Fable's Ulthwe Army

[Fable]

There are two Warlocks in the unit that seem to stand out more than others. The first is one of my three Destructorlocks.



The second is the squad leader:



Here is a closer shot of the warlock rune I made for the banner:

[Fable]

One of the little character points of the unit is the Gyrinx. For old school 40k players it's a happy little detail, while for others it's a bit of 40k history. A Gyrinx was like a feline familiar/companion for the Eldar and amplified their psychic powers. I made one from a very old Games Workshop wood elf forest cat (I cannot remember its exact name now) to use as a marker that the unit is Enhanced. I added the rune on the back and the collar which has a soul stone on the front of it.

[Fable]

I'm even in the process of doing a very special conversion for their transport (because what's the point of getting a ride to war in the first place if you're not going to be riding in style?). Here are work in progress shots:





Surprisingly there was quite a bit of work to get the warlock to fit into the cockpit. Originally I just cut the head off a warlock and pinned it to the torso of the pilot and shaved a bit off but I couldn't close the cockpit screen like that so I had to cut the torso down to just a nub, green-stuff a rune and then cut up the arms to appear as if they are bent and the hands are coming up from below.

[Fable]

Time for another aspect unit to stand in front of the cameras. I chose my lovely ladies the Howling Banshees for today. I think they really pop on the table. I chose their paint scheme to give them a kind of ethereal glow on the table and I think they look great.

For anyone old enough to remember the 80's... the banshees are in the Michal Jackson thriller formation... the Pyramid. The unit is called Baleful Visage:



Some of the bases have little bits of guitar string poking out of them to look like pipes and debris sticking out of the ground. I liked the way it came out on the base, but it was a pain to work with so I haven't repeated it. The unit is lead by Exarch Julaeena:



One of my favorite details of this model is after that after I carved out the hair so the banner pole would fit I was able to pretty convincingly greenstuff hair spreading onto the banner, probably one of the simplest conversions I've ever done, but it still makes me happy when I look at it because it looks like it is part of the model from the beginning. Also her banner rune came out quite well:



There is a second Exarch option, much like the Scorpions have (she also has the draped banner instead of the back banner) though she has not yet earned a name. One of the things I like about the draped banner over the arm is it reminds me of those samurai flicks where the ancient revered samurai has one arm in the sleeve, and the other arm either hidden in his shirt as if he has it slung in a cast, or has the shirt back exposing his shoulder.



Lastly... I just really liked this picture:

[Fable]

As you can see here I am slowly working on my vehicle fleet:



I'm in the process of converting my second Falcon into a second Fireprism because... Falcons are the king of overpriced and under performing now adays, and after getting a game in with two prisms... I consider myself converted.

The Revenant has some incredible detail work done by Col Festus, however his own painting schedule and work schedule have edged him on to other jobs and I'll be finishing up the unit trying to blend our styles as much as possible and trying to make the base look fair and interesting. Some of my vehicles were painted quite some time ago and my painting has improved since then so they are being reworked more in line with my current color schemes (the addition of bronze as a unifying color has made a large difference in the thematic look of my army) and skill.

[Fable]

I wanted to take a moment to show some of the great freehand work Col Festus did on the Revenant Allandathien:



I also wanted to show off the completed War Walker squadron Whispers From The Gloom while in their Charlie's Angels pose:



All of the weapons are magnetized so I can swap them out at my discretion, but I find the 6 Shuriken Cannons is probably my favorite build with them. And with the group shot also comes a little bit of the detail from the top of the canopy, including an example of the warwalker rune I painted on top of each of them:

[Son of the Lion]

One of the little character points of the unit is the Gyrinx. For old school 40k players it's a happy little detail, while for others it's a bit of 40k history. A Gyrinx was like a feline familiar/companion for the Eldar and amplified their psychic powers. I made one from a very old Games Workshop wood elf forest cat (I cannot remember its exact name now) to use as a marker that the unit is Enhanced. I added the rune on the back and the collar which has a soul stone on the front of it.

Actually, the Gyrinx wasn't restricted to just Eldar in Rogue Trader. I think the wood elf mini was a lion, believe it or not - nice to see that model again and used for the same purpose I did :P

[Fable]

Actually, the Gyrinx wasn't restricted to just Eldar in Rogue Trader. I think the wood elf mini was a lion, believe it or not - nice to see that model again and used for the same purpose I did :P

My recollection may have failed me in that I thought much like most things in Rogue Trader... it wasn't restricted, but the fluff was that it was attached to a specific race. Ah for the days when Cool was an attribute in the statline.

[Fable]

I can now present Vaul's Hammer the Falcon:



As with my infantry units I try and use visual markers as cues for my vehicle units as well, and this is most evident with the tanks. I have certain panels that are colored bone to indicate a gunship, and certain ones to indicate transport, but in the case of the Falcon, as it does both, I have colored in all the plates in question. It's true that my opponents either don't notice these little differences or choose not to mention it, but I enjoy the aesthetics of strong visual cues, and aesthetics are very Eldar.



As the case with all my units I am trying to make sure the appropriate rune is displayed somewhere in connection with them.



Yes, the bright lance is a magnetized option, but on the rare occasion I use a Falcon I'll sometimes toss a brightlance on there and use it as a support unit to a guardian squad where it can move 6" and throw down 3 str 8 shots at something with light armor (or AP 2 goodness against tough infantry).

[Fable]

Despite my silence I have been working on many little projects for this army including, but not limited to, my wraithguard. I purchased and painted my WG when they were first released back in the late 90s and my painting skills were sub part to say the least, but now I've finally gotten to them in my project to revitalize the look of my army. I've decided to show one of them even though the full unit isn't done yet (half the unit is done), but I've decided to take a pic of my starting point and what they look like when done. AS an added bonus I've been replacing the current small round bases with the medium ones because... well WG should be on the terminator size bases. If any of you are considering doing this I say YES YES YES. Other than looking good on the models it adds some much needed stability.

[Fable]

The other thing I really wanted was to have a spirit seer stand out. Another plog here focuses on an entire wraith army (Ganymene), and while I like the concept I don't know how to produce the resin casts he uses to make the wraith heads. I severed the head of a warlock and used it on the pilot for the HQ Wave Serpent. I took an extra swooping hawk and cut off its head and used some Green Stuff to smooth out the face and then added some dabs of GS to make the little stones on either side of the wraithhelm:



I had cut off the arm with the Witchblade to swap to a different warlock for the Warlock Squad, so I took the right arm of a Dire Avenger Exarch and Green Stuffed some cloth for his sleeve and I replaced the head of the Dire Avenger power weapon with the head of the singing spear that the other warlock had:



One thing that is different about this unit is that I decided to put the banner for the unit on the warlock instead of on a Wraith Guard, and the main reason for this is that the banner is just too small for the Wraith guard and I didn't want to futz about with trying to green stuff it into a bigger banner. They already have loincloths like their larger cousin. The base of the Spirit Seer is from Dragonforge, part of their Lost Kingdoms series. These bases are absolutely worth it for anyone wondering and I highly recommend them. I'm going to be replacing the current bases of my warlock squad with a set of those so that they really stand out in the army:



As per usual I also included a close-up of the hand sculpted rune for the unit that hangs on the banner:

[Col_Festus]

Loving it man! Can't wait to get on the board and start duking it out!

[cynath ch'ill]

Your personality really comes through with this army. Even with ust a few subtle details you have made the army individual, and your own.

Very jealous. Very inspired. Can't wait for more

[Fable]

Time to rectify an oversight on my part. The obligatory Feline Photo:



That was my cat Fable. Seems like most of these logs require a cat photo and my cat is certainly photogenic enough to feel himself entitled to internet worship.

Also here is my second Guardian Defender squad... Spring Thaw:



They are accompanied by Warlock Botheff and their squad leader has a similar banner and rune to Autumn Descent:



And like all defender squads they have their weapon team:



I liked the bright blue marking them out compared to the fading gray of Autumn Descent.

[Fable]

Also I have all three of my Wave Serpents completed (finally):





In addition to the details already posted in this thread I turned two of the surface bulbs on the HQ Serpent to something that stands out a bit more. The one on the front right wing section (pilot's point of view) is about the same size as the raised crest on the Revenant, so I made a greenstuff layer and pressed it onto the rune like a stamp and then carefully attached the stamped green stuff over the bulb. I then did the same thing with the back left bulb using rune on the back of the Wraithlord as a stamp:



Admittedly the rune from the back of the serpent didn't photo well, but I think it looks good in real life and both give the serpent just that much more personality on the tabletop. I did an initial layer of dwarf bronze and washed it with chestnut ink and then went over it with chaos black making sure to avoid getting it in the depressions. Then I went over the edges with a slight drybrush to make it stand out more.

I'm still working on completing the serpent turret options. I have one Shuriken Cannon per each serpent, and then one of each other weapon option... just a couple more of those to go.

[Radium]

You've got a pretty big army there... Maybe post some groupshots? The army as a whole should look great. I like the idea of using the runes from the revenant on the skimmers, I might even have to nick that idea .

Anyway, keep it up!

[Fable]

@ Radium: I'll try get a group shot up there sometime soon. In the mean time...

Here are some pics of two Autarchs I'm working on. Neither have earned themselves a name yet, but I'm sure they'll do so quickly. The first is my jump pack Autarch with Fusion gun:



I took the head from the Jetbike Autarch and put it on here and made my own mandiblasters. I also gave him a scarf and I put a magnet on his back so I could switch out the Hawk wings or the WSJP:




And this Autarch also marks the first time I ever tried the stamping technique. I used it on the back of the hawk wings which are relics from an old Exarch I had:



I was quite thrilled with how it came out and that's what really got me to keep the process going.

[Fable]

The second of the promised Autarchs is the Biketarch:



As you can see I did a head swap from the biketarch because I like the look of the giant scorpion helmet. I also tried to GS up some of the damage done during the swap.

Here is his bike under construction:



My eventual plan is to have him accompany some Shining Spears, but until then he'll be a nasty surprise combined with a farseer and attached to a Guardian jetbike unit. The bit on the back of the bike is the same one I have on the back of my farseer bike and it's the shoulder pad from the no longer sold (ugly) Eldar Phantom Titan. The one with all the veins.

I was also able to do the stamp trick to the shell of his bike:

[Fable]

Because Radium so nicely asked for it here is a shot of my current army as it stands now:



Note that some of these units are done or nearly done, I just haven't gotten around to shooting them for this plog, and this doesn't count the Guardian Storm Squad, 2nd Dire Avenger squad, Next tank, Shining Spears, or Harlequins that I've got pending in boxes or not even primed. Yes, there is quite a bit to go for my army. Some units are in various states of "done-ness" because I try to work on whichever unit I feel inspired to work on so it comes out as nicely as possible, so some get done piecemeal and some get done like a reward for having toughed my way through other units.

[Fable]

Big update day. Here is one model that I had been working on for a long time but hadn't gotten around to really finishing until just recently... my Bike Farseer:



He took a lot of time to convert as I opted to cut away the second hand holding the witchblade of what used to be a warlock and use a flowing sleeve to help blend in the change to the body stance. The wraithbone extension for the ghosthelm came from a spare Eldrad model I had. The Egyptian style extended chin was something I just converted from a bit of plastic. I also cut the head off and remounted it into a forward facing position.



I replaced the standard "wings" on the side of an Eldar Jetbike with the holofield projector wings from the phantom titan GW doesn't make anymore... the ugly one. And just like with the under construction Autarch bike the back part came from a shoulder pad of the same titan.



And then I painted a series of runes onto the canopy of the jetbike engine:



I do not intend to convert a Jetlock squad, but instead use this seer and the autarch to augment my standard jetbike unit which is... under construction.