goblinpaladin's Wood Elves II - a January update (498 points)

 Pictures are waxworks beside the passionate mobility of the living bird.
   - J.A. Baker, The Peregrine

warriors with skills forgotten by ulthuan ⁊ naggaroth

A successful January - but then, last January was successful as well. It's February that's the hardest month, with the fewer days and the looming threat of losing that initial burst of steam. Continue the sacrifices to Kurnoth and Khaine, friends.

CHARACTERS
Skaw the Falconer, Sylvan Chieftain (170[?] points)
Fionn the Harpist, Sylvan Chieftain (168 points)

RANK ⁊ FILE
5 Wardancers with two hand weapons (105 points)
5 Falconers (55 points)

 A range of sculpts here; three from different ranges now sold by Ral Partha, Grenadier, 90s elves re-released by North Star, and classic Citadel sculpts ranging from the '80s to the Middlehammer '90s. But, most importantly: falcons.

Skaw the Falconer

I've loved Skaw the Falconer since I first flipped through Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves as a teenager and saw his portrait. He has falcons! And a cool claw thing! And nobody ever actually used him in an army ever.

I tried to get close to his artwork and the classic paintjob, while also grounding his eagle cloak in something approaching realism. He still has some of the fun, bright colours of Middlehammer, though.

Fionn the Harpist

This fellow is a Grenadier/Mirliton sculpt. He was sent to me by accident, but I've decided to use him in this project anyway. His harp and bronze jewellery echo early medieval Celtic heroes, a recurring theme in wood elf projects.

Magic instruments aren't terribly useful in 3rd edition (and are almost completely absent in the editions following), but I suppose he could accompany wardancers as a hero.

wardancers

I mentioned in my first OWAC two years ago that I wanted to include elves with a plurality of cultures and traditions, so here we have another river elf and a pale-skinned elf dedicated to the cult of Khaine. Would you like some close-ups? I bet you would.

knives

This fellow and his companions were a bit tricky to figure out - only one of their sleeves has chain, and they all seem to have archery braces despite being melee fighters. The moulds are also a bit elderly, so there was a fair amount of flash and mould lineage, not to mention their awful integral bases. I think I did okay.

falchions

This sculpt is really frustrating to try and find, and I knew I wanted him in this project. I'm not totally happy with the job I've done on him in the end, but I'm glad he's here.

scimitars

This sculpt was very popular in the Facebook forum for the Challenge. I can't put my finger on why.

She was also tricky to paint; the thin straps over her skin are a real nuisance when you're trying to keep her very pale but the gear very dark. She passes the three-feet test, which is the main thing, and deciding to do her intricate armour in sword-and-sorcery bronze also meant that I didn't have to do too much with the fiddly detail. She's a great sculpt, and is available from Ral Partha these days.

more knives

I was going to link to where you could find these on North Star's website, but they seem to have sold out of them. They had announced they were retiring the moulds after selling 500 iterations of each sculpt, so I suppose that's it for a while.

spear ⁊ knife, an unusual choice

falconers

Everyone who looks at the 3rd edition army list for wood elves wants falconers - deny it if you want, but you know it's true! - but nobody actually does miniatures for regiments of them. That's probably because they're not a very effective choice. Everything they can do, regular archers do more effectively and with simpler rules. It's understandable why Games Workshop dropped them completely in 4th edition (except for Skaw, who still wasn't used).

Lillith Lythefoot, Falconer

I scrounged around the internet for ages, looking for elves with falcons. There are a few out there, but not many, with the result that the unit looks like a handful of heroic adventurers rather than a military regiment - which works perfectly for weirdo beastmasters. Lythefoot is part of Ral Partha's adventurer range, and is a bit slim and small next to her Citadel and Grenadier cousins. She, uh, isn't armoured though, so it works.

Arna

Arna is from Grenadier/Mirliton. Luckily there's a UK stockist, because shipping from Italy to Australia is insane. Bless you, Royal Mail.

Ean Hawkbane

I'm pretty sure this absolutely gorgeous classic sculpt is from Bob Olley. Completely gruesome and totally awesome, it's also a rare Citadel miniature with a falcon. Well, an owl (here painted as an Arctic snowy owl). Not all the elves who live in the deep forests are peaceful, as Ean's humanskin cloak attests...

Aranische Falknerin, Falconeer

A Dark Eye sculpt sold by Ral Partha, Falknerin is honestly a bit rough. Like Lythefoot, she's a bit slim and small, while her falcon has barely any detail at all. This closeup does her few favours. I did enjoy painting her in rich silks, mostly with contrast paints, but her hair didn't turn out... great.

axe

I don't think this fellow has a name. He's a champion from I think the early '90s - you can see the pointed helm and crescent moon symbols which became hallmarks of the High Elf range. The miniature was a bit battered, which I leaned into on his crest, but it's a wonderful sculpt with a beautifully detailed bird. Jess Goodwin, probably.

Skaw the Falconer
From Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves, Nigel Stillman. Artist [unknown].© Games Workshop, 1996 

That's me all done for January. Coming up next: as many elves as I can paint for a Warrior Kinband by the end of February. Sculpts from only four sources this time!