The Dwaves Are Computing

I'm told it's Xion Day soon, which is a good an excuse as any for me to do a throwback to a model I did a few years ago.

It’s a common misconception that Exodites are the Eldar Amish: pointy-eared primitives eschewing technology of all kinds.

This is complete nonsense. And the evidence is, ironically, pretty hard to miss when you consider it’s the size of a knight.

Rules and background for Knights were introduced for Epic in White Dwarf 126, and the lore is explicit: the Exodites piloted enormous mechanical constructs with the aid of spirit stones. (This was prior to the introduction of the Craftworlds, not to mention a time when Harlequins could take Land Raiders, so the lines between Eldar factions was terribly blurry.)

Anyway, Exodites had three major types of knight: the Fire Gale, the Towering Destroyer, and the Bright Stallion. The latter clearly being the best. It’s a wraithbone centaur, Nigel; of course it’s the best!

Games Workshop produced a small collection of metal miniatures for the Eldar Knights but, alas, they didn’t survive into the modern day.

But when I sat down to make my own Exodites, I was very certain that the Bright Stallion was going to make an appearance.

That said, vehicles have never turned me on at all. I find them kind of dull, to be honest. So creating a huge titanic wraithbone monster wasn’t that interesting. Besides, I wanted to make an Exodite force I could actually use on the table. So I turned my attention to something a little smaller:

Wraithguard, meet Bright Stallion.

This is my first attempt: a Wraithguard with a second set of legs attached with greenstuff (my first attempt in 20 years!). The horns are from the Wood Elves Wild Rider set, and the lance is simply an arm and the D-Scythe spliced together.

Truth be told, it’s terribly straightforward. I’d wanted something that looked Bright Stallion but still looked like a Wraithguard for an opponent. But I’d played it too safe.

So I had another go.

I was definitely happier with this go. This time I used a Drukhari disintegrator to join the legs, as well as cutting the leg to create a more dynamic pose. I also strapped a skull from the Sylvaneth Kurnoth Hunter set to the head.

A fantastic refit U.S.S. Enterprise cutaway model, which I believe was scratch-made by Stephan Grille.

This is your reminder to cheat! Cut corners. Slapchop paint. Hide tiny details with black paint shading. Prime it one color and drybrush it. Just put some paint on it!

There are so many amazing painters on the internet nowadays it can be intimidating and set hobbyists new and old to unrealistic painting standards.

Wargaming miniatures are tiny, and the quality and details keep getting tinier! I have painted so many small details none of my friends have EVER noticed, especially when playing on the tabletop. Not everyone is going to see the model from a zoomed in camera lens in bright light.

Get paint on plastic. You'll improve your brush control and colour awareness just doing the basics, and you'll have finished things. Brain chemicals like finished.

good year for painting! this year i really focused on single models rather than big units, i think it shows with all the little details and textures. really pleased with my attempts at non-metallic metal and shiny effects have come out too. honourable mention to this wet freak: