With the deadline of completing my Eldar scout kill team for the Old World Sprint Challenge looming, I figured it was high time to get on and finish the final two figures required. I needed to bring in one last Scout to meet the minimum requirement of 10 figures, as well as a "support element", which could be anything relevant to the unit - a Dreadnought, transport, heavy weapon or similar.
I knew that I wanted my final Scout to be a spotter type - I can team him up with the heavy weapon guy (freeing up the girl with the shuriken catapult to act as a proxy Dire Avenger), but also providing me with a figure that could represent a communications specialist. A Guardian grav-platform crewman provided a suitable donor figure, wearing a long coat which matched the Scout look.
I couldn't resist a bit of tweaking to make him fit even more - I cut away his heavy boots and replaced his lower legs with a pair from a Harlequin, before recreating the thigh high boots that the rest of the scouts sport. This was significantly more of a pain to do that I had anticipated, but I think the result was worth the effort.
 |
| My adapted crewman alongside a stock model painted by cheetor over at sho3box. |
I wanted my support element to fit the scouting theme, so I went back to the early 1990s and Citadel Journal #8. A guy by the name of Rupert Hammerton Fraser had created a new Eldar unit called a Scout Walker - a lightly armed and armoured reconnaissance unit often utilised by Eldar Exodites - the ideal support element for my Kill Team.
As you can see from the excerpt from Citadel Journal #8, the Scout Walker is a pretty simple build, being an amalgam of Eldar War Walker and Dreadnought parts. Only one piece needs to be cut (to remove the 'hip' element from the torso piece).
As you might expect, the final figures were simply painted to match the existing ones. I wanted to include the eye-catching pink on the Scout Walker, and decided to go for a Rogue Trader inspired set of tiger-stripes on the head piece.
He's the final crew as things stand. I do have plans to add a few more figures to the unit at some future point, but for now I'm happy with how they've come together.
It's a perfectly cohesive group. Absolutely brilliant.
ReplyDeleteMaking these guys has let me revisit some ideas that I had over 25 years ago, and in fact revisit some of the crappy conversions I made back then. Possibly one of my favourite recent projects!
DeleteLooking rad!
ReplyDeleteThanks Casey!
DeleteThese are great. I have just prepared and am ready to paint a bunch of Storm Guardians and Rangers for a slow-grow campaign I am playing. I had intended to paint the Rangers with camo-pattern cloaks to match the rest of my force, and I still may, but I like yours enough to reconsider that idea. Maybe dark blue is the way to go...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/240/339830.page
Thanks Fifty! Camo cloaks are definitely fun and eye-catching, but I wanted something sleeker for these guys. Nice work on your weapon swaps BTW :)
DeleteThis is marvellous. You have a real knack for building cohesively themed forces. I'm loving that scout walker, it just looks bang on.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr Saturday! Sometimes the models hang together with just a few minor tweaks or sometimes it's the colour scheme. I love working with Jes Goodwin Eldar, even if the walkers are a little tricky to assemble!
DeleteIt's a pure pleasure to the eye, I totally love them!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suber! Glad you make you happy!
DeleteGreat work again! That scout walker is a great conversion, and a scatter laser seems useful in small scale games too.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason that spotter's helmet seems unfinished somehow... maybe it needs some Eldar rune graffiti?
Thanks! The scout walker is a fun alternative to a war walker. I agree, a laser gatling gun is ideal for skirmish games.
DeleteAs for the spotter, I've never been that keen on helmet runes on Eldar, even though it's well established. I'm happy enough with it as it is, so I don't think I'll alter it :)
Top model this Scout. Well done sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nico! Glad you approve of the scouts :)
DeleteWow! I'm not usually a fan of Eldar...but you got me rethinking that. The color scheme is perfect, and I really like how you did the shark tooth scheme on the walker.
ReplyDeleteI'm here to challenge opinion ;) Thanks Grover!
DeleteI thought you were joking the other day when you mentioned that you got this idea from a Journal. I should really make an effort into finding some of them, I keep hearing great things about them.
ReplyDeleteLove the build Jon, it reminds me of that game "Walker" on the Amiga. The only resemblance being that it walked on two legs and had a chin gun, but it was ace all the same.
You've got yourself quite a unique little warband now mate. Excellent :)
The Citadel Journal did have some decent ideas, as well as some slightly sub-par fan rules. It's worth a look, even if much of the stuff is firmly rooted to the games systems of the time. A lot of the issues are on Scribd too.
DeleteI think the walker has a bit of an AT-ST look too. I don't know the Amiga game though :)
Cheers!
Brilliant. Such a good group and nice work on the walker conversion. I always liked it and seeing it done here makes me think that I have all the pieces to do it myself too.... Great work anyhow!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kym! I was really keen on it the first time I saw it, but never got round to making a walker at the time. It's fun to revisit these things!
DeleteVery cool kill team. You've brought a lot of different elements into a cohesive whole.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sean! Hopefully they'll bring that swagger to the table :)
DeleteI remember that article! Nicely done following ancient instructions! LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat a good looking team mate, and I don't even like Eldar.
Thanks Dai! The instructions were pretty basic, but at least it wasn't too complex!
DeleteFunny how many people are revealing they don't like Eldar!
This unit is a labour of love. It shows.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourites of yours for a while now, great work.
Thanks cheetor! This unit really is the culmination of some ideas which are decades old. Add into the mix some of my favourite 40k models from my favourite faction by my favourite sculptor - I guess that explains it!
DeleteThis is glorious. Those Citadel Journal conversion articles are a particular nostalgia niche for me as very few people bought them back in the day and remember them now. I'd really love to do the Pegasus Amphibious Assault Vehicle, and the Blood Axe Landspeeda.
ReplyDeleteReally nice job building this! The sarcophostripes are a nice touch.
That's such a subtle conversion on the comms specialist, legs are such a low focus area I'd have never noticed or even suspected your reworking of the figure. Such dedication to theme!
Thanks Curis! The Citadel Journal felt very much like the ideas of your mates put into reality. In fact Mike from my Necromunda group had several articles in the Journal at the age of 16.
DeleteThe legs were probably not necessary, but executing little details correctly helps with the sell. At least I hope so!
Your chosen color scheme for this Eldar group works surprisingly well. There is something about the pastel-like pink, bluish-grey and white that works great together.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I think it's the contrast between dark and light, with the striking spot colour. Thats may theory anyway!
Delete