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Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

Many years ago I had a long Mohawk of dreads. I had a job at the time requiring a hair net and helmet. It was really hard to keep in both so I shaved the front half off and just had a topknot for convenience. I always assumed it was the same in 40k.

The reason for the Eldar to have their cone head helmets is to fit their topknots, right?

 Oguhmek wrote:
The reason for the Eldar to have their cone head helmets is to fit their topknots, right?

I'm no Eldar lore expert, but from a quick model overview, some guardians and autarchs don't wear topknots, and the howling banshees have what I would consider actual ponytails.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Wraithlords as Elites? So I can't even fake an Iyanden army anymore with lots of Wraithguard Elites and 3 HS slots filled with Wraithlords?

Wonderful...

GW do seem intent on shoehorning as many units as possible into the elites slot, including some really odd ones like Space Marine Scouts/Reivers. At least the Eldar are getting more options in the one codex with the addition of some new units, Ynarri and harlequins...unlike the GSC with their 1 heavy support choice and loss of all the Guard units in the one book.

Overall I am really liking the look of the Eldat releases, time to get working on my Lugganath test scheme.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Wraithlords as Elites? So I can't even fake an Iyanden army anymore with lots of Wraithguard Elites and 3 HS slots filled with Wraithlords?

Probably be a Army of Renown or similar in a supplement. Still hoping we get a certain Spirit Seer again and her bodyguard,

 Mr Morden wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Wraithlords as Elites? So I can't even fake an Iyanden army anymore with lots of Wraithguard Elites and 3 HS slots filled with Wraithlords?

Probably be a Army of Renown or similar in a supplement. Still hoping we get a certain Spirit Seer again and her bodyguard,

but we invented a whole load of new fluff and Yvaine has a kitty (and come in a profit friendly box_) so no need to kitbash Iyanna you cheapskates !

Also Harly weapons all being the same, ok less book-keeping but locking each ones benefit behind a strat funking bad show James, funking bad show, because of course a line of always on text is too hard (well for Xenos toys)

 Mr Morden wrote:
Probably be a Army of Renown or similar in a supplement. Still hoping we get a certain Spirit Seer again and her bodyguard,

You're probably right.

Given how many Elite units the Eldar have, I'm surprised they'd want to add another.

I wonder if one of the three new units could be an Eldar superheavy, like a new Scorpion variant. The Eldar range is a bit shy of big plastic kits compared to some of the others nowadays.

I'm struggling to think of what else they might be really. Some kind of mobile shield unit?

Large mobile shield unit sounds like the most boring thing ever.

They could release the Nightwing. Give them more aircraft to reflect their air superiority.


It would be nice to see some classic Eldar knights get reimagined.

A bright stallion would be a cool and unique model.

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates the proliferation of that particular hairstyle on GW models.

 JNAProductions wrote:

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Wraithlords as Elites? So I can't even fake an Iyanden army anymore with lots of Wraithguard Elites and 3 HS slots filled with Wraithlords?

Wonderful...

Just take a Vanguard detachment?

But why was this necessary? What problem did it solve?

I'm assuming that Wraithknights will still be Lords of War, so it's not even as if GW could be trying to preserve the HS slot for the biggest wraith unit.

They wanted to free up HS slots for Dark Reapers and War Walkers?

 Skinnereal wrote:
They wanted to free up HS slots for Dark Reapers and War Walkers?

And the various Heavy Grav-tanks.
Honestly, I'm excited for WLs to be Elites. They've ALWAYS been Dreadnought equivalents, which have always been Elites.
WLs haven't felt like a Heavy option for several editions. Too many other much bigger options now.

-

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

It's part of their visual language and denotes barbarism/savagery.

JSG wrote:

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

It's part of their visual language and denotes barbarism/savagery.

So... what does it denote for eldar, then?

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
And the 3rd Ed Scorps were badly balanced, which made some of them topple over very easily. And one of the poses was just "I'm grabbing my ankle for some reason!".

I still run my 3rd ed sculpts and I've never noticed balance issues, most of them are posed with a low center of gravity including the infamous ankle grabber.

 Albertorius wrote:

So... what does it denote for eldar, then?

It is a signifier of hipsterism.

That or the given Eldar individual used to walk the path of the hairdresser.

 Albertorius wrote:

JSG wrote:

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

It's part of their visual language and denotes barbarism/savagery.

So... what does it denote for eldar, then?

The same. They're warriors.

JSG wrote:

 Albertorius wrote:

JSG wrote:

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

It's part of their visual language and denotes barbarism/savagery.

So... what does it denote for eldar, then?

The same. They're warriors.

They are so popular in 40k because it’s an easy hairstyle to create in HIPs plastic. Personally I’m not a fan, I often prefer to cut them off and go totally bald, or cut them off and sculpt some hair.

I mean, a bald head with a topknot on top makes absolutely no sense, unless it’s a hair squig on an Ork

 Arschbombe wrote:


That or the given Eldar individual used to walk the path of the hairdresser.

This is gold

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

I rather enjoy them as they blend in quite well with the Asian fusion that Eldar has as a part of its design. But as with anything some will like it and some won't.

I think that kind of hairstyle is 1) easy to sculpt 2) gives a vaguely "exotic/Asian" feel in keeping with the Eldar as a fusion of various cultures considered exotic by the Western European cultures that the Imperium's visual look draws inspiration from.

There are some traditional/historic examples of such hairstyles or similar styles such as the Japanese "chonmage" or this Mongolian one:

I don't care about hair as long as they stay well away from the style they used for the deamonette models. They look nice, but my GODS there are so many strands with their own mould line each all with so little space between them. They take an AGE to clean and some never appear all that cleaned up once done.

 insaniak wrote:

 His Master's Voice wrote:

Except Goodwin's original concepts have even more slanted eyes and the mouth line is not slanted downwards.

I was talking about these sketches:

The larger facial features relative to the size of the face also make Jes's sketches here feel more crude and savage, and less dainty. If there's one thing I miss about the Juan Diaz-era aesthetic it's that everything had a layer of "ugliness" to it. Even the stuff that's supposed to be elegant -- like the Eldar -- always had some aspect of unrefined barbarism to its design. This is really noticeable in the old harlequins which were straight up grotesque. It was this ugliness that made everything in 40k feel grim and sinister, even the supposedly "beautiful" things.

Nowadays everything is clean, pretty, and elegant. The Death Guard especially have this clean, cartoony, elegance to their sculpts that doesn't nearly have the same deformed, grotesque vibe as the old plague marines and Nurgle daemons.

I'm not surprised. The new Dark Reapers are just a continuation of this trend.

artific3r wrote:

 insaniak wrote:

 His Master's Voice wrote:

Except Goodwin's original concepts have even more slanted eyes and the mouth line is not slanted downwards.

I was talking about these sketches:

The larger facial features relative to the size of the face also make Jes's sketches here feel more crude and savage, and less dainty. If there's one thing I miss about the Juan Diaz-era aesthetic it's that everything had a layer of "ugliness" to it. Even the stuff that's supposed to be elegant -- like the Eldar -- always had some aspect of unrefined barbarism to its design. This is really noticeable in the old harlequins which were straight up grotesque. It was this ugliness that made everything in 40k feel grim and sinister, even the supposedly "beautiful" things.

Nowadays everything is clean, pretty, and elegant. The Death Guard especially have this clean, cartoony, elegance to their sculpts that doesn't nearly have the same deformed, grotesque vibe as the old plague marines and Nurgle daemons.

I'm not surprised. The new Dark Reapers are just a continuation of this trend.

There is just enough difference for each feature (the 'eye lash' at the corners (also the angle of the eyes), the lack of an indent on the bottom of the nose triangle, the circle join of the vertical lines to the horizontal mouth slash) that it tips over the line and falls into cartoony.
'Lego head' is an apt description. And a quick google of 'cartoon skulls' produces a lot of results are far more threatening the painted end-product here. Its easy to see where they were aiming for the sketches and failed.
A bit too much Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and not enough Skeletor.

 Arschbombe wrote:

JSG wrote:
This kit must be truly exceptional if all people can find to complain about is the same face Dark Reapers have had for thirty years.

Not quite the same face for 30 years, but close.



The overall aesthetic has been pretty stable IMO with the greatest deviation in the heads.

This is a great comparison image because to be honest they all look the same. I'm most used to the 2nd ones (3rd edition?) reapers and I used to think they looked great but looking at them there, eugh. Not so much of a fan.

I think when I actually get a hold of them for myself I'll decide what to do with the helmets, might change them or when I see them in person I might change my mind.

As with a lot of GW pre-release photos I think they look a little odd and then when I see them later on, I totally change how I feel about them.

 Togusa wrote:

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

I rather enjoy them as they blend in quite well with the Asian fusion that Eldar has as a part of its design. But as with anything some will like it and some won't.

Now I want them to go full armoured topknot.

 DreadfullyHopeful wrote:

 Togusa wrote:

 Flipsiders wrote:
Why is GW obsessed with bald ponytails and topknots anyway?

There are four different factions in 40k who regularly employ them as a fashion choice, not even including subfactions like the White Scars, and it never, ever, looks good. Does anyone actually believe that Dark Reapers look better with a dorky little lock of hair falling out of their helmets like a party streamer?

I rather enjoy them as they blend in quite well with the Asian fusion that Eldar has as a part of its design. But as with anything some will like it and some won't.

Now I want them to go full armoured topknot.

Drazhar is halfway there already.

This seems to be a TON of drama for stylized face masks, especially given how rare it is for Eldar to get updated ANYTHING.

Also, is the site jacked up? I have nobody on ignore yet page 56 of this thread has no posts yet gives me a clickable link.

EDIT: Never mind, sent my post to page 55