Dark Eldar Skimmers Update & 40k Leaks!

The Blackened Jets of Commorragh

First I just want to say that I haven't been able to update as much as I wanted to due to frustrating RSI in my wrists. It's starting to clear up now so normal service will hopefully resume!

Excuses out the way with, let me tell you what I have been working on.

I have fully embraced the weathering effects on my skimmers and gone all out. This is not a look everyone likes and is certainly very rare to see on any type of Eldar vehicle but I love it. These are the transports and gunships for the speed obsessed, battle hungry Dark Eldar. Whilst they tune their devices to be the ultimate killing machines they are not the pristinely kept wraithbone constructs of their Eldar cousins. They screech through the thick smog of battle gathering dust and smoke as they push through the heart of industrial human worlds picking apart enemy forces with ease.

When I initially started weathering the vehicles I used browns, greys and metallics but did go directly into blacks. Now I have been heavily applying black with a foam brush and tooth brush as well as attacking the surface before blending it back in with several different washes. I am enjoying the direct contrast between the deep sooty blacks and the remaining whites over the rest of the plating.

I am currently experimenting with the 'Sails' with different transfers. I haven't been convinced with the green their, I may just go with black again to keep the scheme simpler and perhaps more striking that way.

White Dwarf Leaks

Of course it's difficult to do a post about Dark Eldar now without mentioning the current rumours and leaks surrounding the forthcoming 7th Edition Codex and new kits. We already have shots of the new plastic wracks and Haemonculus. I love how the kit comes with options to change the crew of raiders and venoms to wracks, nice touch. I certainly I hope the rules make them worth a purchase.

Personally I am still holding out for a plastic Incubi set, perhaps a dual kit with Trueborn. I would purchase a lot of those kits....

What to do with Biel Tan Allies?

This has presented me with a slight quandary however. My intent was always to move into Biel Tan Eldar allies with a consistent colour scheme across both forces. Now that I have moved so heavily towards dirty, battle worn looking vehicles for the Dark Eldar force I am not entirely sure how well that would work on the traditional looking Eldar units and their colour scheme. I very much desire the classic Biel Tan Falcon Grav tank or Prism in the standard green with black thorns. Green, especially dark green is much more difficult to weather using the effects I have been painting so far.

The alternative is to reverse the traditional scheme like I have done with my force so far, using white/cream for the main body and the green more sparingly. That would certainly tie the forces together but should I really be weathering Eldar vehicles in the same way at all? It would be fun for sure but I am not sure if it's appropriate.

Let me know your thoughts!