Two months in the making, today I proudly present the tallest model I ever worked on: the Skathach Wraithknight from Forge World, painted in the colours of Craftworld Iybraesil. More angles, an alternate arm, plus a group shot of my whole collection of wraith constructs after the jump.
I remember I used to loathe the Wraithknight model when it was released. Compared to the Wraithknight and Revenant Titan, to me, it felt very cluttered with details, antennas and oval shapes. I didn’t like the bulky legs and chest, and I also didn’t like the Spiritseer inspired head. I really wanted to like the model because the concept of two pilots, one sibling alive and one dead, is so inventive. But I just couldn’t.
Fast forward to 2015 (or 16?), enter the Skathach Wraithknight. It solved a lot of problems I had with the original design. It comes with a less cluttered back, more elegant warp vanes, and a head that is more reminiscent of the other Eldar wraith models. I felt that with the help of the upgrade parts, I could make a Wraithknight model I would like.
And this is the result. I made a couple of other changes, like removing a lot of the larger oval shapes, which helped to slim the legs. Removing the oval shapes took a lot of effort, as removing the larger ones will reveal holes. After I filled the holes with green stuff, I took 7 to 8 passes with liquid green stuff and very fine sanding paper to get it perfectly smooth. And even then it still slightly shows in some places.
For a more cohesive feel, I also “retrofitted” the shoulder-mounted Scatter Lasers with those that come with War Walkers and Guardian weapon platforms. I feel that one of the best ideas was to put the model on the larger Imperial Knight size oval base, which compliments the Wraithknight’s silhouette much better.
The gradients on the armour were airbrushed. I started with VGC Hawk Turquoise, then Stegadon Scale Green for shading, then a mix of Hawk Turquoise and white, then a second layer with even more white added. I completed the look of the armour with good old brush painting, by applying Stegadon Scale Green into the recesses and a final highlight of Hawk Turquoise mixed with white (even more white mixed in than the final airbrush highlight). The runic designs were drawn in Adobe Illustrator (a professional vector drawing tool), printed on decal paper and sealed with Micro-Sol.
The arms are magnetised with rare earth magnets (known in Germany as neodym magnets). All in all I painted two arms with Inferno Lances, and another one with a Scattershield. I kept the parts for the Ghostglaive, so maybe I paint a fourth arm at some point so I can use the model as a regular Wraithknight, too.
Above you can see all the wraith constructs I collected so far. I like how the Skathach’s unique helmet design fits in with the aesthetics of the Wraithlord and Wraithguard.
So, with the Wraithknight finished, what will be next? I think I’ll put my Craftworlders on the backburner for a while and focus on revamping my Ultramarines. No Ynnari from me any time soon, I’m sorry. Maybe I’ll also paint a couple of Skaven Blood Bowl models or something completely else, so make sure you follow the blog and be in for a surprise or two.
So, how do you like the massive ordeal that was my Skathach Wraithknight? Leave a comment below.
Gorgeous work!
Inspiring work!
All the details that you adjusted really tie the Wraithknight back to the -Lord and -Guard models. The simplicity in color choice lets your excellent painting technique shine!
I'll be sad to miss out on more Eldar updates from you, but it's always fun to step away and do some other random models!
Brilliant, love the sleek less bumpy look to the legs.
Consider me impressed, I would have given up long before the 2 month mark! You should be very proud, the model looks amazing. You're right that the base really improves the miniature, I've always thought it looked squashed on the supplied base, which is weird as GW normally provide bases that are too big… I am inspired.
Great to see him finished
Lovely centre piece model for the army
Incredible display of determination and stamina. Never once did you sacrifice quality for speed. Brilliant.
Well worth the wait…
The family portrait looks amazing too.