Eldar are underway! Part 1 (Hobby)

Ever since my earliest exposure to Rogue Trader and laterW40K, I've coveted Eldar.  During the course of 2017, as I've made my way back into the hobby, I had been amassing an old skool elf metal collection - and one of my 2018 hobby project goals is to get them tabletop ready, and play a few games with them while I am at it!



This weekend has seen the first real work on that front.  With no real order in mind, I've started work on the following models: 4 Eldar Rangers, 4 Warp Spiders, a Grav Platform with 2 Weapon Crew members, 1 single Howling Banshee, 8 Striking Scorpions (see below) and 5 Guardians. I've also got a handful of Dark Reapers and another Scorpion that I've started pinning but I think I'll put them on ice whilst I concentrate on this first batch  - there's plenty to keep me busy for a few months, not to mention my various other works in progress (gulp!).

As it happens I've been diligently recording my hobby-related painting using Trello (which you can use for free) for most of this year and these Eldar are going to get similar treatment.  Here's the link to my primary board.  I try to maintain a card for each model, sometimes by unit instead, and I've found that regularly taking before and after shots throughout the process helps for the motivation and also assists with the composition - also making some notes of paints used can be invaluable.  I'm really a newcomer to this whole painting game, and being able to sit back, look at a photo can be really helpful - I highly recommend it!

This particular project is all metal.  Whilst I've acquired the occasional plastic figure, I've always been partial to the weight of the metal, despite the fact that plastics look absolutely fantastic these days.  Also, metal models were the staple when Rogue Trader first hit... I still have vivid memories of pouring over White Dwarf magazines etc and love the slightly dorky Eldar of the time.  The last reason that I've gone for metal is that it's very forgiving - should I butcher a paint job, it's not a huge deal to strip away the mistake and starting again, something I've already done a few times on some of my other models/factions.

Let's have a look at some of the models that I'm tackling, starting with the...

Eight Striking Scorpions  

Scorpions (Batch #1)

These are relatively dynamic models for their age, and I've got a mixture of models released during the decade ending 2000.

The first four models are from 1991 - all but the Exarch.  These are the Eldar I remember from when I was working at the Logical Choice in Canberra, selling them to kids whilst I pursued girls and played Full Thrust (no pun intended).

Then comes these four, including an Exarch from 2000 (3rd Edition W40K).  You'll note that their helmets are quite elongated, really empathising their alienness and their poses are very dynamic.  I quite like the Exarch's power fist as well - I hadn't seen that before I acquired this particular model.

The eight Scorpions are rounded out with, what I think is my first ever customised 28mm miniature -   It's a 3rd Edition Striking Scorpion's body and Shining Spear's laser lance.  I love it and have a backstory already in mind to explain why this particular Scorpion has forgone the chainsword a huge laser lance.

1st June 2018 Update

I've made good progress on the Scorpions over the last couple of weeks - an hour or so in the evenings and it's amazing what can be done.

Here's a shot of them, stepping off the workbench to pose for a team photo.

I don't think my approach to painting has been revolutionary.  The most unconventional thing I did/do is my priming/undercoats.  First of all, using my airbrush, I apply an all-over black (using Valeo Primer) then a zenith application of white - it's called Zenith or Zenithal Priming (here's some random tutorial on the same I just found on Youtube).  I haven't got it quite mastered just yet, I really need to pull back from the white just a touch to better emphasis the shadows... not to worry, it more than suffices for my needs.