Darkl Eldar Viodraven Bomber

Greetings to you, my fellow supplicants of the false emperor. Old Man Chaos is back for another go, with your approval. Last time I showed off my commissioned Tyranids. This time, I just finished some of my own again- without further ado, allow me to show off my Voidraven Bomber!

Now, some have said that the Viodraven Bomber isn't worth its points cost, or that the Razorwings simply do a better job of it. All of that may be true, but there is no denying one simple fact- the model itself is absolutely amazing. It is very large, but it still has the sleek look and profile. It ties in perfectly to the Dark Eldar aesthetic, but yet looks like something special.

Just as a side rant, I am still not sure what to make of the Dark Eldar codex. The new 7th edition book seems to be weaker than the previous late 5th edition, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Wyches are fairly bad, due to overwatch and the fact that only one can have a haywire grenade- thus taking the versatility out of them. Wracks come in 5s, so that you CAN'T put a Haemonculus and 4 Wracks on a Venom. That blows. The changes to some of the vehicle upgrades is disconcerting, to say the least. They took out the cool characters (which I, admittedly, never used, but I think it hurt taking them out).

They did a few things good, though. The ability to put 3 Talos Engines in one squad is a scary proposition. The Scourges are improved, as you can now take 4 weapons in a squad of 5 (though it means they are likely to get killed fast- but if you aren''t concerned with Battle Forged, then you COULD have a field day taking a bunch of CHEAP scourges with Haywire rifles. The Razorwings are as nifty as ever, and I still like me a Ravager or two.

It only depresses me, though, when I see what is apparently a bang up job GW did with Necrons. As far as can I see it, GW did nerf a few things, but tightened up others, making the Necrons a tough, viable force (time will tell, but it looks solid upon initial inspection). The Dark Eldar didn't seem to fare as well, though I have only gotten in a few games under my belt with the new book.

At any rate, one of the big enigmas of the codex is the Voidraven Bomber. Its 160, but is armor 10 all round. That means some twin linked bolter fire can damage it, For 160?! That's insane. It SHOULD have been at least 11 all round, since it is a heavier-looking flyer than the Razorwing. Ugh. It almost seems like a waste of points.

The two stock void lances are good, but the mine is a mixed bag- one use, and it COULD scatter 6". It seems to be not quite as effective as it could be (a lucky hit will kill just about anything though- but I think you can take cover saves against it... if I'm reading the rules right). The ability to take missiles helps, but some of them are pricey. Add night shields, and this thing could be over 200 points--- just so a couple of bolters can take it down. That just makes no real sense to me. I'm not a crazy, must win type of player (certainly not if I play Dark Eldar), but this just seems stupid. I can't imagine taking it all too often, because of these glaring deficiencies.

But again, the model itself is great. It looks like a total bad-ass. It fits in with the Eldar/Dark Eldar flyers very well, and would make a great centerpiece to a Dark Eldar army (at least till the oft-rumored, almost mythical Vect re-do is released... if it is released). The clear plastic canopy for the bomber is a great touch, adding even more character to the vehicle.

Paint wise, I didn't do anything too wild here. I outlined the edges with Khorne Red. Then I decided to use Tamiya Red. It made the red more vivid on the large model. To my eyes, the Khorne Red outline is fine on the troops and smaller vehicles, but on the Voidraven it looked drowned out. Hence, the brighter red of the Tamiya Red. I liked it so much, that I have decided that all my Dark Eldar flyers will make use of that particular red. They still look like part of the same army, though they stand out a bit more.

So- when I do finally get a chance to use the Voidraven Bomber, I will report it here on the blog- I just don't know if it is battle effective or not. But hey, I had to get at least one, just for the sake of completion if nothing else (and it is one cool looking model).

And how will I be able to resist buying Harlequins? (Simple answer, I won't be able to, naturally). I have already been thinking of ways to tie them visually into my Dark Eldar army. Can't wait to get my grubby little mitts on them!

Well, that's all for now. Until next time...

Just Completed: Dark Eldar Razorwing Jetfire

Hey there Chaos Corner fans! Welcome back to another exciting edition. Well, let me tell you, it's been a busy time here for Old Man Chaos. There's nothing like the holidays here at the Chaos Corner- turkey, family, some sacrifices to the Chaos gods... yep, it's been all go around here.To make matters more interesting, my birthday just passed. I have great friends and family who feed my Warhammer 40K addiction quite well indeed. My friends got me some Hellions and 2 (!) more Venoms. However, my wife got me something I didn't have yet... a Razorwing Jetfire of my very own! So, guess what I've been workin' on...

I love this model, like most of the DE line. It's got a great look, and it "goes" with the look and feel of the rest of the army. I can certainly see my army having two of these ready to go... Hehe! Putting it together was a real snap. Everything fit together perfectly well, with one exception. The guns/turbines kept sliding out of place when I was assembling. I couldn't get them to stay "locked in" where they were supposed to be. Ultimately, I just assembled the body, and THEN put the guns in... It was a bit tricky, but no one will ever notice the difference.

 I also made the mistake (my own fault) of putting a different head in (I'm saving those nice helmets for another project),. The problem was, I picked a head that stuck out of the cockpit ever so slightly. Thus, I could not use the enclosed canopy. Thus, I used the half-canopy instead. This led to a happy accident, as I do like the look I achieved. Whew!

As for the paint scheme, I stuck to my traditional DE formula. I did Red Gore highlights around the edges. This is how I do all my DE models. The look is quite striking, while also fitting in perfectly with the rest of my army. One day, I'll have to take a pic of my entire army, just so we can see the unified look throughout. I love it- my most uniform looking army to date.

Of course, it isn't EXACTLY the same as the others. I put DE runes/glyphs on the vehicle, to make it stand out a bit. I also painted the missiles Dark Angels Green along with bright green streaks of energy. This is the same way I do my agonizers... the missiles look like they are crackling with evil energies and power.

I haven't glued it to the flying stand yet, as I'm not sure how to store it. I don't want to keep laying my fingers on it, putting it on/off the flying stand. And yet, I can't store it while glued on that stand. So, storage is something I'll have to think about.

 Finally, the recent codexes have made it quite clear that flyers are here to stay. Unless I'm missing something, flyers function like skimmers under the current rules (foregoing Apocalypse or FW rules). Of course, I don't want complicated flyer rules to clutter the game, but I'd like the flyers to be more than just skimmers rules-wise. I hope that when they do the new edition, they will make flyers a special category. Again, it doesn't have to be complicated, but a supersonic air plane should not be subject to the same rules as a skimmer. Just my two cents, and I could be wrong...

Well, until next time Chaos friends. Enjoy the pics!