi!

torso/body from Raider riders

Head from kabalite set

weapon shaft, chaos marauder horsemen

weapon blade, chaos warrior

cloaks, wood elf glade guard

Archoness to follow shortly!! She's shaping up very well.

Ok, I like them a lot but I can't help but find strange to see leafs on an Incubus Those are some hardcore tree-huggers

One sugestion. I have absolutely no idea what gear Incubus can equip but since you are using a gigantic pole with a blade attached, you could go the "fluff" route. Make it a Punisher!

The Punisher, a two-handed power weapon resembling a halberd, manufactured in such a way as to assist the wielder when swinging, effectively increasing the strength of their attacks.

If you could attach an axe head on top of the pole you could get a very close resemblance to an halberd.

TDL: punishers ftw. The only thing I don't like about new incubi is the klaives. Its a neat idea but I was sold on punishers from 3e on.

Now that i've had the chance to look at them on a big screen (hard to see on the phone, really), I think those are pretty neat. The power pole-arm and cape helps distinguish them from normal darkies. Perhaps a modification to the color scheme will help them further stand out? Though now I do realize that they have helmets and your other guys have hoods, so there's that

Keep them coming!

@ DraconicLord, glad you like them, and yeah shaving off those leaves in a clean way is beyond my powers I'm afraid :/ And I like the Punisher route! I have two more to make when I buy another Raider set, so I could have two with sword-polearms, two with axe pole-arms.

@GrimDork, Yeah I plan them to have essentially reversed colour schemes- black ceramic armour with purple highlights, bone white capes and possible bone'white helmets as well. Only the Incubi will be black armoured, to underscore their status as veterans. They will also match the Archoness, who I plan to be black-armoured with pink thorny floral pattern flowing over the armour plates- we'll see how this turns out! It may end up just as pink highlighting on black armour.

Sounds good, they're a neat unit and deserve to stand out.

 Scoundrel13 wrote:
@ DraconicLord, glad you like them, and yeah shaving off those leaves in a clean way is beyond my powers I'm afraid :/

Ah, worry not, it just makes them more unique. You can apply all sorts of crazy hues on those leafs to show they aren't your typical green plants

Update! I've just finished the 5 other hooded drow kabalites, and I'm pretty happy with the overall look of the unit.

The kabalite with the splinter cannon has, in order to stand out a little, a head from the Marauder horsemen box-set.

Send me your thoughts!!


PS, Archoness is assembled, pics to follow soon. I'm really happy with it!

Yep, still looking great. Looking forward to seeing the boss lady.

Love the conversions that you're doing, and the raider looks great!

Looking forward to seeing the finished incubi and the archoness!

Definantly subbing, as said prior the hoods are so simple yet so effective, as is the paint job Looking forward to seeing how it progresses I noticed the clan markings, are they your own design (sorry I don't know much about DE insignia), if so have you got any fluff in mind??

@ GrimDork and SilentEcho- Thanks for the encouragement! Work has begun on painting the Archoness, I should be finished by Monday night. I didn't want to take away from the impact of the model by showing her just sprayed. doesn't do the model justice

@j29reborn, Thanks and yeah, the clan marking is my own design. As DE are quite competitive and rivally, I was planning to have each squad have its own clan marking, as I imagine the eldar band together into small hedonistic groups of 5 to 10. The markings I plan to have swirling on the Raider are taken from Mycenaean Linear B tablets, a nod to my Ancient History degree

Not really sure on fluff yet, apart from them being not true DE; they are more like outcasts or corsairs, neutral Eldar thrown out of the Craftworldsthat haven't sunk to Commorragh's depths yet, so I can probably tie them to a planet, a base of operations. This neutrality may manifest itself as an Eldar allied detachment further down the line.

That first squad is looking great but what I really to see is that Archoness

Archoness update-- I'm still painting! Most of today was taken up with dissertation work, and tbh its been difficult to be inside painting, as summer has hit London like a lascannon to the chops. However, I think I'm still on track to finish tonight. maybe. Or tomorrow morning.

 Scoundrel13 wrote:
Archoness update-- I'm still painting! Most of today was taken up with dissertation work, and tbh its been difficult to be inside painting, as summer has hit London like a lascannon to the chops. However, I think I'm still on track to finish tonight. maybe. Or tomorrow morning.

AH, weakling. Try a Lascannon of 41ºC (and in some areas 46ºC according to some) like here in Lisbon

No excuses, I wanna see that Archoness!

Ok, here she is, my baby, my Archoness. I've sunk about 10 hours converting and painting into her, and I'm finally satisfied with the result

Rough back story; she was a Harlequin earlier in life, thus the chequered pattern, and she retains her athletic prowess, as demonstrated by the leaping pose!!

Almost all of the parts you see here are taken from the Raider box-set- proof that these conversions really are simple, and anyone can do them! Only the power sword isn't from the set, and that comes from the sister kabalite set. Oh, and the pelisse/ cloak, which I believe is from an old, old Empire Knights of Ulfric plastic set.

I had to use a piece of stone and a little bit of plastic chaff to get her at the right leaping angle, and I will have to be very careful with her, she's very fragile, already snapped off her footing once.

The chequered pattern was a bitch to paint!! Its bleached bone with pallid wych flesh highlight, over plain Xereus purple.

The weapon metal sheen I'm particularly happy with, its warplock bronze, then drybrushed balthazar gold, then a lighter gold, then edged with chainmail.

I like the contrasting blue hair, and this effect will be repeated on my two squads of ten wyches.

Send me your thoughts and comments as always, and DraconicLord, your comments have kept me painting into the night to finish!! Thanks for the encouragement.


Next up, I'll begin work on her Incubi bodyguards.

That is a pretty sweet model. It seems like the yellowish light is washing out some of your details/color, but I think I can see what you did, and its nice.

She's a very dynamic model. It would be a pleasure to have her slaughter hordes of my space marines or not-guardsmen

Hahaha, fantastic! That checkered pattern may have been a bitch to paint but it was worth it, it adds so much more flavor to her!

The weapons also look very good, all that work really payed off because it really doesn't look like a "flat" and "bland" pure gold.

Like GrimDork said that model looks very dynamic. I can't imagine my poor Necrons being able to catch her

Oh, and if you can, don't paint all the wyches with blue hair! The awesome thing is how dark eldar can vary so much! Blues, Greens, Reds, Pinks, and since you are doing some drows, well, ye better have one or two with white hair

That pattern looks great! Very fitting with the past you've given her.
Also like the addition of the cape.
There's not alot I can say that hasn't already been said, she's very fluid looking.
The time you've put into her definitely shows, and was worth it!

Loving the Archon, it really stands out especially since it's so different to everything else, and dem checks man great job

@ Grimdork, yeah it was late at night and I was just pointing my desk lamp at her, I would have liked the colours to come across better, but never mind. And yeah the dynamism from the pose of hanging on to the raider translated really well

@DL, Thank you for the praise! I will consider your advice, but I think I will still paint the wyches with luminous blue hair, I just like the colour too much I may do one squad blue haired, and one white haired, seeing as I'm going with the drow theme I need to differentiate them somehow.

@SilentEcho, Thankyou for the comments, they are very much appreciated. I honestly think your DE are better painted than mine, you're much better at highlighting. This Archoness is basically my limit, I can't paint any better than this!!

@j29reborn, thanks a lot mate, I was going for the unique conversion Close up, the chequered pattern is a little messy, but shhhh, don't tell anyone.

Well remember these are SPACE drow. Maybe space drow have blue hair

well it wouldnt be int he realm of strange they prolly all have stark hair colors in the codex dark eldar have red blue green and what not so i think any color you imagine scoundrel will work.

love the archoness looking great keep it up.

Very nice, it's good to see a lighter color for Dark Eldar. Almost everyone i've seen so far was usually very dark.

@Grimdork, lol yeah, maybe I go with galaxy radiation dyeing their hair blue, that sounds plausible to me.

@alabamaheretic, thanks a lot, I hope the Incubi bodyguards turn out just as good! Between you and me, I think they will I hope to get pics up by, hmmm thursday morning (GMT) at the latest.


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@ Iron Father Mac, yeah I wanted to do something a little different and create a bright DE scheme, not just black with a varying supporting colour. White/bone is the core colour, with pink and purple primary supporting, and bright blue and black as secondary supporting.

Thanks for the comment

You're very welcome, no need to thank me for telling the truth though
Really? I prefer the colours on yours, and I like the thicker highlighting.
Well. She's still stunning, so her being the limit isn't so much a bad thing.
I'm sure you'll find yourself improving in little ways as you go along.

i really like the incubi models i am sure you will do them great justice i will wait for those in semi impatiences *taps foot* are they done yet?

Haha, @ alabamaheretic, its good to hear some praise for the Incubi after all this attention on my Archoness! So thankyou!

As an update, I am about halfway through painting the first Incubi- the paint scheme of the Archoness is replicated (black ceramic with pink highlights), but they will not have chequered pattern, and will have bone-white helmets to denote their elite status, I'm repeating the technique I used on my Archoness for the weapons.

 Scoundrel13 wrote:
Haha, @ alabamaheretic, its good to hear some praise for the Incubi after all this attention on my Archoness! So thankyou!

To be fair, it's your fault. The Incubi look awesome and all that, but unpainted they don't hold a candle to the Archoness.

(digging the idea of the bone-white helmet a lot. Same idea I had for my Lords A different colored head / helmet really makes a difference)

Can't wait to see the Incubi, also looking forward to the Raider

yea so with your archoness so with such high praise you definitely need to up your game to make the incubi that much more impressive.

not sure about the white helms denoting an elite status will have to see how it looks before i can say any thing.

Loving the hooded kabalites, drow skin tone and that archoness is the business!

I look forward to seeing the incubi finished.

What do you plan to do for the wracks? They are one of my favourite units in the dark eldar codex and I would be interested to see your spin on them.

Wood elf bits in a 40k army? That's preposterous!

Interesting color scheme. It works very well.

Is the spear on the archoness original to that model? The skulls on it seem a bit .... clunky.

Looking forward to seeing more.

@Rohansoldier, Thanks for the comments, yeah I plan to convert wracks by putting chaos warrior heads on the Empire Flagellants boxset, swap some weapons around, green stuff som pipes and longer robes/cloaks. They'll be a challenge but will give me the freedom to throw some extra limbs and heads around. I'm looking forward to doing them, but I think they'll come after wyches, another raider and some venoms, so I can build up spare bitz.

@albinoork, thanks, yeah the spear is part of the raider set, and is meant to stand alone in the weapon rack, but I wanted the kroot head with the sweeping dreadlocks to inject more movement,as if the spear is being swung round. She's also kitted as a character killer with huskblade, soul stone and clone field, so the extra skulls can fluff as some enemy commanders. I take your point about the chunkiness though.

Good evening all, I have finished my first Incubus bodyguard to escort the Lady Archoness in her personal Venom.

Like the Archoness, the torso comes from the Raider set, but everything else is added and converted: as mentioned before:

-Helmet from kabalites
-Klaive sword from chaos warriors
-weapon shaft from Marauder horsemen flail
-Cloak from wood elf glade guard..

I'm really happ with the result, I think he matches with the Archoness nicely but at the same time doesn't eclipse her style- just as a bodyguard should.
The converted Klaive looks hefty enough to justify +1 strength and AP2, and you'll note a secondary weapon in what was the wood elf quiver, as an extra sword in case things get dire and the Klaive breaks or he drops it or whatever.

I'm particularly happy with the runes flowing down the cape in three lines- more Mycenaean Linear B. Go, Classics degree!! Use "Useless knowledge"!! It had no effect on the Real World...

Comments and questions, I aim to answer and respond to all, if you've been following but not dropped me a comment yet, please do!

*clap* bravo! Wonderful paintjob!

The bone-white helmet really makes them pop and the blue eyes are a good contrast

The quiver as an extra sword was a very good idea too, gives them more character and contrasts with the cape.

Your army is looking beautiful

ok ok my reservation about the white helm was off...i do like the minor conversion work looks like a proper weapon. my only niggle about the weapon is that it have no power source so it doesnt look quite like a power weapon yet. just a thought

the cloak is great love it do it again!~!

That incubus looks lovely! He came out really well, the highlighting looks less shaky too
The cloak came out really well, and I love the use of runes (Also nice little table there, it's nice to see the whole alphabet.)
Really nice conversion work, it all fits in together really well. Can't wait to see how the others come out!

I quite like the black under the eyes on the helmet, nice bit of contrast. Really like the model, keep this up

Good work Gotta say I am really loving the pink highlights (after seeing a guy painting an army of pink Night Goblins in Fantasy once I've grown to love pink-ish armies :3). Loving the conversion work as well, and can't wait for the rest of the squad

Thanks for all the comments gang, glad you like the first Incubus.

@SilentEcho, I think with practise and care yeah I'm getting better at the highlight lining, and when I go wrong on the white it shows up worse.

@j29reborn, yeah I think I actually like the pink on black more than pink on white... but must... stay away... from DE stereotypes....

@alabamaheretic, I like how the cloak turned out as well, and yeah I may green stuff a wire or two onto the blade...


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A quick note to all- I'm heading home for a few days for a job interview, so there won't be any new modelling updates for a few days, til at least Monday I reckon.

I'm actually working on the Raider, and I'm torn between two ideas, so I'd love some input. Both ideas begin with a bleached white base on the raider hull, then-

1) to have spiralling patterns of the purple runes, radiating out from the centre of the Raider, just below the gangplank.

2) Or (more ambitious) to stick triangular bits of sticky paper all over the hull in a randomy pattern and paint purple in the gaps. I'd then remove all the stickers, leaving lots of interlocking triangular white patches on a purple background, the stickers forming a template for perfectly straight lines.

I may do the spirally pattern, then save the jagged triangle pattern for the Wrack raider- suits better I think.

Any thoughts appreciated!

I think you should do the first idea because your girls want something pretty to ride to blood shed + i tried purple in my dark eldar and it works very well
i like the idea of the triangular pattern you need to test it and put it up

Hello all!

Sorry for the long period of silence, I went back home to Herts for a bit, but back in Windsor now. Got the job! So I didn't leave my precious DE lovelies for nothing.

Knowing full well that I should be painting my second Incubus and my Raider, I decided to... buy Empire Flagellants instead.

Money is a big motivating factor here-

Me:"I need 10 Wracks. How much please GW, for this functional squad?"

GW:"That'll be £50, you penniless noob, oh, and some more white spray? Stump up £60, gak."

Me:"But GW, that's ridiculously expensive! I tell you what, give me those Empire Flagellants boxset, 10 for £15. I'll f*cking convert some myself!"

GW: "Do what you want, b*tch, I don't give a sh*t."


Thus the conversation in my head went. Anyway, I spent a sweaty afternoon (30'C here) assembling them all: Those are chaos warrior heads with horns trimmed off, a mix of weapons from all over the place; you may spot Lizardmen, Night Goblin, Marauder, Empire and Tomb Kings, and I've messily had a go at green-stuffing some hoods.

Overall I'm pleased with the result, but as ever, send me your thoughts and ideas please! Its not too late to add to them with green stuff/ bits.


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@ rhino- 40,000- yeah I'm leaning towards purple glyphs running in matrix lines down the hull now- and yes I will test out the sticker effect first, its too risky to slap straight on.

CHIBI WRACKS!

Love it, you did a very interesting work with them and I would enjoy facing them in a battlefield. Being so unique I don't think the opponent will have any excuses of "Oh, I forgot they were Wracks" or some crazy stuff like that.

Love those oversized heads

P.S: Congrats on getting the job. You are now another cog in the society machine. My condolences

I love their look, oversized heads and all Congrats on getting the job, now I just need one xD Trying to keep up this hobby without a job is...well...neigh on impossible xD

Chibiwracks muahahahaw! Those are awesome the hood ties the oversized hats in. Gratz on the jerb!

Well played! A simple, effective conversion and saving money. Big win!


The axe of the front guy in the top picture looks a wee bit off. Instead of the blade being parallel to his body it looks like it should be perpendicular. The change will make the model look more like it is running forward.

Take care

hey dude hows the painting coming along

One of the coolest DE I've seen, and the colors scheme comes out surprisingly good!

Hi everyone, thanks for the comments, just a quick update for you- I've been working on the Raider, and its nearing completion, I estimate I'll have pics for you by Monday night GMT. Trust me when I say it'll be worth the wait!

After noticing that the front of a Raider looks uncannily like the front of an Ancient Greek trireme (oared battle-ship), I decided to paint some eyes on the front of the hull. Definitely adds character. Hope that whets your appetites...

And yeah I have a job woo! part-time, but its a start.

@Gretar, thanks, yeah I took a bit of a plunge with unconventional scheme but Im happy with how its working out.

@rhino-40,000 its coming well but slowly. I've repeated the metallic sheen that I used for the Incubus weapon on all the engine parts of the Raider, the golden bronzy colour works nicely with all the bone-white and purple.

@albinoork, I'm on it, will post pics with the changed axe. Thanks!

As promised and on schedule

I present my first finished Raider. As mentioned before, this Raiders carries my Kabalites, and thus bears the same symbol on the aft-sail.

This took a lot longer than I wanted, but I'm pleased with the result. I think for the next Raiders I'll try to vary the pattern of symbols on the hull, but keep the core colours the same.

The engine and bladey bits are painted in the same way as the Archoness/ Incubus weapons, and repeating the gold on a larger scale has worked well.

Enjoy

Next up- I'll be working on that lonely Incubus who I passed over to construct my Wracks instead. Has to be done! Shouldn't take long either.

That's freakin' awesome Your idea of adding the eye was fantastic, but considering we are talking Dark Eldar, I would probably add a more angry like eye. Or different shaped.

Either way, the eye looks amazing contrasting with the light color of the ship«s body. Same thing with the runes on the sails. And those runes really give it an arcane look!

Damn, your army is looking great so far

Epic win! So much awesome . Remember these elder are more neutral then flat out evil right? Fits the rest of your force to a t!

 GrimDork wrote:
Epic win! So much awesome . Remember these elder are more neutral then flat out evil right? Fits the rest of your force to a t!

But, but, but... they are dark eldar and Drow! You can't get any more evil than that!

... unless, they are actually SO evil, the alignment wheel shifted and they went back to neutral. Or good!

Dark Eldar and drow yes, but still neutral Eldar

I will have a much more evil eyes on the Raider for the Wracks- along with lots of spikes and gruesome trophies.

The Wych Raiders I'm not sure yet, but I'll model and paint something different again. I want each Raider to reflect the character of the unit it carries.

I love the Raider, especially the runes you managed to do. I like the free hand of the eye, but more so that they are both pretty much the same, something that can be hard to do. May have taken a while but definitely paid off

I really like the idea for themed raiders for the varied units. Adds character.

@Grimdork, thanks mate, yeah I shall let you know when I think of a theme for the Wych raider... if spikes for Wracks raider, maybe pennants and seals for the wyches? Like they record every contracted battle they fight in?

@j29reborn, you are completely right about the eyes. After doing one, I put off doing the other for a wwhile lol. I sketched it lightly with white, then filled in with black onve I thought I had it as close to identical as possible. The eyebrows ended up a little different, but not too noticeable.

 Scoundrel13 wrote:
@Grimdork, thanks mate, yeah I shall let you know when I think of a theme for the Wych raider... if spikes for Wracks raider, maybe pennants and seals for the wyches? Like they record every contracted battle they fight in?

Well, wyches live for the thrill of the fight, so I guess trophies from their fallen foes. Since we are talking about neutral guys, I would say weapons and pieces of gear instead of body parts.

Really nice ideas for these DE, Never really been a fan of them until now, your colour scheme works great!

looking good love the eyes and runes on the hull matches your incubi

@DL- a good plan, looks like I'll be canvassing around my local gaming club for spare weapons and equipment The only things I can contribute in any quantity are from IG.

@HoeJarris- I'm really happy I've converted you! Thanks for the kind words.I'm getting excited now, putting units next to each other and seeing them match up makes me want the whole finished army now! But one thing at a time.

@rhino-40-000, you're right, I was thinking about the blue eyes of the Incubus when I painted the raider. I'm sticking to my paint scheme-

Primary colour: bone-white
Secondary colours: pink, purple
Tertiary colours: black, blue
Metallics: bronzey gold.

I've hardly strayed from these, and helps mould the units together, even if I swap these colours around, like on the Incubus armour.

If anybody is interested, this is my inspiration for dark-skinned drow elves- let me know if you played this awesome game on PS2 as well!

Curiously, as the company behind this game folded quite quickly after releasing the game, they only made a limited number of copies, so the surviving copies are actually getting rarer and more expensive. If you have a copy, hang on to it! Future nest egg.

see your reason she looks like a wych

I can't remember it may have been dark alliance 1 but I didn't like it (heard BG didn't think h,ack and slash) but only tried once. I prefer darker ebony skin for drow, however, the tone does look great for your project.

Hi everyone, I'll be going dark for a few days, heading home again, then all over the place in SE England for a few days, but I'll be back with that finished Incubus by Monday night.

And then I'm on to the Wracks- can't wait

Quick update- here is the second Incubus bodyguard for my Archoness. Not too much to say here, in principle its identical the 1st Incubus, with extra weapon on the shoulder, making us of a wood elf cloak again.

About to start work on my homemade Wracks! I'm going to paint in 2 batches of 5, so I'll get pics up as soon as I'm done.

Definitely looking good! Such a unique approach. Now give us ouf painted chibiwracks!

 GrimDork wrote:
Definitely looking good! Such a unique approach. Now give us ouf painted chibiwracks!

*starts clapping and raising a chant* Chibi, wracks! Chibi, wracks! Chibi, wracks!

We want to see to those chibis!

Hi everyone, sorry for the long break, dissertation and teaching my girlfriend how to play 40k has taken up lots of time.

First 5 Wracks are finished, and I'm happy with the overall look. I wanted to mix white and purple again, while finding a way to make the helmets stand out within the white cloaks.
The dags on the hoods hopefully don't look too Orky, but they are taken from that style.

Let me know what you think? And I'm going to finally say, what the hell does "chibi" mean? Exposing my lack of knowledge here...

Next 5 Wracks to follow, but in the mid distant future, going on a canal holiday in Wales this week.

Much love

Those are just awesome.

theyre awsome brilliant colour scheme but no blood from tearing things apart for experiments

Fantastic colour scheme! I'm happy to see those Chibi-Wracks painted, the mix of purple and white looks amazing

Chibi (from wikipedia):

Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children

The limbs aren't that stubby, but it's the oversized heads that makes us call them chibi

Here's an example from adirangan here http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/366133.page

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since last post, but I've been settling in to my new job, finding a new gaming club, getting the missus set up with her new daemon army, etc etc. busy times, but I'm back with a vengeance baby.

I present for your delectation... The remaining 5 wracks, painted but not based (all my basing material was spilled and lost during the journey from Surrey to Beds) and Proximo the haemonculus to lead them, also painted but not based.

The Haemy is actually the first model that I've not converted in some way, breaking my tradition for such a lovely model. However, although the Haemy is finished, I can't quite put my finger on why I'm not entirely happy with it. Lacking freehand painting detail?

I'm happy with the cloak of skins (I call it "Proximo's technicolour skin coat") and everything else is pretty much painted to fit the army. But still...


Anyway let me know your thoughts, dakka peeps.the next two incubi and the wracks spiky raider are well on the way to completion, so prepare for incoming pics in the next few weeks...




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Looking really good! Nice to see an update on such a cool blog .

As for Proximo... is it the white throwing you off? He looks really well done but there is... something.

Wheee, the Chibi-Wracks are back! Glad to know everything is working out for you. I hope you like your job.

I too think the white and pink chest piece looks a bit odd. I would replace the white with the purple, but that's my 2 cents.

 Scoundrel13 wrote:
Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since last post, but I've been settling in to my new job, finding a new gaming club, getting the missus set up with her new daemon army, etc etc. busy times, but I'm back with a vengeance baby.

I present for your delectation... The remaining 5 wracks, painted but not based (all my basing material was spilled and lost during the journey from Surrey to Beds) and Proximo the haemonculus to lead them, also painted but not based.

The Haemy is actually the first model that I've not converted in some way, breaking my tradition for such a lovely model. However, although the Haemy is finished, I can't quite put my finger on why I'm not entirely happy with it. Lacking freehand painting detail?

I'm happy with the cloak of skins (I call it "Proximo's technicolour skin coat") and everything else is pretty much painted to fit the army. But still...


Anyway let me know your thoughts, dakka peeps.the next two incubi and the wracks spiky raider are well on the way to completion, so prepare for incoming pics in the next few weeks...




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Uploaded from ipad and things went wrong! Fixing now, bear with me...

brilliant loving the colour scheme .my army is growing now
gonna custom make some reavers using cold ones and eldar guardians
loving the ancient snazzy

Thanks guys, yeah I think it might well be the white on the chest piece. I just wanted to tie Proximo to the kabalites a little, with the same scheme, but its not quite right with the rest of the model.

@ rhino-40-000, sounds great, have you set up a blog? would love to go take a look.

Speeding up! Here are the next two incubus bodyguards for the Lady Karthax. Both are converted from parts based on the raider kit, which gives you 4 kabalite crew, easily cannibalised into something more tangibly useful

the one with the skulls went pretty much as planned. The shaft is from an empire halberd, blade from fantasy chaos warriors plastic kit, cloak from wood elves, as usual. I wanted him holding the Klaive in a spear-like manner, and skulls seemed the logical thing to put in his other hand.

My first female Incubus is probably my favourite of the two. I wanted her raising her Klaive two-handed in an imperious way, and I'm happy with the black and pink patterning on the helmet, alongside the white. It contrasts nicely.

Next up- I'm working on a Klaivex for the same squad, just finishing up the painting. Really happy with this model- but ill say no more til I've got pics up. He's helmetless for added character, and he's going to be named. Rumours abound of an affair between the Klaivex and the Lady he protects on the field of battle.

those incubi look cool exspecialy next to your warmaster
do you use these in games

Yeah... those are pretty killer. Keep it up

I really, really like your dark eldar with the drow scheme. You seriously make me want to strip mine and start over.

P.S. Dark Alliance 2 was badass. Right up there with Champions of Norrath and DnD: Heroes.

jitactical wrote:
I really, really like your dark eldar with the drow scheme. You seriously make me want to strip mine and start over.

P.S. Dark Alliance 2 was badass. Right up there with Champions of Norrath and DnD: Heroes.

what colour your dark eldar

Thanks for the comments guys, I appreciate it a lot

@rhino-40-000, I've only just reached sort of 500 pts now, so I've played a couple of small games. But yes this army is definitely intended for use. My archoness has seen serious action already- against daemons recently she slew a herald of Khorne in a challenge then tore through 12 bloddletters in 2 turns of combat. Promising

@jitactical, welcome to the blog! And yeah, wasn't it such a well made game! Sunk many ps2 hours into it trying out all sorts of levelling up exp choices. Always found knife wielding drow elf the most satisfying though.

Nice so no first use bad luck
and what do you use her as archron or lady mayls

As an Archon, and I equip her as a character assassin; husk blade, soul stone, additional cc weapon, clone field. Ghostplate armour, combat drugs. So on the charge she gets 6 AP2 strength 3 attacks, and as long as she causes one wound, she will instant kill her opponent and become strength 6 for the rest of the game.

Then you just gotta do another and you can chop down buildings!

ha ha I wish, it only works once.

This is the revised 1500pts I'm working towards:

Archoness, 6 Incubi, Raider

Haemonculus, 9 Wracks, Raider

10 Kabalites, Raider

10 Wyches, Raider

10 Wyches, Raider

2 Ravagers

Razorwing Jet Fighter

As you can see, I'm not that far through it yet! I'm following the "raider rush" tactics; rush your opponent with too many targets to shoot down, then dice him in combat. The mobility also makes refused flanks an option, as I can redeploy to attack one flank and leave the other facing empty tabletop... in theory

Are you sure you can't just kill another IC and reactivate the soultrap (spoilers as its not painting or modeling ).

You mean using raiders is still a thing? All I ever heard about was venom this and venom that :p I have a bunch of 3e raiders, never could reconcile replacing them all with stinky venoms.

Keep up the good work, wanna see what you do for wyches

Some more photos! This is the Klaivex for the incubi squad. I wanted him to contrast with the Archoness in terms of pose; where she is leaping gracefully in fluid movement, the Klaivex stands still, surveying the field of battle, helmet held casually at his side. He wields the unique Demi-klaives, which can be used as plus 2 strength, or plus 2attacks each combat phase.

The Demi-klaives are created from two Wood Elf swords, the cloak is old Empire knights of ulfric, and the head is from the newest chaos marauder horsemen plastic set. I admit now that the head is quite manly rather than elfin, but shhh, nobody will notice I like the hair style too much.

The Klaivex is named Sejanus, after one of history's great infamous bodyguards. Dakka points for anyone who can tell me who Sejanus was without looking it up!


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@grimdork, on second look I think you might be right- there doesn't seem to be anything stopping her rampaging around the map killing characters until she gets to strength 10. Sweet

I think we all know who's the brains behind your kabal's operations now The Archoness is the hot blooded and charismatic leader, Sejanus looks the cold and calculating type.

Great contrast and nice story-telling

 Scoundrel13 wrote:
As an Archon, and I equip her as a character assassin; husk blade, soul stone, additional cc weapon, clone field. Ghostplate armour, combat drugs. So on the charge she gets 6 AP2 strength 3 attacks, and as long as she causes one wound, she will instant kill her opponent and become strength 6 for the rest of the game.

only as long as its an independant character


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NOTHER THING YOU SHOULD DO TO ANNOY YOUR OPPONANT IS TO DEEP STRIKE IN A RAIDER FULL OF WYCHES INTO THE HEART OF THERE ARMY
BE CAREFUL DOING THIS KILL ANTI VEHICLE WEAPONS FIRST


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ive put my 1000pts army list on as well just search dark eldar and imps (maybe some fantasy things)

Wrote this up for some background.... more to come if you guys like it

On the helm, she was nothing but a flickering shadow, one second highlighted by the dying light of the red dwarf sun setting behind her, the next second plunged into darkness as they skimmed past rocky outcrops and mossy stone stacks. Motionless, the world moved behind her, swaying up and down, but she was immovable. A statue, cloaked in jet black armour. Her grey hands clasped lightly together behind her back, legs planted solidly on the ferro-plas decking, only her hair betrayed her as a living being, which whipped back and forth in the gusting, warm air. He noticed that a deep hue of blue was discernible in the light, like a clear sky just before sun rise.
The skiff banked particularly sharply, jerking him out of his reverie with embarrassment, for he knew he had been staring at her, and the rest of the Incubi were close by, clinging grimly onto the deck of the Raider in silence as it sliced rapidly through the evening, rolling and swerving. It would not do to reveal anything as weak as affection in front of them. He flicked his gaze quickly away, stood from his low crouch and swung up to the balustrade, hands grasping the faded white paint. The movement caused his Demi-klaives to clang together on his belt, and he winced as the blue-haired head on the helm twitched in irritation, half-turning. The sun illuminated her face in profile, but he looked away quickly again.
In formation behind the lead, black-sailed Raider, twelve purple sails flitted like bats among the rocks and trees, barely flying a handful of metres above the marshy ground. The enemy had eyes in the sky, and the element of success was essential to the night’s plundering and joyful slaughter.
A pulsing light drew his attention, and he brought up his wrist, activating the small data-slate built into his Incubus warsuit. They were close to the target. His pulse quickening, he turned to the helm.
“My Lady.”
The outline did not move, but the lilting voice was easily heard over the rushing air. “Yes, Sejanus?”
“ We are three clicks out, my Lady. Your orders?”
There was a pause, then she turned and took one step from the helm, casually swinging her Huskspear from the straps on her back, causing it to sing in the whipping air. A wolfish smile, piercing eyes.
“Leave none alive.”

hey dude thats awsome you need to do more like that but do more eldar names

Got into a bit of a roll these past couple of evenings, and managed to paint up the Wracks raider relatively quickly.

I was going for a firefly reavers theme, and with that in mind I attached as many chains and spikes as possible to the hull, which contrasts wi the smooth, clean kabalite raider I painted earlier. Otherwise the paint scheme is fairly similar, had to change the position of the runes because of the spikes.

Still need to put the solitary crewman on, but thought I'd be generous and show you the pics now

Also below is a recap picture of my army so far, which is just shy of 500pts. I'm happy with the overall look, and please, all comments are welcome

Next up, probably the black-sailed lead raider, then I need another raider for Wyches, and the Wyches themselves.

Looking awesome as usual keep going!

good work buddy keep it up and you will be there in no time.

I just want to say good job sir, the hoods look awesome. i am mainly an ork player/painter, but you have made dark eldar very interesting. cant wait to see more.

nice army you need to build that flying thing ti would look sick with your colour scheme

Thanks for all the encouragement guys, it really spurs me on! I'm currently working for the Archoness' personal Raider, which will be resplendently black-sailed and swirly in design. Expect pics by the end of the week.

I took my 1000pts of Dark Eldar out for their first proper combat action recently. I probably couldn't have chosen tougher opposition- Grey Knights, then Necrons. Against GKs, my Sailing Club performed admirably well, refusing flank and mincing into the Brothers before they knew what had hit them. Necrons were another prospect entirely, and although my Incubi, Wracks and Wyches dutifully munched through two squads of Immortals, my Archoness was slain by a Destroyer Lord and his metallic retinue. Ah well, you live and learn I suppose, and my resentment of Necrons (and Matt Ward) runs deeper still.

its fist use aphobia- the fist time you use an army your most likely to lose
you need to get the feeling of your army and the flow

Quick update for you- I've finished the Archoness' personal raider.

Notable difference is the black sails, but other than that, I've tried to keep it closely tied to the rest of the scheme.



Next up, Wyches! More converted hoods...

The eyes on the Ravager should be winking

Another very cool item done sir, keep up the good work

Damn, how could have I missed those Raiders. They look gorgeous! I can't imagine the work they gave ya, but it sure was worth it! Keep it up!

Happy holidays fellow Dakkanites, apologies for the long absence! Modelling slowed to a crawl over the last two months, but with the Xmas holidays here, I've ramped up the pace. A double treat for you- Wyches AND the Ravager are finished.

Wyches- continued the hooded theme, but I was out of wood elf heads, so this time I green stuffed some from scratch. Not much converting elsewhere- I think the models are some of the loveliest for DE, and I didn't want to spoil them. Incidentally, I also finished painting their raider as well, but it's identical to the kabalite raider, so no pics for now.

Ravager- by the beard of Zeus, the Ravager was an incredible pain to assemble and paint. The sponson gunners had to be assembled and painted separately to the main craft, then glued back in place. I also had previously added some under-sails to the rear sections, but after painting I changed my mind, tore them off and had to repair the damage :/ happier with the overall look now though. To maintain my dual sail theme, as well has having a front mounted dark lance, the sails had to be squashed up a bit closer. The triple DL Ravager is a must for my list- manoeuvrable anti-tank platform, with a 5++ save and reducing enemy range by 6"? Yes please.

Hope you enjoy the pics, although the sunlight was possibly a bit too bright.

Up next- I spectacularly cave to conventional DE tactics and paint a Venom. My predictions are usually way out, but expect it in about a week.

Stunning, just stunning!

Looks great, as usual, good to see this updating, always fun to stop by and gawk

Grimdork stalks with a grim gawk

Thanks again guys. First venom is just about finished, so pics tomorrow I reckon.

I couldn't get into the venoms, for some reason. I kind of personally prefer the old school wyches but that's just cause I have some and I've had them for a long time.

Looking forward to seeing your venom though, you tend to make this stuff look great

-GrimGawk

Fantastic work as usual <3 Those ships of yours are always stunning to look at. In fact, have you used them in any games? I'm curious about your opponent's reaction after looking at your beautiful models for the first time.

@grimdork- thanks for the faith, but yes I'm pretty happy with the venom, one of my better vehicle conversions. A teaser for later when I put the pics up; using spare raider rudder parts, I've added an extra set of wings to the venom, making it look uncannily like an x-wing I've referenced firefly enough times already, it was about time star wars got a nod lol.

@d-lord- I'm quite pernickety about only taking to the field with a fully painted army, so I've been waiting. I've played regular games against my girlfrield's daemon/ csm allies at 1000 points,but she's obviously seen them a lot. At my club a 1500 map campaign is ongoing, and I've been fielding my tank-heavy IG, which I'm happy to say have been doing well (W5, L1), falling only against overwhelming Eldar firepower. When this campaign is done, I should have 1500 of DE ready to take.

Venom

Please tap the pic for better photo resolution.

Now see that one looks pretty cool. I think the extra wings really add a lot. I could just about play with venoms that look like that

nice and flashy they match the raider as well just awsome

Dat checker pattern tho... +++ Also love the purple white combo

This is a wonderful army. I love the runes on the vehicles, definitly my favorite part of the army so far. The wracks are good, they are different but they are not different from the GW models themselves and they are very good conversions for what they represent. Looking forward to seeing more from this army

Young Logan

Thanks for the comments guys, I really appreciate it.

Some updates are needed I think, as my target army list has changed a lot! I am now pushing towards 1500pts of-

Duchess Sliscus (Archoness)
Haemy

6 Incubi, Raider

10 Kabalites, Raider
5 Kabalites, Venom
5 Kabalites, Venom
10 Wyches, Raider
5 Wyches, Venom
5 Wyches, Venom
9 Wracks, Raider

Ravager, 3 DL

This list is fragile but incredibly mobile, taking full advantage of the rules for fast skimmers. With Sliscus I will get extra dice for combat drugs, the 10 Kabs with upgraded 3+ poisoned splinter rifles and the option to Deep Strike in every single transport. I can throw out a hell of a lot of poison shots, but I think the list is weak in the anti-tank area. I don't really mind though, this is a list to happily convert and enjoy playing with, rather than to try for tournaments.

I'm currently working on assembling the first squad of 5 Wyches, and I'm converting and parts-swapping this time. The aim is to have an individualistic feel for each Wych, and not worry too much about making sure each model has a single splinter pistol and a single dagger.

Keep an ear out for pics in the next week!

The way everything else has turned out, I'm really looking forward to seeing these wyches

I'm looking forward to them too!

Converted Wyches! And boy, are they different to my last batch. Screw continuity!

Here are the 5 I've finished so far, plus one extra I've created out of parts, which is the one leaping with a well aimed karate kick.

There is a lot of weapon variety here, so I'm trusting my opponents not to pull me up on some things.

"That wych has no splinter pistols. How can he fire, scoundrel?"

"Because the wych next to her has two custom pistols, ha."

I'm going to paint these 6 up before moving on to the next custom venom. Let me know what you think of my conversions, my green stuff skills are pretty poor, but it does the job.

Interesting, is that off of the top of a kroot head? And is the sword strapped to the forearm or replacing it? Either way he looks pretty vicious

Yes that s indeed some kroot dreadlocks- perhaps they're currently considered the height of fashion down in the back streets of commoragh? the sword is just held, it's not strapped to anything.

It's hard to get the look of movement right for karate wych, I sometimes think that she just looks like she's floating.

Whoops I didn't see that there were more, gonna go look...

Hah, those all look great I do notice the hand on the sword for the first guy, didn't look close enough. Movement is hard to do with pre-fab model parts. I think you've done a pretty good job with what you had to work with. Gotta love the desperado dark elf too

To keep you Dakkanites happy with something to look at while I paint these converted Wyches, here is my finished 1000pt army arrayed in all it's glory.

Time for some teary-eyed retrospect now- it's been about 9months since I started this army project, and it's been deeply satisfying to have achieved the goals I laid out back when I Was cracking open the first kabalites box. I've kept to my theme, although the list has changed a few times. Every model is converted, bar Proximo the Haemy.

Right, enough navel-gazing. Time to push on towards 1500pts, so I can finally start playing a few games with my precious sailing club

Scoundrel out.

Nice, sexy photo dump. I applaud your efforts, determination, and ability to stick to the one thing. Awesome work.

First 5 Wyches, alongside their venom. I took my time with them in order to apply higher detail.

Next 5 Wyches on the way.

Awesome! Blindfold on the scourge wych is interesting. Got a lot of neat poses and good painting as usual. Still a solid fan of your mods to the venom too. Keep goin

Hi everyone.

I think this will be my last post on this thread. I am pretty much at a stage where the aim of the blog has been achieved.

I now have 1500pts fully painted. The list itself has changed a few times, but I'm very happy with the overall result.

Thanks to everyone who has followed along, and special thanks to those who have commented and stuck with me through the whole journey.

Pics below, of the entire army.

Keep an eye out for future scoundrel blogs- my next project is likely to be some conversions involving whatever new models Imperial Guard get in their coming update.

That looks really really nice Way to do something and stick with it. You should pop a link to any future blogs on this one so us lazy folk don't miss the boat!

It looks beautiful!

Congratulations, you completed your objective just like you wanted, it feels good to see something like this

I'll gladly observe your future projects

 Scoundrel13 wrote:
At my club a 1500 map campaign is ongoing, and I've been fielding my tank-heavy IG, which I'm happy to say have been doing well (W5, L1), falling only against overwhelming Eldar firepower. When this campaign is done, I should have 1500 of DE ready to take.

Was that against me?!