I'm new to this game and am trying my hand at painting up an Eldar force. I thought I would post some pics and comments to see what you all think. I have done quite a bit of painting before, but mostly 28mm and 15mm. I have done some Dystopian Wars fleets as well, but there isn't any infantry so that doesn't really count as the same thing.

First of all, I don't like the GW bases as the models seem very crowded to me. So I decided to use 40mm x 20mm metal bases. These have the added benefit of being magnetic so storage and transportation will hopefully be a bit simpler as well. I will use 30mm x 30mm bases for jet bikes and I will use round bases for command bases so they stand out.

To start with, I clipped the models off the sprues and cleaned them up a little. I then glued them to balsa wood strips to make priming them easier. I primed all these models white. As a side note, I will be taping the strips down before I paint them next time. They are so light they kept being blown around by the spray paint.

I then used a wash to get the base coat on the models. I decided to use a wash as it flows better and it is very easy to get a coat on the whole model quickly. I'm not going for a museum finish. I want a decent paint job that can be done quickly. After that, I did a quick dry brush to bring out the details on the models. I didn't dry brush the Dire Avengers because I think they look okay with just the wash.

After the dry brush, I picked out a few details. The shuriken catapults were painted bone, the striking scorpions chain blades got a little silver and the dire avengers got red plumes. I painted all of this with the models still on the balsa strips.

Now with the models painted, I popped them off the balsa strips and started super gluing them to the metal bases. I have decided to put 4 models per base for the elder. I'm not sure if I will change this number for other forces, but it seems to work for these guys.

After they dried, I put down a coat of super glue on the rest of the base and added some ballast. My next step will be to paint the base brown and then add various flocks and lichen to break things up and give the army a unified feel.

Let me know what you think and if you have any pointers that might help me along on my trip to a finished army.

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looks like a quick and effective way to get models on the table!

personally I like to paint my infantry with quite a lot of detail, but the disadvantage there is how long it takes, 3 companies of imperial guard made me want to kill myself.... I've also got large ork and krieg armies which need painting and I am dreading so I think you're on to something here!

I'd suggest going for a contrasting base colour, the white works quite well and snow is a popular base style for eldar, but after doing my guard with brown muddy bases and them just merging into a generic brown mush on the tabletop, I'd make sure you keep the infantry and base colours very different, I've gone for a grey base for my imperial fists and they just pop right out...

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Just some guy

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Hey welcome to the board, nice start on your eldar and the wash method seems to work well.

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Good point about making the base contrast the models. I haven't decided on what craftworld my elder will be from, but I'm leaning toward Sam Hain. Eldar tend to be so brightly colored there won't be any problems with contrast. I will be sure to keep that in mind when I start on a different army.

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The best player isn't always the winning player.

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Good start and I'm looking to see more from you soon!
I'll echo Kuss' point about adding a bit more. If you were to paint those Dire Avenger knee pads a light grey and then edge it with straight white they'd look ace and it wouldn't be a time murderer.

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I'm going to get started on some guardians. I haven't decided on a craftword theme. Mostly I want one that I can paint quickly. Do any of you have any thoughts? If I do Bel-tan I can just wash the model green and then paint the helmet white. How do you all think that will work?

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The best player isn't always the winning player.

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it will probably work very well, are you washing it green over a white undercoat?

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Just some guy

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Army Forge List Co-ordinator

Yes. I will prime the models white then wash with a green. I will paint the helmet white and the gun bone. Simple but effective. I'm gonna do a test to see how it looks. I hope to post a pic before the weekend is over.

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The best player isn't always the winning player.

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Here are a couple of stands with finished bases. I like the mix of flock on these.

I'm wondering if I should add more flock to the bases? By that, I mean leave only a small amount of the brown "rock" showing.

What are your thoughts?

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The best player isn't always the winning player.

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I wouldn't add any more flock, looks about right as it is

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Just some guy

My hobby/painting threads

Army Forge List Co-ordinator

Yeah run a quick bit of dry brushing over the rock in a light brown and you're set. If you do each formation at a time for each stage you will find it is a great time saver. Keep up the great work!

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-Help me make Whitescars not suck!

I actually did do a dry brush. I might have to use a much lighter color for it to be more noticeable. I'm not sure about a wash though. Maybe I will try it on a base to see how it looks.

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The best player isn't always the winning player.

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Here is a pic of a stand of Striking Scorpions with the base dry brushed. I used bleached bone for the dry brush. The dry brush does make the model look better.

_________________
The best player isn't always the winning player.

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Here is a couple of bases of guardians and a command stand with a warlock and guardians. These still need to be based, but I do like the look of the guardians. My next step will be to try this method on some jet bikes and weapon platforms.

I chose to do the command units on round bases because I'm not sure I will be using these for just Epic. I might also use these models for Future War Commander.

What do you all think of these?

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The best player isn't always the winning player.

http://gamingandshooting.blogspot.com