Jackswift's 40k Works in Progress - Epic 40k

Starting another OT topic, this time 40K which was my first entry to gaming many years ago. Since my entire hobby existance is suspended for another few weeks by my obsession with getting my Golden Hat entry done, I’ve had nothing new CD related to post. So, a few WIP projects that I hope to soon turn my attention back to.

First off, a FW Marauder Bomber that I picked up for a song due to it’s “Salvage Title” status. Have some big plans for this, though it is going to take some work to get this thing in working order. I plan to mod the broken tail and the front of the craft to look a bit closer to the Marauder Destroyer model and build in some ‘extra armor’ to help bring it back together.

Current disassembled state:

More to follow as I dig in. No cause for alarm, one of my favorite things to do is take models in poor repair and bring them back to life. Will later post of pics of a Warhound Titan i did this to a few years back. Cheers.

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So I’ve always been a fan of the Tron movies, and wanted to build a Tron themed eldar army since I saw an entire army posted somewhere out there many years ago. I started painting up some models in my slower style as a test run a few years back. Since then I have acquired a decent collection of models including the makings of a Corsair army. A few years back the opportunity arose to pick up a “fully” painted table top level army and I did so thinking to integrate it into my army giving me a suitable head start.

While the army I picked up (I believe painted by a now defunct painting service) is definitely executed on concept, and to a basic table top standard, it is definitely not to the level of painting that I prefer, and some of the detail is clearly lacking attention. The project I am now undertaking is to enhance the existing paint scheme to fit more neatly with the few models that I have done, and bring it up to a higher table top standard. There are things I like about the style that was used, and things I don’t; so integrating an army worth of models will still be a time-consuming venture.

I envision a three pronged army but am still on the fence about paint colors and scheme for the latter two sections:

  1. Basic Tron Eldar (primarily dire avengers with some aspects) Black base with dark blues and blue “lighting”
  2. Tron Spirit Host (either black with orange/red lighting, or white with blue or orange highlighting (the latter being much harder to execute well)
  3. Tron Eldar Corsairs (the opposite remaining scheme above, or alternately black base with yet another color, yellow, green, or purple)

I’m open to suggestions about colors and I’m fully on the fence about the white base. I’ve rarely seen it well executed and my test models have been “meh” thus far, still looking for a better way to do it.

A few examples of where things lie currently. Below is my version on the left which follows the lines of the model fairly closely, and uses dark blues to add depth (the pink will probably go, or be revised to a purple that blends to the blue). On the right is the paint scheme on the models I picked up. I like that they created the lines separately from the model lines, but it leaves the model feeling unfinished. I may try adding the dark blues to the model to blend the styles and perhaps do lighter lines on some of the actual panel lines. I’m also not a huge fan of the canopy, not sure where I’ll go with that one yet:

Below, my incomplete version of the Avatar in a quasi Tron scheme and one of the Dire Avengers from the picked up army. Likewise, the latter needs some depth:

And lastly something large this way comes… posted this before on the old forum. Will now likely need to repaint once I decide on the Spirit Host scheme:

Will post my test model for the white scheme, when I can put my hands on it, and post progress as progress is made.

Cheers, JR

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Yep this is as cool as I thought it would be.

Looking forward to seeing the white but got to say the black scheme looks hard to beat

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Agree on the black scheme. Perhaps I’ll figure out a way to make it work, but thus far, the white test paints have been underwhelming. It is difficult to get as striking a contrast from the colors. I think I need to go darker on the base layers, then buiild back up but keep the darkest color between the white and the “light” effect. Not sure yet.

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Lovely way to paint Eldar. So great to see this army get some love again. This will be a log to savour. :beer:

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Alright so progress made. Here’s test 1 for the white Tron scheme. Went back to base coat in an Arctic Blue (Scale 75) to start. Old school Tron red on a white base. Next test will be the more modern white light on shades of grey that the have used in more recent film and animation. I like this much more than any previous tests.

I tried some end of process light bleed onto the white, but didn’t like the result and painted over it. May try starting with a slightly thicker lighter orange line beneath the dark red to give this effect next time. Depends on how much work I want to make for myself.

Not great photos but the best I have for now. White is very unforgiving:





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Both look great! The white one pops a little less then the black one but they’re both very cool!

Will you mix them or are you deciding which to use for the rest of the army?

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I agree re the reduced pop. It’s better in person, but still less dynamic. They’ll be mixed but in subsets of the army that will likely be played separately:

  • Primary Eldar Army
  • Corsairs (Non Craftworld, pirate, fast unit/drop army)
  • Spirit Host (Wraith unit Army)

I have come up with another (not white or black based) idea that will still be Tron-esque but hopefully much more pop. Will try to knock out a test model this week.

Cheers, JR

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This is a really bold and very cool direction you’re taking these eldar in. Amazing

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So I said I had a non black and white idea. Here it is. Really does ad pop! The darker tones bring out the lighter tones. It also helps that the paint isn’t overworked like it is on the white model. You can imagine a similar scheme in black and orange as well very easily.

Best one yet, but let me know your thoughts. I’m liking the Scale 75 paints, but wow do they dry fast, and they are sooo very matte. Takes some getting used to:

And some side by sides:

Thoughts? White, Purple, or another scheme in black/orange?

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I prefer the purple/orange one! :slight_smile:

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Purple/orange by far.

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And another scheme. Just not quite sure re the purple. This one was super simple, took about 30-40 minutes, which from an army painting perspective is great. I may leave it as is, or I may add some blue to the engine glow, and faceplate, and perhaps some fading to purple subtly at the edges.

This one is a converted Corsair Jetbike, from a Dark Eldar Reaver Jetbike. I think the revisions take away the spiky nonsense, and give it a more Corsair feel, but still make it edgy. A few conversion pics at the bottom:

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Super Sweet! Looks ace

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Switching tack for a bit. Have a friend who is interested in a game of Epic (or perhaps Panzer 8 which is a simple but fun ruleset), sometime in March so working on Epic. I have had a host of Epic models (Ork, Chaos, Eldar, Space Marine, Titan Legions (already painted) and a few IG and Squat models) for some time, but laid very little paint in recent years. So my goal for March is to get as far as I can with the Ork warhost with at a minimum all of the Ork vehicles and war engine stompas completed + some infantry. Pictured below, I have 10 Battlewagons, 3 Stompas, 1 Mega Gargant, 9 bikes (3 bases), and 9 boar riders (3 bases) remaining for a total of 20 models (counting each base as a single model). Beyond that, I have 40ish stands of infantry. Aiming to at a minimum bring my BATG count back to negative numbers (assuming I minimize purchases this month). Here goes:

And the four models completed in Feb:

Ignore the Warmonger Titan. A project for another month.

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Already updated this in the BATG but adding here with more pics. Ork half of the Titan Legions box set minus on Mega Gargant and a few appendages, and plus 3 extra Battlewagons:

I see a few areas that could use touch up, and I forgot to detail the ramps, but these are tabletop quality not contest level, so I am good as they are. Perhaps I’ll touch up later. Onto the next project. Cheers!

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'Ere we go! Slick Ork vehicle fleet. Lovely colour sceme all over.

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And photos of the last three models painted in March. Two Epic Chaos vehicles, a Cannon of Khorne and Doomblaster, and a bunker that will likely be used in multiple scales. More chaos vehicles and troops to follow this month. Have 20+ stands that I am aiming to finish in April:

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