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Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Paul M's High Elf Host - Wild Card Month (227 pts)


Month six is wildcard month, and the official end of OWAC VI for my High Elf host.

It will be no surprise to those of you who saw last month's post with the repurposed Tiranoc Charioteers that this month you finally get to see some High Elf Chariots. Two to be precise. One I acquired in pretty rough condition with thick paint but already fairly solidly built. The other was unbuilt/painted and in OK condition except for having a broken axle and the "wrong" wheels. I do have the original horses that came with these chariots but I just don't find them a good match for the Elven steeds throughout the rest of the army, some I swapped in some unbarded Elven steeds and added the originals to my collection of horses for baggage trains and D&D encounters.

I knew I wanted to distinguish between the two chariots and had long had plans to swap around the charioteers, so the one with thicker paint took on a more austere "Chrace" theme with simple wood and leather ornamentation.





The charioteer is a High Elf Spearman Champion but I have always thought the lion cloak made him seem like he fit the Chrace regional background, even if he didn't fit with a unit of axe wielding White Lions. His pose has also always reminded me of the Tiranoc Charioteer, spear upright, other hand tucked in to the hip, so there was some pleasing symmetry there as well as enough character to fit the regional theme. I didn't go as far as upgrading the horses to lions, as I believe is an option in later editions of Warhammer Fantasy Battles, but I painted the horses in a colour scheme that matches the other Chrace units and matched the basing to tie them in further. 


As a little bonus for wild card month I also refurbished an existing Unicorn from Marauder Miniatures. The paint scheme largely matched the Chrace contingent of my High Elf host and that made sense to me so I again upgraded the basing to match. 



The second chariot required more work to build but that gave me more of a chance to paint components as I went. I decided this one would be closer to the colour scheme suggested for Tiranoc chariots in later High Elf books, which also happens to match the sky blue and yellow colour scheme for the "Ellyrian" contingent of my army.



I enjoyed the chance to bring out the detail on the chariot a bit more, particularly the Eagle motifs. There is some detail on the charioteer that you don't get to see as he is riding in the chariot, but I still couldn't help myself as even on my third version in two months, he is still a joy to paint. The basing ties to the rest of the Ellyrian contingent and distinct from the Chrace chariot to suggest different regional landscapes, hopefully evoking a rocky coast and an autumnal woodland respectively.



The Marauder Unicorn comes with a High Elf Sorceress which has long been earmarked for my Wood Elf army, and the Unicorn has been a separate entity for both Warhammer and D&D purposes. I intend for that to continue, although I have acquired a second Unicorn and Sorceress pairing for my WEs, so I found myself with a spare Sorceress.... 



I painted her up in the Ellyrian contingent colour scheme but here you can see her back on her original Unicorn with it's Chrace themed basing. I do have something 'bigger' for her to ride but I wasn't able to get that finished in time for Wild Card month. Maybe for the final wrap up post though, we shall see.

Total for the month:

Chrace Chariot - 84 pts
Tiranoc/Ellyrian Chariot - 84 pts
High Elf Soreceress - 59 pts

TOTAL: 227 pts

Just the Wrap up post to go, but that should be a big one as I will try and show the entire high Elf host painted over two Old World Army Challenges.

As always, huge respect to everyone who made it to the end of the OWAC this year. Enjoy this moment of peace and contentment in your hobby life. You earned it!

10 comments:

  1. A fitting finish to your army, looking forward to some majestic whole army shots in wrap-up.

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    1. Thanks mate, I have to say the wrap up post and pictures took a bit of sorting out, but I hope it will be worth it! :)

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  2. Chariots are great! I especially love the sorceress on the unicorn! A lovely coherent looking army!

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    1. Thanks Lissane, she is a really lovely old sculpt and it felt good to reunite her, if only temporarily with her Unicorn mount. They are destined to part as friends but find other partners to adventure with...

      Also, I have another set for my Wood Elves next year ;)

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  3. Something bigger eh? What a tease! Glorious month anyhow - lovely work sir. I don't remember collecting any wood elfs as a kid, but I certainly remember that unicorn from my childhood - oueff it's been a while! 💖

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    1. The Unicorn and Sorceress was seen across a number of Old School Elf armies (both High and Wood Elf varieties) and probably marketed as both at different times. A real classic and a perfect centrepiece for many Elven starter armies :)

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  4. Really nice colour work - wonderfully elvish!

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    1. Thanks George! I've really enjoyed playing with more colour with my elves during the last two years of the OWAC :)

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  5. These chariots and the unicorn is a really nice use of a wild card month. Looking forward to the army shots and especially the "something bigger"

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    1. Thanks Jaska! The something bigger did get finished and has been included in the wrap up post. I hope it is worth the wait! :)

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