RIGHT!
It’s been over a year since I actively worked on this project, but a new escalation league at my club (which I’m running) is bringing it back onto the painting desk. We’re starting at 500 points and essentially when you have only that much to play with and lots of objectives to claim at the drop of a hat I’ve learnt that one realises the necessity of some Windriders!
Given the project is so old now I thought a good place to start (as much for my own benefit as anything else) is to take stock of where I’m up to so far.
Jetbikes
I have molds for all the parts that allow me to build the new jetbikes assuming I own or can get hold of Eldar jetbike canopies, the Dark Eldar jetbike chassis, and a small weapon part from the Eldar heavy weapon bits that come with the vehicles and walkers. Fortunately and needless to say I do have those parts.
This means I can crank out jetbikes like the one below fairly easily. This is one I just painted (that’s right, an actual update!) to get myself in the mood for pushing on with the project. It was a fairly quick job and I’ve already worked out ways that I can make the subsequent bikes look a lot more polished, but it will do for now. I like the blue pattern on the canopy – it’s among the best I’ve done, I think.
Subsequent to this photo I decided to paint the base of the twin linked shuriken catapults (the part that connects the gun to the jetbike) in bone instead of white, and the model still needs final details on the screens, varnishing and transfers (and of course basing, which is its own saga best left alone for now).
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Guardian Riders
I have a mold to churn out sets of arms holding the controls for the jetbike. That’s these arms:
The legs are in production: I have cut and bent a set of legs to fit the bike and apparently now need to sculpt knee pads and finish the waist of the rider. To be honest I’d forgotten I got this far, which is a nice surprise!
I’ll be using stock Guardian torsos and for heads have the option of attaching some plumes blowing in the wind, or just using stock heads.
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Warlock & Farseer Riders
I have a mold to churn out two sets of robed legs which will be used as the base for both Warlocks and Farseers. Here’s some archive photos showing how they look.
I have a lot of Warlock helmets, which I traded for, and a couple of options for Farseer helms too from various kit, so heads are covered.
I haven’t started the Warlock torso and the prospect is rather intimidating. I still need to find a suitable model to hack up and use as the base for the piece to be cast – one where the torso is free of arms, weapons etc… And it ought to be in resin as I don’t relish trying to work with metal here!
I’ve also not started any arms except one singing spear arm, intended primarily for the Farseer but usable for Warlocks as well. Indeed, I don’t yet have a suitable witch blade to use for a sword arm option, and am unsure where I’ll get one! The singing spear arm is simply the stock arm with the “bangle” detail reversed so it makes sense given the direction the spear will be held in. It’s not photographed yet.
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Shining Spears
These remain an even more distant dream at present, as I’ve only created the helmet for the shining spears and sort of played around with ideas for how to make the lance arm.
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So What Now?
I absolutely need 5 Windrider Guardians for my initial 500pt escalation force, and we will start playing games in February, with penalties for unfinished models. So the basic Guardian riders will be my first priority, after which I think it’ll be time to look at the Warlock riders again, assuming I can find some good base parts.
It feels good to be back on the Eldar!