Andrea's Space Elves - Vehicle month - June

 Hi OWACers, 

so we are at the last month, and for me this is the vehicle month!

I have got the possibility to 3D print a model of Wave Serpent, the old one: do you remember that goofy and strange vehicle taken directly from Epic? Yes, exactly that one!

Well, it is not exactly identical to the AmourCast one, but this is what I got ;-)

There is one think that I clearly remember about the Wave Serpent livery: the wave along the hull. So, I wanted to reproduce the same scheme on the mine. Since I suck at free-hand, I just designed and produced a template which helped me to draw precise wave lines onto the hull:

Basically, I first made a template of the area that will be occupied by the wave pattern; then, I digitalized it along with a ruler to keep proportion and successively print of the appropriate length. Once digital, I superimposed the wave pattern with a design program (each single wave is a separate layer, so I can make them of different sizes). Then, printed, cut out and reproduced on paper tape; the final step was to stick the paper tape template onto the hull and make the contour. Et voilá, waves are designed and painted. 

Ok, now I have my troops transport and can carry Banshees across the battlefield.

Now, the rules for using it. Maybe my google-fu start to be a little less reliable, but I can't find the original datafax and special rules on the web. I just got some instruction which, apparently, were translated in french and back-translated in english, and a picture of the original ArmourCast model EXACTLY ABOVE the original datafax... 

... it took to me some hours, but I think I have got correctly the rules and decided to make a new datafax.

And, of course, I made also the Warp Template (following instructions and by printing waves on transparent slides)!

Sorry for the non-backdrop, but the warp template is only visible on white...)

Ok, this is all for this month although I planned to paint more. Though, you know... family, work and a temperature up to 38˚ C (about100 F) do not help! I still have some more space elves, and maybe I will achieve completion by the wrap up post, but with this 150 points the minimum requested is done!

See you next month, ciao

A

Andrea's additional Leader month - The Seer and the Dreddy

 So, Owacers,

this is the second leader month and I can't be more happy as 1) I turned 50 and still feeling good, 2) I painted the most spectacular Eldar Farseer ever sculpted: the finger-pointing, mosquito-helmet, dramatic-pose Farseer!

The best thing is that, being a fine sculpt, it is as funny as expected to paint: a real pleasure! The shape of the helmet (marvellous, despite - or maybe, thanks to - its mosquito appearance) was abandoned in favour of a more technological-looking and mysterious version (cool, nothing to say) and only very recently recovered in the last Farseer incarnation (that I still have to get it!). 

But, this month is not only about the Farseer but it is also about another old friend, whose aesthetic remained longer on the shop shelves: the Dreadnought. Actually, in the RT era there were three version of it, but all based on the same body which remained basically the same even throughout the 2nd and the 3rd edition. Of the RT three patterns, I got the War Demon one: a Dreadnought apparently made to slap enemies, rather than shoot them down!

And now, of course, a little comparative analysis of its changes through time:

Here are the three main incarnation, form the left: RT, 2nd/3rd edition and 4th edition (the Wraithlord, although the full plastic kit like this one is more recent). 

Ok, I would have like to paint more but time is very tight these days, but still these are 330 points (Farseer, 170 pts; Dreddy, 160 pts). I hope to get more time in the next month!

Keep painting, fellows! and see you in June!

ciao, A

Andrea's Space elf warriors (or Guardians, as modern people use to say) - APRIL

 Hi OWACErs,

I am back after the March pause... thinks started running since (every) February: work duties intensifies, child-related stuff multiply (sport tournaments, school trips, etc etc) and so all the time saved before was rapidly consumed.

BUT...

But this time I managed to hold the ground and here we are with the April monthly quota: some Space Elf warriors (still have some difficulty in calling them Guardians, being Rogue Trader era miniatures)

Ten guys, a per OWAC rules, although I planned to make more... I will finish them for the next month (the second "Leader month") and for the moment I will enjoy the freshly painted ones! Among them, one of my favourite Eldar miniature: the commander with the demon face helmet. It always hits my mind as it looks clearly evil, with his terrifying aspect, but belonging to a good-aligned (or so it is assumed) faction. It looks like some samurai helmet masks which were crafted as a demonic face:  I never investigated more (perhaps it is time to do it) but maybe that was the inspiration?

There is also another think that hits me during the painting, something that for some reason I never noticed before. Here is the first squad:

Well, beside demon-mask and the guy with flamer on the back, which were both released as part of the command squad (1988), the other three are clad in a full-covering armour with some reinforcements to the legs (look the guy on the right and the two guys on the left): this kind of amour cannot be found in any other space elf warrior. This three guys were first released in the late 1987 along with others that made my second squad:

These wear a plates armour over the iconic chainmail which will be the distinctive mark of early 2nd edition guardians, especially those serving at the heavy weapon platforms.  

I am now wondering the meaning of this difference: I mean, my first though was that those with reinforced armour carry some heavy weapons so it is reasonable they wear such an armour. Though, one of them just carry the shuriken catapult as the others with chainmail & plates armour. Were them just random figure? Or was there some basic idea was knowledge has been lost (or just I did not investigated enough)?

Anyway, this is why I decided to paint the armour slightly differently, the first with yellow shoulder pads, while the other in full blue-grey. And no... no black stripes on helmets, as long ago, after too many tentatives gone wrong I decided they are better without!

Well, since it was nominated and in case you are asking yourself (I know you want to know), yes I have also the command squad! I only painted them about one year ago:

The Space Elves command squad, here with two commanders, a standard bearer and a musician (how fucking 80s' could be an harpist in a sci-fi far future, eh!)

Ok, so this month is 10 warriors (guardians) therefore they are worth 110 points.

Next month will be the Farseer month and, maybe, some extra!

ciao, A

ZeroTwentythree's February Eldar - Rank & File (699pts)

February Eldar:  Bombots, Dreads, War Walker (Rank & File - The Heavies)

The OWAC IV phase of the pirate crew focused heavily on regular troops. This time around I'm still painting rank & file, but focusing on support troops & heavies.

So here we have two Rogue Trader dreadnoughts, a Banshee & a War Cry. I definitely wanted to paint a Banshee as that was the model I had in my original Space Elf force back in the day.

War walker. I decided to go with the same purple as on the support weapon platforms & crew. Speaking of crew, I like the idea of having some dismounted crew figures, so I looked through the infantry bits and got as close as I could to the model on the walker. In hindsight, I should have tried sculpting the hair to match. I added a bit of green on both models to break up all the purple.

As I was prepping for this year's challenge, I saw something in the list that had previously escaped my notice:

Bombots! OK, so there were never any actual figures. I gave it some thought and decided to kitbash some hover-bombots. I got some little plastic craft eggs, carefully cut them up, added some sheet styrene fins, little Eldar gems (Eldar love gems...) with greenstuff, and a bit of wire. I don't think they turned out too bad. I had hoped to convert a bombot "handler" but wasn't able to settle on a conversion, but maybe they will appear in a future month's entry.

I also had one old Epic dread that came in a package with some other Eldar stuff for the OWAC4 project. I thought I would paint it up as yet another (small) spirit warrior; build out to be determined.

Lastly, some bonus material.

Continuing my plan for the Grav-Attack Ranch, I made a quick & sloppy, second model. I need to get some cheap putty to finish the base before priming the new one.

Inspired by the power field walls I did in January, I had a couple of other related ideas for personal or portable power field barriers. One is like a personal power field. A "power mantlet"? The other is like a portable field fortification, inspired by the ability of sappers to build field fortifications in WFB 3rd ed. I'm not sure what the plastic end bits are, or even what kit they come from. Something much newer.

Shown here with (previously painted) Kev, for scale.

So my first two months were the sneaky and the heavy support troops. The next few months will involve some more vanilla troops & weapon platforms, weird aliens, and heroes. I think I'll save the heroes for the end. So that narrows it down a little.

Rank & File

War-Cry Dreadnought        140 pts

Banshee Dreadnought        160 pts

War Walker                         349 pts !!!

5 Bombots                            50 pts

Bonus

T.B.D. Spirit Warrior           0 pts

War Walker Pilot                 0 pts

Terrain                                 0 pts

February Total                  699 pts

OWAC VIII Total          1,311 pts

ZeroTwentythree's January Eldar - Rank & File (612 pts)

January Eldar: Scouts, Farseer, Terrain (Rank & File)

The choice for my first month's entry is the result of several trains of thought. One is that it would be fairly easy to complete, thus ensuring that I would not be eliminated in the first month of the Challenge. The second being that the scouts were unfinished business from OWAC4. Sort of. They were not part of my original plan, but was a late potential "stretch goal."

The Eldar scouts were a later addition to Rogue Trader. I believe they were released just prior to the RT Craftworld list. My pirate force is based on the Eldritch Raiders list in Chapter Approved, White DWarf Articles, and the guides & calculator in the RT book. The latter makes it easy to retrofit the scouts in the the Raiders list rather than than use the Craftworld scouts which are more like 40k 1.5 edition. My Chapter Approved style entry is below. Point values have changed a little since my initial calculations.

Since I had 11 figures, I decided to utilize the scout with the sword as a champion, also using the tables & calculator in the RT book.

Another bit of semi unfinished business from OWAC4 was a Farseer that I picked up while shopping for a few other figures I needed for the original force. I initially bought the figure because I am a huge fan of the sculpt, had the figure years ago when the Craftworld figures were released, and just wanted to paint one again for nostalgia.

But four years ago (plus or minus a few months) as I was painting the first phase of the crew of the Cold September, my mind wandered (as it does) and an idea began to develop. The Farseer became a missionary who has left the Craftworld, escorted by a group of scouts who had worked with the Craftworld for a time. The Seer has, in a sense, joined the Outcasts in order to keep an eye on them, advise and guide them away from damnation, and help bring them back to the Eldar Path.

For this reason (and another) I opted to paint the figure in a camouflage palette similar to the scouts. Again, the stats, points, and equipment have been generated from Rogue Trader. 

Too lazy to make cards for them at this time. So....

Farseer - Eldar Major Hero (426.5 pts)

Psi Level 40, 3xLv1, 3xLv2, 2xLv3, 2xLv4, Force Sword, Energy Scanner, Bio Scanner, Communicator, Respirator, Auto-Senses, Cameleoline, Las-Pistol, C-Field

Scout Leader - Eldar Champion (21.5 pts)

Mesh Armor, Las Pistol, Power Sword, Needle Rifle, Cameleoline, Photo Chromatic Visor, Communicator, Respirator, Frag Grenades

Also painted this month is the traditional Offering, formerly for the Overlord, now for the Old World Army Challenge Revolutionary Coordinator Committee (or something like that?) Fortunately this year my theme aligns with one of the Committee members' theme.

Since I finished painting my core figures (10 scouts plus The Offering) by mid January, I returned to some other unfinished business -- terrain business. Years ago I started a couple of terrain projects, now completed(ish) below. I made one "power field fence" as a test, but never made more. Now I have three. I will probably be building some more. These are very simple to make, just some acetate sheet cut to size, sanded to give a hazy appearance, and glued to craft sticks for bases. because I have other low obstacles, I made these taller.

Initially unrelated I had also started making a terrain piece from the plastic blister packaging from a door latchset. I added some granny-grating and oval shaped googly eyes for some additional Eldarishness. So now I finished painting this, and it feels like this could maybe be the power field generator for the fence. 

One of the other "stretch goals" I started on is a project that I came up with before even deciding to join OWAC8 or return to the Eldar. In November I made a brief stop in Amarillo, TX for work. Just ten minutes from the work site I needed to visit was the Cadillac Ranch. At some point in next few days the idea came to me...

Grav-Attack Ranch

Conveniently I had a couple of deodorant containers stashed away for long running plans for a wrecked Grav-Attack terain peice and Thomas the Grav-Attack Engine (which I still plan on building.) Fortunate timing, I've also scavenged a couple more. So my plan is to get at least three built & painted, but ultimately I'd like at least five to use for terrain. At first it was going to be a single based bit of terrain, but I've changed my mind and will put them on individual bases for flexibility.

Below is the build - a bit of a test piece. A little sloppy, but like the original inspiration (well, 1/2 of the inspiration) I'd like the structure to appear to be deteriorating, and some texture from a lot of layers of paint!

For what it's worth, I did paint on a couple of the Cadillacs, but the wind was so intense that it turned out a mess. I also took a quick drive to get my kicks on Route 66 and stand on the yellow line in the center of the midpoint of The Mother Road!

Alright, enough with the Texas and Americana, back to the Grim Dark Future. Below are my January totals. I've let one surprise out (Grav-Attack Ranch) but hopefully still have a few more to unleash. In fact, February's entry is still a surprise to me. Although I have The Plan, I haven't decided what to paint next!

Rank & File

Scout Squad                      82 pts

Scout Squad                      82 pts

Bonus

Scout Champion             21.5 pts

Farseer                         426.5 pts

Terrain                                 0 pts

January Total                  612 pts

OWAC VIII Total           612 pts

ZeroTwentythree's Eldar Pirates - Intro Post

 ZeroTwentyree's Eldar Pirates

(the sequel)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Wait. That's not it. I start over.

In 2021 I went sci-fi for the Old World Army Challenge IV before returning to fantasy for the next two years and then sitting out last year's Challenge. Now I return to the +/-41st century in 2025!

My OWAC4 project was a small RT era Eldar Pirate force, the Crew of the Cold September. It was based on the Eldrich Raiders list from Chapter Approved: Book of the Astronomican and a few White Dwarf articles that expanded that list. A few liberties taken, as explained in my entries from that project, due to the half-baked nature of those old lists.

This year I will expand the crew. There will be additional rank & file infantry, but quite a bit more support -- both troops and equipment -- this time. Strictly speaking I will mostly be sticking with RT era figures, some of them from the later period when the Craftworld Eldar list first came out in WD (like the scouts). And some weird stuff. There is a method to my madness. Or a madness to my method. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Trust me...

The Plan*

2	Dragon Squads	188	376
1	Venom Squads	178	178
2	Scout Squads	67.5	135
1	Zoat Terror Squad	354	354
2	D-Cannons & Crew	96	192
1	Heavy Plasma Gun & Crew	106	106
1	Banshee Dreadnought	268	268
1	War Cry Dreadnought	293	293
1	War Walker	349	349
2	Fishdudes	???	???
2	Probati (Officers/Champions)	25	50
1	Malefactor (Psychic Lieutenant/Minor Hero)	176	176
1	Farseer (A Missionary/Major Hero)	426.5	426.5
	*** redacted ***		???
	*** redacted ***		???
	*** redacted ***		???
	TOTAL		2903.5+

The Pics of the Plan

As you can see, there are some interesting surprises in store! Boy, that *** redacted *** could be difficult, but I think I can pull it off. Wish me luck!

* Based on past years, The Plan is more like guidelines than what you'd call actual rules.

ZeroTwentythree's Space Elves - Introduction

Cold September

 

Any free port, but especially one the size of the Void City, Carcosa, is bound to see its share of troublemakers and unwelcome guests. But when the crew of the Cold September disembark, a lava flow of tension creeps through the city. The erratic whims of the eldrich pirates are a danger to anyone in their vicinity. They have time and again worn out their welcome, yet the oligarchs of Carcosa have yet to banish them, even when others have been barred entry to the city for less serious (and frequent) offenses.

They do not wield great influence. They are a small band of unpredictable outlaws whose motives are completely alien, even among the other bands of self-serving pirates and petty potentates of the northern outer rim. They are not powerful. They have but a small fleet and are incapable of anything beyond small (yet efficient) raids. And to all observers, they owe allegiance to none but themselves.

Introduction

Hey.

I'm ZeroTwentythree. I'm back again. And I'm painting more elves. Space elves this time. Three Challenges, three elf projects. I'm not really an elf fetishist. Honest. So why a third year of elves? Not sure I can explain.

Er, maybe I can.

OWAC2: Sea Elves. I have a Marienburg army, and a whole alternative Warhammer setting/campaign centered around that. And I had this idea for a sea elf faction -- which makes a ton of sense. So I painted a bunch of Marienburgers, plus the primary antagonists (undead) and a bunch of smaller supporting factions... Except I never touched the sea elves. So joining the Old World Army Challenge in year two was a great motivation for me. And it worked! After (many, many) years of sitting on those elves, they're now painted. 95% painted. Solid.

 

 

OWACIII: I looked at a couple of options, and even further out on the periphery of the above setting/campaign, I had and idea to breathe life into some wood elves I had been hanging onto for... decades. Most were painted, but in dire need of new paint. I had a couple other options under consideration for OWAC3, but the wood elves seemed like a more focused force than the other options I was considering, and my plans were for a big contrast to their more colorful and regimented kin, so.... it kind of worked out. I even took it way beyond my original plan!

OWACIV: OK, so I painted some elves and then some more elves. Time to evaluate what else I've had waiting in the wings. Most of my remaining projects were either mostly done already, or not terribly "Old"hammer. But I had these five Space Elves from my youth. I mean, that's a solid foundation for an army, right? A chopped up & converted hero, a heavy weapon guy who's never been a valid option in any version of any Eldar armylists, and three musicians. Solid start to the next Old World Army Challenge now that it was being opened up to RT/40k!

Before I even bought the Rogue Trader book in my youth, I picked up a few packs of Space Elves because I really liked the figures. I pained them, some friends bought some plastic beekees and orc raiders and... I switched to Mantis Warriors Space Monkeys because they had a playable list and a cool WD article about the Badab War. Eldar, on the other hand had only a bunch of mismatched WD articles and a list that didn't quite match the figures available. My Eldar languished until late RT & 2nd ed, and even though I loved the aesthetic of the early Space Elves they only ever found a home as second class citizens --"Guardians" fighting alongside the far better... well, every other unit in the Eldar codex. They never seemed to enjoy the spotlight like they deserved.

Now I'm sounding like one of those long winded recipe web sites. The ones where you're just looking for what's cooking, not the author's life story. So enough with the background, here's the chicken piccata:

I started looking for old RT Eldar, got discouraged at first, but a couple of awesome fellow OWAC brothers got me hooked up. Add in a  few (occasionally drunk and misguided...) eBay purchases later and I'm set for OWAC4 and beyond.

With more elves. Space elves. OWAC4(0k).

Here's the rundown. Picture first, because I just wrote a bunch of words and you probably need to stop reading and see some pictures.

This is my tentative project based on the Chapter Approved: Book of the Astronomican pirate list. Two serpent squads, one upgraded viper squad, two dragon squads, the (4) minimum characters, two D-canon platforms, one each of the ghost warriors, and a war walker.

I will probably swap out the walker (which is the slightly different 2nd ed. variation) for a dreadnought or a spirit warrior depending on my whim at the time. Or maybe I will scratch build a (non deodorant container) grav-attack. Some of the other individual figures may also get switched up by the time they're ready to be painted.

I've painted one test figure so far. My inspiration is coming from several sources, but largely from the art of Pascale Blanché. I'm not going to stick to it religiously, but I think I'm going to

borrow heavily from his style and color palettes. For me, this year won't be a challenge of just getting figures painted, but a challenge to try new techniques & aesthetics.

The test figure turned out much better than I had hoped, so that's good news! She will also serve as my offering to the that great Warrior of the Wasteland, the Ayatollah of Rock & Roll-ah, the Benevolent OWAC Overlord.