Warhammer 40K: A Memorial of a Different Kind

Around Thanksgiving I was contacted by a family member of a soldier who lost his life in Afghanistan. He was an Eldar player – had started in the hobby, playing WFB with his father, when he was in high school. He chose Eldar when they moved over to 40K. He liked Eldar for some of the same reasons I do: the aesthetics of the models, the bright paint schemes, and the finesse filled tactics you have to learn to field them. The words that came after these statements brought tears to my eyes:

“The reason I brought this up is that he left a unfinished Eldar army, somewhat modified and some even primed white. I would like to offer this army to you for free.”

I was truly overcome… could I handle this responsibility – to finish this army in the way it was intended, in a way that would honor its previous owner? After talking to a few folks about it, I decided that yes, I can do that. I can do my best, and I can respect this gift. I responded to the offer, and the army was shipped to my FLGS.

I picked up the duct taped tool box this last Wednesday. The manager on duty helped me remove the tape, and the heavy gauge wire that kept the lid secure in transit. Inside we found a mixture of sprues, unopened boxes, and an assortment of loose metal and plastic models in various stages of construction. Hidden amongst all of this we found some striking modification work, and some beautiful custom made bases. The army’s previous owner was an ambitious sculptor/modifier – he combined High Elf bitz with Eldar models to produce some truly great mods.

After sifting through the contents for awhile I realized: I can not do this alone. I will definitely be a part of the repair and painting of the force, but it’s a lot for a modeling novice such as myself to take on. I asked some of the talented people in the Austin scene for help, and they have responded in a big way. Completing this army has become a community project – one of respect that comes from our love of the hobby.

BigRed, Psyberwolfe, RealGenius, and I sorted the contents on Thursday night and started talking about where I thought the theme of the army should go. One model, in particular, really caught my eye – a modified Autarch with pegasus wings pinned to its back and feathers from a High Elf model added to its helmet.

As we sifted through the box we found Swooping Hawks modified with the same feather theme, and lots of wing bitz. I knew we had to take our queue from these things. I also decided on a Yme-Loc Craftworld theme due to the eternal flame decals BigRed has made, and a great expansion of the Craftworld’s backstory [the army list is for Epic] I found that describes them as being the rescuers of refugees after the Fall.

The plan as of now: We sorted everything by model type – I am in the midst of doing a written inventory so I can put together an army list. Psyberwolfe has a few of the HQ models to work out the color schemes we talked about. Personally I’ll be doing repairs, priming, and a unit of dire avengers from sprue up. I’ve talked to some folks that excel in modeling – including Spanky Harrison –  about taking on the continuation of the mod process. There are a group of people that want to paint a unit once everything is repaired and the paint palette becomes concrete.

I have a cousin that is in a recon unit being deployed to Afghanistan soon, I have been very close to several Iraqi Freedom veterans, I’m the granddaughter of a Flying Tiger, and through my association with Warhammer I have met some great retired servicemen. This project is an emotional journey for me because of these men I know and have known. I want to be able to honor a young man and bring some happiness to his family by completing this army. I hope I am doing right by them.