Wraith "counts as" Aspect Warriors.

[Deadlift]

Right a quick questions and some thoughts on my Iyanden army and an idea I have had.
To begin with my Iyanden army is getting close to 2000pts. This is all mainly wraith units as the boots with the exception of the hq who of course is a spirit seer.

I am now looking to add some aspects to the army but I have hit a bit of a wall. I hate finecast. I'm not talking about the usual gripes. I just hate painting it. Now I have been thinking of alternative plastic models I could use in their place. Then it struck me, why not buy more Wraithguard plastic kits, using the right size bases convert and paint them to represent the aspects I want to play. A kind of Wraith "counts as" I was wondering what you guys think. I have added to this section as I don't want to enrage the fluff bunnies too much. But I did think it could work. How say you ?

Warp wraiths.
Striking Scorpion Wraiths.
Fire Dragon Wraiths.
Just 3 examples.

[Dave Mcturk]

sounds like a gr8 idea for a kitbash... and in friendly games you can claim they are all St5 T6 !
;)

[isotope99]

Very achievable, Paint job will get you over half way there.

Striking scorpions will be hardest as getting a large chainsword is not easy.

[Nabterayl]

I think it's a good idea. I get the fluff objection, but I don't think even that is hard and fast. I say go for it.

[Tyrendian]

great idea - problem is, the right base size will be quite tough, with how widespread some of the wraithdudes are standing...

[isotope99]

Base extenders, a stray piece of slate or 'wraithbone' can help bridge that gap.

[Deadlift]

Base extenders, a stray piece of slate or 'wraithbone' can help bridge that gap.

Yes I had considered that, I usually like to use cork on my bases anyway and I will try and alter the poses from the norm as well.

[Pssyche]

Very achievable, Paint job will get you over half way there.

Striking scorpions will be hardest as getting a large chainsword is not easy.

A large Chainsword shouldn't be too difficult.
Wraithguard come with a lot of swords in the box set..
Notching the blades with a craft knife or rat-tail file would be a cinch.

Personally though, I'm not too keen on your idea.
The existing Aspect Warriors are more than adequate and if you don't like Finecast there are plenty of metal models out there on eBay.
The Fire Dragons are a particular joy to paint.

From a pure gaming perspective, you may find that the larger size of the Wraithguard models means many more of your enemy's models will be gaining Line of Sight to them compared to using the much smaller, genuine models. That's certainly something I'd be looking to exploit.

Anyway, good luck to you should you carry out your idea.
I'll be following it with great interest.

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

This one might sound a bit weird, but instead of trying to fit big wraithguard onto 25mm bases, maybe convert up from Dark Eldar warriors to represent smaller wraith constructs? The armour style is a bit different from typical Eldar, but not too different - plus, they have tabards, like the wraithguard.

Trim off the spikes/blades/top knots/ragged bits of tabard (pretty easy), greenstuff over the visors (also pretty easy), then kitbash the variety of weird weapons you get with the kit to represent the aspect you want.

Also, I don't think there'd be much problem with it fluffwise! If an Iyanden house needed Aspect Warrior support it didn't have, it wouldn't be crazy at all for them to build small, specialized wraith constructs for the spirits of Aspect Warriors.

[Vindur]

Thought about doing it myself a while back. Here's my ramblings on how I would do a couple of the aspects
http://nexusofshadows.blogspot.ie/2013/06/wraith-court-of-young-king.html

[Sly]

I really don't like the idea, largely because of how much more expensive the Wraith miniatures are. What I would do is to make a single model Wraith head in a slightly smaller scale (or see if an Epic Wraithlord has an appropriately-sized head), and make a rubber mold for it. It should mold very easily since it would have little detail. Then you can use that head to convert either Aspect miniatures or Dark Eldar Warriors into smaller Wraith constructs. You'd have fewer issues with weapon sizes, base sizes, being harder to hide, and it would end up cheaper in the long run.

[Deadlift]

I really like the idea of using Dark Eldar warriors, and removing the "spikes". I also think the helm could easily be sculpted over to make a more Wraith style head.

I am still in the planning stages and all the input here has been very helpful, so thank you. I greatly admire Isotopes conversion work and I think if he thinks this is do-able then that's enough for me to give it a try.

Keep your thoughts coming though guys, it's helping immensely.

[isotope99]

This is super rough but shows how it might be done, you only need a few particular tweaks and colour variations to make them recognisable but still Iyanden themed. With all your wraith constructs you should have lots of spares

http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/photopost/data/500/DSC013741.JPG

[isotope99]

I wouldn't go dark eldar if you want them human sized, I would go dire avenger as the segmented armour is more rounded and the avenger helm can still be easily de-furred and filled smooth. Wraithlord flamers make good fire dragon guns and you could probably whip up enough pistols to cover the scorpions but you're going to have trouble with the warp spider guns and chainswords if you stick with your no-finecast policy.

[miteyheroes]

Sounds a fun project - please show us pics as you go!

[Deadlift]

Isotope, thanks so much mate. Your sketch is very helpful. I think I should stick to the original plan of using Wraithguard as my base. Sure it maybe a bit more expensive but the results will be worth it.
The base extension / pose issues on a smaller base are not a huge problem as I don't play in a competitive environment and my gaming buddy's are laid back with such things.

[daboarder]

Anyway of decreasing teh size of the "wraiths"?

Or doing guardian sized wraith figures?

for example take some eldar guardians and mock up a new torso that matches the aesthetics of the wraiths, fill in the recessed part of the guardian helms and you'd pretty much have something that resembles a wraith in looks but an aspect in size.


edit: and isotope just ninja'd what I was going for, god damn you iso!

as for parts

I reccomend getting some instant mold stuff and press molding your own pieces off of masters, means you only have to get it right once or twice and then you can punch out an entire army.