Thursday, 19 April 2018

Craftworld Alaitoc - Building a Warhost Pt3

The continuing  build of my Alaitoc Warhost!



I've now been collecting the army for a little over a year - buying up kits as I pleased, with no particular plan apart from 'it looks cool, I'd like to paint that'.

So, last weekend I totted up how many points I could field, if I took everything I had so far.

Now, the average game is around 1750 - 2000 points...

I've amassed 22,500 points.

Twenty Two Thousand, Five Hundred Points.

Um...!

It's the biggest single army I've ever owned, and it's almost fully painted, which I'm pretty darn proud of!

I'll be taking better pictures of the whole army soon, but here's a few more units that I've recently finished:


I love the superheavy tanks of the Eldar - this is the Cobra variant. The D-Cannon can take out even the most heavily armoured enemies, and make short work of Titans!


Windriders are a fast hitting, mobile troops choice for the Eldar. These are the second unit for my force.  These have 2 Scatter Laser options in the squad, the other option is Shuriken Cannon.

I've always loved the Firestorm anti-aircraft variant of the Falcon, and now it's got rules thanks to the most recent FAQ, I've painted one of the two I have! Who doesn't love the idea of shooting down enemy aircraft?

Another Farseer... this one has the robes 'swapped' on the colour scheme to make her a little different from the others, with a large decal split across either side.

Next up is a Skathatch Wraithknight - the Forgeworld variant of the Eldar Wraithknight, armed with Inferno Cannon and a warp jump generator - another Titan killer, which is useful given the number of Knight Titans my regular opponent Brian has....!

To make the base I've cut up an old, knackered Falcon - the Knight is going to be striding over it to get to the enemy...

Thursday, 12 April 2018

Review - The Jes Goodwin Sketchbook

I got a special delivery today....


A few years ago, Games Workshop released a limited hardback volume of Jes Goodwin's Eldar Sketchbook.  The only issue was, it was only available at special events such as store openings and birthdays... so if you didn't have a GW store near you, or weren't quick enough, it was almost impossible to grab a copy (luckily I did...)!

However, recently GW made available for release an expanded version, this time covering not only the Craftworld Eldar (the Asuryani) but the Dark Eldar as well (the Drukhari), in a two volume, slipcased edition..

That cost £75.

Seventy. Five. Pounds.

Now, to put that into perspective, an Eldar Wraith Knight is £70.. 

So, yes, it's bloody expensive, but it's worth every penny.

From the packing (a heavyweight cardboard case, printed with an Aeldari rune, with the book wrapped in black tissue to protect it) to the production values - 2 fabric bound, heavyweight paper, cloth backed volumes in a cloth backed slip case (which is an incredibly snug fit to the books), to the content - 136 pages for the Asuryani volume and 100 pages for the Drukhari companion, this edition screams 'special'.



 The contents -

The introductions by Phil Kelly are a welcome inclusion, and it shows that Phil shares the eagerness, the love and desire to see as much as the fans of Jes' work - and sets the books up nicely.

The Asuryani book covers Jes' concept sketches from 1989 right up to the later 2000's, when he worked on the last inclusions to the Eldar range (the Wraithknight, the redesign of the War Walkers etc) along with banner designs, icons and even Eldar Space craft, the book chronicles the evolution of one of the most iconic factions in 40k - from the first sketches of the unnamed Aspect Warriors, to the  Autarchs, the Eldar aesthetic is such a strong, emotive style I feel that GW could produce minis based on the 1989 concepts now, and they'd fit right in to the range.

What's interesting as well is that there are clear markers as to where Forge World picked up on certain kits - a concept for the War Walker is clearly the FW version the Wasp, and Jes' concept for the redesign of the Scorpion is precisely what Forge World produced.

The Drukhari volume is a little slimmer, and to be honest, a little disappointing, whilst remaining a stunning study in design. Deciding to concentrate on the redesign of the range which happened a few years ago, rather than take it from the early 90's (of which there is one sketch) showing the evolution through the original 1998 release to the redesign, it left me wanting more. I wanted to see where pieces like the Helions, the Scourges were changed in design from the 1998 version to the 2009 version, but this is probably a little self-entitled from me wanting more!


In conclusion, this is a volume that's worth picking up if you're a lover of all things Eldar, or even just a student of design and realisation - seeing where concept led to production is a fascinating thing, and well worth the £75 (for the really pedantic, that works out at 32 pence per page) - in fact, I'd say that's a bargain price for such an inspirational, stunning volume of 30 years of work.

Now, if only we can convince them to release a volume of Jes' Harlequin concepts.....!



Tuesday, 10 April 2018

Why Alaitoc? Choosing a Craftworld...

I sometimes wonder why I chose Alaitoc over all the other Craftworlds available.

It's not the most popular (I'd say that either the late, lamented Biel Tan, the Ghost Warrior Iyanden or Jetbike heavy Saim-Hann were all more popular), it's not the easiest to paint (again, Biel Tan or Saim-Hann would get that award), but there's something about it...

It's the background.

(DISCLAIMER - whilst I keep as close to 'canon' as I can, I do allow myself flights of fancy in terms how the lore is approached in minor ways... - this isn't meant to replace or contradict 'official' canon, but allows me to explore my own version)

The history of the Eldar race tells of a great cataclysm, known as The Fall - in which the excesses of the ancient Asuryani led to their almost -  destruction and the birth of Slaanesh.  To escape this, many Eldar took to the vast Craftworlds to escape the fate that befell those who stayed behind, leaving their homeworlds forever.

Those onboard the Alaitoc were almost too late - they were one of the final Craftworlds to leave, but managed to do so in time.


Possibly because of their near-destruction, the Alaitocii are strict adherents to the Path - the code by which the Eldar now live their lives in order to avoid the excesses of the past, and the eventual fate of becoming nothing but sustenance for Slaanesh (each Eldar soul that is not saved in a Waystone is devoured by the Dark Prince, a fate which terrifies the Eldar).

The Path, as laid out by those Asuryani who escaped on the Craftworlds (the Drukhari, 'Dark' Eldar, avoid Slaanesh in other more... extreme ways) looks to set the desires, the habits and behaviours of the Aeldari into specific 'paths' - be it Artist, Poet, Builder, Seer, Warrior, Outcast  - the list of paths available is long, all with the same aim - to allow the Aeldari to perfect the skills needed to master the Path, then move on to a different Path once that has occurred, leaving it behind them forever.

Each Path compliments another, allowing for the Craftworld to operate as a smooth machine, each Aeldari playing their part to keep the Craftworld in balance. Those who follow the civilian Paths also train in martial skills, ready to serve as Guardians when needed in times of war, to support those on the Path of the Warrior - the Aspect Shrines (which I'll cover in another post)

Alaitoc Guardian (c) Games Workshop


The colours of Craftworld Alaitoc are a mottled dark blue, with a Yellow Helmet. The Corsair Warband of the Eldritch Raiders wear similar colours, but with Black striping across the helmet, leading to some suspicion that they are affiliated with the Craftworld.

The Eldritch Raiders - Corsair Warband (c) Games Workshop





Monday, 9 April 2018

Recreating a Masterpiece - Dire Avenger Exarch


Way back in 1994, Geoff Taylor produced one of the most iconic pieces of Eldar artwork ever seen - the cover to the very first Code:Eldar.

Codex Eldar, Geoff Taylor, 1994 (c) Games Workshop

For me, the piece is what the Eldar are all about - massed ranks of rainbow coloured Aspect Warriors, charging to war alongside their war machines (the original Wave Serpent can be seen in the back ground), led by the ornate Aspect Warrior Exarchs.

Not long after the release of the Codex, Mike McVey, legend of GW painting and modelling during the 90's converted the only available Dire Avenger Exarch to match the painting, which was then painted by none other than Stuart Thomas, now of Sublime Brushwork fame (go take a look at his website - he's a true legend of Games Workshop painting!) 
Dire Avenger Exarch conversion, Mike McVey, 1994

Stuart also kindly provided a few new pics of the model, which show some of the detail that the image above didn't pick up:


I asked Stuart what he remembered about the model... given it's 24 years ago:

"I did my best to try and match the artwork as close as possible, which was quite a challenge. It was a lot of fun working on the miniatures for the books [Games Workshop released a guidebook of converting and painting miniatures, long since OOP sadly] as they allowed for a little more artistic freedom and experimentation, leading to the type of freehand and sort of proto-nmm on the Exarch' 

It's hard to think of a time when the top level painters weren't using techniques such as NMM (Non-Metallic-Metals), so this is a true experiment!

Back to my version...

I'd always wanted to do the conversion, or at least get close to it, but my skills at the time were nowhere near good enough to do it!

Fast forward 24 years, the advent of all-plastic Dire Avenger Kits and an unfulfilled ambition...

Regular readers will know that I'm currently rebuilding an entire Alaitoc Warhost, the first army I ever owned, so including this seminal conversion was a must!

So here we are - my attempt to recreate that little bit of Eldar history...

I've not got the post totally right to the picture, but I feel that this pose is close enough that those who know the artwork will know where it's come from.  I twisted the left leg slightly to give the 'step up' effect, and used a small piece of slate to have him stand on.  I added a back banner as I think Exarchs look great with them (I've also added the template from the old White Dwarf below for anyone who wants to add banners and pennants to theirs).
Eldar Banners & Pennants (c) Games Workshop

I've also worked on my Revenant, taking it from the green and white base coat it had when I got it 2nd hand, to a fully painted Alaitoc Titan....

It's a great looking kit to work on, and a joy to paint. To create the mottled effect on the blue armour I sponged the lighter shades I normally use for edge highlighting on in a random pattern - it works quite well I think!

The head opens to show the pilot within.  The yellow took quite a few coats to get a nice, solid colour but it's one that I'm really happy with.



Now I just need to finish my Phantom to match!!


Sunday, 1 April 2018

Craftworld Alaitoc - Assembling a Warhost Pt2

Today has seen me working on some older models to include in the Warhost.

Recently for me, collecting an army means I get to look for the cool stuff I had in the past but sold on, or getting models that I always wanted but never owned for some reason.

The beauty of the Eldar range is that from the Guardians released during the Rogue Trader years, to the Forgeworld kits of now, the aesthetic hasn't changed - the slim, tall silhouette has carried through the years with minor tweaks, meaning that with many models, you can field older pieces next to contemporary kits.

The kits worked on today are the Eldar Guardians, both in plastic, white metal and white metal / plastic hybrids, and 3 Eldar Dreadnoughts.

During the Rogue Trader years, what would become known as the Wraithlord was known by the shared name of 'Dreadnought' along with the Imperial and Ork versions.

The versions I've built are the 'Banshee' variant - the Support Dreadnought...


I've used an Eldar Missile Launcher, a Star Cannon and a Scatter Laser for the weapon mounts...


Then there's the 20 Guardians - taken from two boxes of plastic Guardians, a few metal / plastic hybrids and white metal models:
 The Metal / Plastic Hybrid Kits

 Plastic Guardians!

The Support Weapon

And for a Standard Bearer, I've used Menhe Worldsong...


I've also built and primed 3 War Walkers, possibly the most frustrating metal kit I've ever built!!


My first ever fan fiction!

  My First foray into fan fiction - a Battletech short story!  I've been wanting to write short stories for a while, but never really go...