As pointed out in the Dakka Discussions "So what are you doing today? Hobbywise only." it is probably time to show off the repainting of my old metal Eldar. After finishing four armies I should revive my Eldar, who has mostly sat on the shelf since 3rd edition. I liked the fast moving, hard hitting style and was a very early adopter Wave Serpents (mainly due to the Forge World models), but I digress, the history of my Eldar models.

I first came across the Eldar with White Dwarf 105 in late 1988, although as an opponent…Harlequins were not really my thing and did not capture my imagination. They were one of the lists in Rogue Trader, and other than their Shuriken Catapults being really inexpensive and making mince-meat of my Imperial Guard there were mostly a non-entity as our Eldar player never really painted his models and eventually moved away.

It was not until July or August 1990 when White Dwarf 127 made it’s way to the hobby shops out here that my interest was piqued. After reading the background I became convinced this was the next army for me and immediately sought out some Eldar models…sadly it was the same time as everyone else and almost no Eldar were available in Canada.

In the fall I found a few blisters (this is back when it was 5 lead models to a blister) so a small army of 5 Guardians, 5 Dire Avengers, 5 Howling Banshees, 5 Fire Dragons, a War Walker, a Farseer and a Warlock...you could say I started dabbling.

My Eldar army really started in the fall of 1991 with the White Dwarf articles on the Alaitoc Craftworld and a posting in a message board on GW figures. I found someone in Richmond who wanted to sell off their male Eldar figures. So a visit out and at prices of fifty-cents a figure I picked up a whole load of them…I think my Dreadnought was $5. Then came the task of painting them. They were an army that took longer in some respects due to the vibrant colors, and simpler as there were so few faces. However, when I pulled them out for 8th edition after not playing them since 3rd...they did look a sorry lot. So a refresh was required and now the pictures I am going to upload are the repainted figures as I slowly upgrade to a level I am happy with today and not the 27+ years ago me. Over time some of the new releases i have picked up those from time to time to keep the army somewhat current (and by current I mean about 8-10 years ago current).

In 1992 or 93 when Mark Dance was winning Golden Daemon awards he showed me some of the Phoenix Lords he was going to paint (he had received the early releases due to his painting success on a trip to the UK) and as soon as they were released I picked up several of them.

Later I added a Falcon (which later was converted into a Wave Serpent) and updated my weapon’s platform and several of the FW Wave Serpents…if you look closely at them you will see a fusion of several editions of models.

So first up an Avatar of the Bloody Handed God. As good a place as any to start a PLOG about an Eldar War host.



I think that every model in the army is metal, except for the vehicles and bikes which are plastic (although some of those have resin or metal parts). Now with a Jet Seer, there is another all plastic model...but I guess that makes seven plastic figures in the army.

The long painting war continues…

CB

PS: Photo of the army as of early February 2018.



Photo of the army as of July 2019.

Looking forward to seeing your Eldar.

I love the old Avatar. He might be ancient, but still strikes a chord. Seems odd to see him on a round base though...

 Nevelon wrote:
Looking forward to seeing your Eldar.

I love the old Avatar. He might be ancient, but still strikes a chord. Seems odd to see him on a round base though...

Thanks Nevelon,

I moved him to a round base when larger ones became available, did the same for my Wraith Lord and War Walker.

Where would an Alaitoc War Host be without some Rangers.



Some head and weapon swaps for models with old Las pistols, removed the Imperial looking ones and replaced with Shuriken pistols.

Now here are what they look like with yet another redo on page 19.


The long painting war continues...

CB

Very cool. Love the use of primary colours and the way you did the weapons.

Thank you Sigur,

Next up is a unit of ten Dire Avengers with an Exarch, the backbone of the troops section.



Painted in traditional Aspect colours, while the helmet hair has some yellow to tie in with the Alaitoc theme.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Another small squad of Eldar Rangers.



Again several head swaps (one moving from one model to another and a plastic helm replacing that one). I did the sniper rifles in a bone colour to lighten the otherwise dark models as my War Host is fairly bright through out.

The long painting war continues...

CB

I like that approach to the weapons too! They do stand out nicely against the cloaks.

They're looking good, Captain - I take it you're on the posting-past-progress phase of your blog?

Really ace looking Eldar, Captain! I love the backstory, too. Lovely old-school models, and beautiful paint work on everything.

amazingturtles wrote:I like that approach to the weapons too! They do stand out nicely against the cloaks.

Thank you amazingturtles.

Dysartes wrote:They're looking good, Captain - I take it you're on the posting-past-progress phase of your blog?

Other than the Avatar these are all newly painted, I will post some of the historic shots of early paint jobs if you would like (some models like several Rangers have been painted and striped multiple times over the years).

Cosmic wrote:Really ace looking Eldar, Captain! I love the backstory, too. Lovely old-school models, and beautiful paint work on everything.

Thank you Cosmic.

Another five Eldar Rangers.



One more head swap in this group from the Eldar plastic Guardian sprue.

The long painting war continues...

CB

I love an old school Eldar army. Keep 'em coming.

 youwashock wrote:
I love an old school Eldar army. Keep 'em coming.

Thank you youwashock,

Another ten Dire Avengers with an Exarch.



Between the two units there is every Dire Avenger pose a few times, although most are the standing pose that was the first iteration and some of those are lead.

The long painting war continues...

CB

The last of the small squads of Eldar Rangers:


Two head swaps on these. Now I can field these as four units of five or two units of ten.

I have had these models a long time, here are some in their first incarnation.


When I decided I wanted to update them I did try these two as a test, but found them too dark and the reason for the Wraith bone colouring.


The long painting war continues...

CB

Next up are some Fire Dragons and an Exarch.



I think I should paint the gems on the helmets now that I see them together with the white background.

Thoughts?

The long painting war continues...

CB

Lovely stuff (as a fellow metal Eldar player). I do think some paint on the gems would work. I didn't do my Fire Dragons with gems exactly, but some brass along the helmet studs.

Thanks Elbows,

We should talk and see if we have extra metal Eldar that might help the other finish units.

So the old Elderad model has become an Alaitoc Farseer with my paint job.




The long painting war continues...

CB

Nice work on the seer.

I’ll agree that the dragons could use a little spot color on the helms. I’m not sure I’d go full gem on them, but maybe the same orange as the armor.

I’ve got some odds and ends of ancient lead eldar kicking around if you need something to round out a unit. Although most of my collection is from either 3rd or 6-8th.

*sigh*

This thread makes me happy. I may play marines these days, but I still have 18,000 points of Eldar in my parents' loft that often calls to me. The vast majority of it is from the original Jes Goodwin Aspect Warriors era.

GReat STuff Captain Brown! I love the striking blue against the muddy tones. A real treat to see all these old eldar painted up nicely

Cheers
Bebop

I am so in love with the primary colors scheme on Eldrad. The runes on the cloak, too.

Nevelon wrote:Nice work on the seer.

I’ll agree that the dragons could use a little spot color on the helms. I’m not sure I’d go full gem on them, but maybe the same orange as the armor.

I’ve got some odds and ends of ancient lead eldar kicking around if you need something to round out a unit. Although most of my collection is from either 3rd or 6-8th.

Thanks Nevelon,

I have been looking for a few Harlequins to make a small force, and always for looking for Rogue Trader War Walkers.

Fifty wrote:*sigh*

This thread makes me happy. I may play marines these days, but I still have 18,000 points of Eldar in my parents' loft that often calls to me. The vast majority of it is from the original Jes Goodwin Aspect Warriors era.

Bring them back to life Fifty.

bebopdrums2424 wrote:GReat STuff Captain Brown! I love the striking blue against the muddy tones. A real treat to see all these old eldar painted up nicely

Cheers
Bebop

Thank you Bebop.

youwashock wrote:I am so in love with the primary colors scheme on Eldrad. The runes on the cloak, too.

Thank you youwashock.

A very old Eldar Dreadnought...that is now referred to as a Wraith Lord. With the addition of some newer Star Cannons.


Replaced the old square base with a large round one, but I think it might be a little too large. Recently obtained some smaller ones that I might use.

The long painting war continues...

CB

The is no school like old school. Sweet looking classic Dreadnought.

Thank you oldravenman3025,

These are some recently re-painted models...recent because I never did collect any Wraithguard when they were released.

I think I should add the infinity rings onto the large head area.



Again painted in Alaitoc colours.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Here is a Forge World Wave Serpent (from the first flight). Striped and repainted after being purchased on eBay.


The hard to see Shuriken Cannon on the hull was a regular one converted to hang below the bridge between the two sides, it is magnetized like the turret.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Wave Serpent number two. Also a classic first edition version from Forge World. Again armed with twin-linked Shuriken Cannon and a third under the fuselage.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Odd how things come back into style. IMHO shuriken cannons are probably one of the better options for serpents these days, but I can’t think of if they were ever viable before.

Nice looking tanks. I always admired the dappled look, but decided to go with a simpler scheme myself. If younger me wasn’t quite the painting cowered, I’d probably have tanks in that pattern today.

More great work. I never much loved the FW wave serpent front ends, but I liked the turrets really well.

Fifty - if you have a ton of old Eldar, definitely consider reviving them --- or sell them on eBay. Certain units are going for really really good money. (read: more than I'm willing to spend).

You can make $40-50 for a squad of Dark Reapers at the moment. I'd rather see them revived, but you could be sitting on a decent chunk o' change there if you're not going to bring the fellas back into action.

Nice effects on the Wave Serpents.

Nevelon wrote:Odd how things come back into style. IMHO shuriken cannons are probably one of the better options for serpents these days, but I can’t think of if they were ever viable before.

Nice looking tanks. I always admired the dappled look, but decided to go with a simpler scheme myself. If younger me wasn’t quite the painting cowered, I’d probably have tanks in that pattern today.

Thanks Nevelon.

I actually replaced the original turrets with the Shuriken Cannon ones this year (although the parts I snagged on eBay a few years ago, not realizing that the Cannons would be better than the Scatter Laser I ordered from FW).

Elbows wrote:More great work. I never much loved the FW wave serpent front ends, but I liked the turrets really well.

Fifty - if you have a ton of old Eldar, definitely consider reviving them --- or sell them on eBay. Certain units are going for really really good money. (read: more than I'm willing to spend).

You can make $40-50 for a squad of Dark Reapers at the moment. I'd rather see them revived, but you could be sitting on a decent chunk o' change there if you're not going to bring the fellas back into action.

Thanks Elbows.

If anyone has some old Rogue Trader Eldar, I have a list of wants in the Swap Shop.

youwashock wrote:Nice effects on the Wave Serpents.

Thank you youwashock.

Now a third Serpent, just finished, this one just painted and you might see the very slight change in colour tone from the hull of the first two (or maybe you cannot and that was the desired effect).



This one with a twin-linked Bright Lance and a hull mounted Shuriken Cannon.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Next up is a second Farseer.

This one was a little later than Rogue Trader, but still on old style metal model.



I have a much older Farseer that I need to repair and paint to possibly replace this one.

The long painting war continues...

CB

I can't recall when this one came out. Was it part of the 3rd edition Seer Council? Anyway, another good old school addition.

 youwashock wrote:
I can't recall when this one came out. Was it part of the 3rd edition Seer Council? Anyway, another good old school addition.

A quick scan over at SoL shows him in the 2000 catalog, but not the 1999 one. So about that era.

Nice work on him.

You are both probably correct, it was one of the last figures added.

Another unit finally painted:

Warp Spiders


I had three of these fellows years ago and foolishly sold them on eBay after painting them up. Had to use eBay for find some more and after striping them have returned them to a painted state.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Nice Warp Spiders, Captain - and the Farseer was cool too.

Have you seen the not-a-Warp-Spider from Wargames Exclusives?

Dysartes,

I have seen them now.

Been doing just GW and FW models, still have more to paint.

Thank you for the comment.

Cheers,

CB

Digging the old school Eldar. One of the first set of models I inherited was the old metal sculpts.

Looks good! Excited to see more!

Thanks ProcrastinatingPaintBrush,

Hope you still have those old models somewhere.

Now this is a unit of 10 Guardian Defenders, while the bulk of the models were painted years ago, I did give them some better highlights and changed some of the yellow to wraithbone.



They have a Support Weapon with swap-able weapons, but the Scatter Laser in this shot is not from the era when they were first painted (the Scatter Laser is a later version as I replaced all the originals in 3rd Edition).

The long painting war continues...

CB

Here is the recently painted Eldar Guardian Defenders squad.



Colours are pretty similar as the paint I used years ago is no longer available.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Twenty chainmail-mesh Guardians. A beautiful sight.

The old school Guardians are looking good, Captain - do you have more of them to do?

youwashock wrote:Twenty chainmail-mesh Guardians. A beautiful sight.

Thanks youwashock,

Yes, models from an era when chain mail was a perfectly acceptable part of advanced civilizations armour.

Dysartes wrote:The old school Guardians are looking good, Captain - do you have more of them to do?

Thanks Dysartes, I do have three old Guardian models left, but two are Storm Guardians whom I cut to make more Guardian Defenders (thinking of changing them back with Chainwords and Shuriken pistols once I am done all the other Aspects and Walker). The other is missing a head, but I have an idea on what I am going to do with it. In the meantime here is the original FarSeer I just repaired (note the Shuriken pistol instead of the pointing arm). I had converted this model with the original Avatar spear, but never liked the change and replaced it with this arm.



The long painting war continues...

CB

I like how nonchalant he looks firing the pistol. I am still rather fond of the original Farseer, but he is decidedly low-key.

Your plog is a blast from the past and reminds me that I just opened a box which hadn't seen the light of day for ten years...

All these Eldar were what I have! All metal! So I've got some photography ahead of me....

Got a old Dreadnought as yourself, Spirit Walker, and one of the tiny Spirit Warriors too, Assasin class I believe

Captain Brown wrote:
Thanks ProcrastinatingPaintBrush,

Hope you still have those old models somewhere.

Now this is a unit of 10 Guardian Defenders, while the bulk of the models were painted years ago, I did give them some better highlights and changed some of the yellow to wraithbone.



They have a Support Weapon with swap-able weapons, but the Scatter Laser in this shot is not from the era when they were first painted (the Scatter Laser is a later version as I replaced all the originals in 3rd Edition).

The long painting war continues...

CB

Those Guardians looks sweet. I especially like the Eldar with the freaky haircut on the left rear.

youwashock wrote:I like how nonchalant he looks firing the pistol. I am still rather fond of the original Farseer, but he is decidedly low-key.

Thanks youwashock.

Private Benjamin wrote:Your plog is a blast from the past and reminds me that I just opened a box which hadn't seen the light of day for ten years...

All these Eldar were what I have! All metal! So I've got some photography ahead of me....

Got a old Dreadnought as yourself, Spirit Walker, and one of the tiny Spirit Warriors too, Assasin class I believe

Thanks Private Benjamin,

If you have some extra models (need a few to complete a unit), we might be able to do some trades.

oldravenman3025 wrote:
Those Guardians looks sweet. I especially like the Eldar with the freaky haircut on the left rear.

Thanks oldravenman3025,

Yes, the old Eldar do have some strange models. Like the sideburns on the Eldar War Walker pilot I am painting are pretty wild.

For your viewing pleasure the first of my Phoenix Lords.


Kardaras of the Striking Scorpions.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Good stuff Cap'n. The old Eldar models really hit the nostalgia button for me. Jes at his best. And you do them great service too!

I love this thread so much. I want to hug it.

 Elbows wrote:
I love this thread so much. I want to hug it.

I think you just did.

Thank you Rinkydink, Elbows and Briancj.

For your viewing pleasure, some of the old metal Warlocks.



Cheers,

CB

Seerific. Any chance of a group shot with everything that is done so far?

Thanks youwashock,

I will see what I can do about an in-progress army shot. In the meantime I did six Striking Scorpions that I have added to those I painted a few years ago to make two units.



This first unit has an Exarch I converted to have a Scorpion's Claw vice the original Shuriken pistol.

The long painting war continues...

CB

The second unit of Striking Scorpions. Exarch has been um-modified.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Still the best Scorpions. I like the vivid green.

Thank you youwashock,

And as you requested, an army shot of what is painted so far.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Oh, yeah. That's the stuff. Classic and awesome. Thanks!

Beautiful warhost, so colourful, characterful and old school. Really top-notch stuff, thanks for sharing!

Looking great, Captain - how much more of the old Eldar do you have kicking around?

That is a beautiful picture of retro-goodness!

This makes me want to take more 2nd-ed inspired White Dwarf photos...very cool. (may go take an army pic or two myself!)

 Elbows wrote:
This makes me want to take more 2nd-ed inspired White Dwarf photos...very cool. (may go take an army pic or two myself!)

Do it! I love your old retro photos, and the more army pics out there, the better.

youwashock wrote:Oh, yeah. That's the stuff. Classic and awesome. Thanks!

Thank you youwashock.

Cosmic wrote:Beautiful warhost, so colourful, characterful and old school. Really top-notch stuff, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the feedback Cosmic.

Dysartes wrote:Looking great, Captain - how much more of the old Eldar do you have kicking around?

Thank you Dysartes, I have to paint 4 more Dark Reapers, a War Walker, a Jetbike, a Wave Serpent (unless some one wants to buy an old style WS first), Asurman...and 19 Harlequins (although painting these is a maybe)

Nevelon wrote:That is a beautiful picture of retro-goodness!

Thanks Nevelon.

Elbows wrote:This makes me want to take more 2nd-ed inspired White Dwarf photos...very cool. (may go take an army pic or two myself!)

Do it and let us know where you post them Elbows.

Here are 5 painted Dark Reapers, I think I need to go back and redo one or two of their face-plates.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Nice color combo on the Reapers.

Favorite Aspect since WD 124.

(sings) Gloorrrrious!

Thank you youwashock and Elbows,

Another unit painted a while ago. I think I will go back and change the colour of the Shuriken Catapults to my Wraithbone blend.



I picked these up right after they came out, box of 5. Same time as the Vyper release.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Another mixture of old painting and new. Re-did the Exarch wings and did repair work and touch-ups on the rest for this unit of Swooping Hawks.



The long painting war continues...

CB

I like those Hawks. The dark helmet with the lighter bodysuit looks cool. I agree that swapping the catapult color to bone will be a good call.

Thanks youwashock.

Cheers,

CB

These all look fantastic!

Love the army shot there.

Thank you JohnnyHell and Sigur.

As I am moving and have packed up my paints (and a whole lot of family items over the last couple of months) I have not been able to add to this Painting Log. I have been able to play some games, so posting them here to entertain you with more images.

So a battle between Space Marines and Craftworld Eldar - 100 Force Points.

6 Objectives scattered across the battlefield. My opponent set up his army is a broad gunline making certain he was occupying or close to all the objectives. While I concentrated on my right flank and by the time my opponent realized this and placed some heavier units to stop this, he was pretty strung out.


This was his counter to my heavy right hook. In a way I influenced his placement and had almost my entire army facing only half of his.


My main concentration. I am pretty certain that the Space Marines were certain they would be able to collect several objectives without much of a fight...they have not fought Eldar and their speed before.


The Space Marine response. (Look, the Dreadnought is not painted so it is doomed!)


More to come.

Cheers,

CB

Ahh, the classic “cower in the corner” eldar deployment strategy, I know it well. When you have the speed to get wherever you need to be, why strung yourself out and dilute your forces more then you need to?

Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

 Nevelon wrote:
Ahh, the classic “cower in the corner” eldar deployment strategy, I know it well. When you have the speed to get wherever you need to be, why strung yourself out and dilute your forces more then you need to?

Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Thanks Nevelon,

So I sent the first turn stationary, surrendering the initiative to the Space Marine player. My forces fired longer ranged weapons, inflicting damage on the Land Raider and Dreadnought. You should have seen the face of my opponent when at the end of the first turn he had suffered some superficial damage on only two of his models...and my army was passively waiting in front of him.




I collected a VP for holding one objective matching my cards and that was it.

As expected on his turn the Marine's pushed forward. Focusing their firepower on destroying the Transports on my right and seizing objectives on my left.






He did severe damage to one Wave Serpent and serious damage to the other. His fire on my Dire Avengers was much less successful with the Alaitoc cover save for long range and Asurmen's bonus protection. However he seized three objectives (he had four at one point, but decided to abandon one to get within shooting range with his Terminator squad).

More to come.

Cheers,

CB

The Eldar strike back.


First the Wave Serpents empty their contents and the Banshees, Fire Dragons, Farseer and least damaged Wave Serpent move forward.


My now depleted Dire Avengers and Asurman advance from my center and the most damaged Wave Serpent moves to assist with my left flank. I brought on my Rangers to shore up the left and stiffen my defense against the Terminators.


Fire rained down on the Dreadnought and Land Raider. It was so intense that the Dreadnought blew up and the Land Raider was severely damaged.

The Land Raider was so damaged that in the follow Assault phase it was shredded by close combat that it was almost a hulk. My fire elsewhere was less impressive and even work I self inflicted a wound on the Farseer with a failed power.

More to come.

Cheers,

CB

Dire Avengers ftw!

*** edit : I have to admit i am a huge fan of Dark Reapers; last i remembered playing with them, their missile launchers slaughtered power-armour clad Space Marines ...

Very pretty old Eldar, CB. Jes Goodwin's sculpts seem to get better with age.

Private Benjamin wrote:Dire Avengers ftw!

*** edit : I have to admit i am a huge fan of Dark Reapers; last i remembered playing with them, their missile launchers slaughtered power-armour clad Space Marines ...

Thanks Private Benjamin.

Cap'n Facebeard wrote:Very pretty old Eldar, CB. Jes Goodwin's sculpts seem to get better with age.

Thanks Cap'n Facebeard, they do still look like the current range and much of the art.

Report continued.

With a damaged Wave Serpent and the Banshee's tying up the Land Raider the Space Marine Assault Squad and Chaplain bailed out.


However the Banshees and Wave Serpent did no damage and the Farseer inflicted one wound, so the Land Raider survived.


The Land Raider would back out of close combat and the Terminators continued to close. Other Marine Squads either moved to get line of sight or remained stationary and they all let loose with as much firepower as they could. Most of the Dire Avengers fell to this maelstrom, as they were the primary target of almost everything. What was not focused on the Dire Avengers was aimed at the heavily damaged Wave Serpent and it succumbed to accumulated damage.

The Assault Squad and Chaplin charged one of the much reduced Dire Avenger Squads and Guardians in the woods rather than take on Banshees.




This assault would likely decide the outcome as if the Marines were victorious they could control most objectives and have eliminated most of the Eldar troop choices.





More to come,

CB

So, the Land Raider backing out of close combat actually sealed the fate of the Marine Assault Squad. Clear for any friendly fire, the Fire Dragons made short work of the heavily damaged Land Raider and it freed up the Banshees to go after the Assault Squad.


It also meant that I was not worried about those Marines getting into my backfield and the Wraith Lord and Dark Reapers could focus their fire on the Terminators.


The Striking Scorpions finally reached the Marine Devastator Squad in the tower and the result was only a matter of time before they were eliminated and the objective in Eldar hands.


So all that was left was the mop-up.


There were still a few Marine squads and the odd lone model or character, fate was now firmly in the Eldar forces hands.


Next turn saw Fire Dragons get back in the Wave Serpent, the last of the Devastator squad fall, the Chaplin met Asurmen with the expected result, another tactical squad was eliminated as well as the last Terminator. The Marine player conceded defeat at that point.

Cheers,

CB

Still loving this thread. And now my own have come back to life like you told me to! (Check my blog)

I think the Rangers and Avengers are my favourites.

Looked like a fun game! Really enjoy those older Eldar models, makes me want to pick up some more for myself!

Congratulations on the victory! You always have such pretty looking games

Glorious. I'm putting my retro Eldar into combat this weekend for the first time in a while. It's going to be a slaughter.

Just a shame the fists didn't have an old school Raider to ride in. Looks like a lot of fun!

This is marvelous stuff.

In particular, I think your scouts are awesome

Great batrep, and looks nice with all those classic models. Your Striking Scorpions look amazing, and they did their sneaky? job. I haven't found a decent source for those old Striking Scorpions that you have and am envious. I'm stuck with the ugly curled helmet guys that all lean forward or back too much.

Fifty wrote:Still loving this thread. And now my own have come back to life like you told me to! (Check my blog)
I think the Rangers and Avengers are my favourites.

Thanks Fifty, visited you blog and ironically had already given a rating to some of your models in the gallery without seeing the thread.

Tyranid Horde wrote:Looked like a fun game! Really enjoy those older Eldar models, makes me want to pick up some more for myself!

Thanks Tyranid Horde, if you ever want some old Eldar, I have a few in the Swap Shop.

Thank you amazingturtles, Elbows, Cap'n Facebeard, and SirStudent.
Really appreciate your comments.

CaptainWaffle wrote:Great batrep, and looks nice with all those classic models. Your Striking Scorpions look amazing, and they did their sneaky? job. I haven't found a decent source for those old Striking Scorpions that you have and am envious. I'm stuck with the ugly curled helmet guys that all lean forward or back too much.

CaptainWaffle, I had kept many of mine from Rogue Trader, but I did obtain some in the Swap Shop from two members who have some for sale. The member pretre has quite a few of the older models for sale, I have used him to fill in the gaps I had...speaking of which I have some War Walkers coming.

A break from Battle Reports with photos of my army in action.

Need to get back to painting.

Here is a work in progress on an OOP Eldar War Walker. This is the first edition - Rogue Trader version where the pilot was standing upright. This model was probably the one that interested me most in the Eldar army at the time...it was just so different from other walkers.



Now the base and weapons are obviously not the original square base or weapons as I am trying to integrate the model with my vehicles and support weapons. This models original weapons were a Las Cannon and Scatter Laser...now they will be two Shuriken Cannons with the option to swap them out with other Eldar hardware in the future.

Asurmen also has taken a Simple Green bath in preparation for a complete repainting.

The long painting war continues...

CB

I agree. That original WW has a certain something. Keep the classics coming.

 youwashock wrote:
I agree. That original WW has a certain something. Keep the classics coming.

Thanks youwashock,

So I have pretty well finished the painting...had something happen with my blue and so far I have not done additional highlights as I ended up with this swirling pattern. What do people think, should I leave it as is?




The long painting war continues...

CB

That's pretty cool. You could go back in and add a few small highlights to enhance the swirlyness.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
That's pretty cool. You could go back in and add a few small highlights to enhance the swirlyness.

Captain Brown wrote:
As pointed out in the Dakka Discussions "So what are you doing today? Hobbywise only." it is probably time to show off some of the Eldar I have been painting. After finishing four armies I should revive my Eldar, who has mostly sat on the shelf since 3rd edition. I liked the fast moving, hard hitting style and was a very early adopter Wave Serpents (mainly due to the Forge World models), but I digress, the history of my Eldar models.

I first came across the Eldar with White Dwarf 105 in late 1988, although as an opponent…Harlequins were not really my thing and did not capture my imagination. They were one of the lists in Rogue Trader, and other than their Shuriken Catapults being really inexpensive and making mince-meat of my Imperial Guard there were mostly a non-entity as our Eldar player never really painted his models and eventually moved away.

I was not until July or August 1990 when White Dwarf 127 made it’s way to the hobby shops out here that my interest was piqued. After reading the background I became convinced this was the next army for me and immediately sought out some Eldar models…sadly it was the same time as everyone else and almost no Eldar were available in Canada.

In the fall I found a few blisters (this is back when it was 5 lead models to a blister) so a small army of 5 Guardians, 5 Dire Avengers, 5 Howling Banshees, 5 Fire Dragons, a War Walker, a Farseer and a Warlock...you could say I started dabbling.

My Eldar army really started in the fall of 1991 with the White Dwarf articles on the Alaitoc Craftworld and a posting in a message board on GW figures. I found someone in Richmond who wanted to sell off their Eldar army. So a visit out and at prices of fifty-cents a figure I picked up a whole load of them…I think my Dreadnought was $5. Then came the task of painting them, now the pictures I am going to upload are a mixture of old and new schemes (mostly new as the old are pretty bad) as I slowly change from their original schemes to something I am happy with now. Over time some of the new releases came out I have picked up those from time to time to keep the army somewhat current (and by current I mean about 8-10 years ago current).

In 1992 or 93 when Mark Dance was winning Golden Daemon awards he showed me some of the Phoenix Lords he was going to paint (he had received the early releases due to his painting success on a trip to the UK) and as soon as they were released I picked up several of them.

Later I added a Falcon and updated my weapon’s platform and several of the FW Wave Serpents…if you look closely at them you will see a fusion of several editions of models.

So first up an Avatar of the Bloody Handed God. As good a place as any to start a PLOG about an Eldar War host.



I think that every model in the army is metal, except for the vehicles and bikes ShowBox Mobdro TutuApp which are plastic (although some of those have resin or metal parts).

The long painting war continues…

CB

PS: Photo of the army as of early February 2018.

I adore the old Avatar. He may be antiquated, yet at the same time evokes genuine emotion. Appears to be odd to see him on a round base however

pauloyozikko wrote:

I adore the old Avatar. He may be antiquated, yet at the same time evokes genuine emotion. Appears to be odd to see him on a round base however

Thanks pauloyozikko,

I have replaced the square bases of several of the older models I have to match the current ranges. So Avatar, Wraith Lord, Jet Bikes and the War Walker above. I guess part of the reason was that the mix of round and square was less visually appealing to me as the bases in 40K moved to all round. I also recycled the square bases to my WFB armies large monsters.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Also, technically that one is "current" Avatar.

This shows the "old" Avatar

I love those old walkers. I have a bunch of them ready to assemble, though only one is painted. I think you should keep the weird blue swirls. Will you be painting any more? Even if you are, this one could be their leader.

I am also putting all of my old models on round bases. The square ones look really odd to me now.

Dysartes wrote:Also, technically that one is "current" Avatar.

This shows the "old" Avatar

Dysartes is wise.

Fifty wrote:I love those old walkers. I have a bunch of them ready to assemble, though only one is painted. I think you should keep the weird blue swirls. Will you be painting any more? Even if you are, this one could be their leader.

I am also putting all of my old models on round bases. The square ones look really odd to me now.

Thank Fifty, the round bases just make the army feel more uniform and complete.

Now I mentioned that my Asurmen had gone to have a bath is Simple Green. Here he is after coming out and being repainted. Still a work in progress as I need to do a back banner, do base work and add some runes.

Here is the WIP at about 2x normal size.




In his previous painted form I had streamers rather than a back-banner, due to regular breakage in transporting him I think I will go with the classic banner this time.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Gorgeous work. My Asurmen was one of my less successful Phoenix Lord paintjobs - once I occasionally consider re-doing. Love your job so far.

Gotta agree. He looks great so far.

_Very_ nice! I've a fair bunch of Eldar (very old, somewhat old and some very new ranges), but haven't gotten the gumption to get stuck in painting them yet. This is highly motivating!

Elbows wrote:Gorgeous work. My Asurmen was one of my less successful Phoenix Lord paintjobs - once I occasionally consider re-doing. Love your job so far.

Thank you Elbows.

This is what he used to look like:

youwashock wrote:Gotta agree. He looks great so far.

Thank you youwashock.

Meer_Cat wrote:_Very_ nice! I've a fair bunch of Eldar (very old, somewhat old and some very new ranges), but haven't gotten the gumption to get stuck in painting them yet. This is highly motivating!

Thank you Meer_Cat. If you decide to start them, send me a link and I will follow your progress.

Now, War Walkers or Jetbikes next?

Cheers,

CB

As my Asurmen was getting his new paint job. I used the Avatar in his place.

Thought I would share this shot from the battle.

What happens with a Chaplin, Librarian and Dreadnought encounter the Avatar and Wraithlord in an alley:



Total carnage.

Cheers,

CB

So back to painting and converting.

I picked up two more of the Rogue Trader Eldar War Walkers. Gave them a bath of Simple Green and took them apart. They had been assembled and repaired and repainted several times before I acquired them.

If you use super glue to build your models and you find yourself using it as filler...just please do not do it. There are batter and stronger ways to fill gaps.


This one was actually lead and still had 20 year old flash in places.



Going to replace the Rogue Trader weapons with more current Eldar weapons so that my opponent knows what they are facing and will remount them on round bases.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Those old metal pieces look so neat laid out like that. I'm sure they'll be amazing when painted

 amazingturtles wrote:
Those old metal pieces look so neat laid out like that. I'm sure they'll be amazing when painted

Thanks amazingturtles,

One thing that is a pain is assembling them with 5 minute epoxy, as the pieces fit each other quite well once I removed all the old super glue. Blue tac (now White tac) is a must. I also pinned all the joints and for the lead one, the feet as well...because at some time in it's life it lost the lead foot tab.


The brass pins also really helped holding the model upright.


Knowing how the pilot sits in on the body was critical to getting the angle the legs join right.

More to come.

The modeling and painting war continues...

CB

Love those old Civil War era gatling gun Scatter Lasers.

I think it would be a shame to replace the weapons. I am sure your opponents will figure it out.

Loving the classic models, Captain. Your painting style complements them really well. Very old school, just without the goblin green bases!

I only semi-recently put together an old metal wraithlord. Tiny contact points, massively top heavy. The walkers will probably be the same. Good luck!

I’ll also vote to keep the classic weapons. Even though the scatter laser looks more like an assault cannon. The era appropriate ML is vastly different than the modern one, but still distinctly identifiable. I think all the rest are close enough not to cause problems.

Of course, going plastic would help keep the top heavy thing from falling apart, a major plus.

Thank you youwashock, Fifty, Bellerophon and Nevelon,

Well, I still have the old weapons (although most of them are Las Cannons and Scatter Lasers). Since I used a pin system to mount weapons I could just drill holes in the bottoms of the old weapons to swap them in and out.

Once the three War Walkers are completed and painted I might drill and paint the older weapons and post them up.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

OK, Walkers two and three are assembled and primed.



I do not think they will have any trouble holding up the old metal weapons (I build to last with pinning and epoxy)...it is more a case of the old weapons drooping as the new ones I am adding as options I have custom made to fit the mounts as I will not be gluing them in, but keeping them swappable.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Having an old weapon that droops is probably a major concern for many veteran gamers.

Fifty,

Your joke must have hit a few gamer's egos as there has been only silence since then.

Back to my war against the unpainted.

I have added a banner to Asurmen and done the odd touch-up. At some point I might add to the loin cloth, but for now I will consider him finished.




The long painting war continues...

CB

You've done a good job on Asurmen, really need to pick up the model even if I never use him. The banner is a good job too and adds a lot to the model.

Whatever. I am told it happens to lots of guys...

Nice finish on Asurmen. Is that one of the old decal banners or did you print and paint, or is it all from scratch?

That's a really nice mohawk hat he's got going on there! i mean, They're always nice, but I really like how you painted that one.

Tyranid Horde wrote:You've done a good job on Asurmen, really need to pick up the model even if I never use him. The banner is a good job too and adds a lot to the model.

Thank you Tyranid Horde

youwashock wrote:Nice finish on Asurmen. Is that one of the old decal banners or did you print and paint, or is it all from scratch?

Thanks youwashock, I made a copy of the banner and tried several sizes until I found the one I liked. Printed it and then did the touch-up painting.

amazingturtles wrote:That's a really nice mohawk hat he's got going on there! i mean, They're always nice, but I really like how you painted that one.

Thank you amazingturtles.

Cheers,

CB

That wee bit of red on the mohawk is a great addition. Subtle but very effective!

Thank you CommissarKhaine.

Finished a second War Walker.
Did the same dark blue "lava lamp" pattern that worked on the first one. Only seems to work with an old Ral Partha Blue as a base.



Again the weapons are just held in with long brass pins, so I am painting up some alternatives.

The long painting war continues...

CB

That blue really does look fantastic.

The blue really does look great. Handy thing about the old walkers is that all you need is a brass rod to swap them out, the newer ones are looking a bit more fiddly.

Some great old models in there. Makes me wish I still had them, especially with the old school paint jobs on Karandras (mine was butchered as a child)

Keep up the good work


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Dysartes wrote:
Also, technically that one is "current" Avatar.

This shows the "old" Avatar

Talk about scale creep! https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/602645.page

An oldie and a goodie. Nice work.

 Scythern wrote:

 Dysartes wrote:
Also, technically that one is "current" Avatar.

This shows the "old" Avatar

Talk about scale creep! https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/602645.page

If I could get my hands on a RT Avatar, I'd be tempted to build an Eldar army similar to the Captain's, just to see people's reactions when I pulled him out of the case.

I mean, ideally he'd have an Epic Avatar on the base as a Mini Me, but...

Looking good, that Asurmen is particularly noice

I love everything!!!, those old Jess Goodwin aspect warrior designs are the best.
And although I do not like the warwalker design (the legs look off), you make it look better.

That smoke effect is pretty cool!

Thanks Fifty, Tyranid Horde and CommissarKhaine,

I have decided not to highlight them further as there is a lot of bone white on the models already

Thanks Scythern and Dysartes,

I used to have that Avatar, but used him for parts as soon as they released the next model.

Thanks Cap'n Facebeard.

sjofels wrote:I love everything!!!, those old Jess Goodwin aspect warrior designs are the best.
And although I do not like the warwalker design (the legs look off), you make it look better.

Thank you sjofels.

So one more addition, the third and final Rogue Trader War Walker. Your posts have spurred on yet more activity.



More of the blue effects from the sides.



Next I will get them in a group shot, and then some weapon swaps. After that I will show you the original weapons painted up and mounted on them.

The long painting war continues...

CB

War Walker is looking good, Captain.

Nice work on classic models!

The long war seems to be moving along at a decent pace

Nice! Looking forward to the group picture.

I really love the classic era. Go team! Rah!

Thank you Dysartes, Nevelon, CommissarKhaine, youwashock and Briancj for the comments.

Here is the group shot with Shuriken Cannons.



Here they are with three alternate weapons - Bright Lances and Star Cannon (including a Rogue Trader weapon Heavy Plasma Gun serving as the Star Cannon).





Next up I will put in the Rogue Trader Weapons for nostalgic purposes.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Great looking War Walkers and a great group shot, they look really cool as a squadron.

Awesome! Love seeing that old HPG.

Nice squadron, and I like those old weapons; I think I preffered their esthetic to the newer ones.

I do enjoy a good War Walker squadron, and those classic models are really taking me back to when I first got interested in 40K, which is always a fun nostalgia trip. Good job sir.

(...now off back to bouncing between the various Eldar threads!)

Retro-goodness!

Tyranid Horde wrote:Great looking War Walkers and a great group shot, they look really cool as a squadron.

Thank you Tyranid Horde

youwashock wrote:Awesome! Love seeing that old HPG.

Thank you youwashock, I have it paired with the original Scatter Laser below.

CommissarKhaine wrote:Nice squadron, and I like those old weapons; I think I preffered their esthetic to the newer ones.

Thank you CommissarKhaine, I agree the newer weapons fit better with similar models of 2nd Edition and it is the new ones I will be fielding with my gaming group so there is no confusion on weapon load outs.

Bellerophon wrote:I do enjoy a good War Walker squadron, and those classic models are really taking me back to when I first got interested in 40K, which is always a fun nostalgia trip. Good job sir.
(...now off back to bouncing between the various Eldar threads!)

Nevelon wrote:Retro-goodness!

Thank you Bellerophon and Nevelon

Well you guys asked for it. I have delivered. I painted up all the original Rogue Trader weapons. Here they are on the three Walkers for your viewing pleasure.



Scatter Lasers, Lascannons and Heavy Plasma Gun oh my!

The long painting war continues...

CB

Neat! Far before my time, but very neat.

Yeah, baby! There's that old school firepower.

Old school ftw! . Good old scatter lasers - those things were nasty in 2nd ed.

Thanks amazingturtles, youwashock and CommissarKhaine,

Another addition, not quite as old, but a time when Eldar and other folks rode into battle rather than hunching over their bikes like models do today.




I had five Jet Bikes and only one of them had a Canon, so I picked up a partial painted one and stripped it down. Now painted to match my other five...was a challenge as the paints from 20 years ago have changed.

I'll take some group shots as I seal this one and eliminate the silvering around the sword transfer.

The long painting war continues...

CB

So with the completion of that sixth Jetbike here are the two squads I can now field.


Replaced the photo.

The newly painted Jetbike is a little darker than the others.

Second group.

Photo turned out far better for these three.

The long painting war continues...

CB

I like those jet bikes - good balance between "crisp" and "blended" painting styles in my opinion.

Liking the jetbikes, especially when you've painted up the displays, very cool. All of my jetbikes are the old style with bits from Dire Avengers to "modernise" them. Part of me wishes that I'd kept them stock.

What do you use to seal your models on another note?

Makes me want to grab mine and fly them around making wooshing and shooting noises. They look really good. Many fond memories.

kestral wrote:I like those jet bikes - good balance between "crisp" and "blended" painting styles in my opinion.

Thanks kestral.

Tyranid Horde wrote:Liking the jetbikes, especially when you've painted up the displays, very cool. All of my jetbikes are the old style with bits from Dire Avengers to "modernise" them. Part of me wishes that I'd kept them stock.

What do you use to seal your models on another note?

Thanks Tyranid Horde.
I use Testors Matt for sealing, but when I have a transfer I add a layer of GW 'Ardcoat to reduce the 'silvering'.

youwashock wrote:Makes me want to grab mine and fly them around making wooshing and shooting noises. They look really good. Many fond memories.

Thank you youwashock

For you guys a shot of the whole batch.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Absolutely loving it. Your War Walkers are my favourite. I've been through three iterations of War Walkers and can't find one I like. I just suck with the damn metal ones.

I need to find a suitable way to create a plastic/metal hybrid of the original War Walker. They're like some kind of curse for me...

 Dysartes wrote:
If I could get my hands on a RT Avatar, I'd be tempted to build an Eldar army similar to the Captain's, just to see people's reactions when I pulled him out of the case.

I mean, ideally he'd have an Epic Avatar on the base as a Mini Me, but...

So, guess what I just won on eBay?

I guess I have a new project for the new year...

Thanks Elbows and Dysartes.

Very happy today as my Asurmen came in second in the highly contested 40K Single Model category at the GW store.



Not a Golden Daemon competition, but still showing that old school is still the best school as there were loads of new models on display. Although it was a metal Canoness that took the top spot.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Right on, man. Congrats on the award!

Very well done. Can’t go wrong with the classics.

Those canopy swords make the squad look really fast and vicious.

Lovin' this stuff. Asurmen is so good...wow. I need to repaint mine :(

Thank you youwashock, Nevelon, Curis and Elbows

Back with some more finished Eldar.

This time with four more Dark Reapers (including a converted Exarch).







All nine completed (added the Shrine symbol to the original five)



The long painting war continues...

CB

Glorious. Love these guys.

I like those Dark Reapers, but I am not sure the missile launcher conversion works. It is reeeeaaally big! I think it might be better to have a regular reaper launcher and paint the white sections in a different colour. Not a big enough issue no to be worth it though, I suspect.

For some reason, I really like the feet on them!

youwashock wrote:Glorious. Love these guys.

Fifty wrote:I like those Dark Reapers, but I am not sure the missile launcher conversion works. It is reeeeaaally big! I think it might be better to have a regular reaper launcher and paint the white sections in a different colour. Not a big enough issue no to be worth it though, I suspect.

For some reason, I really like the feet on them!

Thank you youwashock and Fifty.

Fifty, if I had another old metal reaper launcher I might do that...but the model came from a trade so I have no spare.

Another unit refurbished.

Howling Banshees...made from lead as the power swords are almost soft. These were from the early Eldar blister packs that came with five mono-pose models.





And with the pewter Exarch.


The long painting war continues...

CB

Awww, yeah. I like the combo of the red with the blue on the swords. Those original blisters were great. You got a squad for under 10 bucks.

I love these old models, painted in the old styles. The banshees, jetbikes, Asurmen all look great. The scorpions are so nostalgic. Very cool project.

I love those Banshees. Nice work making the armour plates stand out from the underarmour. I especially love the swords.

youwashock wrote:Awww, yeah. I like the combo of the red with the blue on the swords. Those original blisters were great. You got a squad for under 10 bucks.

Thanks youwashock, that was a lot of money when I bought them.

The Riddle of Steel wrote:I love these old models, painted in the old styles. The banshees, jetbikes, Asurmen all look great. The scorpions are so nostalgic. Very cool project.

Thank you The Riddle of Steel

Fifty wrote:I love those Banshees. Nice work making the armour plates stand out from the underarmour. I especially love the swords.

Thanks Fifty

More old Eldar getting some final attention, this time getting the waterslide transfers of their aspect. When these models came out I do not think there was a transfer sheet for Eldar...but I could be wrong.



The long painting war continues...

CB

It's lovely seeing all these old Aspect sculpts - good job Captain! I particularly like the scheme on those banshees and that rich red you've got on the tabards.

Thank you Bellerophon,

Two more squads received transfers.

First is a standard Scorpions and Exarch with a Biting Blade.


Second has the Exarch I converted to have a Scorpion's Claw.


One more unit of Swooping Hawks to go. I was going to do my Fire Dragons as well, however the transfer sheet only has their aspect symbol in Yellow or White and my helmets are Yellow, so they will not show up.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Such a nice green on the Scorpions. Too bad about the Dragons. Black should have been an option.

I like the Warp Spiders, but I adore those Striking Scorpions. They practically glow.

That's a great green on those scorpions. Love seeing all these old Eldar, takes me backk to my first ever purchase - a blister of 5 hawks for £2.99, so really excited to see what you do with those

Woo! Neon green! The best of all greens.

Thank you youwashock, Fifty, Maharg and amazingturtles

One more squad with fancy new transfers.



I do not think I will do the Guardians as their helmets are even smaller and when I did it for the Jet bikes it was a real challenge.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Last model to paint, a Forge World Wave Serpent...with resin jewels and bridge (none of these weathervanes). When this model was in it's heyday it was way too powerful and wildly out of step with it's intended role...I mean it was like a main battle tank that flew and carried troops. I painted several up over the years, but they only started seeing the field in 7th and now 8th Edition. This is the last of them and has been sitting waiting for painting for a very long time.



Including two turrets for alternate weapons. The troop compartment is a blend of the original resin FW top and a plastic bottom from the current kit as this one was missing the part (among other things) and was a steal on eBay because it was missing so many parts. I also had to replace the shield jewels as the model was also missing those and it their place the previous owner had glued on some plastic gem stones.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

Yeah, this was a glorious tank. I remember building several using the plastic spoon turret hack and plastic pen barrel holofield generator...and some plasticard. Because it was that or the FW turret.

10 troops and a Twin-Linked Brightlance.

Nice. Of the three Serpents I own, one is Armourcast, one is legit, and one is a DIY with the spoon turret from days when you did that or didn't have a Wave Serpent.

Briancj wrote:Yeah, this was a glorious tank. I remember building several using the plastic spoon turret hack and plastic pen barrel holofield generator...and some plasticard. Because it was that or the FW turret.

10 troops and a Twin-Linked Brightlance.

Briancj,

Thanks for the comment. You just had to wait out FW as once GW released the kit in plastic suddenly there were loads of the FW ones on eBay for less than a new plastic one.

youwashock wrote:Nice. Of the three Serpents I own, one is Armourcast, one is legit, and one is a DIY with the spoon turret from days when you did that or didn't have a Wave Serpent.

youwashock,

That is quite the collection.

So I started with the scatter camouflage pattern, but found that my edging highlight was too bright, so here is the Wave Serpent in mid-correction (with the overly bright blue at the rear).


The wraith bone underside.


The long painting war continues...

CB

I sort of like the look of it with the edge-lighting brighter towards the back. Could make for a cool effect.

 youwashock wrote:
I sort of like the look of it with the edge-lighting brighter towards the back. Could make for a cool effect.

That’s the holofield kicking in.

youwashock wrote:I sort of like the look of it with the edge-lighting brighter towards the back. Could make for a cool effect.

Thanks youwashock, but I wanted it to match my previous three completed ones...hence the darker highlight.

Nevelon wrote:

 youwashock wrote:
I sort of like the look of it with the edge-lighting brighter towards the back. Could make for a cool effect.

That’s the holofield kicking in.

Nevelon,

That was a neat idea, but the change is complete.

All WIP.




The long painting war continues...

CB

Mmm, nostalgia...

Loving this thread, white dwarf 138 1991 with the alaitoc craftworld army was my hook into the hobby- great to revisit those days, and beautiful work

Looking good, Captain. You need to get all the grav-tanks together for a family portrait when it is done.

Skinflint Games wrote:Mmm, nostalgia...

Loving this thread, white dwarf 138 1991 with the alaitoc craftworld army was my hook into the hobby- great to revisit those days, and beautiful work

Thank you Skinflint Games.

youwashock wrote:Looking good, Captain. You need to get all the grav-tanks together for a family portrait when it is done.

youwashock, I will do that.

More progress.


Still lots to do (like the shield jewels), but it is starting to look like a Wave Serpent that could grace the table top.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Do you have a system for what colour gem goes where, or just do what takes your fancy? I ask, as I notice it matches port/starboard colours at the front at the moment.

Anyway, it is very nice.

Army shot soon?

Fifty,

Yes, I did the same for my Jetbikes, they have their port and starboard running lights.

Army shot once this one is finished and I complete my waterslide transfer upgrades.




The long painting war continues...

CB

I really love those patterns and that blue!

Found your thread! That’s a spectacular array of nostalgia you've got going on there! The bright coloured aspect Warriors look amazing, I never delved in to eldar back in the day, but they really hit the nostalgia button of late! The port and starboard colours are a great touch too, though after 2 years of working with ships I could never remember which side is which! Looking forward to seeing the array of heavy metal in your final army shot

amazingturtles wrote:I really love those patterns and that blue!

Thank you amazingturtles.

gobert wrote:Found your thread! That’s a spectacular array of nostalgia you've got going on there! The bright coloured aspect Warriors look amazing, I never delved in to eldar back in the day, but they really hit the nostalgia button of late! The port and starboard colours are a great touch too, though after 2 years of working with ships I could never remember which side is which! Looking forward to seeing the array of heavy metal in your final army shot

Thank you gobert.

Alright the last Wave Serpent is finished.

Starcannons and shuriken cannon

Starcannons and shuriken cannon

Starcannons and shuriken cannon

Starcannons and shuriken cannon

Scatter Lasers and shuriken catapults

Scatter Lasers and shuriken catapults

Scatter Lasers and shuriken catapults

Scatter Lasers and shuriken cannon

Scatter Lasers and shuriken cannon


Now I have to select five for the (unofficial) Monthly Painting Challenge.

The long painting war continues...

CB

That looks really cool. Love the shield pods.

Thank you youwashock,

So I obtained the other Eldar waterslide transfer sheet I had been looking for and started with my unit of Wraith Guard.

Now the original transfer sheets I felt that the eternity symbol of the Wraith Lord and Wraith Guard were too small. With the new transfer sheet they all seemed too large (they were meant for the newer models which are larger and for the Hemlock Wraithfighter).

In the end I used the larger transfers and turned them 90 degrees.



What do people think, is that heresy? I just figured that the infinity symbol is more of a human image (well it is a real mathematical symbol).

The long painting war continues...

CB

They look great, and I seem to recall that's how I applied them to my Iyanden as well!

They look just fine. Infinity stretches off in all directions, no reason to restrict yourself. Fits nicely on the helms.

Thanks guys...I think I had a nightmare about possibly redoing them by sanding off the varnish layers above and below and starting again (which would have meant repainting all the heads).

Now another squad that benefited from the transfer sheet purchased from InquisitorMack.


Finally some Fire Dragon transfers in black!

Also took the opportunity to add the icon for Dire Avengers to Asurmen.



youwashock, I have not forgotten your request and will get a shot of all four Wave Serpents together. Then I think it will be time for an army shot.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Sweeeeeet...

I am digging the decals, too. Sets the models off nicely.

Looking really good, love seeing older models still be used.

LavuranGuard wrote:Looking really good, love seeing older models still be used.

Thank you LavuranGuard and youwashock.

And as requested a page or so ago:

 youwashock wrote:
You need to get all the grav-tanks together for a family portrait when it is done.

All four.



Slight variation between the three eras of painting (or really two as one was a conversion from an old Falcon). Debating whether I will do transfers on the three that do not have any...if I do it will mean having to mask of canopies.

Next up will be an army shot.

The long painting war continues...

CB

That's super cool. I love that scattery camo look. They look really good all together.

Great looking alien motor pool there, the blue scheme looks fantastic over multiple models.

Most excellent work!

--Brian

Beautiful work here.

Wow!!! There is a lot of cool stuff in this blog! Love seeing some of these older models.

Never been much of a space elves fan but I do admit, they are some darn pretty models!

Still find it crazy to think that when I left the hobby around 2008/2009, the "New" Eldar are now 10 years old.

Thank you youwashock, Theophony, Briancj], slave.entity, squall018 and BadOrk.

Now an army shot.



Spolier tags added for larger shots.


Looking down for depth.


All metal except for the bikes and Serpents. I did leave out the extra Guardian, Dire Avenger and weapon swaps for the Serpents, War Walkers, Support weapons, Wraith Lord, etc. But the rest is all in there. Ove 100 space elves from Rogue Trader or 2nd Edition.

The long painting war continues...but for my Eldar I think it might (for now) be finished.

CB

I have nostalgia feels.

Impressive work there Captain!

Truly a colorful bunch.

These older models bring some memories.
Even though I started collecting Eldar after the new models had come out, I remember seeing these in the old White Dwarf magazines I borrowed from library as I was a kid. One of my friends also had some of these guys. Don't quite remember which, but I remember grooling after them and hoping to get enough allowance to buy a box or two.

Truly a thing of beauty.

"In mass lies perfection." Great Army, I have early-days nostalgia as well.

Beautiful looking army, straight outta the 3rd edition Codex: Eldar. Fantastic stuff!

Retro-goodness!

Very nice looking army of classic stuff there!

Now that those are all done they can redo the entire range .

Great work and a lovely collection there.

Incredibly beautiful Eldar Warhost there. Truly worthy of a 90’s White Dwarf, with classic models and colours superbly executed. Sad that they’re finished though, surely there’s a few more hiding in your collection somewhere ?!?

This is so great! RT-era elves are the best.

Wow, this army could easily have been in White Dwarf in the 90s! It is beautiful. So impressive to see such a large army all painted consistently well all together. Congratulations on a job well done.

-Rids

I just want to eat them like Skittles.

It deserves an army report. I was just skimming through this:

https://archive.org/stream/WhiteDwarf057Sep.1984UK/WhiteDwarfMagazineIssue141-Sep.1991uk#page/n33/mode/2up

And yours deserves the same.

Thank you Briancj, Ezki, youwashock, Meer_Cat, Cosmic, Nevelon, slave.entity, and The Riddle of Steel.

Theophony wrote:Now that those are all done they can redo the entire range .

Great work and a lovely collection there.

Thanks I think they have redone a large portion of it, just a few Phoenix Lords and some of the Warlocks are the same (and they are not in metal anymore are they?).

gobert wrote:Incredibly beautiful Eldar Warhost there. Truly worthy of a 90’s White Dwarf, with classic models and colours superbly executed. Sad that they’re finished though, surely there’s a few more hiding in your collection somewhere ?!?

Thanks gobert, there are no more, I do have one plastic Autarch in a blister pack that I think I might sell as he just does not look like he will fit in.

Fifty wrote:It deserves an army report. I was just skimming through this:

https://archive.org/stream/WhiteDwarf057Sep.1984UK/WhiteDwarfMagazineIssue141-Sep.1991uk#page/n33/mode/2up

And yours deserves the same.

Thanks Fifty.
I will take photos of their next battle, I think it will be against a Chaos Army of Slaanesh.

The long painting war continues...but on my other painting logs.

CB

Wow. The whole army together is stunning. Nice work.

 squall018 wrote:
Wow. The whole army together is stunning. Nice work.

Thank you squall018.

Well I guess I was premature in declaring my army finished, as this is the first of the last four Phoenix Lords I intend to paint.

A finished metal Jain Zar, not a great sculpt by any means, but one that lasted over twenty years before a recent replacement.





Based to be fielded with my army with autumn grass to match the Eldar's race's decline.

Cheers,

CB

Another metal Phoenix Lord finished - Maugan Ra.






The long painting war continues...

CB

My favorite. He looks good. Now that Jain Zar has had a new model, I hope to see a new Maugan Ra in my lifetime.

 youwashock wrote:
My favorite. He looks good. Now that Jain Zar has had a new model, I hope to see a new Maugan Ra in my lifetime.

QFT, both my favorite model but still needs a refresh, although with current GW his gun would change to that off a Riptide or Warlord Titan.

The phoenix lord models do show their age a bit don't they. Odd as most of the old aspects still look good. MR was one of my favourites too and you've painted him up well.

although with current GW his gun would change to that off a Riptide or Warlord Titan.

and cost as much too...

Thanks youwashock and Theophony

Maharg wrote:The phoenix lord models do show their age a bit don't they. Odd as most of the old aspects still look good. MR was one of my favourites too and you've painted him up well.

Thank you Maharg. The Jes Goodwin sculpts have held up really well and I still feel they set the tone for all the models that have followed. I wish I remembered everything Mark Dance said about the history of the Exarch models when he first showed them to me up on Denman Island. He had some of the first casts to paint up before they were released and I remember being a bit disappointed myself in several of them.

Fuegan finished,








The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

Looks great, Cap'n. Lance really turned out well. Jain was the first of four, so who is the last up?

Fuegan looks great. You managed the fluffy color scheme very well. Looking forward to seeing the next Phoenix Lord.

Great work on this old school sculpt Captain Brown!

He looks great. Really darkening down the red like that gives him a grimy sooty kind of a look. (Now I'm thinking of Sooty the puppet, he doesn't remind of Sooty at all, I promise)

Love to see some Phoenix Lord love. Jain Zar looks great in those colours. The black and bone on Maugan Ra is a classic, of course. I wonder if he needs one or two bright spot coloured points to contrast with the dull bits, but I don't know what to suggest for location. Fuegan has a lovely deep red.

There was a discussion on Facebook I saw yesterday about the oldest sculpts in the range. We reckon that Njal is older han the Phoenix Lords, as are two of the current three Warlocks, but Phoenix Lords are pretty damn close to the oldest thing available. Not surprising as Jes Goodwin is amazing. I maintain that most of his Aspect Warrior sculpts are better than the ones that have followed later. His original Howling Banshees are still the best, in my opinion.

Thank you all for your comments.

Warlocks were released before the Phoenix Lords and likely Njal as there was a Space Wolf push just before the Eldar releases.

Finished Baharroth.







Last two together.


Next I should take a shot of all six.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Nice job, Cap'n. I like the dark blue-grey and the red gems are great against it. Most definitely need a shot of the Phoenix Six.

Nice Pair of Lords Captain, Baharroths colour scheme is A really good choice. Sad to hear that you’ve finished your Eldar

gobert wrote:Nice Pair of Lords Captain, Baharroths colour scheme is A really good choice. Sad to hear that you’ve finished your Eldar

Thank you gobert.
Well I did buy one more model as a reward.

youwashock wrote:Nice job, Cap'n. I like the dark blue-grey and the red gems are great against it. Most definitely need a shot of the Phoenix Six.

Thanks youwashock.

As requested,


The long painting war continues...

CB

PS: I am looking for some oop metal Dire Avenger Exarchs as well.

Original DA Exarch is a great mini.

Love the lineup. They look quite good. With the different color schemes and equipment, they always reminded me of a superhero team.

What a great project done. Those Phoenix Lords look amazing together. Looking forward to what you do with the Farseer on jetbike.

Fantastic collection. What a triumph. Lots of nice individual choices but they still recap some of the original Evy Metal schemes. And they look great together too.

The original DA exarch is an Iconic sculpt. I got one and few original avengers for a little squad of my own. I just always loved them. What's the plan? What are you needing plural exarchs for?

I just love how vibrant the colors are on all of them.

Fantastic Phoenixes, they look even better all together. Awesome work have an exaltation!

The 90's are strong with this one...

Absolutely stunning.

--Brian

That group shot is ace, so much amazing colors, have an exalt! And as youwashock said, they do look like the Justice League of Eldar

Those Phoenix Lords look stunning together, excellent work to finish a project. Good choice of reward for finishing!

Spectacular assemblage, each individually excellent, but as the old Napoleonic painters truly say 'here, in mass lies perfection'.

Thank you youwashock, CaptainWaffle, theCrowe, amazingturtles, Briancj, gobert, Viterbi, and Meer_Cat.

theCrowe wrote:The original DA exarch is an Iconic sculpt. I got one and few original avengers for a little squad of my own. I just always loved them. What's the plan? What are you needing plural exarchs for?

I have some spare Dire Avengers and wanted to make at least one more squad or add the option of smaller units for 9th.

Briancj wrote:The 90's are strong with this one...

I should sig that.

So the Jetseer kit is pretty simple.


As I was building it I noticed something was missing from the model...the large robes or cloaks that the Farseer wears. So I made my own to billow out from underneath the sash. Impractical...very likely, but this is 40K and I have a space elf riding a flying motorbike.


Jetbike is getting the attention first.


So loads of work still to do, but now he has a very long cloak flapping behind him.


The long painting and converting war continues…

CB

Any future universe that has tanks with rivets can have elves riding flying motorcycles with flowing cloaks and robes; excellent start to this build, Cap'n!

Nice cape. Soda can? Looks thin and metal. Nice vivid blue, too.

Meer_Cat wrote:Any future universe that has tanks with rivets can have elves riding flying motorcycles with flowing cloaks and robes; excellent start to this build, Cap'n!

Thank you Meer_Cat.

youwashock wrote:Nice cape. Soda can? Looks thin and metal. Nice vivid blue, too.

Thanks youwashock.
It is actually 0.10 mm plastic styrene, which made it a real (deleted) pain to shape, that flaking you see is having to do additional curling to make it fit between the rear upper fins.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

As always, and unsurprisingly, some terrific work in here CB. The uniformity of quality is something we should all aspire to.

Would love to see your process on shaping a cape out of styrene.

I agree more with the rationale for a cape, it at least doubles the level of 40k!

416_SpaceWolves wrote:As always, and unsurprisingly, some terrific work in here CB. The uniformity of quality is something we should all aspire to.

Would love to see your process on shaping a cape out of styrene.

Thank you 416_SpaceWolves. The process was simply cut out a cape shape, using the round cylinder of a small file handle start to curl the styrene with an emphasis on the curved end that was going to join under the waist sash. Continue folding and compressing that end until it is as wide as the waist width. Do another cut with a craft knife to match the curve of the lower torso/waist, as some polystyrene cement and crimp with a small clamp.

gobert wrote:I agree more with the rationale for a cape, it at least doubles the level of 40k!

Thanks gobert, good justification.

More WIP



The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

These bikers are looking great.

I'm also impressed by the photography of late. Do you use a lightbox? My photo's invariably let the models down.

Nice painting on those robes. Slick work with the decal on the cape, too.

Hey Captain, the farseer is looking really cool, good work on that cape. I've greenstuffed a few capes in the last few years and it's not easy... looks like you've got a good technique there.

Every eldar collection needs more pskyers!

I also love that squad of Phoenix Lords, they look fantastic together.

Love the nostalgia hit with all of those Phoenix Lords, the odd thing is they do not even feel that old to me but I assume they are the best part of 20+ years old. Anyway, great to see them painted so well and together.

The Farseer on jetbike is looking a perfect shade of Alaitoc blue and the added cape really adds to the model. Nice.

Rinkydink wrote:These bikers are looking great.

I'm also impressed by the photography of late. Do you use a lightbox? My photo's invariably let the models down.

Rinkydink, thanks. I use the blue cloth from a cheap light box that I have, but it is really small and I do not use the box portion. I also do not have a camera with MACRO and instead I am just using an old phone. So I cannot touch-up my photos...other than to crop/resize them with Microsoft 2010.

youwashock wrote:Nice painting on those robes. Slick work with the decal on the cape, too.

Thank you youwashock. I cut down the transfers to make the nice bands.

Bellerophon wrote:Hey Captain, the farseer is looking really cool, good work on that cape. I've greenstuffed a few capes in the last few years and it's not easy... looks like you've got a good technique there.

Every eldar collection needs more pskyers!

I also love that squad of Phoenix Lords, they look fantastic together.

Thank you Bellerophon.

ListenToMeWarriors wrote:Love the nostalgia hit with all of those Phoenix Lords, the odd thing is they do not even feel that old to me but I assume they are the best part of 20+ years old. Anyway, great to see them painted so well and together.

The Farseer on jetbike is looking a perfect shade of Alaitoc blue and the added cape really adds to the model. Nice.

Thanks ListenToMeWarriors.

Finished. Couple of things I wanted to achieve: the wraith bone look of the bike other than the canopy and fins to create a contrast between the Farseer and the bike, and to have the blue of the Farseer be distinct from the bike blue.









Like all my other bikes and Wave Serpents I have port and starboard running lights.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Great job, Cap'n! It all turned out very well. Love the wraithbone.

Awesome work Captain! You certainly achieved your goals with the model, great stuff

Jetbike Farseer is a great looking piece! I love all the bone and the pale blue spear tip is a great flash of light on there. A lovely elegant piece.

Always loved a good jetbike. Never did get into working on my own squad.

Great work on that Farseer, the cape conversion is seamless! Very good work separating the blues of bike and farseer and the bone parts are excellent!

Those phoenix lords look great. Love the line up picture!

Also very nic and fitting conversion with the cape!

Yup, lovely work. I really like that deep blue.

Oh man, that is beautiful!
Great idea changing the tone of the blue and bone color on the farseer compared to the bike.
It's really easy to blend things together when using similar colors, but you managed to make them stand out perfectly!

Love the classics! Great work!

Gorgeous farseer! The differentiated blue works very well.

youwashock, gobert, theCrowe, Viterbi, Max Moray, insaniak, Ezki, Stevefamine, and Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll.

Thank you all very much for the comments.

I entered the three I finished in August into last month's painting challenge.
Eldar Master Minds - Phoenix Lords and Farseer






If you want to give them a vote, I would definitely appreciate it.

Next up is some more weapon options for my Wave Serpents and War Walkers. Perhaps followed by a scratch built warp gate for this months comp.

The long painting war continues...

CB

I "finished" this fellow by removing the overly large Eldar Missile Launcher and replaced it with a standard Reaper Launcher.

Still debating if I want to use the extra Reaper Launchers I acquired to turn three into Exarchs with Tempest Launchers.

The long painting war continues...

CB

Classic Dark Reapers. Always good. Tempest mods sound cool. I day go for it.

I love seeing those old eldar models and you have done a great job on them. Farseer on bike is awesome sauce!

Nice trio infernale with perfect color choices. And nice work on the reaper, head reminds me a little of the old Grim Fandango game

Thank you youwashock, Yorkright, and Viterbi.

Now for the resin turrets I have had sitting in a bin for quite a long time. With the sudden increase in wounds on Marines I figured I needed a few more paired Starcannons and Scatter Lasers as they will no longer be -1 to hit mounted on moving Vehicles.

First WIP


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

Continued WIP


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

Looks like a lot of firepower. Have fun blasting Marines.

Nice job on the Phoenix Lords and Farseer - the teal on the Swooping Hawk is particularly gorgeous.

Good start on the turrets too, looking forward to see how they turn out.

Thank you youwashock and Thumpingbear.

Turrets painted.


On a pair of Wave Serpents to show them off.



The Scatter Laser on the bottom right was the one I finished before and you can see it has a slightly different shape/style to the Turret

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

Impressive work, Cap'n. There's a surprising amount of color on those turrets.

Amazing work painting all those gemstones. The marines will die by being blinded by all that bling!

Looking good, Captain - much else to paint for the Pointy-Ears?

youwashock wrote:Impressive work, Cap'n. There's a surprising amount of color on those turrets.

Thank you youwashock.

Viterbi wrote:Amazing work painting all those gemstones. The marines will die by being blinded by all that bling!

Thanks Viterbi, there must be some blindness as my Marine opponents always pour a tremendous amount of firepower at them, even if they have dropped of their cargo.

Dysartes wrote:Looking good, Captain - much else to paint for the Pointy-Ears?

Thanks Dysartes. I have a pair of Scatter Lasers that I am doing for two of my old War Walkers...perhaps I might try and craft some Star Canons for them as well. No models unless I can get my hands of a few old metal Dire Avenger Exarchs.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

I enjoy how well you make your eldar colourful and pop.

A healthy array of weapons you’ve amassed. Good luck tearing through the Space Marines!

416_SpaceWolves wrote:I enjoy how well you make your eldar colourful and pop.

Thank you 416_SpaceWolves.

gobert wrote:A healthy array of weapons you’ve amassed. Good luck tearing through the Space Marines!

Thanks gobert.

Now something I am working on for the Monthly Painting Challenge...almost out of time...so speed presentation.

The start, an Eldar Webway Portal made by a friend's 3D printer.


The four parts glued together and putty added to fill the gaps. There were lots as I asked for the model to be increased by 25%.


Applying my Wraitbone paint scheme.


Then constructing a base from three layers of chip board and scoring it to look like old flagstones.


Base primed and the two sides of the Webway attached.


Base painted.


First bits of flock and static grass added.


More to come.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB

PS: Added one more WIP shot with the grass.

Looks pretty awesome so far. Good luck wrapping it up for the comp!

Webway is looking great.

Keep up the fight, looks like your are winning the paint battle.

Thank you youwashock and Yorkright.

Now I have to decide on which photos to include.


To give you an idea of scale.

Other side.









The model for scale was a single Guardian I discovered in an old scrap pile.



The long painting war continues...

CB

Old metal Guardians and their chainmail leggings. Too good. Portal looks fantastic. Neat choice, going with the overgrown look. Gives it extra character.

Yeah, the greenery over it looks really good, and natural too! You can see where it's grown from, which is a nice touch

Webway looks amazing and very suitably ancient. Great work!

The webway portal looks great. The layers even add to the feel that it has been grown rather than manufactured.

It’s always great to find bonus minis as you go through a pile! Great job bringing him up to speed with a classically bright paint job