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And just like that, I didn't want to varnish my models anymore...

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Don Qui Hotep, yes. My own spin on Maugan Ra, Dark Reaper Phoenix Lord, for my Exodite project.

Time for painting has stayed at a premium the last week or so. And then, disaster started flirting. You may recall that the dullcote was a little strong this season, and the Zoat was almost wrecked by frosting. So I went light on our girl here, and it was WORSE. Spotty, frosted, distressing to say the least. And highly frustrating because it isn't like I have not used more. cans. of. this. frikkin'. stuff. than. I. can. remember. Anyway...threw that can of dullcote in the trash, came back in with the gloss, then tried a new flat, which did the job. Most thankfully.

Siobhan Marbhadh, the Reaper. The Lady of Dorchadas. One day late for Halloween.



"Do you need to stop and rest?"

Sennlaoch Curaidh, Lord of Coreiag Dhuun, turned and smiled as a hulking four-legged shape emerged from the clinging fog that hung thick in the air about them. They had miles since left behind the rich red soil of Mir-Vallaen, and trod now upon hard, grey slate, from which sprang only thin, twisted, leafless trees, black hands splayed in an unanswered plea for pity from the cold sky. Second-winter was coming to an end in the lands from which they had traveled, but here there was no sign of relief from bitter cold and oppressive gloom.

"I may not be as quick-footed as you, my friend, but it will be many moons of Kantus until I tire before you," chuckled Jugger Grimlock. The Zoat came to a stop next to the armored lord.

"We are getting close. Be wary."

"Of what? I have seen naught but a few stray birds. It seems life has forsaken this land."

"Nearly. But we are certainly not unwatched. Or alone. I don't believe there is any immediate danger. My brothers would have alerted us." He looked from one side of their path to the other. Just within the range of their vision padded two large feline shapes. Niran lions. Intelligent, armored, fiercely loyal. Two guards the likes of which are the envy of any who know of their existence. "Litar and Aran have not sensed anything for hours."

"Your cats would have to sense something quite dangerous to bother alerting us before they eliminated it," mused the Zoat.

"And what of yours," asked Curaidh. "Has it sensed anything?"

Grimlock grumbled as a third, smaller feline emerged from the mist. "No. Thank you." Kram'agk the gyrinx purred and cleaned one of her paws.

"Come now, my reptillian friend. Is it really so bad? Many would consider it a mark of great fortune to have a companion such as yours."

"Fortunate, unwanted and annoying. I hope it gets lost in the mist." The gyrinx snorted. Or, laughed?

"Peace, Jugger. The little thing has attached itself to you by more than mere chance or fancy. Come, it would not do for us to tarry overlong."

The odd group marched in silence for an hour before an enormous tree loomed out of the fog. Black bark wrapped it's trunk broken by a gaping hole at it's base. The great tree was nestled against a sheer cliff face which rose sharply up and out of sight. Red-eyed crows perched in the tangled of branches, the odd croak breaking the eerie quiet.

"I will go in alone."

"Are you certain that is wise? From what little you have told me, this place is not to be dealt with lightly, and the lady within...less so."

Sennlaoch Curaidh shuddered. He had not seen her up close in three years. Not since... He had only seen her on the field of battle when she had deigned the conflict worthy of her attention. When she could exult in the bloodshed. When she might claim the souls of those who had fallen in honor and glory. The possibility of being taken was a thing of great fear to the Eldar of Mir-Vallaen. To be kept from the World Circuits that housed the waystones of the dead. To never know peace. For those claimed by the one who dwells in the great tree feed her, sustain her, and she knows no rest, only an uneasy lull between times of battle. Her few retainers are fed in a similar fashion by her power, and together they share a fearsome reputation for violence.

"Fear not. You and the cats wait here. If it should pass that I do not return, take word back to Coreiag Dhuun. Pucariel will know what to do."

Jugger Grimlock nodded solemnly as his friend turned and disappeared into the darkness. Inside, there was a hall dimly lit by a pale light which seemed to struggle to push back the shadows that slid from the outermost edges of the room. Faded cloth hung suspended from far above, swaying in an unfelt draft. Scraping and whispers betrayed the presence of something beyond. This hall should not fit within the confines of the tree, and yet, here he stood. At the far end upon a low riser sat a simple black throne with a small table beside it and a weapon mounted upon the wall behind. It's length was fine polished wraithbone, and it seemed to emit a pale luminescence of it's own. From beneath the muzzle curved a forked blade, the surface of which shimmered in the weak light like the eyes of the crows outside. A skull-faced helmet sat upon the small table next to a finely-wrought goblet of obsidian. The weapon was the Barrowbrand, terrifying instrument of the Reaper, and the coldly beautiful woman clad in form-fitting black armor that sat beneath it was it's wielder, Siubhan Marbhadh, the Dark Lady.

"You enter Dorchadas unbidden, Lord of Coreiag Dhuun."

To be continued...







And the first BB guard is built. Beefy.



Thanks for looking!

2020 minis completed: 98

Lovely work on Siobhan Marbhadh - glad the varish issues were recoverable.

Lovely mini. AndI’m really enjoying your fluff/story bits.

Beautiful work Youwashock. I especially like how the cannon turned out from the purple base to the finished look it is quite amazing to me. Looking forward to the beefy dude.

Reaper looks great, you always pull off some neat conversions and color schemes

Beautiful stuff, I think she may be the best work you have done all year. From the background to the conversion and then the painting. That Shuriken Cannon is glorious, from the purple highlighted up to the wraithbone, the oxidized metal along the top and whatever is going on with the blade on the end...all great stuff.

I can understand how you would have been apoplectic had you not been able to rescue her from the varnish incident, but luckily you did.

More please YWS.

Phew! Glad you rescued the varnish situation! The glamour shots look fantastic, and the fluff was a nice addition. I hope you add shots of Jugger and Sennlaoch Curaidh walking along with their cats when you get to building and painting him.

There’s some really cool touches on the model, the fabric highlights, the cross-cross on the blade, the purplish wraithbone and the lovely gemstones! A model to be proud of for sure

Nice job, she looks great!

Thank you very much, everyone. Nice to see her get such a positive reaction. Humbling, really. And yes, the puckering was fierce with the varnish issue, very glad to have saved her.

Nev, glad you are liking the story so far. This installment was meant to be longer, but I got interrupted and ran out of time. More soon.

Beefdar is painted. Need to varnish (shudder) and base. Went quick and I like the way he turned out, so will be clipping parts for a couple more squad members.

Thanks for looking!

Really great work on both fluff and the mini. And I echo the others, a big "phew" that you could sort out the varnish issues. That would have been very bad otherwise.
Can't wait for the next fluff piece!

Beautiful reaper, fantastic work!

youwashock,

Great work on Siobhan Marbhadh, the Reaper. The Lady of Dorchadas.

Exalted.

Cheers,

CB

Siobhan looks fantastic - love that blade on the end of the gun - the cross hatching highlight is really effective and not something I've seen before.

youwashock wrote:
Don't set your expectations too high, Ezki. I crumble under pressure.

To me it seems that you did not crumble even the slightest.
Beautiful work!

The pose, the colors and all the details combine to a really good end result.

Also a little late for the Halloween party I'd like to applaud you for Siobhan Marbhadh. Hope you have fun with the beefy BB guard!

I love the Zoat and Siobhan Marbhadh, I'm really interested to see where you go with the Exodite concept.

That's a wonderful re-interpretation of Maugan Ra.

Very much appreciate the comments, everyone. Thank you!

First House Guard all done.





"Still nothing."

Kulann lowered the magnocular from his eye. Second winter was ending, but there was still plenty of chill in the air on the battlements of Coreiag Dhuun. He turned to Varlaessa, the leader of his cohort. Her gaze was cast out over the lands beyond the keep, village, fields, the edge of the forest, all stretched out and away to the horizon.

"Lord Curaidh had best return soon. The latest delegation from Commoragh will arrive in under a week. The Saim Hann are incensed by his absence. It would be trouble for the two groups to be here at the same time. If the Saim Hann decide to wait..."

Varlaessa cut him off, turning and descending the stairs to the courtyard and training ground below, "He will return in his own time. He and the Zoat have not been gone long enough for any concern."

The two House Guards stepped out again into open air. Nearby, several more House Guards in the brilliant blue and green uniforms that marked them as warriors tasked with the protection of the keep and it's residents sparred in both armed and unarmed combat. Generations past, the largest and strongest Eldar were chosen as members of the House Guard. Some things had changed, but some had not. The House Guard were downright bulky by Eldar standards, muscular and tall. Kulann, his black crest catching the evening sun, chose to push the issue of their Lord's absence as they walked.

"Varlaessa, everyone knows why he has chosen to take this journey, and why he chose only the Zoat to accompany him."

"The lions went as well..."

"Fine, then. A lizard and two cats. On a stroll through Dorchadas. He isn't thinking clearly.. Hasn't since the mon-keigh came with their weapons and dreams of plundering Mir-Vallaen and his queen..."

"Enough," a warning in a word. Her hair, caught in the soft breeze, a mane of fire. "Sennlaoch Curaidh is Lord of Coreiag Dhuun, and all the lands beyond and to the rivers. Our duty, our sworn duty, is to protect him, this household, and those lands, with our blades and our lives. It is not for us to know his mind, nor to question his motives."

"You have heard the portents of the Seers, same as I have! How much longer will we have lands or a household to protect should they be right? We need leadership. Someone whose mind is clear. Lord Curaidh plays sentimental games while..."

"Kulann. You are a capable warrior, one of my best. But perhaps you have been idle for too long. The years of peace that we have enjoyed have made you restless? Perhaps you need some more practice?" She gestured about with her glaive. Without his noticing, she had led them into a challenge circle. Around them, the sounds of training had grown quiet.

Kulann looked around, his mask hiding his emotions. His eyes slitted, a man in a trap he wasn't at all pleased to find himself in. "Perhaps." He drew his sword.

The contest was over before he charged, but to his credit, he uttered no sound as Varlaessa first disarmed him with the flat of her blade before hooking him behind the heel with the haft and sending him unceremoniously to his backside.

"Ambition and concern are accepted, Kulann," her voice calm, but unmistakably commanding. "Treason is not. Have a care how you express your thoughts in the future." She extended a hand, her eyes gentle, but locked with his.

As Kulann brushed himself off and retrieved his sword, he shook his head from side to side and chuckled. "Never could beat you. I serve now as I have always. Willingly, faithfully, and completely. If Lord Curaidh wishes to stand against the tide of prophecy that bears down upon us, I will stand with him, and you, to the end. Have no fear that you can count on me."

Varlaessa looked to the sky, a long sigh an attempt to expel some of the weariness that she felt. "The end. Let us hope it does not come to that. And that his journey to Dorchadas doesn't turn out to be his."



Also built the next two for this squad. Hope they paint up as quickly as the first one.



Plenty more to do. Thanks again for the huge response, and as always thanks for looking!

2020 minis completed: 99

That blue looks sweet!
Nice blend.

I'm not really getting a dinosaur-riding-wild-space-elf vibe from that model, but with a model that nice, who cares? I want to see a whole army that looks like that guy. Great work!

Wowsers did he turn out great, love those bright vibrant colors!
Looking forward to a seeing the troupe, er unit all painted up.

Great work, he has quite a high elf vibe about him with those colours, but then the mask puts him in space elf territory! You’re ripping through these exodites much faster than I was expecting. I guess when inspiration hits, it’s easy to progress fast!

These are all looking really great, but I particularly love the detail on Siobhans cloak and her "scythe". Those details are really interesting and make it pop!

The blue is wonderful youwashock.

Cheers,

CB

Captain Brown is bob on, that blue is spectacular. The conversion work on the two new ones is equally good.

I love that blue bodysuit!

Excellent work! The house guard have a really cool look to them, really nice choice of bold colors.

Can't really add something new, that others haven't said already The mini looks great and it will be cool to see the first squad together, both new members are nice builds.

Thank you all so much!

The blue is Talassar Blue Contrast over a white base coat. I take zero credit for it's efficacy.

Long on motivation, short on time, has been the name of the game lately. Have managed to wrap up the next two members of this first squad and build the last two. No fluff update today. Brain not working.





And the next two:



Couple things. How great is it that ALL the Harlequins hold their swords in their right hands and pistols in their left? I LOVE IT. Pro-tip: I don't love it. Thankfully, Wyches shoot from the right, and I was planning to mix weapons anyway, for a less regimented feel. Like each member owns and maintains their own gear. And it is ALWAYS a good time when the minis have all of A TOE to attach to the base. What is this, Relic Knights? Hobbyist problems. We shall overcome.

Thanks for looking! Hopefully not so long of a wait for the next update.

2020 minis completed: 101 (!)

Great additions Youwashock, greens are excellent are those contrasts also.