Something Wychy

Wyches!

Recently I managed to make it to my local game store for a game of Kill Team. Prior to going I had decided to use my Dark Eldar (Drukhari, as you noobs call 'em) but I wanted a bit more variety, so I figured I would take some Wyches to the game also. Only I have made zero progress in getting any of my plastic Wyches assembled (let alone painted!). I did have three of the older models kicking about that I primed and base prepped about two years ago. I decided way back then that they were simply not appealing to me any more and did nothing with them.

Wyches in their ...prime.

Until now.

I had about three hours to spare prior to the game. I figured if I was going to play a game chances are I would take photos for a battle report or a recap, and regardless of exactly what I would end up doing, I wanted to at least have these models basecoated. Using Rakarth Flesh as a basecoat on the flesh and Abaddon Black to darken up their garb, I was satisfied enough with this.

 Basecoated

But I was liking how they were turning out, and how fast it was going, so I proceeded into the middle layers. Reikland Fleshwash was liberally applied over the skins and Khorne Red was thinly painted onto their gladiator costumes.  

Middle coats added.

And that was the level they were at when I took them to last week's game. They performed admirably, and I was glad that I had painted them up to that point as they did appear in few prominent pics in the report I posted.

Game time!

Once back home I felt that I needed to finish these guys up properly and they did well for me in that game overall, and it will be awhile before I can give the plastic models the time they will deserve. Rakarth Flesh was painted over the Reikland Fleshwash, really bringing these Wyches to life.

Rakarth Flesh layer. 

Blood Red was painted along the edges of their armor.

Blood Red on the gladiator armor.

I used Craftsmart (formally Folk Art) Graphite to highlight the hair.

Graphite hair undercoat.

I then used Nagaroth Nightshade on the hair.  I liked how it turned out, and decided not to darken the hair further.

Nagaroth Nightshade wash on the hair.

I had to put some emphasis on that hair step in this post mainly because I have never done that mix before and I need to have a record on how I did this in case I decide to do it again.

Next up, the armor was highlighted first using Wildrider Red with a Sunburst Yellow highlight.

Armor highlights.

However I found that to be a bit too intense so I toned it down with a Bloodletter wash.

Finished Shardnet and Impaler model.li

I was unsure what that heck the thing on the belt was supposed to be. I interpreted it to be a flower so I painted as such.

 All of these models have a variety of tubes running all over their bodies. These I assume are to represent the combat drugs and stims that they are all amped up on. I am glad the newer miniatures don't have this design as it is a pain in the ass to paint these things. I opted to used Blood For The Blood God to imply blood coursing through the drug dispensers. Yeah, it clashes a bit with the armor,  but then I didn't neccesarily want to make this feature anything more than subtle.

Completed Wych.

This Wych seems to have the most I.V. tubes coming out of him. Seriously, that doesn't seem to me to be a wise thing to have going on with a gladiator does it?

Rearview of completed Wych.

This next guy performed above and beyond in that Kill Team game and held his own for many combat rounds against a Veteran Purestrain Genestealer. So I decided that he should have a commemorative Genestealer skull for his base.

Wyche bad-ass with Genestealer skull.

Again, Bloodletter really helped pull back that Sunburst Yellow. Their blades were painted using Bolt Gun metal near the edges, a Nuln Oil wash with a highlight of Mitheral Silver. I am pleased with how these blades turned out.

I should probably upgrade this guy in the next game as well as give him a name...

(Insert name here)

Here they are completed! I am surprised with how well these turned out, how relatively fast I painted them, and easy it was to paint these overly exaggerated miniatures.

The finished trio.

Yes, these sculpts are ugly. I expressed this quite a lot in a review I did of the original Dark Eldar line, however as gaming pieces go they do the job they were designed to do. And they do it well! They have a strong silhouette, or profile, and you can easily read what they are armed with. Although the newer plastics have vastly superior anatomy, details, and scaling, what they make up for in realism they lose some of the instant "reading" in the heat of battle. But that is a theory that needs to be put to the test, so consider this just an old guy's opinion for now.

Ready for their next fight! 

The last thing to do is spray a matte varnish on them, as these are metal and they can easily chip. I will have to wait until the weather here offers me an opportunity to do this however.