Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

T&A lol

I don't think that's very High Elven. More the Druchii thing, or possibly Wood Elves?

I would have gone with this one Kroot



And I quite liked the old maidenguard, I might even pick them up in finecast even though I'll never collect High Elves. I like the battle mage, maidenguard leader, shadow warriors and phoenix's a little, not well enough to buy, but I like em enough. The rest of them less so, particularly the chariots, finubar and the everqueen. I'd like the old everqueen model if I do end up picking up some maidenguard

I'm seeing flying boat conversions in my future, with Dark Eldar Raider sails instead birdies. The birdies will do well in other places in the army though, as by themselves they look pretty good.

Great:
Maiden Guard Commander - Like this alot - please be plastic

Good
I like the look of the magic bow archers - but .its not that obvious they are Miaden Guard........nothing wrong with the old ones and now I might be able to have spear ranks and bow ranks I think they are trying to link the Maiden Guard re the heart symbol on the waistband?

Pheonix's look good - work for other stuff and something I have not got.

So-so
Everqueen - Totally agree that the old model is much better - glad I still have it but the new ones not not awful..........the barefeet/flowers is quite fun.
Shadow warriors - meh really

bad
Eagle Chariot - dont like the combined elements
battle mage - many have said why and I agree

T&A, good one.

I love the eagle chariots. I'll finally have a great eagle model, and the chariot can become a bitchin' Eldar cruiser from the War in Heaven period, once I turn it upside down and add some bobs and bits.

Honestly, I think all of these models fit in well with the established "ridiculous" HE aesthetic, which really makes me interested. And the Rodan phoenix with throne? Sugoi!!!

Okay, let's go through the list:

SkyChariot - I was very skeptical of this. It is, after all, a monumentally stupid concept. But really, I think they've pulled it off. As silly as a bird-towed boat is, they somehow made it look decent. As decent as the concept can be, anyway.

Finubar - I'm good with this, too. Getting to the elephant in the room, yes, his helmet is absolutely ridiculous. But High Elves are supposed to have silly helmets. At least his is a well-sculpted silly helmet. This model is everything that a Finubar model should be- inspiring, but not a Matrix-style killing machine nor super-sayan magic user. Also, maybe this is his armor talking, but his banner pole looks reasonably proportioned to him. This is something that HEs have had serious problems with in past incarnations.

Alarielle - I've been a big fan of the notion of Alarielle ever since I got my first HE army book in the early 2000s. I don't mind the hearts so much, as that's kind of what the Everqueen is about. I don't mind the over-the-top headdress, because really if you're going to bring your civilization's high priestess to the goddess of healing and fertility to battle, well, she's probably going to come wearing bling. And the headdress neatly obscures most of her face, protecting GW sculptors from having to address a part of the feminine anatomy they've traditionally struggled with.

What I can't get over however, is that fething stupid staff. That staff is larger around than her upper arm. Here's an experiment- take one hand and try wrapping it around your upper arm. Now granted, most of us are guys and guys often have larger upper arms, but still. I'm not remotely jacked and I can't get my hand much more than halfway around my arm. Now picture carrying a staff that is never smaller around than that, but that is also approximately 10 ft long into battle. With one hand. Absolutely ridiculous. It's a basic proportion problem, and it's disappointing to see GW once again fail at a basic element of HE design. I'm betting this is a material issue (fear that Finecast can't support a more fragile, thinner staff), to which my response is, why the feth are you using Finecast?

High Mage of Hoeth - I don't mind his pose as much as others do, but that fireball is just stupid. GW has had a lot of practice sculpting flames lately. Why did you screw this up? Why did this silly octopus-thrower make it past quality control?

Maiden Guard Commander - Now this is what I'm talking about! This is everything the maiden guard should be- reading to kick ass, but still feminine without sacrificing armour to show off girly bits. Yes there's exposed leg, but I assume it's protected by the scale skirt that male and female HEs have been wearing for as far back as I can recall. Everything about this model is well done oh wait giant tree-trunk spear never mind.

Shadow Warriors - Can't see anything wrong with these guys. But then, the picture is kind of small. They are what they should be, skirmishers without a lot of bling. I have to confess I've never been much of a fan of the Shadow Warriors- perhaps these guys could turn me around.

Archer unit with Magical Bows - What a mess.

Okay, I should be more charitable than that. There are some good things going on here. The armoured bodies are alright, though the giant hearts on the belts give away that these are likely to be the same bodies used on the Maiden Guard. Their bows on the other hand.... stupid. I'm sorry GW, not everything that is magical in the game needs to be covered with swirling vortices of energy. The bows just add more visual confusion to an already busy, confusing unit. But the real problem is the heads, oh god, the heads. One of those heads in the back, if you squint in the right light and perhaps imagine it in an 80s anime, looks female. All the others look like slender men in heavy makeup. If your sculptors can't get females right, hire someone who can. And stop letting products that look ugly past QC. HE are supposed to be effeminate, foppish, ponces sure. But they are not transvestites in heavy eye-liner. Get it right.

Overall, the new HE release is shaping up to be another disappointment. There are some truly beautiful, cool, or at least interesting sculpts in here. Someone at the studio does care about doing their job. Unfortunately, there's also a lot of rubbish that clearly only made it out of QC because someone at the studio thinks releasing models is more important than releasing good models.

But the bigger problem is that all of these cool models are asides to the core of the HE. They're monsters or auxillia or characters. The core troops of the HE are still ugly, poorly sculpted messes. Perhaps GW doesn't realize it, but there is a difference between their game and squad-based games like Infinity. In squad-based games, each trooper can be a superhero because you only have 10 or so figures on the board. Each one can be flashy without distracting from the whole. But what sustains a player to paint 100 infantrymen for an army-based game isn't the flashy heroes- it's the infantry. People play historical games with blocks of infantry because on some level, they care about the little rank-and-file guys. Sure, the generals with their big personas, the fancy artillery and elite units are cool- but what makes a historical war game is the ability of the player to sympathize with the peons who trudge through the mud. When GW updates their armies with new exciting toys but ignores decades-old, ugly RaF, they're shooting themselves in the foot.

And now I realize I've just been put in a position where I've just had to explain to one of the world's biggest miniature wargame companies why people play miniature wargames. Christ, I need a drink.

Oh well, I suppose it's all a moot point since there's no way GW is going to price any of these things at a sensible level. Here I am, just at the end of my time as a penniless grad student, about to go back in the workforce and earn disposeable income again, and simultaneously my three favorite armies (Tau, High Elves, and Eldar) are all getting updated at the same time. It's the perfect storm for GW to get me back into the HHHobby. If GW can flub the Eldar the way they've flubbed the Tau and the way it looks like they're going to flub the HE, my wallet will be safe for another decade.

JOHIRA - I agree with everything you've said. Bravo.

 jonolikespie wrote:

Rumoured combat mage?

Really, what is going on with his feet?

 Elemental wrote:

Really, what is going on with his feet?

He's playing DDR.

 Elemental wrote:

Really, what is going on with his feet?

Obviously he was taken completely by surprise by the flying jellyfish that is now stinging his hand that he's tripped over a rock and is about to fall flat onto his face.

More pics from Lecai over at ulthuan.net (originally posted on a Chinese website http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2278794781 ):
http://www.ulthuan.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44910&start=210


*snip* Reds8n

If the archers are the Maiden guard I wonder if they are switching to pure archers? Hope not.

Articuno! Moltres! I choose you!


In all seriousness, I like the phoenixes. Not so sure about the guys with the cowls (picture above Anime Laser Bow Archer Team).

Bit of a shame the seam between the wings and the torso is so visible, though. You'd say that, on such a mono-pose model, that wouldn't be necessary in this day and age...

The more I see of the Shadow Warriors, the more I hope that there is an alternative set of arms so I can have some with arrows nocked rather than swords/bows only.

 Kanluwen wrote:
The more I see of the Shadow Warriors, the more I hope that there is an alternative set of arms so I can have some with arrows nocked rather than swords/bows only.

Ya, already rummaging through my bitz box to find state militia and Empire archer hands with arrows.

Other than that, I really like the almost-druchii look their helmets have. Looks really sinister, as they should, being the coldest killers Ulthuan has in their arsenal.

Probably my second favorite kit in this release, after the eagle chariot thing.

Man, this just makes me want to redo my old shadow warrior Mordheim warband. Still have the old list, even if it isn't "legal" anymore since they never reprinted it

The shadow warriors are starting to grow on me, if the rules are good I might go ahead and pick up 3-6 boxes.

 NELS1031 wrote:

Other than that, I really like the almost-druchii look their helmets have. Looks really sinister, as they should, being the coldest killers Ulthuan has in their arsenal.

It's definitely nice to have the Shadow Warriors looking significantly different to the rest of the High Elf look.

For myself, here's the way I look at it:
The Shadow Warriors, being the true Children of Naggarythe, have retained the wargear and trappings of their ancestry.

The Druchii pretenders have adopted that look, which in turn led to the Asur starting to differentiate their wargear significantly from the Druchii look.

Probably my second favorite kit in this release, after the eagle chariot thing.

Yeah, the Eagle Chariot kit was definitely a surprise in how not sucktastic it was. I'm looking at it as a jackpot for bits though.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

silent25 wrote:

OMG she has the power of heart!

Is that how you spot the slightly more feminine elfs? They have little hearts and flowers on everything?

This, and the following "heartastic" post from another poster, made me lol

I didn't even notice it at first. There is an incredible amount of hearts on that miniature!

 Kanluwen wrote:

 NELS1031 wrote:

Other than that, I really like the almost-druchii look their helmets have. Looks really sinister, as they should, being the coldest killers Ulthuan has in their arsenal.

It's definitely nice to have the Shadow Warriors looking significantly different to the rest of the High Elf look.

For myself, here's the way I look at it:
The Shadow Warriors, being the true Children of Naggarythe, have retained the wargear and trappings of their ancestry.

The Druchii pretenders have adopted that look, which in turn led to the Asur starting to differentiate their wargear significantly from the Druchii look.

Probably my second favorite kit in this release, after the eagle chariot thing.

Yeah, the Eagle Chariot kit was definitely a surprise in how not sucktastic it was. I'm looking at it as a jackpot for bits though.

So rare that I agree 100% with Kan, but in this I do. I like the chariot well enough to at least buy one even if I never play it, and I very much like the Shadow Warriors and Kan's fluff for why they look as they do.

Now if only the Maiden Guard unit looked entirely like that champion model.

As for heartfest '13, 5th edition as well as the current Silver Helms have the damn things all over the place. I never cared for them, but at least on Maiden Guard and the EQ they make sense, as the Everqueen is the figurative heart of the Asur.

 Bolognesus wrote:
Bit of a shame the seam between the wings and the torso is so visible, though. You'd say that, on such a mono-pose model, that wouldn't be necessary in this day and age...

Oh god, now I can't unsee it!

 Aerethan wrote:

Now if only the Maiden Guard unit looked entirely like that champion model.

I'm still maintaining the assumption that the "Maiden Guard" has been updated in terms of the concept. I'm really thinking this is going to be a unique Archer unit which will have some kind of synergy with the Everqueen, and that the "Maiden Guard Commander" model we're seeing is going to be something similar to Warrior Priests or Witch Hunters.

As for heartfest '13, 5th edition as well as the current Silver Helms have the damn things all over the place. I never cared for them, but at least on Maiden Guard and the EQ they make sense, as the Everqueen is the figurative heart of the Asur.

This is totally another bit of speculation on my part, but...

I'm of the opinion that the hearts aren't really to do with the Everqueen but rather with the province of Avelorn where she resides.
I don't recall the Silver Helms being that overladen with hearts either. I know they have a lot of moons and gems, but like one or two hearts as well for the body/glove bits.
It might just be my mind being fuzzy though as I hated the Silver Helms with a fiery passion.

 JOHIRA wrote:

 Bolognesus wrote:
Bit of a shame the seam between the wings and the torso is so visible, though. You'd say that, on such a mono-pose model, that wouldn't be necessary in this day and age...

Oh god, now I can't unsee it!

That actually seems to be a big problem with the larger kits GW are putting out these days. Yes they can fit a whole monster on 2 fames, but there are a lot of seams clearly visible on their pics on GWs site.

 Kanluwen wrote:

 Aerethan wrote:

Now if only the Maiden Guard unit looked entirely like that champion model.

I'm still maintaining the assumption that the "Maiden Guard" has been updated in terms of the concept. I'm really thinking this is going to be a unique Archer unit which will have some kind of synergy with the Everqueen, and that the "Maiden Guard Commander" model we're seeing is going to be something similar to Warrior Priests or Witch Hunters.

As for heartfest '13, 5th edition as well as the current Silver Helms have the damn things all over the place. I never cared for them, but at least on Maiden Guard and the EQ they make sense, as the Everqueen is the figurative heart of the Asur.

This is totally another bit of speculation on my part, but...

I'm of the opinion that the hearts aren't really to do with the Everqueen but rather with the province of Avelorn where she resides.
I don't recall the Silver Helms being that overladen with hearts either. I know they have a lot of moons and gems, but like one or two hearts as well for the body/glove bits.
It might just be my mind being fuzzy though as I hated the Silver Helms with a fiery passion.

Out of the 8 models there are 4 bodies(repeated twice) in the SH kit. 1 of those bodies is full of hearts, as is the lance and one or two of the shields. I never liked them, as I think they are too feminine for my taste and don't fit the theme of my army at all.


I do like the idea of a Maiden Guard version of a Witch Hunter or Warrior Priest, a character that offers some buffs without being crazy powerful and expensive. I enjoy synergies in armies instead of "move forward, cast dwellers, shoot, hit stuff".


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 jonolikespie wrote:

 JOHIRA wrote:

 Bolognesus wrote:
Bit of a shame the seam between the wings and the torso is so visible, though. You'd say that, on such a mono-pose model, that wouldn't be necessary in this day and age...

Oh god, now I can't unsee it!

That actually seems to be a big problem with the larger kits GW are putting out these days. Yes they can fit a whole monster on 2 fames, but there are a lot of seams clearly visible on their pics on GWs site.

I think with some thinned down Liquid Green stuff (or whatever gap filler you prefer) that those particular seams could be easily filled in. I do think that they could have sculpted in some form of feathers that overlap the seam to help cover it up though.

I wonder if the eagle from the skyboat and the phoenixes are bitz-copatable... ? The legs seem to be in a fairly similar position, and I like the position of the wings better on the eagle. Maybe use one of the 'Maiden Guard' models as the rider instead and have them surfing the phoenix instead of being very static on the battle-throne.
Hmmm... possibilities.

 RatBot wrote:
Articuno! Moltres! I choose you!

No Zapdos, though. Guess they thought he would be too OP.

I aways thought the Heart symbol was because the Everqueen was the Heart of the Elf islands.

Alothough the Symbol of Isha who she embodies is the all seeing eye.

So, hearts are the new skulls ?