Haemoxyte Conversion: A new unit for Haemonculus Covens

Welp. The new Dark Eldar/Drukhari codex finally dropped. I picked it up at release, and didn't expect too much new, assuming it would be a simple update for 9th edition. 

But then it hit me with a surprise! A new unit type for my other hobby love, Haemonculus Covens. 

This new unit, the Haemoxytes, are meant to represent elite Wracks, and they were the perfect excuse to dust off my drukhari and convert up a model to represent it.

Enter the dream combination of Delaque gangers from Necromunda, with Kaoric Acolytes from AoS, with a little Idoneth Namarti Reavers/Thralls.

Converted Dark Eldar Wracks complete (Flesh Friday)

 Well, I've officially polished off the first part of my November modeling vow by completing the conversions and sculpting on my first unit of Wracks since the Bob's Big Bad Coven commission.

This time I opted to use arms that were much more to scale with the models (last time I used mostly big, beefy, and LONG bloodletter arms), and I'm much happier with the effect. I also used mostly actual wracks arms (though sometimes converted) along with actual wrack masks to mask the fact that I'm using flagellant lower bodies and bloodletter upper bodies to sub in for the actual wrack models. I also sculpted on some combat cumberbuns to merge the two pieces/tie them back to the actual wracks.

Why go to so much work, employing bits across to many different stock models?

Raid Spoils: Coven Clawed Fiend and Urghul

I'm a member over on the All-Dark-Eldar message board, the Dark City, and every christmas they run a Christmas Raid. It's kind of like Secret Santa for the Dark Kin: each participant pledges to give a model-related gift of $20 value or more, and each participant makes a request for something they'd like in their army.

When I drew my "victim" for the raid, he had requested Clawed Fiends or Coven stuff, so I thought this was the perfect excuse to complete my proof of concept model for a feral Grotesque to represent a Clawed Fiend in an all-coven force. As I detailed in my previous post, I used a Vargheist/Crypt Horror as a basis for it, added in some Talos bits and a Nagash spine, some Greenstuff, and—BOOM—Grotesque Fiend:

The Shambling Masses: Wracks. Done.

There wasn't a whole helluvalot changed since my last update on the Wracks, but I am happy to say that they are now DONESKI! I hope that the gentleman who commissioned them will be well pleased with how they turned out. Both they and the Grotesques wound up being far bigger a project than either one of us had expected, but, for me, that is mostly because I wound up putting a lot more work into them than I had expected they'd need.

Fortunately, I'm happy with the finished product, and I will be sad to see them go when it comes time to send them on their way to their new owner.

For now, though, here are some photos of them. I've been working on my model photography as well, and the addition of an external flash has opened up whole new worlds of glorious lighting to me. Though I could have gone in and edited the colours a bit, these turned out pretty well for a straight shot-to-net process.

Coven Wracks Update

The Wracks are the next unit from Bob's Big Bad Haemonculus Coven that are nearing completion.

As a couple of them have been pretty much done for a while, I focused more on the ones who have come a long way of late for this update.

First up, Sir Inspired by 300!

WRACKing my brain for more puns

This has all lain dormant for far too long, and I'm not sure I can really blame the trip back across the Atlantic and Christmas/New Years for it anymore.

Fortunately, though I haven't updated the bloggerino in quite some time, I have not been idle. So, with this return to Flesh Friday also comes an update on my progress with the Wracks!

And what an update it is as four of the little nasties are now nearing completion. Huzzah!

These two kids you've seen before, though they've come a little further:

A little update on the Monsters

For this week, I've got a little more progress to report on both the Wracks and the Grotesques.

For the Wracks, I've now got all nine of the masks I'm sculpting formed (the squad leader will receive the honour of one of those bad-ass Reaver helmets), and I created another plasticard blade weapon, inspired by one of the weapons that come with the Talos. Next step, I'll likely start on the squad leader as I've got some dastardly plans for him, including one to big him up with some spacers so he towers over his hunched brethren.

A Recipe for Wracks

As you may have noticed, I've been posting stuff about pain counters and Grotesques and Raiders for the coven, but one of the main staples of a Coven force--the Wrack--has been conspicuous in its absence. However, that's not for lack of ideas. When Bob-o and I were sitting around brainstorming ideas for how to create things like Grotesques and Wracks before GW released their Finecast versions, I took a trawl through all of the plastic kits GW made with my thinking cap on, and I came up with a magical formula for Wracks:

Flagellant Legs

+Bloodletter torso, back spine, and 1 horn; 1 Savage Orc Bow: