The Eldar Project

Chapter 3: Wraithguard & Wraithlord

By Anthony Karl Erdelji

With my Guardians well on their way its time to move onto something more interesting; the Wraithguard and Wraithlord. The colors to paint the Wraithguard were fairly obvious since they physically not much different from the Guardians. There are only two major differences between each model. The Wraithguard do not wear an undersuit beneath their armor as the Guardians, but they do have a tabard. It was a simple decision to use the Vallejo Dark Blue Gray I used on the Guardians undersuit on the tabard. The second and more obvious difference between each is the Wraithguard's big ol' head. Since the Guardians helmets were painted Vallejo Blue Violet with Oxford Blue faceplates I would have to use one of those colors on the Wraithguard heads. Since the rest of the model would be Blue Violet I chose Oxford Blue.

Before painting, a few of the Wraithguards got some minor conversion work. Using a razor saw I cut their heads off at the neckline. The head was then pined and glued at slightly different angles. It’s by no means a major conversion, but it added a slight amount of variation to the models. Since the Wraithguard models look extremely similar to begin with, any conversion work can't hurt.

For the most part the Wraithguard were paint just as the Guardians, so I won't bother repeating it here. The only difference was the addition details I painted onto the heads and the guns. Rather than highlight them with a typical overhead lighting scheme I decided to use what I call a fade. When highlighting normally light is assumed to be above the model, so we highlight in that direction. A fade is simply over highlighting the model in a direction different than normal.  Starting with Oxford Blue at the back and top of the head I highlighted towards the lower front head area, however instead of only applying three highlighting steps as with the Guardians I continue to apply additional layers, adding more Coat d'arms Elven Grey each time, until I ended up with about a dozen layers of paint. The final highlight is pure Elven Grey on the lowest, most center part of the head.

Using a face on the head makes them more interesting than typical highlighting would and breaks up the visual monotony of large, flat areas.

A fade can spice up a paint scheme without having to add any additional colors. The fade works much better if it is used with caution. Using it on one or two pieces creates a great effect. Using it on everything destroys the power of the effect and does not allow room for  realistic natural highlights. 

The Wraithcannons get the same treatment as the Wraithguard heads, only this time working from Vallejo Emerald to pure White, from the back of the gun to the tip.

The tabards were painted Dark Blue Grey. I planned on using the fade on them as I did with the heads and Wraithcannons, but the tabard still look rather plain. To spice them up I add a border around the bottom. A thin line of Vallejo Sky Blue was painted and on top of that Eldar-ish runes were added with a Pigma Sakura Micron archival ink pen. My original plan was to have the serpent decal on the tabard, but after thinking it over I placed that decal on their heads, where they would be more visible. Instead, the tabards got a simple "figure eight" decal. 

It was important to get the right decal for the tabard. I chose the "figure Eight" decal because its twisting shape was roughly similar to my serpent decal. It help to support my icon theme rather than detract from it by using a decal of a different shape

It would seem that as this point I have gone beyond the paint scheme boundaries set when planning this army by adding an additional color, Sky Blue. However I knew that when I started painting this army I would have to add at least one more color when painting highly detailed models, such as the Farseers and Warlocks. As long as I used Sky Blue on those models my color scheme should be fine.

The Wraithlord is one of the most interesting models in the Eldar range. Its long and spindly arms and legs are ideal for conversions and I have little doubt that its one of the most often converted models in the Warhammer 40k range. The reason for this is not just because it’s so easy to convert, but because when built straight out of the box is one of the most boring models ever made! While most models invoke some sort of action, the Wraithlord just stands there with his arms at his side, looking like he ran out of batteries. This figure needs some action!

I wanted my Wraithlord to look a bit beefier and thus more dangerous when on the battlefield. This was done easily by gluing the arms out at an angle from the body. Doing so would mean that there was less metal between the arms and body to get a secure hold with the glue. It would be necessary to pin the arms.

Pinning is necessary on any model where there is a large amount of weight held together via a small area, for example the wings on a dragon model. Pinning will add strength by adding a "backbone" to the joint and prevent the model from breaking during normal handling. First we need to drill a hole into one part of the model and a second corresponding hole in the other part. A pin vise, available a most hobby stores, and the proper sized drill bit. A cordless power drill is a good investment for any serious modeler. Its saves loads of time and is easier on the wrist then twisting a pin vise. The best sources for the pins are simple paperclips. A box of large paperclips will supply you with enough pins for several years.

The first hole is drilled into the body of the model at the joint. The hole should be slightly larger than the pin. The deeper the hole the better, just be sure not to drill all the way through the model! In the case of the Wraithlord the hole was drilled roughly 1/2 inch deep. Next a piece of paper clip is inserted and cut so it sticks about 1/8 inch out of the hole. Don't glue it! Press the two pieces firmly together. When pulled apart there should be a small nick on the second piece from the paper clip. This is where to drill the second hole. With the second hole drilled another piece of paperclip is cut, this time long enough to fill both holes. Dry fit both pieces together and make sure the pin is not too long or too short. Once assured of a clean fit use the paper clip to work some superglue into each hole and to the base of the joint. Press both pieces together until the glue is dry and your done. If at any time you are not sure if a model can benefit from pinning, then pin it. There is nothing worse than seeing your fully painted model fall apart the first time you pull it out of your carrying case. 

The easiest conversion to the Wraithlord was the addition of a tabard. This bit adds more surface area to the model so in turn he looks bigger. The tabard also helps to visually tie the Wraithlord to his little Wraithguard cousins. The tabard is from a game called Ronin by Cell Entertainment.

Along with converting the arms, one of the legs got some minor reworking.  I cut a wedge out of the back of the left leg at the knee and in front make a cut right above the knee, This allowed me to bend the leg without cutting it completely apart. Once bent together the gap in the back disappeared and the gap above the knee was filled in with Magic Sculpt epoxy putty. With the left leg perched on a rock on the base this small conversion makes the model look wider along with adding some action to the model.

Since the Wraithlord can be armed with a variety of weapons I decided to design an interchangeable weapon system. A quick trip to the arts and craft store and I had some small brass square tubing. We are now going to attempt something they told you was wrong all the way back in kindergarten; put a square peg in a round hole. A hole was drilled slightly smaller than the square tubing. Next a piece of tubing was forced into the round hole. Since the brass is much harder than pewter it cuts in fairly easily, leaving four grooves at the corners. To make the job easier I took a one-inch piece of tubing and added some epoxy putty to one end to make a giant pushpin. Once the groves are cut its a simple matter to glue a short piece of tubing into the weapon and this in turn will fit snugly into the Wraithlord's weapon mount without glue.

Three weapons ready to be mounted onto the Wraithlord, or Warwalker, or heavy weapon platform.

This may seem like a lot of work to go through when a simple round pin would of worked, but a round pin will allow the weapon to rotate. This is not a big deal on the Wraithlord, but for any horizontally mounted weapons such as those on the Falcon or Warwalkers, a round pin would allow the weapon to twist and the heavy end would sag towards the ground. We all know there's nothing worse than a saggy weapon! Since I intend to make all the weapons universal for all models I went with square tubing.