WIP Progress reports

Dark Barque and Matincore, Dragonet comin' along....

OK, I have been pretty lax with the progress reports. Been doing a lot of basing and building on my Dark Elf Army, when I was getting ready for NZTC. D-day preparations have taken over big-time though, (Kapiti Wargames Club having an open day 10 May 2014, and I'm refighting the Sword Beach landings) and I'm furiously working on my 20mm WW2 armies and terrain at the moment. Got side-tracked to post on WW1 though, and SA's experience at Delville Wood, effectively SA's Gallipoli.

Alternative Sisters of Slaughter are now done, converted from Dark Eldar Wyches. I'm happy with the end result. Got a few compliments at NZTC.

Did not going to run them at NZTC though. Ran the B*tch bus with two Hydras. Didn't have enough points to give them breath weapons, which, in retrospect was a mistake. Using that on trolls to negate regen or empire mounts could have been useful.

Either way, the Matincore is progressing pretty well, but I need to find a Beastmaster or Dreadlord to ride the beastie. Same for the Dragonet. Using a standard sorceress for Morathi as an alternate Pegasus. The look of the army is coming together nicely now...

Nice action shot of my Morathi bravely (or foolishly) taking on a Daemon Prince

2 x Sea-blue Hydras, Matincore and Morathi on a Dragonet, Black Dragon now also highlighted w sea-blue (hawk turquoise, or whatever it is called now days, tints/shades) Warlocks coming along nicely with washes in same livery. They did do some damage at NZTC. Poisoned attacks and that nasty Doombolt spell.

Also steadily and slowly working on the Empire, with my Parrot riders now nearing completion. I have no idea why these models seem to be such an effort to work on. Liked John Murrie's Demigriff paint job for his mate Reagan. Went up against them at NZTC.

The Forgeworld Demigryffs were such a pleasure! I have to admit that I keen getting side-tracked by Dark Elves and Daemons and WoC.

So now I have on my workbench: Scourgerunner, and the new Cauldron/Medusa kit. Liking the latter a lot. Will keep my old Altar and cauldron, and likely build this one as Medusa or possibly try and magnetise to make an interchangable multi-use model. Have also considered Altering the Dark Barque to accept the Medusa...

And then GW brings out a Dwarf book...

Dark Elf Barque Progress and Sorceresses for Every Season

Progress Report WIP Dark Barque and revamp of my Druchii:

Good Progress being made with the Dark Barque. Getting to work on the woodwork.

Somehow I ended up with a surfeit of Sorceresses. 4 on foot, and 4 mounted, in fact. I can field one for every season, or lore of Magic, should I wish

Still busy transforming the Dark Eldar Wyches into (alt Sisters of Slaughter) what now can only be termed 

The Band of Brutality feat Miley Cyrus:

Have resisted adding wheels to my old skool Cauldron. 

Avatars of War sorceress becoming a crone or hag, up front. Apologies for my poor photographic skills. The Hawk Turquoise seems to really reflect the light in the photos, as do the skintone. Does not really do justice to the paint jobs.

The Old Death Hag and her entourage still form the core of my Witches

Also spoiled for choice with the characters. Line-up of masters and Dreadlords. Have consigned one as Tularis (Not in picture) He now resides permanently with the Black Guard (Not shown, Old Tularis model still the Tower Master in this shot) Mix of Old GW and alternative models

Dark Elf Barque (Or a Barque rather than an Ark)

Evolution of the Dark Elf Barque

The latest Druchii Army book makes a lot about the Maritime connection of the DE's. I find it sad that the Kharybdis is not a sea creature, I think it really should have that rule, seeing as that the original Carybdis is sea monster. Anyhow, I love the pirate aspect of the corsairs.

My workbench is littered with conversions and projects, many obtained at the swap meet. 

Eldar Whyches to Sisters of Slaughter, conversion of several Avatars of war figures (Sorceress into Hag, Dreadlord w sword to Dreadlord with Hand Xbow, several suitable Reaper (and other) figures into my DE Livery. On the left Warmachine Town Guard being recruited for the Empire City of Talabheim... I like their beefier look.

Anyhow, I have been thinking about building a Druchii  boat ever since Nick and I played a Dark Elf attack on an Empire Settlement (clicky to see the post) scenario.

The fluff around the Druchii make a lot of the sea-borne raiding parties. The one thing that stopped me from building a Dark Ark was the size and materials needed (and the time to construct such a vessel) and the poor quality of some attempts I saw on the web.

At the KWC's swap day I came across the answer: James was selling some of his Dark Eldar bits, amongst this some derelict space vessels, and bits that could pass as sails!

I would build, not the not the large Dark ARK that deposits the main raiding force, but a smaller, more agile and easier to conceal vessel, the Druchii BARQUE

So, slowly but surely the Druchii Barque is now evolving...

Sails and rams

Space Hulk

Voila! The beginnings of a Druchii Barque

From Wiki:
"The word barque entered English via French, which in turn came from the Latin barca by way of Occitan, Spanish or Italian. The Latin barca may stem from Celtic "barc" (per Thurneysen) or Greek "baris" (per Diez), a term for an Egyptian boat. The Oxford English Dictionary however considers the latter improbable.

The word barc appears to have come from Celtic languages. The form adopted by English, perhaps from Irish, was bark, while that adopted by Latin as barca very early, which gave rise to the French barge and barque. In Latin, Spanish and Italian the term barca refers to a small boat, not a full-size ship. French influence in England led to the use in English of both words, although their meanings now are not the same.

Well before the 19th century a barge had become interpreted as a small vessel of coastal or inland waters. Somewhat later, a bark became a sailing vessel of a distinctive rig as detailed below. In Britain, by the mid-19th century, the spelling had taken on the French form of barque. Francis Bacon used this form of the word as early as 1605. Throughout the period of sail, the word was used also as a shortening of the barca-longa of the Mediterranean Sea.
The usual convention is that spelling barque refers to a ship and bark to tree hide, to distinguish the homophones.

In the 18th century, the British Royal Navy used the term bark for a nondescript vessel that did not fit any of its usual categories. Thus, when the British Admiralty purchased a collier for use by James Cook in his journey of exploration, she was registered as HM Bark Endeavour to distinguish her from another Endeavour, a sloop already in service at the time. She happened to be a ship-rigged sailing vessel with a plain bluff bow and a full stern with windows.

William Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine defined "bark", as "a general name given to small ships: it is however peculiarly appropriated by seamen to those which carry three masts without a mizen topsail. Our northern mariners, who are trained in the coal-trade, apply this distinction to a broad-sterned ship, which carries no ornamental figure on the stem or prow."

Avatars of War Dreadlord/Noble/Hero who has swopped his one sword for a Corsair Handbow. 

Another WIP on my benchtop.