The High House of Chains - a Druchii plog

[Lord Dan]

Great work on the harpy conversions. I love their "poised" poses, and the arms really are a perfect fit. My only recommendation would be to swap out the old metal wings for those plastic gargoyle wings (you can pick them up at bitz stores on ebay for relatively cheap), but otherwise I look forward to seeing them painted.

[EnternalVoid]

This log is AMAZING. Love the conversions You have great ideas. Keep it up!
Both the new and the last emissary are superb. Where did you take the hand from the old emissary? Very nice. Very nice indeed.

The old Emissary from what I can gather is made up of;
Phoenix Guard Legs, Phoenix Guard Torso, Phoenix Guard right arm, Dark Eldar Wych left arm, and a Dark Eldar head *perhaps warrior or wych I am unsure*.

@JackDaw- Have you considered using the old Emissary as your Fire mage in your list? Perhaps he can be a servant of the Emissary himself, as likely such a being as him would avoid meeting face to face with certain powerful figures in the dark elf society. Like a Voice of the Herald, one who greets and speaks on the herald's behalf when he wishes to avoid appearing himself.

[Sully]

JackDaw, I hear you loud and clear on the 'finecast annoyance'. I did the very same thing, just with the VC Blood Knights...

I second Lord Dan on the wings. You have plenty plastic ones to choose from, tyranid gargoyles, CSM possessed, hell, even the Blood Angel or dark eldar Scourge ones if you're feeling adventurous.

[Jonahmaul]

Very nice stuff again Dave. I'm making 10 Hapries for my army soon, making mine from Deamonettes with Gargoyle wings though as the regular Harpy models are cack! Although I'm a bit worried the wings might look a little big!

[Lord Dan]

Although I'm a bit worried the wings might look a little big!

They won't be. I've seen that conversion pulled off successfully a number of times.

[JackDaw]

Morning Warseer Theres always a smile on my face when I login and see lots of comments - thanks for making my day a little better gents.

@ Nighmare Mazer - Cheers fella, keep checking the log for more stuff, there's plenty to come. EternalVoid got the list of parts pretty much spot on - the head is from the Dark Eldar Kabalite Warriors.

@ Lord Dan - I hadnt even considered the Gargoyle wings, that's a genuis idea. I'll order a couple today and test them out on the lsst 2 harpies I've got to assemble. Merci beaucoup for that suggestion.

@ EternalVoid - That is a cool idea, I like the thought of him being a lesser servant. I've already got the fire mage sorted though, shes converted out of the new Lileth Hesperax. I was thinking of using the old Emissary as the champion for the converted Black Guard, who will look identical to him.

@ Sully - It's a kick in the man-bits isn't it? To be honest, I've been fairly impressed with the Finecast stuff I've seen so far. My Llhamean turned up yesterday and theres a few small issues, but nothing that cant be rescued with that new Liquid Greenstuff.

@ Jonahmaul - Let's be honest mate, you just want to paint tiny plastic boobies don't you? Get some pics up of your Dark Elves, I want to see 'em - Do it now!

So, the general consensus seems to be that the Harpies need the Gargoyle wings. I'll get on that and order some, should be able to convert them up by next week hopefully.

Sadly my painting productivity has taken a nose-dive over the last few days, mainly due to this fellow:


'Really? Tell me more about how you used to have a life before I was born'

Oh and having ink needled into my painting arm for 3 hours yesterday. Le sigh.

Fingers crossed I can get the armour on the crossbows and the cloth done this weekend, then finish them next week and start on the harpies & Emissary. I think the Dark Riders are going to have to wait until I can get enthusiastic enough to paint them.

I've also got a few ideas knocking around for my next fluff post - I'll try and get that up this afternoon if work is quiet enough.

Cheers all

[Jonahmaul]

Lord Dan - cool, I dd size up some wings on one of the models and they didn't look too bad, the slightly biger ones I'm going to match up with bigger hair which should help hide the size difference.

Dave - Any excuse to play with boobies! And there's pics of my DE stuff on FB!

[Saulot]

'Really? Tell me more about how you used to have a life before I was born'

hahaha epic.

Haven't checked your plog for a bit.. But it looks like progress with the HHC is going strong and more and more recruits are coming in.. Excellent.

Waiting patiently for the next installment of fluff.

[JackDaw]

“Ragged they come and ragged they fall, to pray so hard on bloodied knees”

Fragment of Pre-Sundering poetry, Author unknown.

The blade clattered to the floor as the twitching figure slumped back into the Ironwood Throne, chest heaving and sweat soaked kheitan clinging to palsied limbs. Velrys swallowed his gorge, clenching his jaw shut as another bout of tremors wrapped his limbs. The tremors grew more frequent, more violent as his thin frame was wracked by convulsions. Limbs spasmed and twisted in painful arcs as a wailing cry, somewhere between screaming and crying, keened from his bared teeth.

Velrys fell gasping to the floor in front of the throne, gasping for breath and sheathed in sweat. The once-fine kheitan fell away, exposing his thin pale torso, seamed with old scars and tattoos of fine interlinked chains.

The Emissary stepped forward from the shadows behind the throne, its tall armoured form towering over the prostate Druchii. When it spoke, the words hissed like sand through a gilded skull.

‘Enough. The Investiture cannot be rushed. Too much and you will be broken.’

Clawing lank hair from his face, Velrys raised himself to his knees. His voice was cracked but he found the strength to speak.

‘Once more. Once more damn you. The pain passes, it always passes and I must have more.’

The Emissary stood silent for a long moment. Then it stepped forward, placing bone-lacquered gauntled hands either side of Velrys’s head. At its touch, Velrys stiffened and the tattooed chains began to twist and tighten against his skin.

‘Know your limits little Druchii. My Master has great need of you, but you are not irreplaceable. Eventually, the First Sword always falls.’

As the shadows gathered around the two, the screaming began again….

[Magot]

Morning Warseer Theres always a smile on my face when I login and see lots of comments - thanks for making my day a little better gents.

Sadly my painting productivity has taken a nose-dive over the last few days, mainly due to this fellow:


'Really? Tell me more about how you used to have a life before I was born'

Congrats mister with this beautiful Snotling







.

[GraveGuard]

With those eyes and ears he could pass for a Dark Eldar.

[BeatTheBeat]

Oooooh! Congrats mate! That aside - prioritise, man. Warseer logs > Family.



Cheers,
BTB

[JackDaw]

Cheers guys, little Nathaniel Dexter turned out alright didn't he? It's been a weird year, getting married, getting a proper grown up responsible job and having a baby - juggling that with getting tattoed and all the hobby stuff has been hard work but awesome in the end.

I'll get some WiP pics up tomorrow of the crossbows and other bits - I'm also waiting for some gargoyle wings to turn up for the Harpies so they should get a fresh look soon enough.

Oh and BeatTheBeat - there's something a little special in the pipeline for you my friend Let's just say that the House of Chains has an answer to your needs...

[BeatTheBeat]

Oh and BeatTheBeat - there's something a little special in the pipeline for you my friend Let's just say that the House of Chains has an answer to your needs...

What? An awesomely nice girl who's proficient in InDesign and loves nothing more than making coffee for me?

...Oh. You mean warhammer-wise. Looking forward to it! Haven't gotten started over here yet, a lot of stuff to do right now, but it's coming, be sure!

Cheers,
BTB

[Sicarius the 2nd]

Hey, thanks for your comment, thought i would return the favour, your army is looking great, love the dark scheme, and them harpies are amazing, really origional, well done, oh the lord model, the coolest elf ever!
Andy

[JackDaw]

Morning everyone.

@ BeatTheBeat - sadly my girl-procuring talents aren't that good No rush on things mate, take your time and get your own stuff sorted first. I'll drop you a pm once I can get a mock-up sorted out.

@ Sicarius the 2nd - cheers for taking the time to take a look fella, much appreciated - as are your kind comments. I'm happy with the way my Dreadlord turned out second time round, he just needs a bit of greenstuffing to finish him off. He will probably be one of the last things I paint for this army though, as a reward.

Speaking of painting:




The armour is now done for the front rank of crossbows - I've finished the steel-work and movement tray as well. Hopefully this unti should be done by the end of the week.

I've got these undercoated and ready to rock once the crossbows are done:




I don't think I can convey how much I want to paint the Emissary right now. I am going to force myself to wait until the Dark Riders are done though - I need an incentive to get through painting another batch of horses. I hate those equine b*st*rds.

More pics to come over the week - and more fluff as well, as long as everyone is enjoying it still.

Cheers all.

[EnternalVoid]

Hmm, Glade Rider Horses, Glade Rider legs, Cosair Heads I believe, Spearmen torsos, I am guessing the arms are Cosairs as well? *Maybe spearmen*. Also Curious on how you did the base work on the Cav too.

Overall I like the dark riders, the Glade Rider really is good for converting them.

[JackDaw]

Cheers EnternalVoid - again you are pretty much spot on with the parts used. There's a mix of spearmen and corsair arms in there, I pretty much mix and matched until it looked right on the model.

The heads are corsairs, with the neck 'nubbin' trimmed from the warrior heads and stuck on. Fiddly, but it means they sit properly on the warrior torsos.

I'm a fan of the Glade Rider kits, and the Glade Guard for that matter. I think there's a lot of potential in there for some really feral looking Shades.

The bases are actually pretty simple. If you take a look at the Harpie WiPs, you can see the moulded plastic used to cover the bases. This comes in roughly A5 sized sheets, so I just cut to shape and glue to the bases with poly cement.

The horses themselves then have the tabs removed from the feet and the pre-sculpted grass trimmed away - this cutting usually gives me at least two hooves that are flat to the base. Bit of poly cement gets them stuck to the base - as its all plastic it all melts together.

As a bit of extra sturdyness, I use the sand to give a bit of support - stick it on with PVA then coat with a mix of PVA, water and Chaos Black. Once undercoated this is a pretty hardened covering.

On some of the metal models and a few plastics (chiefly the assassin) I've either pinned them to the bases with small lenght of paperclip or trimmed the tab down to a plug on the foot and cut a hole in the base.


So, WiP-wise, the crossbows should be done by the weekend - I'll get pics up along with the standard mountain o'fluff. Feels like ages since I got a unit done, which is unfortunate.

Working on some more background fluff as well, should be able to get that up in the next few days.

[EnternalVoid]

I am a rather active converter myself though I am still working on my greenstuff abilities *well gray stuff*. Because of it though I have gotten boxes of all sorts of things for bits and pieces. My elves are a mixture of high and wood elf plastics mostly.

Thanks for the explaination of the base, mades sense. where do you get the moulded plastic? I have been considering the possibility of more base work on some future projects as I generally keep them simple. I have seen plenty of interesting special bases on sites but rarely do I feel like paying the price for acquiring enough for full units.

Will be waiting on the fluff and more pics.

[JackDaw]

Evening everyone. Been a bit quiet recently - mainly due to a lack of painting time thanks to the afore-mentioned little monkey that is my son.

Happy days though, the crossbows are now done and work has started on the Emissary.

@ Enternal Void - I get the basing stuff from my local model railway/airfix kit store, it's used mainly to pave model railway set-ups. Runs about £3 for 3 A5 sheets and is well worth keeping an eye out for. I think it's good every so often to base an army in something other than just sand and static grass - not every battle in the Old World is fought in the fields.

Oh by the way gents, if anyone wants a breakdown of how I've painted or converted something just let me know - I'm more than happy to share the secrets.

And on that note, on with the pics:

5th Cohort, Household Guard

Armed with the fearsome 'death-rain' repeating crossbows common to the Druchii, the 5th Cohort delights in striking down the enemies of the House from afar. Led by Ereth Bale-eye, the 5th Cohort is responsible for manning the high towers and gates of the Arkitaine grounds, acting as watchman and spy together. Daily reports are provided of the comings and goings of Druchii in the nearby towers and houses, providing Velrys and Hiroth with much food for thought.




The 5th Cohort can be seen here arrayed for war in their favoured formation, allowing for flexibility in maneuvering as well as a fearsome rate of fire.




Thanks to the repeating crossbows and the harsh drilling regime of Ereth Bale-eye, the 5th Cohort is renowned for it's ability to bring down even the most armoured of targets in a hail of armour piercing bolts.




Seen here is Tavrin Korhart, bearer of the colours of the 5th, directing the fire of his fellow Druchii. Traditionally the 5th standard is made from the fresh skin of a Naggarothan Crag Lion, slain during a hunt led by Ereth. In this way the 5th display their prowess - similar to it's Chracian cousin, the Crag Lions hide is immensely tough and it takes a skilled shot to bring one of these fearsome predators down