Eldar kitbash help

[Shiboinky]

Hey everyone, I'm starting up an eldar force for the new edition and really want to focus on some of the more close combat force (I also play blood angels, and it's just too tempting to get in face to face with the enemy). However, I'm not a fan of the metal/finecast howling banshees and striking scorpions.

 

Does anyone have any ideas or examples of how these units could be kitbashed? I'm ok with them looking a little different so long as they're recognizable as the given aspect.

 

While were on the topic, any ideas on how to make a kitbashed Asurmen look different from a regular dire avenger exarch?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Iron Father Ferrum]

On the topic of kitbashed Scorpions and Banshees, I'd say that it really depends on how good you are with green stuff.  You can easily make chainsword-equipped Eldar models out of Storm Guardian kits and a few Marine chainswords, but then you're missing the mandiblasters, in particular, as well as the other stuff that visually defines Scorpions (the little dreadlocks on their helmets, for example).  Sculpting those little things will be key to visually differentiating them from Storm Guardians.

 

As for a kitbashed Asurmen, start from the Dire Avenger plastic unit base, but overload a bit on the details: cut the full-sized catapults to fit as vambrace-mountings, use two backbanners instead of just one, and a great sword from the old WFB High Elf Lord multi-part kit gives you a much older, pre-Fall, relic-looking weapon for the Diresword.  Some extra robes or other cloth accoutrements, applied via green stuff, will also help sell the kitbash as a Phoenix Lord.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

I agree on the banshees but I think the Scorps are the best they've ever looked right now. Depending on how much money you want to spend or how good your sculpting skills are, some option for scorps is to use the Storm Guardian kit and cut the heads off the finecast scorps, or use the SG kit and convert the heads to look more like scorps.

[Shiboinky]

Truth be told, I don't really mind the look of the striking scorpions. It's more the price tag (40k on a college kid's budget can be a pain at times). I might just suck it up and get grab a few sets.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

On a budget, just use Storm Guardians and paint them green. If I was playing you, I wouldn't object.

[Kua]

There have been 3 editions of these models. Don’t you like any of them?

For the price, I’d by used metal ones and throw them in acetone. A little work with an old toothbrush, but money saved.

But again, first choose what edition of the models you like most.

 

I, for example, prefer Banshees 3rd and Scorps 4th.

[Grey Mage]

Truth be told, I don't really mind the look of the striking scorpions. It's more the price tag (40k on a college kid's budget can be a pain at times). I might just suck it up and get grab a few sets.

I was that kid, and I was in a small town in the rockies too I understand.

 

My best advice: buy second hand.

[Ryltar Thamior]

There's a chap over on Warseer from many, many moons ago who was doing some absolutely beautiful plastic Aspect Warrior conversions. 'Morthai' or something I think his name was. Thanks to Warseer now being back up, his stuff is findable again. You'll know it when you see it :D 

Now, as for actual conversions themselves ... most important thing is i) consistency and ii) recognizeability. I personally like fluff-connection as well, but that's beacause I prioritize those sorts of aesthetics over gaming these days. Anyway. I digress. 

With Howling Banshees, this leads us to several core questions - how to represent a 4+ armour save, power swords, shuriken pistols, and banshee masks. Also, preferably, with a certian level of dynamic posing. I'd actually be tempted to suggest material from  the Dark Eldar Wyches kits in terms of legs, armoured torsos and limbs of a feminine persuasion [from Kabalite Warriors, or I think there's some on Guardians as well], and appropriately Eldar power-swords from where you can find 'em [the Diresword from the Dire Avengers kit is probably a good place to start - bulk order 'em from bitz sites perhaps] [an alternative for this would be Fantasy kits like Corsairs or Executioners, taking the large, wickedly curved swords from same or the smaller champion blade form the latter, and adding the wiring to make 'em obviously power weapons. Wraithblade powerswords *might* work ... but might also be a little large for what you're after; there's also power-sword like things in each of the Kabalite Warriors and Scourges kits, ]. The pistols might also be a little difficult to source in bulk, although if you've grabbed a set of Wyches, and provide the profiles of htem aren't *too* different, splinter pistols might do in a pinch. [particularly if there aren't any actual splinter pistols/weaponry used in your force elsewhere for confusion]. 

Where it gets difficult is the heads. Because this is unquestionably the most iconic part of the Banshees, and also one o f their most intrinsic pieces of wargear. Probably the easiest approach is to take a helmet and add elements to represent the banshee's howl to either side [small ovular devices with grilles on]. Ordinary Guardian helmets probably won't do; although Dire Avenger helmets with some alteration could look the part [perhaps greenstuffing the helmet plumes to be more wild and wavey]; and there's some relatively decent Dark Eldar helms which might also work. Or, again, if you've gone Fantasy, then the helms which come with the Executioners kit [the skull-like ones] could make for a pretty interesting 'alternative' 'apparition of death' vibe! Personally, I'd probably go with Scourges heads [as they're distinctive in shape from other Eldar ones] - and there's definitely some female torsos in there and it shouldn't be *too* difficult to alter the bare feet to lookarmoured and get some quite dynamic posing out of them to boot. 

That'll give you some sword-armed, dextrous looking female-armoured Aspect Warriors that're obviously distinct fro mthe rest of your army and will probably look quite cool, to boot! As applies Exarch Upgrades, i'm not too familiar with what they can take these days - although the axe from the Executioners sprue is potentially very cool [and Wraithblades also have another more overtly 'eldar' one] 

Now Striking Scorpions are rather more difficult. 

Because we're looking at 3+ armour saves, and as heck ew other things that aren't that easy to find elsewhere in the Eldar range. Personally, if I were going to magic up some alternate Aspect Warriors, I'd be grabbing a box of Incubi and working my way up from there. But  that's because I've got my own ideas for 'alternate Striking Scorpions' whch emphasizes the legacy of Ahra .. so fluff reasons. Given the cost of Incubi versus Striking Scorpions in fiscal terms, you'd be no further ahead. So...

The 'obvious' way would be to take some standard Dark/Eldar kits of your choosing [preferably with more 'static' posing than what's been used for the Howling Banshees above], and hten add greenstuff in appropriate places to suggest heavier armour. Kabalite Warriors would probably be pretty decent as a starting place for  this, and might not even need the greenstuff, simply because they're *already* more visually heavily armoured than the comparable Craftworld Guardians. About the legs, anywya. YMMV about torsos. 

Chainswords, as mentioned above by other posters, aren't necessarily *that* difficult to do - although it may involve cutting up Imperial chainswords to get a more 'duellist's'/finesse' looking weapon. Up to you whether you can be bothered with that. Personally, I'd be tempted to just go "ok, so they've got close combat weapons" and find something appropriately sinister looking from elsewhere in the Dark/Eldar / Elves ranges to equip the rest of the squad with. There's a few decent looking weapons in the Wyches box, again, but up to you what you want for aesthetics. 

Again, your serious issue is going to be with helmets. Not simply because the Scorpion helmet is quite distinctive [what iwth its 'swept back' look], but also because it incorporates the iconic mandiblasters of the Aspect. So whatever you go with, you're going to want to have something that can attach decent looking [and obvious] mandiblasters to it. Personally, I'd again be etempted to look to the Dark Eldar range, with some of the Kabalite helms being appropriately menacing [or some Cold One Knights helms]. [scourge helms would, once again, work, as would Executioenrs - although ifyou're already using 'em for banshees...] 

In terms of their exarch upgrades, not quite so sure about this. Perhaps this is the best place for one of those migthy Executioner blades. 

Having said that, there is an alternate approach you could go down with the Scorpions - namely, using the more heavily armoured torso and leg sections form the Executioners kit to adequately represnt 3+ armour. Only isssue with that would be the rather staticp osing. 

Only trouble is i've just realized that the number of kitz n bitz i've set out above probably winds up costing you WELL more than just buying a set of Scorpions and a set of Banshees. 

Hm. Tryna work out which of hte like seven or so boxes i've just mentioned would be a decent idea to grab to make multiple units out of cheaply. 

Hope that helps anyway. 

[The_Chaplain]

Just some thoughts on the subject:

 

chainswords for striking scorpions-- storm guardian upgrade sprues? That would also cover pistols and a fusion gun in every set for potential fire dragon conversions down the line.   The "dreads" on the striking scorpion helmets could probably be replicated using a green stuff tentacle/cable maker available for purchase on the internet.

 

banshees could probably be tackled with a combination of female guardian torsos, wych legs with the spiky bits filed off/down and rounded out and the aforementioned storm guardian pistols and some kind of melee sword.  Harlequin troupes have a variety of curved swords that'd fit the bill quite nicely.  The trickiest part is going to be the helmet- scourges have a similar profile to older banshee helmets, and you could extend the hair if you were so inclined with dark aelf witches from the warhammer fantasy range if you were so inclined (I'm a fan of big flowing manes on banshees but obviously your mileage may vary).

 

As for the question of making a kitbashed Asurmen using a dire avenger exarch as a base-- I would recommend looking at the fantasy High Elf line of models- they have a lot of very elaborately ornamented plastic bits that could mesh well onto an avenger's body for a distinctive look.