The Disgraced & Dethroned; A Dark Elf, Chaos & General Warhammer log by lilloser

[Toshiro]

gorgeous! look very alive and dynamic!

[Mephisto84]

Really impressive topic. The way you have transformed your minis is superb. I love the wolf riders, but I'm in love with the dark elf warrior with the lion cape. Nice BB team coming there ;-)
I'm officially a follower of your thread.

[lilloser2010]

Thank you everyone to the amazing response to the dark riders. I was hesitant that people would not accept them - maybe they would seem a little too feral for more polished tastes.

I have a unit of scouts in production that may not be finished for a while (other commitments).

So, what's left of the army to paint/ convert?

Crossbowmen (I'd love to get a big chunky unit of 30, but I don't know if my sanity would hold against sculpting another 30 sets of chainmail legs)
Raging Heroes Witch Elves (I have a unit of 25 ready and raring to be primed)
Cold one knights (these guys are proving to be hard work. I've had to build special bases for them, not to mention sculpt shields, fit legs etc...)
Executioners (quite far down the line sculpting wise and I think they will be quite straight forward to paint as they are mainly black armour)
Re-sculpt Cynath (again proving to be a pain fitting him to his new mount).
Think up of a way to create harpies (sigh...I really hope the rumoured avatars of war sculpts are good, otherwise i'm stumped. I do have an inkling of an idea, but I don't know if it will work out.)

And that's it I think. Maybe a monster of some description to add a little visual interest but I can't think of anything that would fit with the theme.

Anyway, until next time.

LilLoser

[lilloser2010]

Hello everyone!

Happy 2013; during the winter break I decided to work a little on my own stuff and was drawn like a moth to a black flame to the Druchii. Here is the result of a few hours of dark insanity:






For more pictures and back history please visit here

And if you want to see early WIP shots of the painting of the Prince please check out my facebook page which is full of quick snaps of upcoming projects.

LilLoser

[lilloser2010]

Done a little work on the Black Prince



and found this awesome picture!



Harks back to my preparatory notes made oh so long ago.

I'm pondering how to paint the sword. The visual que for the model comes from Moorcock's Elric and I quite some of the early artwork for the book covers. Of course this would mean more black, something I'm loathe to do (I get criticised a lot for lack of contrast and it's something I think I'll hear a lot once I post the finished pictures of the prince). A plain silver sword would mean another cold colour against the blue of the Cold one's hide. Perhaps a magma - esque sword? I could then paint his ring red and have a warm purple along the barding of the steed to complete the triangle of colours.

Love to hear any and all thoughts.

LilLoser

[Ludaman]

Incredible work as always! I like the idea of the magma sword and ring, perhaps a black blade with glowing red/orange/yellow runes, if you're up for the freehand.

Honestly though, it's the sculpting that's so impressive, it captures perfectly the motion of hacking down a foe from horseback. Awesome!

[lilloser2010]

Cheers Ludaman!


I've been having a mess around with my new camera. Bloody thing is difficult to use. Here are a few first run snaps. Any criticism is most welcome.



Not all characters are in focus here.

Slightly happier with the below ones:





LilLoser

[Daniel36]

Sickest looking Dark Elf army I have ever seen. Incredible.

[JackDaw]

Great to see you bringing out some painted Druchii again mate - those Shades and the Child are looking absolutely beautiful. Makes me a little glad I've wrapped up the High House of Chains for now and don't have to compete any more . The Black Prince is coming along nicely as well, the patina on the sword blade is a very nice understated touch. More please

[Colm]

I've worked my way through this whole blog and like your stuff a lot. I'm a big fan of your cool colour palette.

[Mr.chair]

Lovely work as always. Did you take the mask off of a Harlequin? That's an awesome idea.

[Lord Dan]

Your updates always make me weep.

In a good way, obviously, it's just emotionally draining.

[OPULENCE]

Wow, only just found your log and sat and looked through every picture. Your spearmen and dark pegasus are just perfect, so dark and wonerful conversions.

[lilloser2010]

Bit of a topsy turvey way of replying but here we are nonetheless.

@ OPULENCE: Cheers dude, welcome aboard!

@ Lord Dan: Your tears are the sweetest wine.

@ Mr.chair: Cheers dude. No, he's an original model sculpted way back when by Jes Godwin. He loosely based the new Dark Eldar Archon on him. The original model can be found here. There were two miniatures produced, one of foot (love at first sight, he was my first Dark Elf model and has remained my favourite throughout the years) and one on a Dragon Horse.

@ Colm: Thank you! The background photographs really help with the tone of the models.

@ JackDaw: There you are you old Crow! Thanks for the compliment and one day I'm determined to cross swords with your army with my (fully painted) army.

The pattern on the blade is an accident, I tried a molten red scheme and it was absolutely horrid. I scrubbed it off and that is the result. I'll be painting the blade in an NMM style with metals.

@ Daniel36: Cheers dude!

[lilloser2010]

The Hounds of Naggarond

The inspiration behind these and my dark rider conversions came from the classic marauder Dark Elf scouts and artwork from the 4th edition army book. Unlike the very sleek shades, Dark Elf scouts had a much more feral look to them that I wanted to update. The Dark Eldar Hellion kit afforded me the perfect opportunity of creating feral elves earning a meagre living from the harsh, barren landscape of Naggarond.

I painted the miniatures in dark earthy tones to contrast with the lustrous purple of my warriors. The weapons were painted with tiny chips covering their surface, a sign of misuse and ill discipline. I also managed to squeeze in a couple of the old marauder dogs into the pack to represent the smaller breed of dog used for hunting and pit fighting. These were dry brushed and washed to give a dirty and unkept look, fitting for such base born mongrels.

For background, bigger pictures and reference pics click here, or just enjoy the pictures.

LilLoser

[richy376]

I am enjoying the pictures very much, these are beautiful and fit the feral theme perfectly. The details like the tattoos and animal skins are brilliant. The only thing that grates slightly is the belt chains, I can't help but think these would fit slightly better if there were other chains hanging from them, although that may affect the silhouette. And they really do look terrific just as they are!

[LocaLicious]

Wauw , they're really great! I love those muted colors , and their faces! Lots of detail

[lilloser2010]

Cheers guys!

@ richy: cheers dude, thanks for the feedback. There is a reason why there is just one chain hanging from the copper plate (but it's rather blue. Look at the shape of the copper plate and the chain then squint and you can guess what I was going for). Hopefully the reason why I did this should explain itself in the fluff of the unit

Bravek doesn't have such a chain because his brother took it away from him.

Lilloser

[dadadda]

I love your works. Well done!

[npow34]

Just love...love...love your dark elf army idea.