Making a Dark Eldar Army

Please keep in mind this is neither meant to be a definitive guide on Dark Eldar models nor an all inclusive list of how to build every model. Sometimes you just need to ‘wing it’ and see how things turn out. If you have a better way of building or converting a model, by all means share it with us and the rest of the Epic community. We’d love to feature your models in the next update of

Epic: Raiders.

There are some general designs you may want to consider on the Dark Eldar models when beginning any construction. Do your best to avoid circles and right angles. Oval shapes and parts at about 75 degrees or 115 degrees seem to be prevalent throughout the Eldar and Dark Eldar vehicles whether they be 40K or Battlefleet Gothic scale. Blades and spikes seem to be the ‘in’ thing with the darklings so be prepared to add a lot of them. Although it isn’t recommended to have real razors on your models, as a rule of thumb they should poke your fingers when you pick them up.

Infantry: You will find that there are a number of options for you to

go with, but most of them are going to come back to converting Epic Eldar models in some capacity. It should be noted you can convert the entire Dark Eldar infantry range using models currently sold by Specialist Games. Older models from the days of Epic 40,000 and Space Marines have tremendous potential as well.

Vehicles: Vehicles pose an entirely different challenge for the Dark

Eldar. Building enough Raiders and Ravagers for your army can be a daunting task. Fortunately there is no ‘official’ design for many of the vehicles on the Dark Eldar list so if one of the designs below doesn’t appeal to you then by all means try out something of your own. Even the official designs have room for flexibility. Competing Kabals have no need to stick to engineering specifications and the Dark Kin most certainly will want to distinguish themselves from each other.

In the short time the Dark Eldar list has been around there have been several ideas bounced around for the models and each of them has its own appeal and most can be made from parts from the Games Workshop 40K Dark Eldar line along with Battlefleet Gothic Dark Eldar parts from Specialist-Games. Pillaging hive cities and enslaving the galaxy’s residents isn’t something for footsloggers alone, so by all means dive in – the bloodbath is warm.

7.1.1 INFANTRY Dark Eldar Warriors

For basic infantry try using Dark Reaper models. Their helmets are naturally spiky and they can be converted rather easily.

1. Use a razor blade to trim down the legs of the Dark Reaper. Be sure to trim down the outside and inside of the legs. You may want to leave the ‘loin cloth’ or cut it out based on your preference. 2. Trim the missile launcher on the top, bottom, front, and back. You don’t want to slice the whole thing off but make sure it looks thin like a splinter rifle. You can try cutting diagonally along the top of the rifle to create that serrated edge if you wish.

3. Glue a small piece of plastic rod, plasticard, or flashing on the tips of the rifles.

Now the Dark Eldar are far from a regimented army and having warriors that look different from each other is not only expected but something you may prefer. It also helps when you are short on materials (like Dark Reapers). Metal Dire Avenger models are a cinch to convert, needing only a blade glued to their rifles. If you want to pose them you can use a pair of pliers to bend their rifles to a downward angle and even turn their heads!

Eldar Guardians are also an easy conversion. Trim their shuriken catapults to be a bit thinner on the sides. Glue blades on the tips of their rifles. Add green stuff to give them that cool Dark Eldar hairdo and you’re done!

Our datafax models are made from old Space Marine era Eldar Guardians. Because they are a bit slimmer than current Guardians sold at Specialist Games many players use them as conversions. Once again

trim their catapults to look thin like a rifle. Minor details are made with thin plasticard, for example spikes in helmets and rifles. The manes are again made of modelling putty like green stuff.

As a last note, you may want to model all of your Warriors first and then base them afterwards. If you have a mix of models then you can arrange each base with a variety of models as opposed to five of the same type on each base. This will hold true throughout the entire Dark Eldar converting process.

Incubi

These guys may be tough on the battlefield, but they go down pretty easy under the modelling blade. There are two main types of Incubi: those with blades (halberds or punishers) and those with guns. Signatures of these models are their helms and those funky poles that come out of their backs.

For the models here Fire Dragons and Dire Avengers were used as the starting point. Plasticard was added to the rifles for creating the halberd blades and the poles on the backs. A little green stuff was used to tip the poles and the models are ready for priming.

Another alternative are those plastic winged Exarchs of which every Eldar player seems to have a surplus. They have an open legged stance that will be a little more familiar to most 40K Dark Eldar players and have a rifle that needs little conversion.

1. Slice off the wings (keep them for later!). Be careful not to damage the wings or the rifle (slice along the rifle, then make a second cut along the head.

2. Trim inside of the helm so that it is more of a C shape. All this takes is using a razor and gently shaving just above the head but below the helm.

3. Trim that rifle so it is a bit shorter. 4. Glue two small rods to the back of the model.

5. Add a little green stuff to the tips of the poles and the head to thicken it up a bit if you wish.

But really, the Incubi can be converted from a whole bunch of different models as long as you stick to the basics. The punishers in these models are made from 0.5mm plastic rod with the blades borrowed from Warmaster Empire Halberdiers models. 0.3mm plastic rods are used for the poles on their backs.