Dark Eldar
Dark Eldar MErcenaries Here We Come!!
I've recently discovered the idea of Dark Eldar mercenaries. It's not a stunning conclusion, but it's one that has fleshed out the idea of Dark Eldar in my mind - a bit like the Tau Auxiliaries did recently.
It seems the Dark Eldar use all types of mercenaries, but a popular one are the Sslyth, which unfortunately there is only one miniature for, so it was time to start converting.. As an added roadblock, the Sslyth is a Finecast model - so not only brittle but resin and horribly cast.
As a way to fix that, first thing was to change the pose, so I adjusted the head and the angle of the upper body/ tail section, filling in the gaps with Green Stuff and roughly scultping scales. This model really doesn't want to be converted, so this was a challenge, but also fun to do.
Pretty much all the weapons were changed, taking a Shard Rifles from the Kabalites kit, a double ended halberd and hand from the Hellions kit and finally the shard pistol from the Sslyth kit - which next to the lovely plastics looks like crap!
The plastic arms from the other kits needed Green Stuff to change the angle around the large Sslyth chest, but apart from that fitted perfectly.
It seems the Dark Eldar use all types of mercenaries, but a popular one are the Sslyth, which unfortunately there is only one miniature for, so it was time to start converting.. As an added roadblock, the Sslyth is a Finecast model - so not only brittle but resin and horribly cast.
As a way to fix that, first thing was to change the pose, so I adjusted the head and the angle of the upper body/ tail section, filling in the gaps with Green Stuff and roughly scultping scales. This model really doesn't want to be converted, so this was a challenge, but also fun to do.
Pretty much all the weapons were changed, taking a Shard Rifles from the Kabalites kit, a double ended halberd and hand from the Hellions kit and finally the shard pistol from the Sslyth kit - which next to the lovely plastics looks like crap!
The plastic arms from the other kits needed Green Stuff to change the angle around the large Sslyth chest, but apart from that fitted perfectly.
With the usual carbon black armour I do with all the Dark Eldar, the miniature was mainly about scales and then various metallics.
Despite my best efforts, green just seemed to work for him. I tried black, but it didn't work, so green it is! I started with Caliban Green then washed that with Nuln Oil. The highlights were a mix of Caliban Green and Warpstone Glow drubrushed lightly. There were three successively lighter drybrishes until I went with a very light pure Warpstone Glow. I though this would be the final highlight, but it wasnt light enough so went with a very light drybrush of the old Scorpion Green.
The patterming on the scales was first Abaddon Black and then Camo Green between the black stripes. This is a very old colour and I don't know what the new version would be called.This was then washed with Athonian Camoshade, left to dry and then done again. I then picked out the individual scales with Camo Green again.
The soft belly was a base of Loren Forest washed with a Loren Forest/ Abaddon Black wash. This was then highlighted with lighter highlights mixing Loren Forest with Zamesi Desert.
The weapons were all done with Balthasar Gold and Boltgun Metal washed with Nuln Oil.
Despite my best efforts, green just seemed to work for him. I tried black, but it didn't work, so green it is! I started with Caliban Green then washed that with Nuln Oil. The highlights were a mix of Caliban Green and Warpstone Glow drubrushed lightly. There were three successively lighter drybrishes until I went with a very light pure Warpstone Glow. I though this would be the final highlight, but it wasnt light enough so went with a very light drybrush of the old Scorpion Green.
The patterming on the scales was first Abaddon Black and then Camo Green between the black stripes. This is a very old colour and I don't know what the new version would be called.This was then washed with Athonian Camoshade, left to dry and then done again. I then picked out the individual scales with Camo Green again.
The soft belly was a base of Loren Forest washed with a Loren Forest/ Abaddon Black wash. This was then highlighted with lighter highlights mixing Loren Forest with Zamesi Desert.
The weapons were all done with Balthasar Gold and Boltgun Metal washed with Nuln Oil.
Overall it's a striking model and I have always been a fan of it. This scheme has worked well, so hope to replicate on more models!
October 2016
Dark Eldar Ace!
Like the rest of my Dark Eldar, the black is very matte and only has some very light drybrushing of dark grey over the Abaddon Black/ Lahmian Medium mixed basecoat. The purple kraken pattern was shaded and highlighted, but the black is kept as matte as possible.
In stark contrast to the purple and matte black of the other Dark Eldar in my force, I used orange for the canopy as I have for the Reaver helmets - also using five layers of progressively lighter shading, then making it high gloss.
I really like the shapes of the spikey Dark Eldar missiles, and decided to keep them metallic and sharp looking. The contrasting black and white swirls were fun to do and a bit of a challenge and the green was a contrast to the purple and orange.
The large kraken pattern on the top of the fuselage reflects the markings on the Raider and will now be a motif I use across this force..
Another salute to the other models in the force are the metallic fins based on the colours on my Reavers and Raider - it makes the vehicles look like they have vicious blades - as if they're cutting a bloody swathe through the sky.
In stark contrast to the purple and matte black of the other Dark Eldar in my force, I used orange for the canopy as I have for the Reaver helmets - also using five layers of progressively lighter shading, then making it high gloss.
I really like the shapes of the spikey Dark Eldar missiles, and decided to keep them metallic and sharp looking. The contrasting black and white swirls were fun to do and a bit of a challenge and the green was a contrast to the purple and orange.
The large kraken pattern on the top of the fuselage reflects the markings on the Raider and will now be a motif I use across this force..
Another salute to the other models in the force are the metallic fins based on the colours on my Reavers and Raider - it makes the vehicles look like they have vicious blades - as if they're cutting a bloody swathe through the sky.
The Razorwing is a fun kit to paint, apparently comes with a number of weapon options and the finished product comes up really well. Highly recommended!
June 2016
Dark Eldar Reinforcements!
With the impending release of the new Dark Eldar Codex, I figured it was time to get a bit of a wriggle on with my Dark Eldar force.
It's not exactly an imposing force so far, with a Raider, 3 x Reavers and a few troops.
Well now I can at least add two more troops to the ranks of my deadly Dark Eldar!
With my Trueborn in the works and more Reavers to paint, it was time to work on the bulk of my Kabalites. I've pretty much got them down to only 4 hours each now, which is pretty good considering the usual amount of time I spend on them!
It's not exactly an imposing force so far, with a Raider, 3 x Reavers and a few troops.
Well now I can at least add two more troops to the ranks of my deadly Dark Eldar!
With my Trueborn in the works and more Reavers to paint, it was time to work on the bulk of my Kabalites. I've pretty much got them down to only 4 hours each now, which is pretty good considering the usual amount of time I spend on them!
This is the first female Dark Eldar I've painted and I was really concerned to have her look female, not like a guy with breasts!
The Dark Eldar are slight of frame, but still, I was concerned about the look of this miniature. I played it safe really, giving it one of the higher helms and having the gun drop below the breast line. I wanted her to look female, but at the same time not on display! These are Dark Eldar after all and all if fair in love and war - female or not! I used the same very dark shading apart from around the eyes. Pretty much free of adornment, she is the standard deadly Kabalite foe! |
The other Kabalite was a bit of a challenge.. As much as Jes Goodwin is a God amongst Men, the standard firing pose of the Kabalites is very static. I think it's the poses of the legs or the shape of the guns - they just don't look like they're actually firing.
Making these guys look like they are a force to be reckoned with is hard when their pose looks like they are holding a broom! I would really prefer if these were fired from the hip. Certainly posing wise it would look better! Anyway, the firing Dark Eldar kind of turn me off Dark Eldar, so I picked a torso I wasn't that sold on as it was blocked by his gun and went from there. If you've got any hints of examples of cool firing Dark Eldar poses - please let me know! The scheme is again the very dark matte scheme. As a writer to the Facebook called it, the "Batman colour scheme". Happy with the steampunk look to the guns - just need posing ideas! |
August 2014
Dark Eldar Raider
The Dark Eldar Raider is the backbone of any Dark Eldar attack force. Packed with Kabalite warriors, it swoops in to disgorge it's warriors amongst the enemy forces.
This Raider came with the Dark Eldar Battleforce - mine came from the Combat Company which have it for $30 less than Games Workshop.
The Battleforce includes 10 x Kabalites, 10 x Wyches, 3 x Reavers and the Raider, already a good deal at the RRP.
This Raider came with the Dark Eldar Battleforce - mine came from the Combat Company which have it for $30 less than Games Workshop.
The Battleforce includes 10 x Kabalites, 10 x Wyches, 3 x Reavers and the Raider, already a good deal at the RRP.
My Dark Eldar Raider is in the style of the rest of my Dark Eldar force - matte black with purple, mainly.
I did as I do for the Kabalites, dark grey highlights (which ended up being more subtle on the Raider than the Kabalites) were applied to the black, and then the purple for the stylised Kraken tentacles. This too was highlighted subtley - maybe too subtley - but with the white outline on the Kraken I thought more extreme highlights would break up the stylised pattern.
The Raider gave my the opportunity to work out a theme for my army - the Kraken - which I was already thinking of, but the sails and the prow really gave room to flesh that out. I'm wondering if there's scope to move that onto the Reavers I've already done...?
I did as I do for the Kabalites, dark grey highlights (which ended up being more subtle on the Raider than the Kabalites) were applied to the black, and then the purple for the stylised Kraken tentacles. This too was highlighted subtley - maybe too subtley - but with the white outline on the Kraken I thought more extreme highlights would break up the stylised pattern.
The Raider gave my the opportunity to work out a theme for my army - the Kraken - which I was already thinking of, but the sails and the prow really gave room to flesh that out. I'm wondering if there's scope to move that onto the Reavers I've already done...?
I used the same colour palette for the Raider that I did for the Kabalites I've done so far - a Steampunk combination of Leadbelcher and Balthazar Gold washed with Nuln Oil. Keeping the restricted colour palette, I used light green for the buttons and a touch of light blue for contrast.
The thrusters at the back of the Raider were done in the same way as the Reavers for uniformity. |
Speaking of uniformity, the crew are painted in the same way as the Kabalites. I experimented with the tabbards and made the highlights more subtle than the others I have done so far, washing it with Drakenhof Nightshade. Not sure it works, so will go back to the way I was doing it before.
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I'm pretty happy with the way the stylised Kraken patterning worked out on the sail and the prow, so moving this onto the rest of the army is actually pretty exciting. I'm wondering how this will look on a Venom or the Reavers. Let's see how it goes...
Next - back to the Kabalites!
Next - back to the Kabalites!
June 2014
Kabalite Reinforcements
I made more inroads on my first Kabalite unit for my dark Eldar force today with the completion of the second special (heavy) weapons trooper - this time with the Splinter cannon. Now I have the Blaster-armed guy and this Splinter Cannon-armed guy, the rest of my painting will be Splinter Rifles armed troops. and the Sybarite officer.
Really happy with the face on this guy. The testing process I did on the Reaver paid off and after about 1/2 an hour, this head was done!
Really happy with the face on this guy. The testing process I did on the Reaver paid off and after about 1/2 an hour, this head was done!
My plan is to have one squad of Kabalite troops that are effectively like a gun line so I can get the full advantage of their 24" range.
Then I'll do a second Kabalite unit - this time Trueborn so they can have exotic weapons and the like.
Dark Eldar players - does this work? Logically I get it, but in terms of gameplay, am I right??
I'll slowly add more troops to this "Kabalie Reinforcement" title as the force builds..
Then I'll do a second Kabalite unit - this time Trueborn so they can have exotic weapons and the like.
Dark Eldar players - does this work? Logically I get it, but in terms of gameplay, am I right??
I'll slowly add more troops to this "Kabalie Reinforcement" title as the force builds..
May 2014
Dark Eldar Reaver Squad
Well here it is - the first Dark Eldar unit for my prospective army - a Reaver squad.
These models are great - really modular, very easy to put together and once built, beautifully evocative of an army built for flight
These models are great - really modular, very easy to put together and once built, beautifully evocative of an army built for flight
The squad lead by their freakishly fast female leader, her Agoniser poised to rip into opponents within it's reach!
The rest of her flight contained one Blaster-armed Reaver and the other with Splinter Rifle and Cluster Caltrops.
The Blaster on the Reaver is exactly the same colours as the Kabalite Warrior from last week.
I think the look of the bear arms on the Reaver on the right really stands out. For more on him, read below.
You may notice I have added extra highlights to the purple to match the others - bit patchy, but okay.
The Blaster on the Reaver is exactly the same colours as the Kabalite Warrior from last week.
I think the look of the bear arms on the Reaver on the right really stands out. For more on him, read below.
You may notice I have added extra highlights to the purple to match the others - bit patchy, but okay.
A better look at her spikey Reaver and trophies, her green hair was a perfect contrast to the purple and orange on the rest of the squad.
Notice the extra blades on the sides of the hull.
Notice the extra blades on the sides of the hull.
The skin tone was a bit of a challenge, but worked out okay after a fair bit of fiddling. The hair worked out really well!
The Agonizer is layers of gradually lighter blue. I may varnish this, but that might make it look a bit mutant-y...!?
The Agonizer arm is actually from the Dark Eldar Kabalite box, converted by slicing off the armour on the upper arm to vaguely match the other arm.
The Agonizer is layers of gradually lighter blue. I may varnish this, but that might make it look a bit mutant-y...!?
The Agonizer arm is actually from the Dark Eldar Kabalite box, converted by slicing off the armour on the upper arm to vaguely match the other arm.
May 2014
Dark Eldar Reaver #1
The lure was too great - these have been in my collection for years and I constantly revisit the idea of how they would look, so when I worked out the very simple Kabalite scheme, I figured I could tackle one of the Reavers.
I'm actually really happy with how this test one turned out because the scheme was very simple and really only took a day of painting to finish.
I started with an all-over Chaos Black spray undercoat and then painted the black areas with Abaddon Black - this was effectively the whole main body and pilot. I wanted to keep the colours very simple and very dark!
I then used Naggaroth Night to make the pattern on the front of the hull. This was masked using Tamiya Masking tape. I went a bit heavy with the paint, so I will need to watch that next time. A Nuln Oil wash was used over the purple which, once dry, was drybrushed from the front to the back with white added to the base. Bit hard to see in this pic. I wanted the colour to be weathered rather than highlighted as if the paint had worn back from speed rather than reflecting light. The Dark Eldar don't reflect light - they absorb it!
I then used L:eadbelcher (washed twice with Nuln Oil to cut down on the shine) and Balthasar Gold for the metallics on the ship.
The pilot himself was beautiful to paint - just Abaddon Black for the body with Leadbelcher highlights, a leather colour for the holster with gold trim. I went for gold to show he was a bit flashy. He also has gold on his knuckles.
The skin worked out really well and was very simple if a bit time consuming. I used the old Dheneb Stone over the black and then added white to the base coat working over just the muscles on the arms until almost pure white.
I've always had trouble with Dark Eldar skin, dabbling in blues and the like, but this slightly warm off-grey works better in real life than you see here. It's almost corpse-like. Hope I can replicate it!
The display screens on the bike are painted in a very light green and really contrast with the purple.
The only other real colour is on the helmet. I love these helmets and putting this on my first Reaver worried me a bit, but I decided to echo the eyes on the Kabalite Warrior (below) and go for orange. This could have gone better and I had to do some repairing as I went.
I started with the old Macharius Solar Orange and working up the highlights with yellow until it was almost pure yellow toward the face of the visor. Once this was dry (learnt my lesson there!) I washed it with thinned orange ink, leaching the ink off the lighter portion of the visor. I did this twice until it was nice and orange and the colours blended smoothly.
Then came the bit I'm glad I did - I painted two coats of gloss over the visor. See, the whole model is flat, so the gloss visor just stands out brilliantly. Bit of a risk, but it paid off I think. Is it typical Dark Eldar? Probably not - but these guys are flashy, so I think I can get away with it!
As for the kit itself - it was an absolute pleasure to make and paint.
They are quick, highly evocative and packed with character. Really so much fun.
You'll find yourself flying the thing around the room swooping the cat!
Expect more very soon, because this really was a joy to do once lessons were learnt.
I started with an all-over Chaos Black spray undercoat and then painted the black areas with Abaddon Black - this was effectively the whole main body and pilot. I wanted to keep the colours very simple and very dark!
I then used Naggaroth Night to make the pattern on the front of the hull. This was masked using Tamiya Masking tape. I went a bit heavy with the paint, so I will need to watch that next time. A Nuln Oil wash was used over the purple which, once dry, was drybrushed from the front to the back with white added to the base. Bit hard to see in this pic. I wanted the colour to be weathered rather than highlighted as if the paint had worn back from speed rather than reflecting light. The Dark Eldar don't reflect light - they absorb it!
I then used L:eadbelcher (washed twice with Nuln Oil to cut down on the shine) and Balthasar Gold for the metallics on the ship.
The pilot himself was beautiful to paint - just Abaddon Black for the body with Leadbelcher highlights, a leather colour for the holster with gold trim. I went for gold to show he was a bit flashy. He also has gold on his knuckles.
The skin worked out really well and was very simple if a bit time consuming. I used the old Dheneb Stone over the black and then added white to the base coat working over just the muscles on the arms until almost pure white.
I've always had trouble with Dark Eldar skin, dabbling in blues and the like, but this slightly warm off-grey works better in real life than you see here. It's almost corpse-like. Hope I can replicate it!
The display screens on the bike are painted in a very light green and really contrast with the purple.
The only other real colour is on the helmet. I love these helmets and putting this on my first Reaver worried me a bit, but I decided to echo the eyes on the Kabalite Warrior (below) and go for orange. This could have gone better and I had to do some repairing as I went.
I started with the old Macharius Solar Orange and working up the highlights with yellow until it was almost pure yellow toward the face of the visor. Once this was dry (learnt my lesson there!) I washed it with thinned orange ink, leaching the ink off the lighter portion of the visor. I did this twice until it was nice and orange and the colours blended smoothly.
Then came the bit I'm glad I did - I painted two coats of gloss over the visor. See, the whole model is flat, so the gloss visor just stands out brilliantly. Bit of a risk, but it paid off I think. Is it typical Dark Eldar? Probably not - but these guys are flashy, so I think I can get away with it!
As for the kit itself - it was an absolute pleasure to make and paint.
They are quick, highly evocative and packed with character. Really so much fun.
You'll find yourself flying the thing around the room swooping the cat!
Expect more very soon, because this really was a joy to do once lessons were learnt.
May 2014
Kabalite Warrior
I am a massive fan of the Dark Eldar, but as fate would have it, there just isn't a scheme I've been happy with so far. My first one was dark green, very much like the ones in the Codex - but it just didn't sit right with me. So I've been reading the Codex and I wanted to get back to Jes Goodwin's original Dark Eldar vision. Time to rethink the approach!
I really just wanted them to be black, but not grey, so after undercoating in Chaos Black spray, I went over that with Abaddon Black, then a light drybrush with a very dark grey. I wanted a 3D feel to it, but not to the point of losing the darkness.
The purple was a new technique experimenting with Nuln Oil; I did the basecoat, then 2 levels of highlights, then washed it with Nuln Oil. Not sure the look is entirely what I want, but fun to try.
All the metals and the blaster were washed with Nuln Oil and the bones were white, then a yellowy tan colour, then white again, then a wash of Agrax Earthshade. I really like the bones in his topknot, which is just white washed with a mid grey and highlighted with the base colour.
I went for a steampunk look for the weapon - something I'll be sticking with for the Dark Eldar.
The purple was a new technique experimenting with Nuln Oil; I did the basecoat, then 2 levels of highlights, then washed it with Nuln Oil. Not sure the look is entirely what I want, but fun to try.
All the metals and the blaster were washed with Nuln Oil and the bones were white, then a yellowy tan colour, then white again, then a wash of Agrax Earthshade. I really like the bones in his topknot, which is just white washed with a mid grey and highlighted with the base colour.
I went for a steampunk look for the weapon - something I'll be sticking with for the Dark Eldar.
May 2014
Dark Eldar Concepts By Jes Goodwin
So who are the Dark Eldar? Here's Phil Kelly, Jes Goodwin, and the perennially uncomfortable Adam Troke to tell you more...