Winged Nightmares - Corsair Vampire Squadron

May have slipped up a bit here - these guys were done some time ago (before the Titans) - however I seem to have forgotten to put the final post up for the trio of winged death.

The following three Vampires are part of the Corsair contingent, comprising of two Raiders (to transport 60 Corsairs) and a Hunter escort - just in case there's a tank or two that may present issues for the orbital assault.

Forming the base of the Vampire Hunter is a proper-f*&#ed Chaos Predator, making good use of brass rods, scenic smoke and missiles flowing from the undercarriage missile bays to support the weight of the Hunter. Both Raider are on 1"x12" thick acrylic rods that screw to the base and use guiding rods with magnets to lock the fuselage in place.

In the next couple of weeks they should be accompanied by a fighter/bomber wing - 16 regular flyers with another 4 in the winds to be completed over the next 12 months.

Resurgence - The hiatus ends

Well, it certainly has been a while since my last post. Sadly life throws things at you when least expected and we must adapt on the fly. So to all the fans out there, thank you for your patience while i've been relocating, pulling my life back together.

So there have been a few things happening in the background over the last month and now they're here for you to see in all their glory.

First up, the Wraithseer - Paying Giger homage after his recent unfortunate passing, Vincent spent 40 hours making sure this guy oozed a sense of presence on the battlefield.

Secondly, the Vampire Hunter/Raiders - Steve has finished these guys off, scenic bases done, magnetising and just all round bad arse. The lad is currently on holidays (well deserved), however at last note he was building the Revenant Titans (four Forge World types) and prepping the two Phantoms. Expect great things to come with these up and coming war machines.

Third off the rank, Elliot is chipping away at the scenic terrain for the theme table being built.

Fourth, the Flyers are in full swing with Matt, having 16/20 well under construction/prepping.

And finally, Navin from PaintedFigs.com has sent out the sample images of the Swooping Hawks - his new blood certainly is impressive and they've been cleared for mass production... watch the skies indeed.

All your base are belong to us - Scenic bases

Since this whole project started, many different scenic resin bases have been in my sights to amplify the visual appeal of these awesome Eldar miniatures. I thought it was well due for a showcase of what has been used and where - just in case anyone out there is currently going through the same process of scenic base selection themselves!

Dragon Forge - USA based, I purchased three of the large 200x155mm slate wasteland resin bases for use on the Vampire class super heavy flyers. It was heavy and thick enough to drill and insert a decent flight stand to handle the weight of a Vampire, not to mention it sat nicely with the aesthetic of the planetscape currently being developed.

Ironhalo.net - A New Zealand company with a nice array of 150mm round bases, three different types were bought for mounting Revenant Titans and potentially Armorcast Towering Knight Destroyers. A mix of Alpine Crags, Desert Mesa and Valhalla were picked up, also keeping in theme with the other scenic bases. These weren't as thick as the Dragon Forge types, however still gave enough all round surface contact to keep a (small) Titan from tipping.

Secret Weapon Miniatures - Another well known USA based resin scenic company, I chose these guys for their varied assortment of 120x95mm oval flyer bases - each keeping in tune with the planetscape theme. As I had 20 flyers requiring mounting, each were purchased with a 5" flight stand and widget (available at a small added cost).

Bases 4 War - Based in the UK, these guys make some badarse Eldar themed bases. I had originally wanted to go the path of using these to base most of the Warhost, however the planetscape made it a little hard to justify for my purposes. While i've not yet purchased the Wraithlands scenic bases, I have plans on picking up a batch of the 40mm/60mm/120x95mm Oval types for my Wraithlords and Wraithknights in the very near future.

Fire ze Missiles! - Vampire Hunter Scenic Base

Back when the Hunter was being conceptualised, Steve and myself had been talking about how to mount the beast plus do something funky with a missile swarm - Robotech style (for those of you able to remember that era).

Little did I suspect Steve would combine both the swarmed missiles and mounting concept into one funky mess of madness. With the Chaos Predator acting as a scenic base anchor, copper rods were bent as struts which would be shrouded by smoke plumes. The final result? The beast looking like a seagul rapid firing turds of destruction at the hapless Predator underneath. On to the pretties.

Stay tuned, there are a couple of extra goodies on their way as finishing touches ;)

UPDATE: As requested, some WIP shots of the scenic base and uncoloured smoke plumes as it all took shape.

I love the smell of Napalm in the morning

... It smells like... Victory.

Yep, I now have shots of the three Super Heavy Flyers as a group of winged death. Just wait until the 20 accompanying smaller flyers join them. Given these guys are all Corsair based with their individual paint jobs (with an underlying bonding theme), each will have its own back story in the grimoir being written at present.

With the base remaining for the Vampire Hunter (this is going to be a funky base, so stay tuned), and a few gems etc left, in the coming two weeks these boys will be ready for action.

Please note, the Hunter does not have its top fins on at the moment, yes you're not mistaken, they were on in previous photos :)

Very close to the smaller flyers beginning as well over at "Above the Table Top". Should be a frightening scene when they're all together, ready to deal death from above.

Craftworld Dras'Volharr Rune - Coloured in

Steve has taken the Craftworld rune and applied it to the Vampire Raiders, in the process making an image that could very easily turn into a stencil/transfer. I love the way this has turned out with the NMM effect, which I think will work very well overall.

And the graphic for transfers...

Certainly stands out to as a unique rune to identify the Craftworld, can't wait to roll it out to other units... including the Avatar of Khaine.

Vampire Raiders - Fire & Ice

Steve from Third Fate Creations just emailed me the latest WIP image of the second Vampire Raider - or twins, fire and ice. Both are around the 1/2 to 2/3rds complete mark, with detailing to go... which in itself is pretty impressive. The last of the trio is the Hunter variant, which will be the next surprise to hit the inbox (suspense indeed). On to the pretty pictures;

Updated - Purple crystalline pattern added to the wing plates;

And now at 95% complete...

And the twin... WIP

Also at 95%...

Note: both Raiders have the glow effect applied on the underside now and match closely.


Stay tuned for the third member of this trio of winged death...