I still remember the first time I went into the GW store, and coming out with one of those little introductory booklets they did at the time. It showed a wide range of their models, but it was a Blood Angel marine that caught my eye, so when Christmas rolled around and I got the 2nd edition starter set, thats what my guys got painted as. I did enjoy gaming but not as much as the fluff and the modelling and painting. I drifted away from the hobby around the start of 3rd edition but made a brief attempt to get back to it shortly after. After moving to my own place once high school was over, I basically just kept everything packed away, but would still occasionally enjoy the nostalgia of the old rulebooks and Codices. A couple of years back I started building Gundam model kits. As I got more and more into that the urge for more little plastic men came around and the youtube channels Tabletop Minions and Glacial Geek were my gateway back into thinking about GW, and more specifically 40k. I've been on here for a few weeks but thought it about time to start this topic to share what I'm working on, and get some advice from time to time too.

I'll start by showing some of the things I've worked on so far. Mostly older kits I still had lying around and went hunting for in storage once I'd decided on giving the miniatures thing a go again.





I picked up the Battle For Vedros kit in Game as I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket. I'd painted my original 40k Orks as Goffs, and then done some weird colours for Gorkamorka, but wanted to try something different. As formerly primarily a Blood Angels, and then CSM player, I rarely got a chance to paint blue, so went for Deathskulls. tempted to give some of them warpaint but liked how the faces came out on these new (to me) models.



Last rulebook I'd gotten was the Eye Of Terror Codex and at the time I'd been really interested in the idea of Traitor Guard. I'd never been too interested in Imperial Guard but the plastic Catachan and Cadian kits had come out around then, and looked good, but I didn't want to build a whole new army, so being able to add Traitors to my existing Chaos force seemed like a good way to have some variety, and try a new thing without having to spend a whole lot. There was even a special mail order promotion for them and I amassed a sizeable mix of Catachan, Cadian, Warhammer Fantasy skeletons and Chaos Warrior parts. I know I build some, but they're still lost to the back of a pile of boxes somewhere, but I did find the unused sprues, and got to work recently building them. The above are the only ones painted yet. I like them well enough but thinking of changing up the colourscheme every batch, so as to keep the idea that these are most definitely not the Astra Militarum.





One of the things I love is converting minis. With my Renegades and Traitors pretty much everyone is going to have to be some kind of conversion, and I'm hoping this will give them real character on the table, even if they're not all that great. I've been looking at the HOR Kill Team rules for them, but will grab the Shadow War rules when they're released and see what I can use. Another idea I've had for them is using them as Cultists for CSM. The current Cultist kits looks damn nice, and I may see about getting them any way, but if I can kill two birds with one lasgun, why not?

I'd always liked the look of the Eldar,but it wasn't until the DE that I actually got any. I prefer plastic to metal, and back then it was really only the basic troops that were in plastic, so I didn't build much of an army. With my return, and the Gathering Storm/Ynnari stuff, I'm definitely keen to build some Eldar, inspired greatly by Ynneadwraith's painting blog on here. Thought I'd start off slowly, and with SWA being a thing now, I went and bought a box of Harlequins. The points costs aren't small, so looks like if I actually plan to play any games I'll be looking at just being able to take 3 to start with, so yesterday I made it my goal to get them all up to tabletop standard.







I'm not sure my skills were necessarily up to the task I'd set myself, even eschewing the more fancy traditional Harlequin patterns, but am satisfied that they're at least doing their job of being visually disturbing. Used the trick of clear colours over silver to do the gems and I'm happy with the result. The Age Of Sigmar bases were originally planned to be painted in outlandish colours but I instead decided on a basic grey to make the models themselves stand out.

Finished off some more Renegades and Traitors.
Saw someone use a bright "safety orange" base colour for GSC and wanted to get some use out of some of the orange paints I have, so imagined these guys as either escapees from a prison or maybe Hive maintenance personnel gone rogue. Intended to highlight the overalls after shading but loved the grimy look of them. Probably going to do a few more up in this scheme as it's a nice alternative to the usual darker colours I've been using and I feel works really well with Catachan legs.

My local GW, and the website it seems, have got Gangs Of Commoragh in again, finally. So I went in after work to grab a copy. Not sure I'll be customising these too much, but looking forward to getting some jetbikes and goblin gliders built up. Wait! Yeah, I want the hellions to look like they're out hunting Spider-men. Guess I will be customising a little.

Knocked up this guy a while back to be a Rogue Psyker for my Renegades, but not entirely happy with him. A bits lot I got off ebay had some robed legs, so...




The pose is maybe more Psycho than Psyker, but hey, I'm pretty sure Norman Bates would be classed as a follower of Chaos. Not sure about putting anything more on his back, but I'm not overly keen on seeing those gems fastening them to him.

Been painting more of my "Inmates" although I have also started some more in different colours than the orange. Lots of special and heavy weapons this time.

Cool stuff. I actually really like the Psyker kitbash.

The orange overall look works really well too.

EDC

thanks evildrcheese!

I like the orange a lot but have been mixing it up. My rationale is that these are criminals and turncoat lawmen or military. Whatever world they've come from has seen a gang of criminals take over (part of*) a Hive and free their incarcerated allies, whist disguised as guards, or turning some to their cause as Chaos broke out. I have some modelled with replacement limbs who are to have been either unfortunate victims of police brutality, or unlicensed medical experiments on prisoners, but I could really do with a little racoon trying to steal one of their robotic legs.

Done a little more work on the special weapons guys and my Kill Team leader.



Quite happy with this guy. Still undecided on the colour for armour on the sword arm but very pleased with the bronze I mixed up and the variation on the cape. The exposed arm was my first proper attempt at making my own glaze. Started off bone white and added on a watered down pale, sky blue, then a similarly reduced purpley red. Looking forward to trying the technique out properly on my Plague Zombies.



Did this guy up to go with my cyborg dudes, hence the one handed grenade launcher look. He originally just had dark hair but talking with friends about some older films I felt the need to give him a Simon Phoenix 'do to make him pop.


The parts lot I got the Psyker's robed legs from also had this Cadian head with the cigar. Had to go on a flamer guy, and a bit of chopping up other bits and pieces gave me a nice pose for a Comedian-esque entry to my team.



for my Plasma guy I tried to do a little OSL. Not really up to snuff compared to others' work but it's a definite step forward for me.

With these guys and some of my earlier "Inmates" I'm pretty happy with a little SWA Kill Team selection. Need to get a fair few more sorted before I'd be able to run a HOR Kill Team. Want to get a Sentinel for that, and paint it up as an Aliens Power Loader. However, with this lot, my Harlequins, Orks and Fallen, I can run 4 different SWA Kill Teams, so going to try and get some friends to try playing for an afternoon or something soon.

I love your stuff man. Sure it's not as objectively good as a lot of the stuff on Dakka (i don't know about you but I occasionally find it disheartening seeing all the stuff that's better than mine), but it's imaginative and you're enjoying yourself, which is the most important thing.

 CREEEEEEEEED wrote:
I love your stuff man. Sure it's not as objectively good as a lot of the stuff on Dakka (i don't know about you but I occasionally find it disheartening seeing all the stuff that's better than mine), but it's imaginative and you're enjoying yourself, which is the most important thing.

Over 10 years out of the game and I was never that good to begin with! There are some amazing painters and modellers here, but I'm slowly feeling like I'm improving, and definitely enjoying the journey!

One of the things I've always had a problem with was sticking to one army but with the various rule sets for smaller forces, I can finally branch out and enjoy a bit of everything.

Great conversions, really. They have a very old-school feel to them, which i enjoy a lot. I'm looking forward to your progress.

I can also tell that you are getting better and better at taking pictures of your models. The white background helps a lot, but you might also think about using better lighting instead of the flash. Speaking from my personal experience here, the bright spot takes away a lot of detail from your paintjob.

Thanks for the compliments and advice VyRa! It might be an old school sensibility to my work, or maybe just a lack of keeping up with the times, and using all my old bitz.

We'll see soon because I've got the Gangs Of Commorragh models, and a box of Kabalites as well as an eBay lot of Sylvaneth parts on the way for some Eldar/Ynnari custom jobs.

I'll see about taking final pics of my models with better lighting as I go on. Right now I'm happy just snapping away. Mostly working at night so the light isn't great up here. I do have a little light/magnifying glass thing that's never got any use since Xmas, might have to get it out and give it a try.

went rummaging around the back of my wardrobe for my old models. Found a huge box of most, but not all, of my old 40k stuff.

Loads of boxes, some unbuilt, more unpainted, some I wish was unpainted. Thought I'd give you guys a bit of a look at what I've found.
First up, Gorkamorka:



Vehicles for one of the Mobs I painted up from the starter box, Da Rad Boyz, A great example of how my skills (then and now) are exceeded by my imagination. These boyz, and their infantry brethren will be getting repainted in the future, but thought it worth putting pics up here for the lols.


Another Trukk, which IIRC was originally adorned with blue and silver, but I painted over in anticipation of making a new mob. The Yoofs and Spanner were later purchases and not finished being painted for a particular mob, I think I just got em because the new Ork models coming out for the game around this time were the first to employ the then new, current, much cooler Ork aesthetic. I'm looking forward to finishing these boyz off to fit my Vedros ones.



Another Spanner, a trakk from that same blue and silver mob, and a Nob. The spanner boy and bike need a bit of work, but the Nob is pretty decent, and I think will fit in fine with my more recently painted Orks, even if he's a bit bloody.



this bike and Grotherd are pretty good to go already, maybe need a bit of a touch-up on the biker boy, and obviously some glue on the slaver, but otherwise I'm fairly happy with past-me's work.

and finally...



a half-finished, scratch-built, custom built Dreadnought to replace the old cardboard on a stand one I'd been using for ages. I've already looked out some bitz, and started trying to tidy this up a bit. The legs are a bit naff, and I need to massage the arms a bit but overall I'm quite keen on finishing this up to give some support for my Orkses. Thinking maybe at some point I should pick up an official Ork vehicle for some spare parts to bulk it out and make it look a bit more canon.

After real life got in the way for a bit I've finally got around to starting my Dark Eldar/Ynnari Exodites force. Plan on using the old DE Warriors I have from back in the day as regular Kabalites, so the new box of Kabalite warriors were free to use as the basis of my first customisation effort, Incubi. Going to build 5 to this recipe then maybe use the other 5 as Trueborn. I'd originally intended to use Dark Elf Executioners weapons but I had a bunch of these swords from a bits lot I won on ebay, so I don't have to buy another box. I think they'll look nice next to the Visarch.

The Crude Wraithbone arms these guys have are blatantly stolen from Ynneadwraith's thread here. I'm thinking of using some of the Dryad arms I'd got as the "pointy bits" on the Incubi backpacks too but not sure if it's overkill, or if it might be a very good idea to help further distinguish these guys from normal DE. Any ideas or suggestions?

Liking those Incubi. The kill-team leader is a great model, too.

 youwashock wrote:
Liking those Incubi. The kill-team leader is a great model, too.

Thanks! The leader was one I had an idea for, but then felt really disappointed with once I'd built him. Then I got to painting him and came back around on liking him a lot.

I'll probably build up the next 3 Incubi tomorrow. Haven't decided on a paint scheme for them yet. My main DE force is going to be primarily bone white, with purple and copper accents. Thinking of either swapping that so the purple is the primary, or going with a green for contrast.

Glad I could provide some inspiration the sylvaneth arms as crude wraithbone bionics just looks too cool to keep to myself, so I'm glad you're doing it too!

Love how the Revenant swords look with the rest of the Kabalite bodies, and the Klaivex's mismatched horns look really damn cool just give that extra nudge of 'these guys are creepy exodites'

You're posing's great too. They look suitably menacing and aggressive without being OTT perfect for an Incubi

I'd say go for the Dryad arms in place of the Incubi vanes. You're right that they'll make them stand out a little more from Kabalites, and should both look more twisted exoditey and more recognisably Incubi.

Finished up my Incubi. Quite happy with the poses, not 100% on the vanes on their backpacks. Hoping some paint will work magic on them.









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 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Glad I could provide some inspiration the sylvaneth arms as crude wraithbone bionics just looks too cool to keep to myself, so I'm glad you're doing it too!

Love how the Revenant swords look with the rest of the Kabalite bodies, and the Klaivex's mismatched horns look really damn cool just give that extra nudge of 'these guys are creepy exodites'

You're posing's great too. They look suitably menacing and aggressive without being OTT perfect for an Incubi

I'd say go for the Dryad arms in place of the Incubi vanes. You're right that they'll make them stand out a little more from Kabalites, and should both look more twisted exoditey and more recognisably Incubi.

thanks for the inspiration and advice. Working on some fluff for these guys and the rest of my DE that will allow me to play them as either their own force or as Ynnari.

Would really like to add some Aspect Warriors to my growing Aeldari force but so little plastic, and the options I'm looking at from AOS might not do the trick. Still, this is now at least 3 squads of DE infantry built, alonside the old metal Archon and a Raider. I really need to get some painted.

Started painting up my DE.
The basic Kabalite dudes are getting a simple bone coloured main armour, mostly variations on purple hair where applicable and I'll add some copper metal to some of them in little details.

The Incubi will be mostly purple, with their wraithbone arms, back pieces and the Klaivex's helmet mirroring the main force. Black and copper accents will tie them with the rest, and I'm hoping to make the swords nice and glowing turquoise.or teal.


Just the base colours on for now, will do shading and highlighting next, and lighten up the skin tones as I go.

Nice! Yeah these will look really cool

The colour scheme of the Incubi has sorted the only issue I thought about the Dryad backpack vanes. They looked like they could possibly make the model too busy, but the contrast really sorts that out

they look like a cross between Dark Eldar and a walking forest. Exactly as exodites should

 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Nice! Yeah these will look really cool

The colour scheme of the Incubi has sorted the only issue I thought about the Dryad backpack vanes. They looked like they could possibly make the model too busy, but the contrast really sorts that out

they look like a cross between Dark Eldar and a walking forest. Exactly as exodites should

yep, the vanes looked a little too busy in bare plastic. Very happy that the colour makes them actually break up the design a lot and keeps them different enough from the now quite plain looking Kabalites.

Thinking fluffy, as the idea is an eventual Aeldari army (with a little Ynnead sauce on top) the missing arms fits right in with Morai-heg and Khaine. I'm thinking this particular Incubi Order has been made up of warriors who have sacrificed their limbs, that they might focus better on their swordsmanship. Maybe they're recruited from workers on their Exodite world who've lost limbs to farming accidents, or perhaps they're Dark Eldar or Corsairs who've survived mutilation at the hands of their enemies and retreated to this world but kept their martial prowess up in order to defend their new homeworld?

If I go full Tree-Revenant for a squad of Mandrakes they can be mysterious forest spirits who come to help the Exodite people in their times of need. The Aeldari keyword means I can stick some Craftworld type forces in as well, which is lovely. I'm pretty sure I could run a full DE army at a moderate points value, I want "Moar Space Elves!" so definitely looking at some AOS Black Ark Corsairs and Wildwood Rangers in the future, along with some "counts as jetbike" dino-riders at some point. I figure this Exodite community is not quite as isolationist as some, keeping cordial relations with their Craftworld and Dark Kin alike, as well as entertaining the Harlequins whenever they can. Perhaps as word spreads of the coming of Ynnead many of them feel the time is right for the Aeldari to return and take their rightful place as the leaders of the galaxy again?


--------------

I've also been looking at my Chaos and Space Marine Index books, and my old models. I've a respectable number of Blood Angels, though the number of them with respectable paint jobs significantly decreases my options. Last time I had any involvement with BA, outside of a few special characters they were just red (or black) Space Marines models. Now it seems there are specifically sculpted kits for the majority of the army, or if not, enough spares in those specialist box sets to kit out the rest of a force. I've just been looking through the GW site to see if there's much mention of Hand Flamers, Heavy Flamers or Inferno Pistols as options in those boxes, as those seem to be the USP of my vampire lads. Also a little sad that it doesn't seem I can run a Land Speeder Storm.

Haven't really looked into my Chaos guys yet, and my Orks, mostly pictured upthread, should be ok enough as a generic base group, but I don't have that Index yet to start considering options.

Really like the conversions on the incubi, looking forward to seeing them done

The incubi look neat!

i also loved seeing those old orks. i've got that trukk and wartrakk somewhere too, and yours are in fact painted much better than mine were! and of course you are much better now! so there's some... encouragement?

 amazingturtles wrote:
The incubi look neat!

i also loved seeing those old orks. i've got that trukk and wartrakk somewhere too, and yours are in fact painted much better than mine were! and of course you are much better now! so there's some... encouragement?

Haha! Thanks. Looking out my old models made me realise how far I've come in terms of painting. I don't think I thinned any paint back then. Going to try and finish off those Orks for use in the main game. The Trukks at least. Need the Xenos II index book first though! Maybe work on my Dredd this weekend and get it ready for painting.

Yeah those are some really cool fluff ideas I especially like the tie in with Morai-Heg getting Khaine to cut off her hand so she could drink her own blood and gain the wisdom within. As exodites (at one point in time) were basically religious fanatics, it would be a nice fit if they have a Morai-Heg warrior-cult who ritually sever a limb in her honour.

Black Ark Corsairs work really nicely for exodite stuff Wildwood Rangers have a lot of useful bits and pieces for exodites, but personally I find their bodies a little monopose. Not really a big problem thinking about it as you could quite easily have a squad purposefully striding across the battlefield in unison which would look cool for a martial sect of some sort

more progress on the Incubi. just want to add some highlights, finish off the flesh tone and put a little pizazz on the swords.


and very happy with my Kabalites. Just need to work on the other 18 of them.


Been looking at the Xenos I Index and really liking DE just as themselves. That sweet, sweet Aeldari keyword means I can still smoosh other units in there, but with my Incubi, old school Kabalites, Raider and Archon, and Gangs of Commorragh Wych Cult units I've got a pretty nice selection of units. My Wych cult are going to use green as the primary colour, but mix in a bit of purple and bone to match with the rest of the army.

Yeah looking great man

done a few little details, highlighted the armour and glazed the swords. Waywatcher green is dirty like the girl you never tell your friends about.



oh, and I started a new dude! No Court for him yet (but really want to get some Snakey Petes at least, if only they were plastic!) but going for green hair, bone armour like the rest of the Kabal purple robe, and copper accents.

You are not wrong. That green is absolutely gorgeous

Bit of progress on my Archon. Not sure on the claw, but pretty happy with most of the rest of him. Was never really a fan of this model, just bought him back in the day because I needed an HQ. Turns out though that I'm really happy with him now. I'm still probably going to replace him with the plastic one when I end up getting a Start Collecting DE box, or maybe even a Black Ark Fleetmaster, but he's fine for now. Thinking of maybe running him as a Farseer in a Ynnari/Aeldari list. Big spikey claw hands says "Witchblade" to me.

done a little more work on my Archon tonight, as well as undercoating some more old Kabalites, but felt like a change, so decided to make a start on the Primaris guy I got with this month's White Dwarf. I'll probably not get any more of these guys any time soon so he'll be a Lieutenant in my Blood Angels. Only a couple of units from that army were painted to any kind of proficiency and in fact most of the later ones were just sprayed the old Blood Angels (orangey) Red and had details added, so I think they need a re-do. So this bloke is the guinea pig.

Great progress. Those Incubi are really an eye-catcher now.

 youwashock wrote:
Great progress. Those Incubi are really an eye-catcher now.

Thanks! I'm really happy with how they turned out, just need to decide on the colours for the base and I'm done with them. From what I read on here they're pretty decent in the game too, although I might need a transport for them.

So I've mostly finished up my Primaris marine. Just need to finish off the purity seal on his shoulder and I think I'll be done with him. Pretty happy with how he's turned out after not having painted Blood Angels in around a decade. Now I have to try and go over some of my old models to match him.

Really liking the grimier look of the Blood Angel. I must admit, I never was one for the luridly bright Oldhammer style, so a bit of gritty dirtiness is right up my street

 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Really liking the grimier look of the Blood Angel. I must admit, I never was one for the luridly bright Oldhammer style, so a bit of gritty dirtiness is right up my street

after a couple coats of red, some orangey-red and orange-yellow highlights he looked too bright, a brown-red wash helped a bit, then some Agrax Earthshade on specific parts and some Nuln Oil on some others, I felt he liked suitably battle-weary. Think this might be how I finish off my old Blood Angels and any more I do in future. Thinking of a red glaze over the top to tie it all together and tone down some of the more bright highlights.

Edit: am thinking of picking up the Space Hulk game, as it has a decent amount of Terminators (who've got good again, sort of) and some more Genestealers (I still have all the ones from the old Space Hulk game to paint) to make a small Tyranid force. If I do Tyranids they're going to be shameless Aliens rip-offs, as nature intended. With maybe some Kenner flair added. I've a couple of Tyranid Warriors yet to be built for some reason too. Thinking a Start Collecting box would provide enough for a decent, basic force.

Took some pics of my Drukhari today. Quite happy with how they're shaping up.

So I have enough swords and pistols left over from my Harlequins and old DE Warriors that I'm considering buying a Wyches box to convert into some Counts As Howling Banshees, a Succubus and some Wyches (maybe using the two Venom riders when I get one) but not sure.

I've considered using the Dryad masks from my Sylvaneth bits haul as Banshee masks, or maybe buying a Sisters Of Slaughter/Witch Aelves box and using the masked heads from that for my Exodite Banshees.

I'm thinking my mixed Aeldari Exodite force don't necessarily use all the same cults and rituals as either DE or Craftworld Eldar, so each squad can be kind of unique. Equivalent to an existing unit from one of the Aeldari lists but not 100% visually representative, what with my Incubi being all single handedly wielding their swords which don't look much like actual Glaives.

Wyches are cheaper and offer more mix and match potential with the rest of the models I've got so far, bur I'm not sure on the Dryad heads as masks. I do have some spare old DE Warrior heads too, and a fair amount of their hair pieces, so I could probably fudge it, but I'm a little torn, and worried that my units may not look distinct enough.

Any thoughts/feedback, guys and gals?

Ooh neat I like the idea of making exodite banshees with Dryad heads and Wych/Harlequin bits. They'd look damn cool

I use Dryad heads as ghosthelms for my exodite war wyrds (warlocks), fluffing them as basically ghosthelms that are grown into and around the eldar's head, permanently fused to it. Could be the same for your Banshees

I also like the idea of using the rules for craftworld/deldar units but not the social structures. The Path system is very much a craftworld thing, and it doesn't make a great deal of sense for the exodites to be practicing it as well (unless there's been significant cultural exchange between a craftworld and an exodite world). Perhaps I just prefer them to feel a little more different.

Either way, I like where you're headed

Thanks for the feedback.
I started thinking about the fluff for my Incubi, and decided they're not really Incubi at all. A warrior cult, sure, whose rules happen to be the same as the DE unit, but decidedly different in story terms. The Hand Of Morai-Heg. Going to read up more on my Aeldari mythology and see what kinds of concepts I can come up with.

Edit: Maybe a little cheekily I'm still considering ways I could run my customised units as either DE or Craftworld forces, giving me a bit more flexibility. I know I can have a mixed army list, but with the rules being somewhat flexible right now, I'm worried that I'll build a unit as Scourges, for example, but then decide I really like Swooping Hawks rules. If they're already not quite stock models it should be okay, right?

I know people have done that with Marines before, switching their custom chapters' Founding legions to suit their opponents.

So I've been wanting to out dinosaur riding exodites into my army eventually, and been holding off on buying the Seraphon Start Collecting box because I a) didn't know what to use the t-rex as, b) wasn't sure if I wanted to use the pterosaurs as jetbikes instead of the Cold Ones and c) couldn't see much use in the warrior dudes.

But, looking at Wraithlord stats, those seem to fit a big giant alien lizard pretty well. The option to take a flamer means he can breath fire too! The big rider man would be a nice alternative in plastic to a Sslyth and the Cold Ones replacing jetbikes gives me the option to fit some characters on bikes in addition to having a squad of Counts As Shining Spears. The warrior dudes are still mostly duds, though I have considered their heads as masks for an Aspect Warrior squad or something, and their hand weapons might work in place of Striking Scorpions chainswords.

Only problem then is getting riders sans bikes to sit on everything.

Nice work on the Archon.

EDC

Dug out some of my old Blood Angels, most of whom are barely painted, and honestly not brilliantly built. Tried to bring them up to the same style as my Primaris guy as easily as possible. Went a bit heavy on the highlights and the shades, but I like them a lot better than before.



Tonight's plan is to use the 7 Chaos marine bodies and a bunch of bitz I have to knock up a squad of...Chosen? That might work as normal CSM too, and a Lord and Dark Apostle.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
So I got about halfway through building my first Chaos Marine and realised I didn't have any backpacks for them. Must be in the lost bits box. Had a bit of a rummage and found I had enough loyalist Marine power packs to do the job, but didn't want to be too plain. I'd customised a Chaos backpack out of an Imperial one long ago by just sticking a length of sprue between the main body of the thing an the "balls" on the sides, but that was a quick and cheap and easy method, and looked it. I had another look to see what I had kicking around and found an acceptable solution. What do you think of my Dark Apostle?



I don't have enough Tyranid bits to do a whole squad, but since I'm going to have to customise things, I'm just going to forget about being able to run them as normal CSM and go with a fully kitted out group of Chosen. Had planned to make a Lord with one of my 7 bodies, but I'm not sure now. Thinking a mix of special weapons/combi-bolters and maybe some power weapons thrown in for versatility. I have an icon from the old Chaos Warriors sprue, which is very Khornate, but I'm not wanting to make this squad too obviously devoted to any one god.

Some slightly better pics of my Dark Apostle. Might just have him as a Chosen Champion, depending how my modelling turns out with the rest. So far it looks like he'll fit with the squad quite well.


and my first 2 Special Weapons guys, with more custom backpacks with 'Nid Bits.







gonna do a Melta guy and then undecided about sticking a couple of power weapons in the squad or customising some Combi-bolters.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Ooh neat I like the idea of making exodite banshees with Dryad heads and Wych/Harlequin bits. They'd look damn cool

I use Dryad heads as ghosthelms for my exodite war wyrds (warlocks), fluffing them as basically ghosthelms that are grown into and around the eldar's head, permanently fused to it. Could be the same for your Banshees

I also like the idea of using the rules for craftworld/deldar units but not the social structures. The Path system is very much a craftworld thing, and it doesn't make a great deal of sense for the exodites to be practicing it as well (unless there's been significant cultural exchange between a craftworld and an exodite world). Perhaps I just prefer them to feel a little more different.

Either way, I like where you're headed

Thought about my Exodites. I'm leaning towards having the Dragon Kin and Wraith-born as two different castes on the planet. The Dragon Kin are ostensibly the ruling class, and probably use the Craftworld unit rules. They'll be dino-riding types, and have all the psykers in the army, as they use their mental powers to commune with the indigenous creatures and make use of them for war. The Wraith-born will comprise mostly Dark Eldar units, who are the protectors of the various bone-singers who live in the wraithbone forests that cover the wilder parts of the planet. There's obviously room to mix and match a little, depending on what I want to model or use in-game, Still haven't decided on what to do with my Scourge kit I bought the other day. Maybe convert a Dragon Kin Autarch and build the rest as whatever once I've got another box. Considering Lizardmen heads as masks for Striking Scorpion proxies, with the Mandiblasters being replaced with Fire Breath.

Those are really cool ideas! I like the idea of different castes in exodite society. It helps fit the 'more strict' idea behind exodites while still allowing you freedom to do cool stuff within each caste. Less 'you can only do one thing for your entire life', more 'zero social mobility'.

Cool names too very evocative. I like that the wraith-born fits the twisted wraithbone aesthetic too.

I like the idea of using the Scourge wings as a trope for the Dragon Kin. The idea of body-modification was relatively widespread pre-Fall so you'd have expected at least some of the original exodites to sport wings, and as their society devolved into barbarism I could definitely see that being a symbol of power. Plus, the leathery bat wings definitely fit the idea of 'dragon kin;

Yeah, the body mod thing is a definite fun way to go, especially using the Seraphon heads for Striking Scorpions. Probably just use the swords as well. With the Wraith-born using the cyborg-tree bits much of my army will have replacement or augmented parts. Quite a good holdover from the high-tech excess of pre-fall Eldar.

Yeah that'd be damn cool similar to my thought process for the whole thing too: twisted holdovers from pre-Fall practices. Great minds think alike!

I'm just happy to be coming up with concepts I like that aren't wholly ripped off from you

Haha! Absolutely not I've definitely enjoying the angle you're taking on them. Definitely a different direction from me.

What similarities there are just helps to tie this sort of exodite into a shared root-culture of some sort

Saving any more purchases until the end of the month. (maybe) So no Seraphon heads to make my Striking Scorpions yet, but...I did have a Lizardman or two hidden in the bitz. Popped the head off one, and filled out a Scourge neck with a bit of sprue and got my Autarch started. Lizardman head is a helm incorporating a fire breath gimmick that emulates mandiblasters. Fusion Pistol and "Power" Sword from Harlequins set it up ok, but I'm not sure what other gun to give her.
Thinking of making a Farseer or Warlock out of some of the other parts of the Scourges and the Kabalites I still have.

Always interested to see a new take on exodites. Keep it up, I hope to see more!

I am not completely sold on the dragon head as it stands now, but I really like the rest of the model. Something about the head isn't blending for me. It could be how it is attached, or maybe just the size in relation to the body, or maybe just that it stands out because it is painted and the rest isn't. Fire-breathing dragon Eldar are a great idea, though. I am interested to see where this all ends up.

Yeah I'm with youwashock. Something isn't quite blending, but I think it could well be paint/unpainted. If it's actually painted like a helm then it'll look more like armour

The top pic is actually really interesting. My brain keeps seeing the nostril as an eye, and the whole thing looks like an Eldar-sized helmet with a big dragony head-crest.

Looking forward to what it looks like painted as I think that'll fix things

Definitely see what you guys mean. Hoping it's just a paint issue. Might need to extend the neck but it's a big helm, didn't want to make it stand out even more as being stuck on.


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Gave her a neck and undercoat. Looks better to me. Any suggestions?
Also thinking of sticking a ranged weapon on there. Avenger Shuriken gun looking like the easiest to model and use, but any other thoughts would be welcome.


edit: more pics in my gallery

remember my scratch-built Ork Dread?



Well, I kept looking at his goofy legs, and decided I needed to sort him out a bit.



As with the body I just cut up a bunch of sprues and started making shapes. wanted a nice dynamic running pose so built up some "metal beams" and then "welded" them together with some rounded gubbinz to make them look articulated. Still need to bolt on some more armour but very happy with how it's going so far.

.

Subbed, your painting is surprisingly good for someone who just got back in

 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
Subbed, your painting is surprisingly good for someone who just got back in

Thanks?
I looked at some videos before starting painting again. Realised that thinning paints is a good idea. I've still a long ways to go, lots of techniques I can try and learn but I'm already a lot happier with my current painting than I was with my my old models when I started pulling them out of storage.

Started painting my Autarch, Much better now.




And built a Farseer.





Really looking forward to painting him!

Yup. Better with the neck. Liking that Seer, too. Dynamic.

I must say you have a knack for doing textured bone

I'l loving the Seer looking really good. I would say that the tabard looks a tad oversized. Could you trim it down or replace with the one from the Dire Avenger kit?

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Ynneadwraith: I didn't want to mess it up, and like the flowing oversized tabard. A lot of these guys have them so one of the big muck a mucks is going to have the biggest! Glad you like my quick and easy bone paint style.

Was going to try painting this guy's hand glowing, like the rest of my Exodite weapons, but I really like the base blue that I use for them as a skin-tone. Have since glazed the green on the weapons and done some pretty heavy white highlighting to the skin but it's too late to be taking any more photos so here's a hint at what I'm going for.

Fluff-wise I think some of the Eldar Dragon-kin are affected by their class' use of the glowing material they use to power their weapons and technology. It's indigenous to their planet, but only in certain regions. The Dragon-kin have much more exposure to it than the Wraithborn who live and work primarily in the forests of wraithbone that the original settlers of the planet seeded when they arrived. Both classes use it, especially in war, as it's a versatile and powerful element, but it's mined in the mountains by Dragon-kin and they make much more use of it in their day to day lives than the somewhat more restrained Wraithborn. The two tribes trade their own speciality goods with each other to keep the planet's society moving, in symbiosis with each other.

Yeah that looks really cool the light bluish skintone is great, and compliments the rest of the scheme really nicely. Good fluff as to why it's that way too

I also like the freehand you've done on his helmet. I had a crack at that myself on my Hedge-Witch but it didn't look nearly as good as yours so I ended up doing a hand-print instead.

This guy's shaping up to be really cool are you planning on some mounted Jetbike Dragonkin dudes? Reavers for Cold Ones, and a Talos for a giant gribbly Carnosaur

Thanks. Not entirely happy with the cracked face, but will try not to mess with it too much. Picking up a Seraphon Start Collecting box soon to get parts for Striking Scorpions, "jetbikes" and Carnosaur to be either a Wraithlord or Talos, yes. Might wait until after the Fate Of Konor though.

Agree with Ynneadwraith about the skintone. It really works.

got my Wild West Exodus starter (and Grace Myrtle and some spare heads) today, so might "Might" put the GW stuff on hold for a little bit. Do like these cowboys.



But I did take photos of my Seer.

I've not posted in a while, but I've been busy with the hobby. Dug out my old Blood Angels army and set to work getting their paints up to scratch. The really old push-fit Tacticals are beyond hope, but they're no great loss. When the more modern styled multi-part plastic kit came out I'd already started replacing them. Aside from the Primaris guy, these are all models that were built and painted over 10 years ago, but I'd not gotten very far with many of them. With the Battle of (for?) Konor first week results seeing my local store get a heavy Chaos win, I thought getting some of these guys together for a few games. The store manager said he's been mostly encouraging power level games, rather than worrying about points costs. I'd been trying to get a 1000pt list made but the 100 power idea certainly appealed. Had been going to go for a Battalion Detachment but could only get 10 troops painted, so decided to do 2 Vanguards and stick in some more characters. Ended up at 97 power before having a stroke of genius and realising I could take a Command Detachment as well if I added the 3 Power Apothecary. Boxed them all up for taking in today but other plans got in the way, so they've yet to actually see battle. Even so, here's a look at them in progress.



Dante and what I believe is the old Lemartes model, which I'm going to run as a regular Chaplain until I get some Death Company ready. Both models untouched from when I put them away a decade ago. Dante had been repainted from the first time I'd made him though, he was originally yellow with a brown wash, until I had the idea of going metallic. Became the standard colour scheme for him a few years later, which was amusing. The Chaplain needs some work, but I don't want to mess with Dante too much, just maybe try some more fine detail.



The old Sanguinary Guard were just normal assault marine veterans who were Dante's Bodyguard. They'd been rearmed back when 3rd edition launched, and I'd repainted them as is at the time. One of them used to have a Hand Flamer but then those stopped being a thing. Now they're back. Sigh. Looked at the options for all the Jump Pack guys I could take and none had their current weapon loadouts available. Except for Company Veterans, which the Index lets me take, and put Jump Packs on! Hurrah! Not sure the Bodyguard rule would actually be that useful, but figured I'd still be able to run them in with the 2 HQs, probably deep-striking.




2 Tactical Squads. The repainted Legion Of The Damned Sgt is conspicuous I know. Turns out Past Me had kinda screwed Present Me over a little by taking one of the 10-man squad I'd painted (all red, like the Assault guys) and using him as a Sgt in a Devastator Squad. The Legion Of Damned box I'd gotten has been a little bit split up. I think I took the Flamer and painted it up as a Word Bearer. The Heavy Bolter is sitting with an unpainted Havoc squad. Was going to use the rest as Death Company. This was the only one I'd already painted different. The Death Company markings I'm justifying in Fluff as him being a Veteran Sgt, and his mechanical arm goes with that. I'd painted half of these guys in one session, the other half later. Highlighted the base red, with orange and yellow, to try and bring them up to match the Primaris marine I painted recently, and then darken them up because they were a little too bright. Went quicker and messier with them, but I'm fine with them.



Speaking of the Primaris guy, I figured, since I'm running him as a Lt. I should darken up his shoulders (not seen any official colour scheme for BA Lieutenants yet) and stuck a gold mask on him.



That 10th Tactical Marine, after his promotion. I gave him a Combi-Plasma that I made using an old Bolter and the combi part from the new Tactical squad. I realised the "old" version of these multi-part plastic marines had the guns separate from the hands, but the new ones have the hands holding each gun. Could make swapping stuff difficult in future, but I have some spare guns from various kits that I can still use with the old ones. The rest of the squad hasn't been given a paint update, they're all plastic conversions, basically spare missile launcher guys from Tac squads and one Heavy Bolter from a Land Speeder and one that might have used to be a Big Shoota for a Gorkamorka Trukk.



And here's that Land Speeder. I remember it not holding together great when it was built. I've done the red same as my marines, but not touched the yellow helmet yet. Dreading that as it's caked in paint.



Old metal Termies. I've gone a little easier on the wash on these guys. They'd been sprayed the old Blood Angels Red so a lot closer to my already highlighted and washed tacticals. Did a little bit of painting to bring the red down, then some final highlights and washed the bone stuff. Had to give the Sgt a banner, so just did a quick doodle on some paper and painted it up.



I'd gotten a lot of the old Plastic Terminators (in Space Hulk, I think) and had converted some of them to Chaos models, but this guy had been done up as a Blood Angels Captain, so he got the same treatment as the rest of the Terminators. His banner was painted up back in the day, I've just highlighted, shaded and done his face again.



My old Apothecary, from back before there were Sanguinary Priests. This is a great example of my old painting quality. He's a panda! Needs either a lot of work or maybe just replaced entirely.



I don't know why I never bought the Callidus Assassin, but I got the rest when they came out. They're not painted terribly, but definitely need to give them some love.



Metal Dread. So heavy. The new ones are amazing models in comparison. So many options. Arm options stop me taking him as a Furioso so gonna run him as a Venerable, because you better believe he's old! Another one that'd been painted with the old Blood Angels Red rattle can and then at some point I'd done the blood drop pattern. In the process of toouching up details, but have given him a wash and picked out some of the stuff I missed first time around.

Here's a shot of the army somewhat assembled.



I'm currently building a squad of sniper Scouts and have a box of Blood Angels Assault Terminators, along with 5 unassembled Space Hulk Terminators, that I'm going to combine to make 5 armed with Lightning Claws and 5 armed with Hammers and Shields. Since the new Terminator arms don't have the top shoulder pads, I've ordered a set off Forge World, because that was cheaper than trying to find replacement plastic ones on ebay. Holding off building any til I get the FW bits, but thinking the Storm Shields will give enough Blood Angels iconography, and hide enough of the old plain plastics that they won't be overly noticeable as kitbashes. I've also got one old plastic Terminator build with the Heavy Flamer, and am debating painting him up as an alternate for the Autocannon in the metal squad, or getting a spare Lightning Claw or Thunder Hammer off ebay and making a Terminator Ancient.

There's also another 10 unpainted Tactical Marines, the old Bike Squad with the melta and plasma, the rest of my Legion Of The Damned and the old style Death Company with a wild array of weapons, a Predator with twin Lascannon turret, one Heavy Flamer and one Heavy Bolter sponson which I don't think works in the current rules, the Chaplain that came with the DC, a Librarian and Techmarine painted to the same level of skill as that Apothecary and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Got half a modern vanilla Tac squad still on sprue (from Kill Team boxset) and a couple of the Battle Of Vedros marines that I could use too. Contemplating a Start Collecting Blood Angels, the Death Company army set on GW web store (3xDC boxes, the new plastic Jump Chaplain and a Dread for £80 seems like a Blood-y good deal ) and some special characters (and transports!) but I've only so much time to get stuff built and painted!

Been a long time! Work and things conspired to keep me away from the Fate Of Konor, but I did build my sniper Scouts and half of my Assault Terminators. Painting yet to be done on them.
I did manage to get around to painting my remaining Harlequins though.



These first two were always conceived as a pair, their stances in opposition of each other, one jumping up and the other swooping down, and their colours were meant to be a mirror of each other. Even their ponytails go the opposite directions. Was worried at the initial flat colours stage that they were a little too cartoony even for my Harley army, but a bit of shading helped them mix with the rest.






Went for a similar style of sword to my Exodites but with the fire theme these guys are painted for. As with the last in the troupe I still need to finish off the gems and some minor detail. Gonna give the hair a going over with a little of the opposite colour for each.



the Joker's Card theme I went with for this troupe left me with a dilemma for the last one, Millie. My inspiration came in primarily 3 different colours, purple, green and red, each paired with silver. I'd thought of doing a little bit of each in different areas, but fancied challenging myself, so why not just try to do them all on a couple of areas? Lots of hard work but I think it worked out quite well.

My Harley troupe complete!

Nice looking band. Colorful, but not overly so, with a neat contrast between the colored areas and the black.

I really like the green one. Might have to try that scheme out for myself.

Nice work love the glowing look of the swords as they blend from orange to yellow, and that cloak is excellent never been much good at blending completely dissimilar colours together but you've pulled it off really well!

Been a bit busy with my Orks today.



First up is the Dread, who still needs a base, and maybe a couple of finishing touches, but overall I'm really happy with. Since the rest of my vehicles are repaints over the top of other colours, I thought I'd give the Dread a bit of colour variation too. Actually turned out that once I'd dirtied everything up really only the red shoota is obvious, but it looks satisfyingly oily and like a big old mech made from junk charging down the battlefield, so it's done its job.





Trukks next. I'd already decided when doing the Dread that any colours I'd paint over on these vehicles wouldn't get 100% coverage, because the Deathskulls only just "acquired" them. Left some of the Trukk boys with some of their old colours too. Whatever their previous owners left lying about came with the vehicles.




I also had a couple of wartrakks and went with the same idea in mind, though I do need to find and repaint the other driver, and figure out a weapon system for the other one. Thinking I might try and make it a Skorcha instead.




Last and also kinda least, is my one Warbike. Customised like this he's basically useless in-game but I still like to keep him up to date with his boys.


More pics in my gallery, and whilst that's nearly all my Ork vehicles done, I do still have a few models to get painted to round out my mob.


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Looking at more pics of Deathskulls I wonder if I should put some white on my vehicles? At the very least I have some old transfer sheets with the chequered patterns that might help?

So I've been back at it this weekend. Too many grey models sitting looking at me. The assault Terminators are still a little daunting, and I'm not sure that I'm actually finished modelling them, but I needed to do something for my Blood Angels, so finally got around to my Scout squad.




Wasn't sure on the colour scheme before I started painting, just started with the red, then worked from there. Quite happy with how they turned out, but I think I'll need to get a squad of the non-sniper ones as I'd been looking forward to painting each with a different skin tone, with my Vallejo flesh colours, and the poses on these guys don't really show that off.





Still, considering I got all of them done in a day I'm quite happy.

Today I finally started my Vedros Warboss. Lots of stuff to finish off with this guy, but I reckon he's looking about 60% done.

Finished off my Warboss today. If I fiddle with it any more I'll go blind.

So this weekend I discovered the Dark Elf / Wych Elf Cauldron Of Blood kit. Guess where I'm getting my plastic Avatar?! The medusa will do fine as a base for a Slyyth and I can use the head as the basis of a DE Medusae. GW have a set that includes the Cauldron and a box of Wych Elves for £60 so that's my Howling Banshee counts as squad sorted too, I just need some more Shuriken pistols. Seen someone on another site put the Cauldron's stairs on a Raider, so that's an idea or I stick it on a base as a terrain feature.

started my first Terminator Assault Squad. Here are some pictures:








This is 3 nights' work, but I'm struggling to find time right now. Hoping I can more or less finish them by tomorrow so I can pick up and get started on some more Eldar at the weekend.

Didn't quite finish my Blood Angels before the weekend, but I went ahead and bought the Craftworld Codex on Saturday anyway. Never one to do anything easily, instead of picking up the Start Collecting box (I'll get it eventually) I boughlt the Daughters of Khaine Blood Coven set. Have planned to use Sisters Of Slaughter as my Ynnari/Exodite Banshees for a while now, but I'll get to them later. My first priority was getting stuck into the Avatar.

Just a little conversion I thought, but even with all my lovely Sylvaneth bits I've been having a bit of a challenge. The face on this is great but I'm still considering throwing the open Treelord one on the top of it like a battle mask. I also want to do something with the front and the legs.








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Here's a pic with the Treelord mask on, I've cut some away to expose more of the face underneath. I like it, but not sure I like it more than the standard head. Opinions?

Neat! I've always wanted to pick up that Khaine statue.

I like the double-mask thing, but you're right I'm not sure if I like it more than just the regular face. Not that I like it less, just you could definitely go either way and it'd look good

Yep, I'm quite torn on the face. Will wait and see as I go.

The way I'm planning on building the rest of the box is basically running around 74 quid, with a Medusae, a Slyyth, and a Lhamean from the Cauldron, and 10 elves that will help make my Banshees, and maybe Wyches. And then there's all the Cauldron parts themselves. I've seen them used on a Raider. Might do that, or maybe keep them for something else.

Either way it's a solid deal. Just wish there were easier ways to get Shuriken pistols in plastic.

Cauldron is a great kit. Can't go wrong picking that up. Add the Witch-Elves in and it is just magic.

I like the idea of the mask. I think you should play with it until you are completely satisfied with the look, though.

I really didn't want to cut off the jaw and lose out on that awesome scream, but just wasn't happy with the fit. Now he reminds me of Darth Krayt or The Kurgan instead of the Bloodletter vibe I was getting before.

Been reconsidering my fluff too, or at least adding to it. My Exodite world and its two caste system is still there, but after Harlequins spreading word of the Ynnari, and DE who've arrived fleeing the Chaos in the dark city, a broken Craftworld has come to visit, bringing with it survivors, and also a lot of Spirit Stones. The planet has become a true melting pot of Aeldari cultures, and the Bonesingers of the Wraithborn are doing all in their power to aid the newest arrivals, including repairing their Wraith constructs and the Avatar, in their own unique style.

Reading about Il-Kaithe in the new Codex, I like their style, and I think this Craftworld is maybe an offshoot from them, possibly with the colour scheme flipped and following their near destruction (by a foe I've yet to decide on) many of their number have taken the teachings of the followers of Ynnead to heart. Some of the Craftworld's forces are still as strong and independant as ever, but there are an equal number of the survivors who have readily embraced the union of styles and technology from all across the spectrum of current Aeldari cultures. (this way I can do as little or as much customisation as I wish to new models, which means I can easily slot in my Made To Order older dudes without them being a couple of very Craftworld-y dudes in an Exodite themed list, and I can use the new Start Collecting box with customisations similar to the Avatar here, without feeling they're still a little too smooth looking)

Oh,yeah. That's a sweet look. Krayt and Kurgan are great comparisons. Good job.

thanks. I wasn't sure it'd look that good when I made the cuts...but I had hope, and think I rolled at least a 5.

Looking for some advice here.

I'm going to use most of the Medusa that comes with the Cauldron as a Slyyth, and will be borrowing Kabalite or Scourge parts to do so. I want to use the head as the starting point for a Medusae, and so it struck me that I might as well use all the included Witch Elf models as Court of The Archon characters.

Normally when converting I'll just look at a few different versions of those characters and assemble something with the feel of them, or at least read some fluff about them, but my DE knowledge is limited and each of the 4 choices only seems to have had one model. Any ideas on interesting visuals for these troops or other fluff that I could take a peek at? My idea is that they will be the Archon's Angels. A femme fatale team to protect and serve his somewhat inept, somewhat cowardly butt. That or I'll make him a sexy Archon who just has them all swooning.

I've got some Tyranid arms that should work fine for an Ur-Ghul stand-in, going down the idea she's just an enhanced Aeldari, but the Lhamaean is causing me some concern. Is she just a hawt Delf poisoner?

Yeah, that's the Lhamaean in a nutshell. The hag that comes with the cauldron would be a very suitable base model.

 youwashock wrote:
Yeah, that's the Lhamaean in a nutshell. The hag that comes with the cauldron would be a very suitable base model.

Thanks, I think any of them will probably work fine for her then. Will probably use the one with the chalice, but we'll see how I go with the rest of the models.

Speaking of "witch"...






I've started my Sslyth...or Wyrm as I'm calling her. Just going with the 3 arms right now. I do have a Chaos mutation sprue with the tentacle arm that I might swap out for the knife one though. Not decided on a head for her yet. Will have to mod the neck on a DE head if I want to use one. but will probably just use whichever Witch Elf head I end up putting the Medusa head on. Basing will need to wait til I buy some bigger ones, but I need one for the Avatar anyway so that'll probably be soon.

That's clever. Might need to try that out.

Now that's a Sslyth. I can't believe I haven't seen that idea before. Now that you've mentioned it it seems so perfect

I'f you just want some cool models to tie stuff together with you could make some sweet Bloodbrides out of the Wych models. Especially with some of the little vestigial arms from the Talos kit...

Finished off my Sslyth today. Still needs a base but she stands fine without it. Of course, the shoulder spike just fell off when I touched her, so maybe I'll do something different there.

Since coming to my Exodite world, the Kabal has been very interested in the ancient, pre-Fall body modifications the two castes employ, and the Archon has hand-picked his favourite, most devoted followers to undergo some extensive enhancements.



Kayt was always one of the Kabal's best fighters, equally as skilled with a blade as with a gun, and when she saw how the Dragonkin employed genetic manipulation to give some of their close combat troops the indigenous dragons' ability to spit fire she begged her master for the chance to increase her abilities on the battlefield. That particular gift was reserved for one specific cult of Dragonkin troops, but instead the Archon was able to agree for Kayt to take on the aspect of the wyrms that inhabit the deeper recesses of the planet, flowing through earth and the molten form of the element that the Dragonkin's power comes from alike. Now she has even more presence in battle, and the enhanced reflexes that she can even intercept attacks that would harm her beloved Archon.



I also made her some friends -



Fa-rah had the distinction of being one of the most beautiful of her Drukhari brothers and sisters, but also of being the most vane. In particular she was near obsessed with her fabulous golden hair, and more than once was accused of holding back in combat, lest her locks become bloodied, or even cut from her head. Her beauty only got her so far, and after angering her Archon one time too many, he had the Dragonkin surgeons replace her golden mane with a nest of vipers, all able to spit venom at her foes even as she holds back from hand to hand fighting lest any more of her beauty be blemished. Humbled by the transformation she now revels in the gift she's been given at being able to strike so savagely from distance, and the pleasure she feels seeing her foes blinded and unable to fight as poison burns their vision, knowing her beauty is the last thing they'll see.



A Lhamaean mistress of some repute in the Dark City, Jac-lyn is besotted with the Archon and will do anything to please him, from silently eliminating his rivals in the dead of night, to fighting by his side when the Kabal goes on raids. Since their stay on the Exodite world started, Jac-Lyn has been studying the various new forms of flora and fauna on the planet, learning the most deadly toxins from the deadly plants and animals that cover their new home so that she can coat her blade in them, before stabbing it deep into the heart of those who would threaten her master.



Ever charging into combat, Cher-Yl was often described as a monster on the battlefield, but it was only once the Kabal had discovered the Bonesingers of the Wraith-Born and their skills with replacing body parts with wraithbone that she was truly able to look, and feel, the part. Though her enhanced arms are the most obvious sign of her deadly new abilities she also had them carry out more intricate, dangerous and painful surgery on her skeleton, fusing wraithbone to her internal structure, making her stronger than she had been before, and resilient to all but the most grievous wounds.


-----------------

So there you have it, my Archon's Angels. Pretty fun converting them, though there wasn't much to it for most of them, I'm happy with how each looks unique, but also feel like they're part of a team. Think I'll have fun painting them too. What do you guys think of them?

Nice work. I really like the Ur-gal. You and Ynneadwraith are making a strong case for splicing Sylvaneth parts with Eldar.

Oh, I pretty blatantly and unashamedly stole the idea from Ynneadwraith! I'd originally wanted to just do Ynnari and was looking for a creepy style that Craftworld models just didn't have. Wanting to work mostly in plastic too meant my options there were limited, but AOS and DE have a lot more models available to me there.

Thanks for the kind words though. I was going to use Nid arms on the Ur Gul for a more biological feel but the parts I had were way too big. Then I saw that torso in the bits box, and knew what to do.

I think I actually prefer the mix of animal and more tech parts (wild as they might be) in the group to them just being animal-hybrids. It ties them more to both castes of my Exodites, which lets me have a more cohesive look across the army as a whole if I decide to run them as Ynnari or a combined Aeldari force of different detachments.

In my search for plastic alternatives for most resin models I think I've found a useful AOS set: the Sigmarite Gryph-hounds. Anyone have any objections as to making these DE khymarae?

Where did you get that Drycha torso?! I've been browsing the bits sites for months looking for one, and they're always sold out.

 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
Where did you get that Drycha torso?! I've been browsing the bits sites for months looking for one, and they're always sold out.

It was in a bag of random Sylvaneth bits I picked up a few months back

Hell yeah! That biologically modified Sslyth is awesome great background fluff to go with them too.

I'm utterly enamoured with her Medusa-headed friend though. That's a fantastic bits combination unashamedly stealing that one!

 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
Where did you get that Drycha torso?! I've been browsing the bits sites for months looking for one, and they're always sold out.

Have a try for the Spite Revenant Shadestalker torso (which I think this one actually is). Bit easier to come by than the Drycha one

So I'm done with my first Blood Angels Assault Terminator squad. So many details!










Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Hell yeah! That biologically modified Sslyth is awesome great background fluff to go with them too.

I'm utterly enamoured with her Medusa-headed friend though. That's a fantastic bits combination unashamedly stealing that one!

 EmberlordofFire8 wrote:
Where did you get that Drycha torso?! I've been browsing the bits sites for months looking for one, and they're always sold out.

Have a try for the Spite Revenant Shadestalker torso (which I think this one actually is). Bit easier to come by than the Drycha one

Steal away, sir! Lord knows I've nicked enough from you!

And yeah, I think that's a Spite Revenant bit. Loads of bits from that set in the parts lot I bought, no other Drycha bits.

Santa brought me a new project or two! First up:



Got this a couple of weeks ago from a friend.
Already built all the models. Started painting the Heroes the other day. Not going with the recommended colours.







But also picked up the Tau Battleforce and old Tyranids Start Collecting! box.
I've got some spare Tyranid bitz from back in the day, any recommendations on how to build my Warriors? I was thinking 4 in the squad and 1 Prime, as I've 2 spare bodies. I've also got a sprue of miscellaneous stuff, looking for help and advice?





I've a bunch of Space Hulk Genestealers to bulk out the troops choices, so thinking range might be the way to go with my Warriors, and a Flyrant, but haven't bought the Nid Codex, so any advice is welcome.
Likewise, suggestions for loadouts on the Tau Battleforce are welcome, I'd 10 Fire Warriors as well to bulk out the force. With this lot, and the BA, Orks and Chaos stuff I have from ancient history, I've got around 750 pts of 5 armies. Thinking that is a good place to start a 500pts escalation league with some friends in the new year...

wow, been a ridiculous time since I posted anything here!

I've finished my Warhammer Quest heroes, and the Sorcerer and Acolytes (pics to come) along with the Battle Of Vedros Captain.

But the other day I finally finished off my Archon's Angels. Have a look:











Apparently I don't have a pic of the Lhamean from the front uploaded.



I wasn't planning on using this Fleetmaster as an Archon, but he does look good with them, no?

I'm really happy with the snake lady, especially after not being overly keen on the blood shown dripping off her in the official pics, but turning that into space-slime did wonders.

Here's some pics of my Warhammer Quest guys.





Really pleased with how this guy came out. Didn't know what to do with the cloak, but went over the black with a grey drybrush and then glazed the scales green and blue. Some fiddly bits but a lot of fun.




Kinda had a plan for this dude, and it just about came out right. The white was hard to pull off. Lots of thin coats. The gold was way too easy, and came out very well.




Had a lot of fun with the dwarf. Lots of different colours of metals and in the beard too. Didn't want him to be too old, but wanted him to be nice and weathered. He's grubby looking, but he's more about action than looking good.




This is one of my favourite models.




And his doggo. Also a favourite of mine. Nice and simple.

Everything looks good! The Sslyth does stand out. The scaled cloak on the Dark Elf also came out very nice.

Thanks youwashock, those a definitely two models I feel I couldn't have done as well as I have now in the past. The Sslyth being a conversion makes how happy I am with her even more rewarding.

Man I've missed a lot!

Still absolutely love your Archon's Angels. Especially the Medusa-haired one. Still waiting for that particular bit to come back in stock so I can steal the idea

Wraith, it's a great kit. I'm thinking some of those new Khainenites need to go in my army as well!

Recently I've worked on my BA Terminators and my Putrid Blightkings, pics to follow.

Been working on my Terminators for the painting challenge.






Got a few finishing touches to add and mess to clean up, but pretty happy with them so far.

Continued work on my WHQ baddies as well. Done 3 Putrid Blightkings and 5 Bloodreavers.






Really happy with the Nurgle dudes. Lots of fun with washes and technical paints. I'm ok with how the Khorne guys turned out but they weren't as much fun to do.

took a lot of work, and there are bits I'm still not 100% happy with but I've done my Exodite Avatar for now.






Any comments or suggestions welcome...

Sweet! Good to see you still at it.

long time since I posted. I've kept at it though. A few more Death Company done, but I've got pics here of some actually, sort of, almost red Blood Angels.



Reivers with a bit of customisation. Got these guys in the Kill Team box, and am keeping the carbine arms for the Easy Build guys I've got with the Conquest magazine.



Picked up a Land Speeder Storm a while back, but wanted some unique minis for my Kill Team and wasn't savvy enough to magnetise them (maybe next time?). I think I did pretty well with the bases from the Assault Squad I used to bulk out my Death Company. I really like the Heavy, with his salvaged parts from a fallen brother marine, and the Sgt's chainsword looked a little bare so I did my first try at hazard stripes in over a decade. I'm okay with them.



And I finally got around to painting my kitbashed Vedros Furioso. I've had this guy built since I think last summer, shortly around the time I made my Librarian Dread. Not quite as specifically BA blinged-out as the previous one, making use of the plain jane easy to build dread, but the little bits definitely help tie him to the more custom guys, and I really love the bulk the magna grapple adds.


I've also been painting up a golden host, but they're not Sanguinary Guard - the Calth and Prospero boxes have left me with some interesting stuff, so why not knock out a small Custodes force. Gonna see about adding a Jetbike Captain and it should make a little army or allied detachment. Really loved painting these guys, but I need to take better pictures.

Welcome back! Nice to see you have kept busy. Nice work on the Custodes. Good work on the melta's heat stress, too.

Thanks, youwashock ! I've been very busy indeed over the months, and even played a few games of Kill Team. Still not playing regularly, but definitely building up my forces. I really need to get stuck into building and painting more of the Conquest magazine guys.


quick update on another project.

I've had this thing sitting in a state of terrible, almost heretical, disrepair since picking it up at a boot sale for a few quid around 25 years ago.


decided there was no way I could restore it to it's proper glory, and with my Chaos forces expanding due to the Conquest magazine, why not take advantage and Nurgle him up.



Still WIP, but I cleaned off a lot of the stuck on crap, and started sticking on more crap. Daemon head was from a bitz bag I got, and I've a few more to add on later. Pretty pleased with the turret, I think the back part was from a Beastclaw Raiders kit, again from the bits bag. Old predator sponson bolters and some bodies fused to it to add to the effect. It's magnetised on using a 25mm base and spins pretty freely.



Oh, and I used some Green Stuff on it, in case you didn't notice!

Wow! That thing looks like Abaddon took it on a joyride through the Eye before ditching it. Nice work bringing it back from the abyss.

There's still a ways to go yet. I need to source lascannon and then mount them on the sides as well as sort out that open door on the side... Thankfully I've got a big old piece of a GUO (I think) that just about fits in.

So this happened. Wasn't really sure on a colour scheme just wanted to use purple somewhere. Quite happy with the results.

I'm still alive!
Posting here is more difficult than just uploading to a facebook group, so most of my progress has been shown elsewhere, but I've made some more progress on my Aeldari Exodites. Started building them as a Kill Team shortly after the rules came out and I got friends interested. Was always intending to build a squad of Banshees, but decided to try a test one and include her since she can be in the team now thanks to Elites.


Big group shot. 5 Storm Guardians with pistols and sword, 2 with Fusion Guns, 2 Guardians with Shuriken Catapults and a Heavy Weapons platform, Dire Avenger Exarch, 2 Rangers and a Howling Banshee.


Plastic Aspects! I know there are actual plastic Dire Avengers, but I'm trying to make my Exodites very wild looking compared to their Craftworld kin. Though a contingent of Craftworld Eldar are on the planet and spreading the Way Of The Path, even they are adapting to the ancient culture of their hosts. (also, I had a box of Kabalites already) The Banshee is a Witch Aelf with AOS Corsair arms and the Sisters Of Silence head mashed together in a semblance of a Banshee mask. Now to make another few of them...



Took me a while to get around to buying the guys with the bigger "guns" but I'm even happier with this look than I was with the pistols. Built the platform ages ago and it was my first attempt at magnetising anything. Freehand Guardian rune on the wings is a bit poor, but it looked too naked without anything, and I needed some purple to tie it into the rest of the group anyway.


1st Ranger was the Made To Order one released a while back. Gave him a little blade on his hand as a token effort to blend him with the rest of them. The 2nd one, with the red hair is just a mash of bits. Quite happy with her, but don't even know what some of the stuff was, so no hope of recreating her. I'll figure something out if I need more.

Neat looking group. I am a big fan of the weapon platform.