Sneak Peak: Vanguard of Rivendell

So thanks to a long weekend with minimal obligations, I've made quite a dent in tackling the stack of elves needing to be prepared for the tournament.

As I mentioned previously, the high elves suffer from lack of imagination in their poses, which is part of why I waited so long to actually invest in an elf army (the other part being that being evil is just so much fun!). But I've found some solutions to this problem.

*yawn*

L-R, 1) Original GW model, 2) Frankenstein elf, 3) added basing materials
and patched with  a little modeling clay, 4) Swords elf v.1

Sword elf conversion 2: Step by Step

Step 1-2: Carefully slice sword handle above left hand,
and remove right arm at shoulder 

Step 3: carefully remove left hand at wrist (I HIGHLY recommend covering the arm with a
paper towel or something when you cut, unless you feel like chasing it as it flies across the room)

Steps 4-6: re-attach left hand palm inwards (as if holding shield outwards), re-position right arm as desired (you may need to trim arm and/or shoulder to get proper fit and angle),  smooth out any gaps/exposed cuts with modeling clay as necessary)

Sword elf conversion 3: carefully cut arms off at both shoulders

re-position as desired. This conversion took the most effort, as it takes a lot of
trimming/patching to get the arms to realign in a decent manner

With a bit of patience, practice, and spare elves, the possibilities are endless. 

Spear conversion: 1) original GW model, 2) remove sword, oh-so-carefully drill  holes for brass rod,
glue blade to end and smooth joint with modeling clay, 3) final spear elf

reloading archers

I decided to avoid the cliché gold and blue paintjob that is so prevalent among high elf players. Instead I decided to try to a more forest-y look. Returning to woodland greens and browns. Armor that gleams on the battlefield, yet does not betray their presence among the trees. Ultimately, I'm going for a end-of-winter/spring thaw theme, with patches of snow on the bases. Paint scheme is as follows:

• Prime black (I bought these elves off ebay, and some of them had previous paintjobs with different levels of quality, best to just start with a blank slate)
• Drybrush of (P3) Battlefield Brown on the base (I haven't yet bothered with further drybrushes, because most of the base will be covered with snow and/or grass flock
• Exposed skin – (GW) Elf Flesh
• Tunic – (GW) Dark Angels Green
• Cloaks – (GW) Graveyard Earth
• Armor – (Game Color) Plata Silver
• Bows/sword handles/quivers,archer gloves – (Game Color) Dark Flesh
• Sashes – (GW) Bleached Bone

This is followed by a wash of (GW) Orgryn Flesh on the skin, and a light wash of (GW) Traka Green on the armor and blades. Finally, a liberal wash of (GW) Devlan Mud is applied to the whole model (mostly avoiding the skin) to blend it all together and tone done the color a bit – however the brightness of the plata silver helps keep a bit of sheen to the armor. There are still a few touch-ups to be done, some highlighting, detailing on the base and I'm still waiting for my shields to arrive, but they are starting to come together. 

 The Elves are preparing for war...

You may note the blurry form of a commanding figure in the background... but that is another post