Dark Eldar Warriors

The denizens of Commorragh prepare for war!

For my second Dark Eldar post, I want to talk about some of the Dark Eldar warriors I have built. The new sculpts have come a long way from the originals, both in aesthetics and design. One of my favorite aspects about them is that all of the equipment is attached to their waists, including things such as toxin vials and grappling hooks (which they use to hang from their flying transports). I feel these small additions go a long way in establishing their character and convincing me they are going to war. I am glad they chose to cast the equipment on the models, rather than keeping them as separate pieces for you to glue on (easier to assemble and the stuff is attached more naturally than one could achieve otherwise). Additionally, the new warriors are much easier to assemble. The old ones were something of a nightmare to build if you decided you wanted to use any of the tiny rows of spikes and blades to adorn them; trying to line them up correctly was nigh impossible.

Similar to the Archon I converted, for the warriors, I wanted to include some throwbacks to the older miniature range. I had converted the Sybarite from my original squad to be holding a skull (taken from the 1998 Games Day Nob... ha ha). For this new squad I decided to make a similar conversion, this time using a skull from Brian Nelson’s excellent Vampire Count skeletons (which are scaled much better than the old plastics). The conversion was incredibly simple, only requiring me to reposition the fingers of the hand holding the skull. 

My original and newly converted Sybarite.

Even more notable, I managed to find one of the concept Dark Eldar models from the original range (ebay) carrying a dark lance. The model itself is quite interesting and borrows heavily from some of Jes Goodwin’s older Rogue Trader Eldar designs, particularly with the model’s helmet and Harlequin's Kiss sidearm. 

While lacking a little in his pose, he compensates with fierceness (look at that helmet!). 

On the topic of dark lances, while I like nearly all of the designs in the kit, I was a little disappointed with the provided dark lance. The weapon was well sculpted, however, I feel it is comically large and looks awkward when held by a warrior. Still wanting to have the option of using dark lances in my squads, I converted smaller ones by removing the central portion of the weapons and reattaching their barrels.

I have done my best to get both images to the same scale.

Despite removing a sizable section of the lance, it is still a little large.

A closer view of some of the other warriors, I quite like the one  with the crown of thorns.

The new design for the Blaster is also far superior to the old one.

Overall, I am very pleased with how this squad of warriors has turned out. I think it is worth noting that while the models are easy to assemble, cleaning off the mold-lines is a very involved and time consuming process. This stems primarily from the level of detail on each piece (all of those tiny interlocking armor plates, spikes, loincloths, etc...). The effort is certainly worth it, but don't expect to assemble a squad or two in a weekend. Next I plan to try my hand at some wyches, which thankfully look as if they will be a little easier to trim than the warriors.

And finally to end the post, another awesome painting from the old Dark Eldar codex!

Pray they don't take you alive...

- Harlon Nayl