Kabal of the Black Heart: The Fuelmaster Plots

Hello Folks!  I just got back into Warhammer after a 15 year hiatus, and decided to pick back up with the Dark Kin, having had some success with them back in third edition and loving the new model design.

I’m going with the new Kabal of the Black Heart design; I like the green and having the art on the box as a visual reference is a plus.  Plus, Dark Eldar players are rare around here so any design, even a common one, is unique at my game store!

I hope to post regular updates throughout the life of this project.  My goal is to have ~1500 points done by the end of the year, and a 500 point force done sometime in summer so i can squeeze a game or two in.


Here's what I'm working with, plus a 5th ed archon, a secondhand Talos I'll strip at some point, and a 3rd ed haemonculi not pictured.




Backstory of the Archon Fuelmaster:

Viceroy Kil’joi, Archon and Fuel Master of the Kabal of The Black Heart


Viceroy Killjoy has his hands in a number of illicit  and strategic dealings.   He maintains a tight hold on the materials and equipment necessary to manufacture fuel for venoms, reavers and raiders.  Nearly half of the inner core of Commorragh must deal with him if they expect to keep their skimmers in the air.  Killjoy has installed numerous traps, failsafes and detonation devices in the manufacturing spires he controls; a precaution against other archons inside and outside the kabal who might peer upon his throne with envious eyes.

Killjoy seeks to expand his power base beyond Fuel-Master for the Kabal of the Black Heart, and will raid often or contract the services of the Succubus of his favorite wych cult to raid realspace, bringing back souls to feed his appetites or expand his power.  He curries favor with Asdrubael Vect, preferring to plot against archons of similar status.  Desiring a monopoly on transportation, he eyes the manufacturing tunnels of other archons with a hunger that can find no reprieve.


Thanks and stay tuned!

I got a couple of boxes knocked out before starting this project blog:

Kabalite Warriors (43 days to complete, a few hours here and there):




My first venom (17 days to complete, an hour here and there):




Starting on the box of reavers next!

Looking good, keep it up. I like the venom pilot, you gonna give him a window or leave him as is?

Thanks man, and good question! I've got some tamiya to tint the windshields green, but I figured since I had three venoms I'd do one open, one with the half shield, and one with the full shield to differentiate

There's a lot of awesome going on here. Looking forward to more!

Much obliged good sir. Keep up the rockin' podcasts. I enjoyed the maintaining-the-hobby-while-being-a-parent episode quite a lot.

Here over the next week I'll try to post my formulas and tricks I use for anyone looking to duplicate the Black Heart look. Or would the painting forum be better for that?

OK, new update!

My first unit of reavers are all done.  It took about four weeks on and off to finish them up.

This project gave me some more practice with what is probably one of my least favorite colors to paint: black.  I painted the black parts of each bike differently.  In the end I like the look of the main bike best: Black and turquoise mix with a little bit of light grey added in for highlight layers.  I used paint extender so that i could blend the black turquoise mix and highlight layers to give the black a more natural look.  It must be the old fan of Batman: The Animated Series in me, but i love swapping dark blue for black in my palette!






Next up: another venom!  With the practice painting black, I'll probably add the extra models clinging on to the sides.

Absolutely beautiful.

I am guessing Kil'joy will be pleased

Looking great. Keep up the great work.

@fisheyes and @curstalchemist thanks for the kind words!

Top notch paint work! I'd pay you to paint for me, but I'd expect it to be out of my price range!

@betraytheworld it's a labor of love for sure! Thought about going pro once or twice, but I'm so slow. I can paint well or fast, but not well and fast. I never learned the tricks

Thanks for the encouragement!

Am i looking at the box art?
Some true Black Heart models you got there!
Really good work.

Missed those! They look fantastic

@spellcheck2001 and @Marrath:    Thank you!  I'm definitely following the box art very closely!

And... I've got updates and a new venom to post!  I really had a chance to practice my flesh formula and refine a faster way to do a blue-shaded black.  The extra crew are worth it I feel, but it did add extra time to the process.  My first venom without the crew will likely become my archon's personal transport.



From the back:




Next on the painter's desk: a razorwing.  What do you think; should i do a green-tinted full windshield on the cockpit, or to the half shield and paint the pilot?  At the moment, I'm leaning towards full shield on the flyer but keeping the green tint light and doing at least some minimal detail on the pilot.

I have to agree, i'm always for painted pilots and think it's worth the extra work.
That's just my personal opinion though and i'm a bit of a perfectionist.
And some users here also do opaque windshields that look really good.
@the Venom: Sweet!

Edit: I have to add though that on the box art the windshields are not tinged at all.

Very nice. Solid Black Heart look. You can tell you're modelling them from the box because they look like they're from the codex.

I like to see painted pilots. I painted mine in my razorwing, but if you want to go for tinted try to get a bit of work on them at least.

These look awesome - love the Kabalites!

@Cavash and @gvcolor thanks for the encouragement!


Still putting together the razor wing. I've magnetized all the guns (although personally I'll probably never use the splinter cannon). I'm thinking of priming the model in pieces before glueing it together just to make it a little easier to get at the engine parts.

Shame I don't have any electronics: there is enough space in the middle of this model to add some lighting effects

Really nice venom dude. Love the paint job, it is very crisp and shows alot of skill

I do a mix of painted pilots and full screens on my venoms. Adds a nice variety, making each one different, and also means sometimes you can have a break and dont have to paint the pilot
All my screens i tint with tamiya green, much like yours as I like them to hide detail if necessary and also it looks cool

SC

@spellcheck2001 thanks!

I plan to do a variety as well. I tried Tamiya but since I dont have an airbrush it came out streaky. So I tried using a can of the green clear laquer by testors. For those without an airbrush it works quite well! Just have to do a light coat