The Eldar Project

Chapter 4: War Walkers

By Anthony Karl Erdelji

Ah, the War Walker! Perhaps the most ignored unit from the Eldar codex. Well, I guess its tied with the support platform in the Eldar army popularity contest. The main reason for this is I think many Eldar players go heavy on the Wraithlords. Also a War Walker may be powerful, but it is a very delicate bit of machinery (i.e. It blows up real good!). However to go with my Guardian heavy theme army I've chosen to go with lots of Guardian powered heavy support.

The War Walker model (much like the Wraithlord) is one of the oldest models in the entire Warhammer 40k miniature range. It received a new pilot several years ago, but besides that it has remained virtually unchanged since the birth of 40k. Some conversion work will help to update the model. The first thing to do was to add some movement. I wanted to put each model in a different running or walking pose. The problem I faced was that this is a very top-heavy model on an undersized base. If I were to have the model standing on one foot not only would it not be stable, but also all the weight of the model would be supported by one very thin leg. The weight of the model and normal handling the model would receive moving around the battlefield could cause leg to bend or to break at the hip. However I decided to test if the model will hold together so I decided to convert just one model.

Making a War Walker walk is very simple. A wedge was cut out of the front of the leg where the knee would be and second cut was made on the opposite side of the leg above the flexible tubing. The leg was then bent forward, closing the gap at the front. Viola! A walking War Walker. To give the model a bit more action a slit was cut on the foot above the ribbed tubing and the hoof was bent down. Finally the ribbed tubing was replaced with epoxy putty.

To support the model the second leg got a very large brass pin at the hip and another at the base. The surface of each pin was roughed up with a pair of pliers before gluing them into place. A rough surface will adhere to the glue better than a smooth surface. Epoxy putty was then wrapped around the hip for extra strength.

Much like with my Wraithlord I wanted to beef up the War Walker to make them look a bit larger and tougher. Adding some bits to the model is an easy way to accomplish this.  Each Warwalker got a tabard just like the Wraithlord. Some extra height was added to the model by gluing on a crest wing from the old Epic Eldar Phantom Titan.

Now for the weapons. You will remember from Chapter 3 the interchangeable weapon system built into the Wraithlord. The War Walker will get an improved system. This improvement is necessary to make interchangeable weapons for the War Walker because using the old weapon system on this model present two problems. The first is caused by gravity. If the mounting grooves on the Wraithlord weapon system wear down, due to stress on the joint or errors when building it, the weapon may twist left or right. Slightly annoying, but nothing major. Just adjust the weapon so it once again faces forward. However since the weapons on the War Walker are mounted horizontally, instead of vertically, if the joint fails the weight will cause the gun to droop down, and they cannot simply be pushed back up to point straight. No one wants a droopy brightlance!

The second problem is more obvious when you put the model together. Ideally the weapon shields should be pinned to the War Walker's body. However in order to leave room for the weapons to slide into place not only can we not pin the shields into place, but the area where the shields should be glued into the body must be drilled out and left hollow to slide in the weapons. What are we to do!?!?!

Welcome to interchangeable weapon systems 2.0! There is an easy way to solve both the pinning and weapon problems in one fell swoop. All we need is a hollow pin. If you've tried out the previous weapon system you know where to get square brass tubing. Grab a piece that you've been using for your weapons and head back to the store. What we need is a second larger square tube that the first tube can slide into. This second tube will be mounted in the body between the shields and will not only hold the weapons in place, but will also support the shields. Cool, uh?

We start by drill an extremely large hole through the body of the War Walker. It’s doubtful you have a drill bit large enough in your pin vise selection, so you’re going to need to raid a hardware store or toolbox for a large bit and power drill. Be extremely careful when drilling through the body. There is only about a 2mm margin for error and it’s easy to accidentally drill too close to the side and breech the surface of the model. Trust me, I know how easy it is! Its recommended you start by drilling a small pilot hole before moving on to the larger drill bit. The shields are even narrower than the body and will require a very delicate touch. To avoid damaging them you may want to drill a slightly smaller hole and then carefully enlarge it with some small metal files.

Next take your large tube and cut it down to size. This is harder than it sounds. Using clippers to cut the tube will crimp the ends, turning your tube into a lovely little useless sausage. We need to cut it and still allow the small tube to slide into place. I am fortunate enough to own a Dremel motor tool. Equipped with a cutting disc it cuts brass like butter. I know many out there don't have the luxury of a Dremel, but don't worry, there's an easy substitute.

Lay the tube down on a flat surface. Use a sharp hobby knife and cut across tube. Don't try to cut all the way through it (you can't), just score a line across. Turn the tube to the next side and cut a second line just like you did the first. Repeat for the third and fourth sides, making sure the fourth cut lines back up with the first. You should have a nice tiny groove running around the tube. Now repeat the process again and again going over the same cut as before. After about a dozen turns there should be a deep groove running around the tube. Now all you have to do is bend the tube and it will easily snap off at the cut. A pair of pliers may be necessary to get decent leverage to snap the pieces apart. If there is too much resistance simply keep cutting and turning the tube until you can snap it apart.

Once the tube is cut all you have to do is glue it in place. The weapon shields will slid over the tube and can then be set and glued. Be sure to that the weapons will point straight forward before gluing in the tube!

The paint job is the most mundane portion of this article. Each War Walker is painted identical to the Wraithlord, minus the big tadpole head. The pilot is an exact match for the rest of my Guardians. The crest was faded out to white and I added several decal runes to spice up each model. Each War Walker will get a different symbol on their tabard to help differentiate them from each other. All done! Hopefully you will agree my little additions to the model are an improvement visually. At least I managed to turn a War Walker into a REAL Walker.