Eldar - Part 6

So despite being a hell of a lot busier due to Project Bloom, I've not only managed to get some painting done, but have (in my opinion) greatly improved my process for painting my Eldar (I really need to think up a name for their Craftworld).

One of the first decisions I made was to cut back on using strong colours as base colours. For example, black now isn't pure chaos black, but 50/50 chaos black and codex grey. The step after is then to wash the above in Badab Black and then highlight with 75/25 Codex Grey and Black. It takes a little more time, but is more pleasing to me.

The other decision was to stop thinking that the new washes are necessarily the be all and end all. Rather, I've gone back to finding more natural wash colours for each base colour. For example, the purple cloth above (painted originally in 50/50 Hormagaunt Purple and Skull White) was washed in a 33/33/33 mix of Hormagaunt Purple, PVA glue and water (the glue was a trick I learned from a GW staff member whose work I've always appreciated).

The same approach was taken with the grey armour, which was then soft brushed using the technique that Gobsmasha taught me.

I'm really pleased with this Banshee and it's really inspired me to start trying to paint properley.

It's the last point above that led me to make 2 further decisions with regards to the hobby:

The first was to place less stress on myself with regards to having to get an army painted. That pressure I've often put on myself has taken some of the joy out of the past. I still want to play, of course, so the approach I'll be taking is construct the armies I have in mind and just take my time painting what I want and doing it well. I'm much more comfortable assembling prior to painting than I used to be when I first started the hobby - now I get the best of both worlds.

The second decision was to write everything I do down. Once I've found a scheme/approach that I'm happy with, I'm noting it all down, from colours for base/shades/highlights through to the method of execution and basing. I have a horrible memory and since I may not come back to a particular army for a while, it's important to do what I can to keep things consistent. I've done this with my Eldar and Dark Elf army and will be doing the same with any other army I have an interest in painting/playing (which is nearly all of them!)

Finally, Project Bloom has forced me to re-evaluate my work place - as peaceful areas around my small as it is house are decreasing at an alarming rate. So the above shows how I've re-arranged things. A while ago, I purchased one of the GW hobby stations which I thought might have been a little extravagant at the time, but it has come in very handy.

Going from left to right, on the bottom tier first, you'll see a larg magnifying glass that I picked up in Japan on my last trip over - I use this for all my fine detail work. Combined with this you'll see a recent purchase - a twin flexible LED light globe (originally for illuminating music) that I only just recently picked up at Borders for about $25.00. That, combined with the larger flexible lamp to the right have been a real life saver - now I have reliable light at all time - right where I need it.

Further to the right, you'll note a large ceramic tile I use for mixing paint and general work duties. Looking closely, you'll see a large gob of blu-tack which I use to hold open my paints at an angle so there's no dripping into the rim of the paint tins.

I keep whichever model I'm painting at the moment blu-tacked to an empty mixing pot as it gives my chubby fingers something further to hold onto. On the far right, you'll see my paint container which I've sorted from top to bottom in the following order: foundation paints, inks/washes/warm colours/cold colours and finally metallics, black, white and varnish. It's good to have these things sorted.

On the top tier you'll note the various tools of the trade as well as other works in progress.

*phew* Hopefully there'll be more updates in the days to come. I feel like painting an Iron Hand.

Eldar - Part 5 (A blast from the past...)

I must have painted these 'Revenant' class Eldar scout titans nearly fifteen years ago now...

I love these guys - not only are they a reminder of my happy Uni days, where work and responsibility was a far away thought, but they also triumphed in one of my most memorable (and literally 'epic') games of Epic..

During an all night multiplayer game, these two little lithe predators managed to take down a massive chaos warlord class titan all by themselves - seems the heretic machine spirit couldn't deal with our ability to leap elegantly from spot to spot and very soon had outmanouvered and outflanked it, stripped it's void shields and dismembered it.

A joyous day indeed for the Eldar..

They don't make them like this anymore - the below is what the Revenant look like now:

Eldar - Part 4 (To Avenge Direly.....)

Well it has been an age since my last post, and while I could spout a litany of reasons why - perhaps it's best just to say that I'm back and leave it at that. In my time away, so many things have happened - my wife and I have started another round of IVF (and if anyone wants to chat about what it's like to go through that, then let me know - this is the second time around for us), I've started studying aikido and am enjoying it thoroughly, if not painfully (and for those that aren't sure what aikido is, then perhaps the quickest way of giving you a point of reference is saying that it's what Steven Seagal does *sigh*). A hugely challenging martial art - obtaining shodan (or black belt) will be my challenge for the next few years.

Oh, and I've been painting! Here's a unit of Dark Avengers (including Exarch) done in relatively the same scheme as my recent test Howling Banshee. See below for face off between the Exarch and a friend's Space Marine of the Salamander Chapter - he asked me to point out that it wasn't quite finished....

Until next time, folks.

Eldar - Part 3

Well here's my next colour scheme attempt for the enigmatic Eldar - an Aspect Warrior of the Howling Banshee variety. It's still not finished completely (gems and other detail not complete) but I wanted to experiment and try a lighter scheme to see how such a model would come out. It's probably more realistic than the previous schemes as well, though I can't really pin down why I fee that way.

The weapons are black to represent the dark emotion that comes from their use - as is the face plate, representing the same in the Eldar soul. All Aspect Warriors will show the same colouring, barring a single cloth strip that most of these models have in one form or another (in this case on the models left leg, in the Howling Banshee bone colour).

For my craftworld, the Aspect Warriors would wear their colours more as robes when not at war.

I think I'll try a Dire Avenger next in the same.

Eldar - Part 2

I love my Eldar. I hate my Eldar. It is perhaps a byproduct of the love I have for these models and the fluff that surrounds the alien species that I don't ever seem to be happy with the colour schemes and paint jobs I do on them. I have changed colour schemes a couple of times and still can't seem to make up my mind. Despite this, there are a couple of constant ideals that I have always wanted to maintain:

a) That the aspect warriors would not have their own colour schemes (as per the traditional colours. Blue for Dire Avengers, green for Striking Scorpions etc). I want a consistent colour scheme throughout the whole army.

b) The colour scheme itself was - at least in the main - to be of a dark colour. This was in order to create a strong constrast to the inevitable Harlequin unit that would be painted in the traditional riot of colours.

c) Wraithbone colouring would play a part in some of the uniform. Usually, wraithbone is done in a cream colour (as per the Ulthwe colours), but I tend to either an eerie blue or a grey.

The below photos are from my first painting attempts for Eldar (a couple of years old now) and even now I sometimes think I should return to it:

Dire Avenger (new model): Howling Banshee/Striking Scorpion (old models): Farseer:

Eldar - Part 1

Here are some Eldar Dire Avengers that I've been working on. I fell in love with these aliens when I first spotted the original art concepts by Jes Goodwin way back in some early editions of White Dwarf. I seriously recommend that you track down his collection 'The Gothic and the Eldritch' - his work is some of the most graceful I have ever seen and truly does the Eldar justice.


Again, works in progress - and that damned flash!






While I'm at it, here's the Exarch (or group leader) that goes with this lot: