Hi, Elves!

Another day, another army.

Not all of them! I'm not that fast. I just meant I was starting a new project, it came out wrong. These are the first couple of units for General Palafox's High Elves, which I shall mostly be painting over the next month.

Just painting them. Quiet, you. 

The Order of Flame is the working tag the army is currently operating under. Blazing reds and harsh yellows, reflected in shimmering gold and then splashed with cooling blue gems. All the units will be more or less wholly in those colours, is the plan. Although magpie of the spectrum that I am, I'm sure I'll find ways of varying it somehow.

When I'm starting a longer project, I like to get all the boring units out of the way first. So these converted Elf Archers from the 4th edition box set are first to hit the decks. General Stylus has done some work on them, upgrading them with facemasks so they can make pretend they're Shadow Warriors.

There's a new champion coming (see below), but for now their unit command has a slightly posher bow. As though he went to a more upmarket bowyers, instead of the cut-price place the rest of the lads shop at. BowOp, I think it is.

Rear View

It's not my first time to this particular rodeo, as it happens. I used to own the 4th Ed box set, of which I only ever painted two of the identikit troopers. And they were both spearmen. But I did keep an archer out of nostalgia, and painted him up last year when I was doing some Heroquest revisits. His paint scheme is very close to this unit's, but almost drab in comparison.

"But you guys! Malekith said we were all part of the same team now! C'mon!"

Painting Guide:

• White Basecoat - from a can! Extravagance. Bob don't like it
• Reds - Khorne Red basecoat given a jolly good layering with Wild Rider Red
• Yellows - Golden Yellow layered with Bad Moon Yellow, then a drybrush of Hexos Palesun
• Skin - We're going for a Middle Eastern look for this army, to match their vaguely Mesopotamian influences. First stab at this, but not bad, using Ungor Flesh washed with first Agrax Earthshade, then a goodly dab of Flesh Wash
• Scale Mail - Rhinox Hide drybrushed with Burnished Gold
• Leathers - XV88 with Tau Light Ochre layer and Tyrant Skull drybrush
• Helm - Burnished Gold over the white undercoat works surprisingly well. Flesh Wash for shading, then highlights with Auric Armour Gold
• Bow - Steel Legion Drab, Tyrant Skull drybrush
• Mask and Fletching - Eshin Grey, Space Wolves Grey drybrush, Black Ink detail. White Scar shafts with Nuln Oil shade and then White Scar drybrush again
• Gems - Abaddon Black, with streaks of Marine Dark Blue, Teclis Blue and Etherium Blue for the lower stripe and a White Scar dot. Painting gems is almost as bad as eyes, in my book, it looks amazing when it's right but it's rotten when it's wrong. I did a bit of study before starting the Helves, and this technique works well. And I'll get a lot of practice at it too, hurrah hurrah, what with Gem being the GW Elvish for Skull
• Boots, Hair and Manbag - Abaddon Black with Pallid Wychflesh drybrush. It's not an elf until it's got a dab of PWF somewhere

Not depicted is the unit's movement tray, although that is assembled. Until I've sorted out the bases, though, I'm leaving those until last. Tricksy Technical paint Agrellan Earth is at play here. It's wonderful when it works but rather unpredictable. I've done secondary layers in places where it didn't crack, and it takes a wash of Flesh Wash rather well to leave a nice barren deserty look, but I'm not convinced that I don't need more practice at using it yet.

Hence the bonus second unit for the week!

Aim for the Black, not for the Red 

No characters yet, but I couldn't paint a mere eight models in a week and pretend to be satisfied. So the artillery is also ready.

There's nowt in this game for Albion
Because the End Times says they're all dead

Same paints, more or less, although there's a layer of Blood Red under the Wild Rider Red. And their helmets are Rhinox Brown with Skrag Brown drybrush so they don't look too armoured. Anybody who wears harem pants to a Warhammer battlefield deserves what's coming to them, if you ask me.

They've got plenty of ammo. They'll need it. This is the End Times, they're mostly going to be shooting Uberheroes with giant ward saves and a gajillion wounds.

Bully's Special Prize is a new ET spell that transforms your opponent's chariots into yachts.

The machine itself is nice and bright, with fireball decals and lots of gold, red and white. Purple gems, for a bit of a change.

The plant on the base is a random bit of twig in my sand tub. No idea what it is, hope it isn't poisonous. 

More in due course! But I leave with the triumphant news that the Reaper Kickstarter stuff has cleared customs at last, and ought to be with me in a month or so. So various whistles and bells from that will be joining this army, and Weetabix players will all get a grab-bag to go home with.