Great Eagles

This is the beginning of my wifes Elven, Erehwon army. I got Archers, infantry and cavalry build and ready to prime and then she brought home this box of Great eagles from Games Workshop’s Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game, home from the local game store. And somehow that seemed like the more fun place to start.

I like plastic sprue kits. And while it is hard to come to terms with the price tag that comes with a box of GW models, the detail you get is just wonderful. The eagles here is no exception.

I was not a big fan of the base, however. So, I picked up a 60mm round base from Warlords and glued down 3 washers to add a bit of weight. The wingspan of the eagle made it seem like it would be prone to falling over, so the extra weight would keep it up. I have not done any cork bases before, and this seemed like a good chance to try and build up a rocky formation or the eagle to fly over. Some slate and Vallejo earth texture were added as well.

The base and eagle were painted separately. I was somewhat concerned that I might break off the eagle while vigorously dry brushing it, and I would probably do that next time as well. However, the wingspan made the eagle very difficult to handle and I was careful to wear a glove while handling it.

Painting

As usual the model was zenithal primed. Dark grey primer, and white ink from above. The model was then given dark grey wash to define the shadows, and then an allover drybrush with an off-white color to define the highlights.

The feathers were airbrushed using contrast paints (GW). They were thinned down slightly and airbrushed on well. Snakebite Leather (GW) were used for the top feathers. Next Cygor Brown (GW) for the next layer of feathers, and the tips were hit with a little Black Templar (GW). A very light dry brushing of Ivory was applied to sharpen the contrast.

The eagles head were airbrushed with Dark sand and then pale stand, both Vallejo (Val). The tip of the beak was hit with a little Black Templar, and then Skeleton Horde was thinned down and layered on.

The feet were airbrushed with Red Orange (Val), dry-brushed with Pale Sand and Skeleton Horde was applied to shade them. The talons were painted with Black Templar and a highlight of Neutral Grey (Val).

And that completes the eagle. Sadly, my wife thinks it is too dark, and objectively it is dark. I do like it though, and for me it has a nice natural look. The good thing here is the box does come with two eagles, so the second one will clearly be less saturated.

That is it for now. Until next time, adventure on!