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Hello and welcome to my P&M blog which chronicles the ongoing development of my Dark Eldar army, The Kabal of the Downed Gardens. I've put my thoughts and some fluff at the end of the post, but first some pictures!

The first squad I completed for the army, really pleased with the way these turned out:



Closeup of my favorite Hellion out of the squad:



A Hellion ready to jab someone:



Another Hellion:



A Ravager:



and a Venom:



I'll be updating this blog with new photos as other things get done / I manage to get decent photos of them! Finally a photo of some Hellions in action:

Death came swirling down...



Has a color scheme ever inspired you to start an army? It happened to me, but I ended up with a completely different scheme that the one that got me into the army!

I was resisting the pull of the new Dark Eldar models until I saw a Reaver Jetbike done in crimson and gold, oozing arrogance. I promptly bought some Reavers and Hellions. But it was only when I began painting a test model that I realized I was tired of painting red since I had just spent two years on an Admech army! Time for a rethink.

A few days, color schemes and a Hellion that had been stripped a few to many times later and I was still struggling. I loved the models but nothing I tried really clicked. So, I spent a few more days noodling around with different color schemes without much success before I found a short description of the Kabal of the Dying Sun in the Dark Eldar Codex. In particular the line, "renowned for their overweening pride and disdain for anything that has not endured for millennia," that put me on the right track for both the background and the look of the army.

The central theme for this army is of a Dark Eldar Kabal that treats old, chipped and tarnished equipment as a mark of pride because its level of craftsmanship is so high that it literally takes thousands of years to become a weathered and worn.

This Kabal has come to regard what we would see as objects impossibly perfect in form and function as merely the results of tedious “manufacturing” exercises. After all, the Eldar race has had the skills to produce such things for millennia. Instead, arms and armor are only truly coveted once they exhibit the patina acquired in countless battles and the residue of untold deaths.

One I had the background, the color scheme just sort of popped into my head in the form of a bright blue Hellion skyboard streaked with orange rust.

Those look fantastic. The colours really pop on the table and are much more exciting than red would have been. I can't wait to see how the rest of the force looks in these colours

The chipping is looking good, though adding in some lighter chipping before the darker stuff will help make it pop and look even more realistic

wow! those sure are some nice models! I'm really impressed on how realistic those look and feel! The eyes of your favourite just fit 100% Really like the colors too! blue/turqoise is such a strong color! Eager to see more

Thanks for the comments! I've actually finished a squad of Reavers as well, I'll try to get some photos uploaded tonight.

I really like these. I think you selection of colors is amazing as is the paint job.

Today's update is a big unit of Reaver Jetbikes, I still need to paint gloss varnish on most of the helmets:



and at a slightly different angle:

I'm loving the color scheme. Different, refreshing and looks fantastic IMO. Nicely done.

Some other angles of the Ravager.





And a closeup:



I'm quite happy with the way the runes on the hull turned out. I've been using Google image search and the Dark Eldar transfer sheet for references. It's odd that the new Dark Eldar book doesn't have a page on runes!

Anyone know of good sources for runes?

O.o

Ok i quit warhammer.... I was going to do a DE army but this is sooo amazing... whatever i make will feel like a fail...

Good job though....

Built some more scenic bases for my second unit of Hellions. These were made pretty much by following the slate basing tutorial by Brushthralls. I thought I'd share a brief tutorial since it's surprisingly simple and effective.



First roll out a flat pancake of putty, black Milliput in this case, let it dry. Then you can use pliers to break of small pieces until you get the shape you want. I use the small pieces to form the first layer. Then I make a larger piece and drill a hole in it for the flying stand to put on top. The whole thing is held together with more putty.



I'm also trying this technique for my regular infantry bases, but I'm not sure exactly sure how high I want to make them yet.



That's it for today!

My favorite is hands down the Ravager! Gota get myself some new pants. Sorry but thank you ;P

Wow they look amazing ! your paint scheme is just epic keep up the great work ill be keeping a close eye on this thread

Thanks for the comments, keeps me motivated to post! A little bonus on what I got done tonight between the last post and this one. Took me about 30 minutes or so to break up the "pancakes" in the last images. I'll be putting them together tomorrow.

Big fan of Dark Eldar armies that shy away from the expected dark colours. This one is great so far and loving the weathering

I've decided to differentiate my Trueborn from regular Warriors by having them all with a back ornament and without helmets. Since Trueborn think of themselves as superior due to their "natural" breeding, they would probably want to show their faces!



I've seen a lot of really cool conversions online using Corsair cloaks, but I really liked the idea of having them carrying around trophies on giant bronze spikes! If I do any regular Warrior Sybarites they'll use the back banner bit.

The back ornament on this model is actually the leftover trophy rack railings from the Venom kit and the body is one of the riders leftover from the Ravager.

Not sure if I'll paint them any different from the rest of my army, any ideas? I'm toying with the idea of reversing my original scheme to give them copper armor and a turquoise bodysuit.

Making progress on the Trueborn:





I'm starting to really having a small unit of Trueborn sitting at the back of the board in cover. People tend to ignore it for a while so it usually get to shoot for most of the game.

That colour scheme looks really great. And is done to perfection.
The bases look quite nice as well, pretty simple but definatly effective.
I like that piece of scenery that you have taken a photo of the Hellions in, could you get a photo of that on its own?

I love the color scheme, great work.

These are AMAZING! I really love that original color scheme you have going on. Can't wait to see more!

_Tim?

Credit where credit is due, the terrain was made by our resident terrain wizard in my local store. I'll get some pictures of it the next time I'm in the store.

The dark eldar technology is really looking good these days. Makes me glad that I sold my dark eldar before the latest release, other wise I would be buying new models.

First Trueborn done! It's the same model as the upper model in the post above. It's amazing how much difference a few highlights and weathering effects makes. I'm still not totally sold on the basing though. Might have to make some taller stone "stacks" to fit in better with the flying bases.

The trueborn looks amazing.

This is pure gold, I love your painting on these DE, best i have seen tbh. Keep up the work, would love to see a razorwing in these colours

Looking really good!

I like any DE scheme which deviates from the 'black with coloured edging' as preferred by GW.

Three things which I really like in particular; The sail/banner scheme. Really good juxtaposition with the blue. Also, the markings on the hulls, - very nicely done. Finally, I like your distinction between trueborn and warriors. Might have to pinch that!

I'd also love to see a Razorwing in these colors...

and a Talos...

and Incubi...

and Scourges...

and a whole fleet of Raiders...

and Wracks...

and the Baron with 30 Hellions...

and stuff I've not bought yet such as...

Grotesques converted from rat ogres like I've seen on Dakka)...
and a slowly developing project with Beastmasters and converted beasts...

That's the problem with the Dark Eldar range. Just about everything is a fantastic model

Everything look amazing. A job well done sir! I love the feel of the models, reminds me alot of Fallout, all that armor with chipped paint...delicious

Great work all round; simply stunning painting that does fantastic models justice.
At first I was unsure of the scheme, but now at least I really love it; you've done a fantastic job here man - I can't wait for more.

These are absolutely incredible mate, it's been ages since I've got my paints out but you've just sinspired me to crack back on! Thanks for that!

Love the helliarch and how he's choosing his next victim - like everyone else, would love to see how this colour scheme would work out on the haemy models if you were planning on fielding / getting any? Not sure if they'd fit with your theme but if you do please get pics up asap.

Model appreciation momentarily suspended, I love your skill with a camera too, the angles you're pulling out really accent the excellent paint scheme and modelling that you've done.

Well done pal - that's me subscribed!


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Ps, the stone stacks idea for the trueborn would work really well with them hanging back in cover as you say. I like the mental of them just sniping with DL's from cover - stone stacks would really bring that out. Just don't hide too much of the detail is all I'd say!

The image of Truborn sniping tanks from cover is really appealing. It just seems so in character. A bit like a bunch of bored noblemen going big game hunting, except with no animals harmed and much more entertainment. You not only get to compete to bring down a Land Raider or two, but can also look forward to watching the Hellions tear apart whatever bails out.

The fluff really makes everything come to life. Since when I think about it, in gameplay terms there's really not much of a difference between a small squad of Trueborn and a combat squad of Devastators, and I've never found Devastators to be that compelling (although the Heavy Bolters in Dawn of War are pretty cool).