Heresy & Heroes

In yet another instalment of Oldhammer here on H&H, I can present to you my original Eldar Farseer in all his glory. I had so much fun painting this, yet another miniature that I have always wanted to paint, and I’m very happy with the results. I’m also throwing him into an online painting competition, but before I do, let’s take a closer look at him here. We’ll start off by taking a gander at my freshly painted fellow compared to the original that was painted all those years ago which featured in the old 2nd Ed rulebook.

I don’t know what it is about this miniature that I’ve always loved, but it’s always been on my list of things to paint. The weird, knobbly helmet, the pointing finger, those huge eyes… so much about this miniature makes me smile, and that’s why I went out of my way to pick one up recently. My collection of old metal miniatures continues to grow, and I’m thrilled with this addition.

I wanted to pay plenty of homage to the original mini from the Eavy Metal team, but I also wanted to update a few things and add my own spin to it. I can tell you right now that the Yin Yang symbol is just about the toughest thing I’ve ever had to paint. It’s so tricky to get it balanced (which I suppose is the whole point of the symbol really) and I can tell you right now that what sits at the bottom of those robes is not the first attempt. It’s not even the third attempt. It was actually easier to paint the Eldar runes on the scarf/sash. I only went about half way up with these as I didn’t want it to be too busy – there’s a lot going on here. I also went with more of a galaxy/star-field look for the cloak instead of the almost-paisley pattern of the original.

I never knew what the rear of this model looked like, so the big sword on his back has been given a tiger stripe pattern which I’m quite happy with. The base has also been updated from the original (sorry goblin green fans). I went for a sort of floating rock pile look and a desert feel that fits in with the other Eldar I have in my collection. I also added sand-dust to the bottom of the robes to make him sit a little more in his surroundings. The camera struggled to pick out all of the vibrant colours on the back here, but it looks very vivid and colourful.

And you’ll no doubt have noticed that I’ve actually employed a little OSL lighting here as well, which is something that I rarely do. I like the idea of that finger summoning a star, just like the ones on his cloak, before hurling it into the oncoming enemy, or divining the future from it. It’s literally just a small ball of greenstuff that was left to harden and then glued to the finger tip.

There’s also a lot of spirit stones here, and while I was tempted to make them all different colours, I went with green for those because, well, I do a good green spirit stone. They also echo the original, and help to complete the rainbow scheme on this guy. I’m particularly happy with the eyes on this guy too – they’ve got a nice glassy quality to them with plenty of depth.

And there you have it. I’m going to add him to the competition on the Eavier Metal facebook group so keep an eye out for it there. Back to more modern things soon I reckon. I hope you’re having as much fun painting as I am. Onwards!