Silverhelms - High Res Gallery

The Silverhelms are an absolutely classic High Elf unit. When I started planning my High Elf project I knew that I needed to include them, but I was really unsure how to represent them. All of the old High Elf Core unit plastic kits are very dated these days, but the Silverhelms have probably aged the worst. While I was more willing to make do with the existing kits for the spearmen and archers, I really needed something more for my Silverhelms, they have always had a special place in my heart since I first saw the cover art for their 6th edition box set.

This illustration really speaks to me and is probably my single favourite piece of Warhammer art. I think that it perfectly captures all of the most important aspects of what the High Elves are in the Warhammer world. They are graceful, noble, beautiful, swift, elite, and fay. This image was the key inspiration behind what I wanted for my Silverhelms.

When it came to choosing which kits and bits to use the first and most important question was what to use for the elven steeds. It might seem really obvious, but the steeds really are the most important part of any cavalry model. They give the model a sense of movement, distinguish them from the infantry, and usually make up a large proportion of the actual physical presence of the combined miniature. When I first started thinking about this project I considered using the Island of Blood Reavers, but the snap fit aspect of those models, with predetermined poses was a serious limiting factor. Of course I could commit to heavily converting every model, but that felt like far too much work for an uncertain outcome. Fortunately for me with the rereads of the High Elf range GW announced that they would be giving us a new Reaver kit, based heavily on the Island of Blood design, but as a multi-part plastic kit. My prayers were answered! 

With steeds, legs, and torsos provided by the new kit I had to find a suitable replacement for the Reaver heads. I considered using White Lion heads, but they are slightly too large, and the Lion detail doesn’t really work for me. It would work a Characian army, but not the force that I have in mind. I hadn’t really considered spearmen heads because I had assumed that they would be too small, and they would lack the classic high helm look of the Silverhelm knights. While I was playing around with different bits from my bits box, trying to find a solution, I decided to at least see what a spearmen head would look like and was pleasantly surprised. As I expected they are probably slightly smaller than I’d like, but I think they work well enough, and as anyone who has seen my Tortuga marines will know, I actually prefer a slightly smaller head on my models than is usual for most GW sculpts.

I considered using Dragon Prince lances, but they have pretty strong Caledorian vibes and would require more conversion work than I was willing to do. Some people even suggested the Lumineth cavalry kit for lances, but those lances are sculpted more like spears, without the classic vamplate design that I associate for a knight’s lance. In the end I compromised and just went with the classic plastic Silverhelm lances. The old Silverhelm lances and shield arms are slightly too large and chunky, but I think I managed to get away with it in the end. The high contrast painting style that I’ve used on the lances has gone some way to make them look a bit more elegant, and not as chunky as they usually would.

I also decided to use spearmen shields instead of the regular Silverhelm shields. While the Silverhelm shields have some cool designs on them I really wanted larger shields, which I feel are more inline with the classic Silverhelm aesthetic and the 6ht edition box art.

Bits list:

• Reaver kit: Steeds (with legs attached), torsos, feathers on the helmets, arms for the command squad, musician’s horn, and the banner.

• Spearmen kit: heads, shields.

• Silverhelm kit: lances, shield arms on non-command models, and sheathed swords.

• Archers kit: small moon icons used on helmets.

• Prince and Noble kit: feathered wings for the Highhelm’s helmet.

The painting was very straightforward and followed the same recipes and process that I’ve used on all of my High Elves so far. Having said that, these guys took a lot of time and effort to paint. The level of detail on the riders and horses, combined with the bright colours and clean aesthetic of the High Elves meant that I probably could have painted twenty Spacemarines in the same time it took me to paint these five Silverhelm.

Despite the challenges of getting these guys finished I’m incredibly happy with them. They are closer to how I imagined they might look than I could have hoped. Of course it’s impossible to perfectly capture those internal creative aspirations in physical miniature form, but these guys came pretty close for me.

I hope you all enjoy the high resolution gallery and I’d love to hear what you think of these guys. 

-Kizza

Note: I will be producing tutorials for my High Elf painting process, so watch this space!