Elnaith Conversion
Conversion Guide
-- Ed O'Brien (Reapersoul)
Introduction
Q: What is one of the main weaknesses of the high elven army?
A:The fact that they do not have any pre-made cavalry models, and an army with no cavalry has little or no chance of beating any enemy!
It is for this reason that I will write a short guide on the steps involved in converting a high elf warrior into a fully usable elnaith model.
Models and Tools Required
High elf warrior,
Rider of Rohan (As long as you don't mind ruining it !)
Green Stuff (Kneadite)
Stanley Knife
A Wire Cutters (Or something similar)
A match, candle and sprue (Optional)
Paints Used
Enchanted Blue
Burnished Gold
Shining Gold
Chaos Black
Skull White
Bestial Brown
Scorched Brown.
Snakebite Leather
Mithril Silver
Fortress Grey
Chainmail
Part One: Converting
Step One
Using your wire cutters, cut the High Elf just below where his armour begins, in the thigh area.(as shown). Try and make the cut as smooth as possible.
Step Two
Cut off both rider of rohan legs using an exacto knife, again trying to make the cut as smooth & straight as possible (Pictured below)
Step Three
This is the hardest part of the conversion, as sometimes it will be hard to find a pose that looks natural - Using green stuff attach the legs of the Rider of Rohan to the waist of the high elf warrior as shown in the picture below. Tip - While waiting for the Green Stuff to harden, leave the model on top of a Rider of Rohans horse, this way his pose will be more natural and it will harden to a good shape.
Step Four
Begin putting on layers (small strips) of green stuff to make it resemble a flowing robe or cape, this can be very frustrating and will take some time, but be patient, it will all be worth it in the end when your elnaith is tearing up mordor orcs limb from limb!!
The technique of layering using Green Stuff is described in much more detail in eBobs fantastic sculpting article - Here.
Step Five
Begin correcting any mistakes you could have made in the sculpting process and adding anything you think would enhance the models overall appearance.
And now, there you have it - A nice , but un-strung, mounted high elven warrior !!
Now on to...
Part Two : 'Stringing' The Models
Note : This step is only used for models equipped with a bow (Duh!) and it is not at all necessary even if your model is armed with a bow, but I find it will dramatically improve the finished models appearance…
(Another Note : Younger members may want to be supervised be an adult, or even get an adult to complete this step as it can result in severe burning and much, much worse.)
Step One
Light a candle and place it in a stand. You should now also cut a piece of straight narrow sprue (Sprue is the plastic around the models which it is attached to while it is packaged).
Step Two
Hold the sprue firmly on both ends using a wire cutters or pliers or anything that will hold it steadily and is not flammable !!
Hold the sprue above the lit candle for a very short amount of time at regular intervals until it looks soft and malleable.
Be very careful while completing this step as it can prove very hazardous , and even sprue can catch on fire - easily.
Also, try and get an even heating on all sides of the sprue, this way it will be much easier to stretch.
Step Three
Take the sprue out from above the flame of the candle and very quickly begin stretching it by pulling the two tools you are using to grip the sprue in opposite directions. Do this very slowly because, if you rush this process you will simply break the sprue into two separate pieces.
As you stretch the piece, the plastic should get thinner and thinner, this is what you will be using to create a string for your archer model ! (This can be used for all bow-armed models - Not just Elnaith)
Step Four
Using green stuff and super-glue attach the sprue to the bow of your models, this is very tricky, I always need help with this with my eyes !
Now the model has a string, but what about an arrow…
Basically, to give a model an arrow as well as a string, the same method is used to give him an arrow :
Step One
Stretch the sprue over a candle the same way as is described except do not strch the sprue to such a fine degree. (Leave it a bit bigger than the string.)
Step Two
Sculpt a head on the arrow and then sculpt a feather on to the end of the arrow.
Step Three
Attach using green stuff and Super-Glue
Your Elnaith model is now fully converted, Congratulations!
But now we still have to paint him, here is my guide, which will be very basic and short - For a better article on painting high elf models go to TonyB's article - Here.
I will not bother doing a guide on painting the horse, this has been covered more than enough in the following wonderful articles - link, link, link, link.
Part Three : Painting the Model.
This is a very easy model to paint in my opinion. Almost exactly the same as painting a normal unmounted High Elf warrior. Which has been covered already - here.
Setting up
As always, clean the model thoroughly in hot, soapy water to remove all flash etc. Be very careful not to damage the model as it *is* very delicate - Do not run tap water directly onto the model, make sure the water is not to hot etc.
Undercoating
Undercoat the model in Chaos black spray paint and then paint any parts the spray may not have reached with watered down chaos black .
The Cape
Fairly straight forward - Paint enchanted blue leave some chaos black as a shade and highlight the model Ice Blue.
Armour
Most Rivendell players have tried and tested a method of painting High Elf armour.
My method is much like a drunken Paris Hilton, easy.
Paint the armour chainmail, next cover that up with a 50/50 mix of Shining Gold & Burnished Gold, then apply a wash of Brown ink .
Finally, using a 75/25 mix, apply a mix of Burnished Gold & Mithril Silver as a very light highlight.
Chainmail
Paint Chaos black then drybrush chainmail (Who'd have guessed?). This is all just too simple isn't it…
Boots
Basecoat Scorched brown, drybrush Bestial Brown, then paint the laces Snakebite Leather .
The Face
Again, most people will already have a technique for painting faces. Mine is simply taken out of the Rule-Book.
Basecoat the face Dwarf Flesh. After it has fully dryed, apply a wash of brown ink and finally make a 50/50 mix of Dwarf Flesh and Elf Flesh and paint the face, but leave the deepest recesses of the face brown ink!
The Robe wrapped around his Stomach
Heavily drybrush Enchanted Blue. Highlight with a 40/60 mix of Enchanted blue & Chainmail.
Now you are finished! A fully painted and converted Elnaith model AND you got to cut up a rider of Rohan in the process! All that is left is to base the blighter!
Anyway, thank you for reading this post and I hope you have enjoyed it. Also, I hope these elnaith will help you to eliminate the armies of the Dark Lord.
Ed O'Brien (Reapersoul)
squirefender@hotmail.com
