40k Exodite Eldar - Wraithblades complete and army complete!

After a loooong hiatus rife with technical difficulties uploading pics to my website galleries, I'm happy to report that the Exodites of the Tanelorn Wood are complete! Finished off the final unit of wraithblades (pics below), then schlepped the whole force down to the local GW shop for a family photo!

This was the first time I had them all out at the same time, and I gotta say I'm well pleased with how the colors flow across the army, it's cohesive and contrast-y without being too garish (or as least as subdued as purple, yellow and green can be)!

While I was about it I broke out the lightbox and re-shot the whole force for a final record before they wing their way to their next destination (more to come on that front).

HQ - Avatar, Spiritseer and Seer Council, all got the ghost-green treatment to help denote their mystic connections.

TROOPS - The Glade Guardians and the Rangers are more in the orange hues, in a somewhat ham-fisted attempt to make them autumnal. May have over-corrected into hunting-season blaze orange!

ELITES - The surprisingly-simple-to-convert Wraithguard and Wraithblades add some punch to the force, and the addition of an old-school Bonesinger to help keep 'em up and fighting can't hurt!

FAST ATTACK - The second-creepiest models in the force, the Wasp Assault Walkers are a natural counterpoint to the big-ass spider coming up in the next section!

HEAVY SUPPORT - The conversion that started this whole silly idea, the wraithlord is probably my favorite conversion of the bunch. That said, the Nightspinner is by far the creepiest!

Where would a project-complete post be without some spreadsheet porn? It always feels good to turn that last box green!

Next up, back on the Heresy train! With NOVA coming up in just a few short months, I need to finish off the force intended to travel out to D.C...

40k Exodite Eldar - The armies of the Tanelorn Wood grow!

After going hard for heresy for the last several months I needed a change of pace for a bit to recharge the ol' hobby mojo. The Exodites of the Tanelorn Wood were brought back out of the Closet of Doom and I set about polishing off the various primered and half-painted models from when I'd left off previously!

The force up to this point was lacking in the requisite number of Troops choices, so the first thing was to rectify that situation with a pair of Ranger squads. Rather simple but effective conversions, comprised of Wildwood Rangers and Dark Eldar warrior arms and weapons that have been de-spiked a fair bit.

Not entirely sure that blaze orange is particularly stealthy - Safety first when it's Mon-Keigh hunting season!

Pretty jazzed with how the Spiritseer of the force turned out - She incorporates a little bit of all the design elements from the rest of the force, and ended up with a great swirly sense of motion!

Next up was the Fast Attack section of the force, with a trio of counts-as Wasp Assault Walkers. Nothing wrong with six shuriken cannons dropping in from above to decimate soft targets - Tried to incorporate the same colors on the flies as the ones on the spider toting the Nightspinner, so gross!

While they're still pretty nobbly and disgusting, I had filled in the worst of the raw open wounds so they aren't quite as Nurgle-y but I sort of like the idea that the depths of the forest are corrupt, and the Exodites both battle and use the grotesque life on their planet.

All that remains at this point are the last five wraithguard armed with twin swords and the project will be complete!

Exodite Eldar - Wasp Assault Walkers Built!

Quick hit today, with the addition of a trio of new models for the Exodites - Counts-as Wasp Assault Walkers, using the Forge World rules.

The initial intent was to use the Stormcast Vanguard Palladors to do jungle-cat-based War Walkers, but I just couldn't figure out a good combo of bits to make the combo work. So, inspired by a fellow Exodite builder on Instagram I utilized the Blight Drones instead, which in the end I think will tie out with the giant spider quite well. I used some greenstuff to fill in the more egregious open sores to de-Nurgle them a little, and the end result is both creepy and fitting!

Once the first one was built, the following two just flew together (pun definitely intended)! Really looking forward to getting started on them, though a new project is also underway behind the scenes, following the successful sale of the Thousand Sons and Spireguard. Woohoo!

TOEMP #5 - Complete! ...Also, Clowns!

It's been a rather productive week painting-wise, and I managed to polish off my entries for the Tale of Even More Painters challenge - On the troops side a unit of Pathfinders, and a Warwalker for the heavy support choice.

I wanted to incorporate some of the tips and tricks that I've picked up from the other participants in the challenge, and I tried out a couple on the Pathfinders. I felt that the bases for the Eldar definitely needed a bit more 'zest' than what I've been doing for most of the 7th, and as such I've added a bit of turf to the bases, and I think I'm going to experiment with some static grass, once I get a chance to swing by the FLGS. I also tried my hand at a more intricate camo pattern on the cloaks, taking a cue from several exellent examples. I'm not 100% pleased with the final result, but it turned out okay for a first try - I know a little bit more than I did before!

The Warwalker's mottled camo turned out somewhat muted following the sealant, but I kind of like it. I realize now that I missed a number of gemstones on the weapons, so I've gone back and rectified that situation. Definitely a fun model to assemble - I'm looking forward to building two more to round out the squadron.

I'd picked up a unit of Harlequins back when the new set was released, and had painted up three for use in a 40K:RP campaign I ran a while back. Since I had enjoyed painting the other Eldar models so much, I dusted off the remainder of the squad and set to painting them. Three painting sessions and 36 colors later I basically had to say enough was enough!

I have to admit for as arduous a process as these were, it was rather enjoyable nonetheless. I found myself actively trying to find the most clashing colors I could, and worked to ensure no model had exactly the same mix of colors. The three 'Characters' all have more distinct schemes; The Death Jester is of course primarily bone and black but I added some green and purple panels on his sleeves to give him a splash of color. The Troupe Master has a horribly clashing checkerboard pattern on his jacket, and is the only model to have all of the various colors on him. On the Shadowseer I decided to go a bit different from the 'feel' of the other models - the bodysuit is a solid deep blue with small star patterns (sort of), and I spent some time working on blending the hood and sashes in a red-orange-yellow scheme that turned out more or less as intended. I was trying to capture a more 'otherworldly' look to go along with his obscurement powers.

I picked up an Eldar battleforce on ebay which arrived today, which gives me a little bit more to build and paint. With that in mind, I made a painting chart for the budding army, which also helped me decide exactly what the final army was going to contain. Only this, and no further!

...Well, maybe a little bit further - I would like to pick up a FW Nightwing Fighter. Alas, that way lies madness!

TOEMP #5 - Veering wildly off course...

I've come down with a moderate case of Army Painter's Fatigue, as is the case for me from time to time. While the Tale Of Even More Painters competition has helped me to make great strides in completing the guard, it also means that I've spent the last several months doing nothing but painting a sea of grey and red, and I felt I needed a little change of pace. Of course, I can't leave well enough alone and a 'little change of pace' turned into 'hey, I should start a new Eldar army'.

Darnit.

The current challenge is to paint up a Heavy Support and/or Troops choice - instead of slogging through another squad of guardsmen I thought I'd root around in the Closet of Doom and see what I could come up with. I returned from the depths bearing the handful of Eldar models I'd purchased to accompany a Radical Ordo Xenos Inquisitor and his retinue (another half-realized project). There were several models in boxes and blisters: a Farseer, a squad of Rangers, and a Warwalker, and on a shelf I found a Wraithlord that I'd originally painted up in Iyanden colors on a lark years ago. Some superglue, a hit of primer later and I dove in. Though at the time I had no batteries for my camera and I wasn't able to get in progress shots until the following day.

I decided I rather liked the look of Alaitoc, the blue and yellow on the vehicles was what originally caught my eye. I'm going to try my hand at the stippled-blue look, and the War Walker got to be the initial test model. I think I need to add one more slightly lighter blue stipple layer yet. At the moment there's quite a lot of work still to go, but I'm more or less pleased with the overall effect, and the Blue/Yellow/Bone seems like a nice change of pace, palatte-wise.

I also started work on the Rangers squad, again just up to the base colors stage. I'm planning on adding a camo pattern to the cloaks, but I'm undecided whether to go with the lighter khaki scheme as shown in the codex, or with a green or grey scheme instead. I'm leaning towards the green though, as I intent to add a fair bit of grass to the bases for this army.

So far they've been fun to paint if just for being something new and different. One of the things that I'm looking forward to is the fact that many of the Eldar units, particularly the Aspect Warriors, all have separate and distinct color schemes - You're never really painting more than 15-20 models in the same colors. Not quite like the guard where it's 100+ models all in the same fatigues...

I'm not giving up or setting aside the guard by any means - I just needed a little change of pace to keep my enthusasm up. I'll be returning to paint up the Stormtroopers and King Russ tanks in short order!