Eldar-rrgh Pirates!

The Dark Eldar models are now available for advanced order and they are very attractive (http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat440160a&rootCatGameStyle=) . I intend to use these models, their new rules, and their hit and run nature as a basis for an Eldar Pirate army I've been contemplating for a while. The look of their new transports (Raider pic from GW web page below) make me both happy and sad. I was going to add sails to the models to match my pirate theme, but they've apparently beaten me to it. I'm happy they did such a splendid job on them, but I'm sad that I will no longer have that unique sail-look.

The actual composition of my army will include some of the DE models and some modified Eldar models. For example, I intend to use the Eldar ranger models for the base troops because I like the look of the long coats and loose clothes. Additionally, I wanted to do something special for the lord character that had a look of Eldar-gone-rogue. The plan was to merge an Eldar Farseer model with an empire noble model, add an elf head, and sculpt him a fancy tricorn hat and buccaneer sword. The images below show how the plan unfolded this weekend.

The messiest part of this project was the preparation of the metal Farseer and metal noble models. In the Farseer's case, I was lucky that the head model was not part of the main model but I still had to remove his skirt, below the belt (which is going to be replaced by the noble's legs). This required some precise grinding with the dremel tool for about an hour. The only thing I needed from the noble were his legs and his surgery was completed entirely with a hobby saw and exacto knife.The sculpting of the cutlass and tricorn were a blast. The cutlass is made mostly from plasticard that I shaped using the dremel's grinding wheel attachment. The tricorn hat was surprisingly easy and actually took me less than ten minutes. The base shape of a tricorn (or bicorn) hat is actually a circle. After sculpting an appropriately sized flat circle, I simply pressed it down over the top of the head and folded it up on three sides.
The next post will include this model fully painted and will demonstrate the color theme I intend to use for the army.