Anyone would think this Craftworld was Iyanden...

Well, it certainly has been a while between drinks. To say the f*&ing least. Life, as it turns out, has a way of directing us regardless of our best intentions. Seriously, as the title states... its like a ghost army has been resurrected.

So, this post will go over what has been, where things are at and where they're going over the next four to five years. Yep, still got that long to go... in the immortal words of Idris Elba - Reset the clock.

The "Past"

What the hell happened, Dave? Seriously... What.. The.. F*&k... happened?!

Well, it goes a little something like this;

1. Kids - Had one to add to my "eBay Child". To say they're a handful is an understatement. Any parent knows this though. With them, come expenses... lots of expenses. Add in special needs... its a party.

2. Health dramas - We all have them, this is normal. Ours just came all at once. I won't lie, there was a moment where I probed for interest in selling the Warhost. Thankfully, it did not come to that, but it got very close.

3. House stuff - COVID-19 brought with it some pretty interesting changes, which we have all been affected by. Not least of this is working arrangements. To do this, some office/livability factors were required. It paid off, as I'm lucky enough to work for an organisation who have allowed me to work from home full time due to the life events that have transpired since 2017.

All of the above has added up to the Warhost coming a distant 20 something on the list of priorities.

 ... Yet, here we are, a couple of years on, still going ;) 

NB: I might have also invested in the Battletech Clan Invasion Kickstarter... my second love.

The "Present"

Fast forward to the present! Just what has been sent out? What came back? What's left to go?

1. HQ Models - All HQ models are with, or on their way back from either Vincent or Linford. And they look the ducks nuts.

As with myself, both Vincent and Linford have their lives and dramas to deal with as well, so the last are trickling in (Jetbikes an exception...) - More to come, stuffing about with a light box to get some "blog worthy" photos up.

2. Rogue Trader Models - As previously displayed on the blog, two solid boxes filled with metal were sent off to Arawn.. somewhere around 500+ including a few aspects from the Artel W range long over due for paint work. These have no deadline set, when they're done, they're done. This was batch 1 of 3.

*Note: This was just a small portion... almost 20kg of metal was sent off... I genuinely felt bad.

The "Future"

So what is left to go out?

1. Lots and lots of Wraith units. To the tune of about 150 or so... probably more.

2. A batshit insane amount of Jetbikes, both old and new, plus a few dozen Corsair units (60 or so). From memory, the Jetbikes alone in total came to over 500 in number, ranging from old GW sculpts, to Ghost Miniatures, etc.

3. Artel W Aspect and Ranger sculpts. Again, these match previous unit numbers, so generally that's 30 of each Aspect and 50 of the Ranger variety.

4. Armorcast... lots and lots of Armorcast. Wave Serpents, Tempests, Phantom Titan with all the mods, Revenants, prototype Bright Stallions... name it, minus one or two... its probably in there.

5. Forgeworld Super Heavy Tanks, both the MK1 and MK2 plus Lynx varieties. If memory serves correctly, there are around 30+ Warmachines all said and done across both ranges.

6. Miscellaneous add ins as they're released to market... this shitstorm never seems to end.

HQ Eldar - First wave on its way home

As most of you know, the Warhost is completely commission painted by a number of artists globally. One lad, Vincent, has held the reigns over all HQ models (with the exception of Warlocks). The good news? He's on the home stretch! In recent times, Vincent has switched from commission painting to his own personal line of miniatures - Limbo Miniatures - As you might imagine, running your own business takes up a fair chunk of time :)

Luckily, Vincent has been gracious enough to finish off the HQ models, being his last comission - for which I am immensely grateful. One look at the quality and how he has given each model its own uniqueness while keeping the theme, and you will see why I'm pretty thrilled he has stuck with me getting these HQ models done over the years. They've all come out absolutely stunning!

See below for a line up of all the models to date Vincent has completed for the Dras'Volharr...

White Seer WIP - Juan Diaz Test Sculpt

Today I have some pretty groovy news, as Vincent (aka Duskfrost) has sent over some WIP shots of the Eldar White Seer. The model itself was one of the four test sculpt Juan Diaz did for Games Workshop many years ago, which were each 1 of 12. This sculpt is probably the rarest out there presently of the four, as i've seen many resculpts of the other three over time.

So what is a White Seer? Glad you asked. They're the link between Craftworld Eldar and the Black Library, commonly associated with the Harlequins. Serving as psychic guardians of the Black Library, their purpose is to acquire knowledge of Chaos for use in defending it. This little guy will soon be accompanied by his pet Gyrinx (a limited release model in the UK) over the next few weeks - hence the larger 60mm scenic base as I wanted these two rare models to have their own small diorama of sorts.

The White Seer fits into the Dras'Volharr story line as a previous expat of the Craftworld, bringing back a Masque of Harlequins to join the Crafworlders in activating an ancient Webway Gate - to reintegrate the last wave of a defending Warhost prior to the world's desolation. Yep, this is where all the Rogue Trader Eldar come in. A clash of new and old across almost 95,000 points of Eldar goodness. On to the pretty pictures...

Duskfrost - Corsair Void Dreamer & Unreleased Prototype Farseer

I like purty things. Especially when they're painted by my mate Vincent (aka Duskfrost). Over the weekend Vincent sent through his latest work, a pair of Farseers (well one designated for Corsair duties, to be mounted along side a Gyrinx later).

First up is the Chapter House Studio model which in its own right its ok, and a little out of proportion, however with this paint job doesn't scrub up too badly at all. The patterning is slightly Harlequinesque with the domino cards effect painted on the cape.

Second we have one of the four Juan Diaz unreleased test sculpts (three have now been painted - the fourth to become a White Seer of the Black Library, on emissary duties). The forest theme comes up nicely in this and reminds me of Vincent's previous work while detailing Radagast from The Hobbit.

And together front and back.

 

Looking forward to what comes up next :)

Unreleased Spiritseer - Iyanna Arienal

Seriously being spoiled here. Vincent has just sent me photos of the latest work of art, my original copy of Juan Diaz' unreleased test sculpt Iyanna Arienal. He has done a water manupulator theme with her, complete with clear resin raging water effect for the base - certainly not something I was anticipating, what a surprise!

More about Iyanna can be read here - http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Iyanna_Arienal

And here are the pretty pictures;

Juan Diaz Prototype Farseer - Coloured in!

Good ole Vinny has just sent me an update of two WIP Farseers he has been sorting out in the last two weeks. One of which is Juan Diaz' prototype Farseer, originally pegged for the 2006 release (although never made it). Only 12 of these puppies were cast up, so I count myself very lucky to include it in the Warhost - only made better by Vincent's handiwork!

Vincent has applied an Autumn/Maple theme to this Farseer, and done a sensational job doing so;

And the second Farseer - Or Earthseer, complete with summoned rock shards and cracked motif on the cape (really different and inspiring!);

 

And a close up of the cracked cape...

... Craftworld History - A little teaser...

Given recent musings, the Craftworld (once appropriately named - almost there!) will include a  White Seer. Due to the nature of what the little buggers are all about, it seemed apt that one tag along as an advisor/historian with a vested interest in what is gradually uncovered. Can't have those nice artifacts falling into the hands of Chaos now can we?

In case you're wondering what model will be used for this, i've chosen the unreleased Farseer (and rarest of the bunch) pictured below. Vincent (aka Duskfrost) has been tasked with making this "all white" wearing Seer come to life;

I believe, with the right paint job and unique staff, this little bugger will fit the role nicely.

Update: It would seem after re-reading buckets of Eldar history (and about the various Craftworlds, the thoughts of where i'd like to go with mine kinda fall between the Lugganath and the Iybraesil. Lugganath due to the Corsair and Ranger involvement, with Iybraesil due to their prerogative to seek out ancient goodies.

Plus, the colour scheme falls between the Corsair Steel Eye Reavers (Black with Tiger style striping) and Lugganath Craftworld (For their orange theme). Yep, this is going to be a tricky story to weave without overlapping too much into the other Craftworlds nearby.

Tidbits and very rare items

Along the way to creating a pretty hefty display army, i've stumbled across some pretty rare goodies that i've been very fortunate to acquire (aside from the Armorcast vehicles).

First up, the customised dice and pouch (the pouch you can see in the mass boxes image further down the page);

More recently, I was lucky enough to acquire all four of the Juan Diaz test sculpts (all originals). Each of these had 12 copies made, so I was very lucky to obtain all four from the Godfather of rare miniatures in New Zealand. The one in the top left is the special character Iyanna, Spirit Seer of Iyanden, from the 3rd Edition Eldar Codex - they never released a production model of her.

And now for some very special Jetbikes, made by a friend overseas. Let's just say they make the 1994 Games Workshop sculpts pale by comparison. These turned up yesterday in the mail I might add!

Jetbike Farseers

Jetbike Warlocks

Jetbike Autarch (with all the extra trimmings)

And some fancy new Shining Spears

Proof of life (heh)