Wednesday 3 February 2016

Retro-styled Eldar Scout - Merne Darkbrow


With the ongoing development of my Eldar Void Pirates warband in my current Inquisimunda campaign, I needed a new recruit. I fancied making a character which had a bit of a Eldar Scout / Ranger vibe, but wanted the figure to tie in with some of the styling of the Rogue Trader Space Elves.
 
I delved around in my bits box and sourced a spare Space Elf and a gun-less Eldar scout from a previous conversion. I quickly mocked up the below concept:
 

Satisfied that the conversion would do the job, I set about the two figures with my saw, making sure to avoid damage to the slung helmet and laspistol hanging from the left shoulder. I replaced the shuriken weapon with a plastic Eldar lasgun, and added the scope from a modern plastic Dire Avenger. Then it was a case of covering the joins and repairing any damage with greenstuff.

 
It had been suggested that I needed to add a predominantly blue Eldar to my warband, so this new addition got a dark midnight-blue colour scheme, accessorised with white and pink.
 
Merne Darkbrow is one of Prince Nuadha's most trusted scouts. His midnight-blue armour, and cameleoline-coated robe allow him to fade into shadows at a whim.
 

I had finished painting the figure with a plain blue coat / robe, but after a discussion with cheetor about kimonos, I decided to push myself and add a kimono style pattern. I did a Google search and rather liked this pattern below:


I made an approximation of the pattern with some white swirls, then added pink and white dots. I think the result does enough to deceive the eye.


Merne will make his in-game debut tonight against a ravening band of Dark Eldar. Hopefully he won't suffer the usual fate of newly-painted figures, and will avoid dying horribly and ineffectually!

Merne Darkbrow joins other members of Prince Nuadha's Free Company.

25 comments:

  1. Flawless group and th enew addition is clearly one of th ebest eldars I've seen in a while. Definitely one that make me want to grab some of them !

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    1. Very kind of you JB! I'm sure it's just because I'm hitting that Oriental vein that you like ;) I've always liked that look on Eldar, and it's been nice to give it a proper try.

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    2. I might be partial to the genre but then I'm also very partial to brilliant models ;)

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  2. You don't cease to amaze me, seriously. The Japanese touch both JB and you have imprinted on Eldar is making me look at all that range with new eyes. Delicate and beautiful. Hats off!!

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    1. I confess, I'm a long-time fan of Eldar. I have a couple of pretty big 40k armies, but I never really managed to paint them how I envisaged (production-line painting). It's been really enjoyable to revisit the line with the early figures, and lavish some attention on them :)

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  3. That is a great conversion and the kimono really works!

    Warburton

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    1. Thanks Warburton! I think I should try more kimonos :)

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  4. Tremendous conversion, and as expected a great paint job further elevates it.

    I like that the "kimono" pattern could read as flowers and lines (as in the example) or alternately a stellar map... which I am sure a few rogue traders, rival pirates, or inquisitors would like to get their grubby mon-kei hands on.

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    1. Thanks very much :)

      So poor old Merne now needs to make sure he doesn't leave his coat lying around at space bars in case villains think it's a treasure map? Poor guy!

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    2. "Eldar problems" even the cheapest tat seems like treasure to the other races. (you should see the delicate pattern work on their bogroll, commonly looted to make dresses for the nobility in several Imperial sectors)

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  5. He's a great figure. Fits the theme perfectly and the decoration on the kimono just sets him off to a t. Another stunningly authentic conversion.

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    1. Cheers WP. I'm glad I spent an extra 15 minutes doing the pattern, it seems to have done the job in elevating the figure. He also killed something and wasn't killed himself in tonight's game ;)

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  6. Wow, he is fantastic Jon! I love that cloak in particular - the blue and the pink together is sumptuous... lovely job, my hat is off to you sir.

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    1. Thanks Alex! I feel like I nudged things along a little with the cloak - I'm glad I did!

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  7. Stunning new addition. I love the kimono work. It's a great pattern. It's always amazing what you can convincingly suggest with a few blobs and whorls. (I did a flower print scarf once in a similar fashion. Smaller, but same idea.) The blue is a terrific color for eldar. Truly classic. And a top notch conversion.

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  8. Thanks :) Yep - blobs and whirls can really add a lot and can read nicely.

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  9. Great! The pink complements the blue very nicely, and the pattern is just superb.

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    1. Thanks! I very nearly went with orange for the contrast colour, but I decided I default to orange too often. Glad you like the pink :)

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  10. Wow! He looks great Jon :)

    It's funny, coz I'm right in the middle of converting/mixing a few of these Eldar too. Not the scouts, but the heavy weapon guys.

    Not sure on the colour scheme I'll be using for them yet, but I really do like your unique & individual painting style you've given to all of your Eldar creations so far.

    Cheers :)

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    1. Cheers! I'm intrigued to see your Eldar. I confess I'm not as keen on the heavy weapons guys with their chunky leg armour...perhaps you'll change my mind!

      Giving each of my Eldar their signature colour schemes wasn't the original plan, but I've enjoyed developing as individuals. Thanks for the feedback!

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  12. Really nice, just what an eldar on the path of the Outcast should like like IMO.

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    1. Thanks cheetor. No Craftworld uniform for this guy - he's ploughing his own stylistic furrow :)

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  13. To me it looks more like a star map and that's a good thing considering it's a retro-style eldar scout. Nice work!!!

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