Just over a year ago, we showed off the awesome Corsair fleet of known Drukhari aficionado Paulie Wallis,* as he expanded his Commorrite collection with the warriors of the Anhrathe. Now that a new raft of piratical Aeldari have joined the fight, we caught up with Paulie to find out how his Sky Serpents made use of the fresh miniatures at their disposal.
Paulie: Ahoy there my Archons, Autarchs, and Felarchs, it’s time to set aethersail through the void on another kitbashing journey with a dark, Commorrite twist!
Like many Aeldari and Drukhari players across the Webway, I was left in awe by the reveal of the new Eldritch Raiders Battleforce and its stunning contents. My head swiftly began to swim with ideas for conversions and kitbashes – with my biggest plans saved for Prince Yriel, as I decided to bring back an infamous Drukhari Corsair of legend… Duke Sliscus!
I love to theme my army through painting and modelling as well as the composition of my force on the tabletop. The Sky Serpents are a pirate fleet formed of a menagerie of Drukhari exiles who flocked to the banner of the legendary Duke Sliscus, a figurehead who is also popular with the wych cults due to his unparalleled access to unusual intoxicants pillaged from across the galaxy. Combining a Spectacle of Spite Detachment with the new Corsairs allows me to reinforce the theme of my raiding party more than ever, while it also presents a fast, hard-hitting army on the battlefield with a poisonous punch.
When approaching a large project such as this, I will put a lot of time into planning and researching my kitbash ideas, scrying through my bits boxes and taking inspiration from Codex and Kill Team entries and short stories. The Black Library is an obvious treasure trove of ideas, and I listened to Lukas The Trickster, for Josh Reynolds’ diligent portrayal of Duke Sliscus, as well as the excellent Voidscarred by Mike Brooks while working on my Corsairs.
As I explained in part one, everything works best when it tells a story. Storytelling helps you convey an idea and theme, and you can achieve this through modelling, painting, or even naming your models. This is an approach I brought to the new Anhrathe miniatures.
Modelling is often a moving feast – your best laid plans might fly out of the window once you have the model in hand. But this is supplemented by what can be described as organic ‘eureka’ moments, where you find a random part that complements your original idea perfectly or changes the dynamic of the miniature.
I love how the Anhrathe aesthetic marries the diasporic subfactions of the Aeldari together, so I sought to build one unit as a smorgasbord of pirates while the second would hail from the Dark City…
Pureheart’s Darkstar Pinions
The Corsair Skyreavers kit encompasses a host of dandy options with a slew of piratical heads and weapons, and it felt almost oxymoronic not to kitbash this unit too much – which shows the vibrancy of the kit itself.
The Felarch, Yaevin Pureheart, saw some small conversion work, with an exotic bird from the Grand Cathay Sky Lantern set and a trophy rack from the Visarch.
Port Carmine Plunderers
I wanted to capture what a roving band of haughty Drukhari renegades would look like, using various heads, weapons, and equipment from across the Drukhari range to build this unit and add some Commorrite charm. Three heads notably originated from the Hand of the Archon kit.
To reinforce the theme of the squads, I used colours and painting techniques to denote the various feathers, fur, and scales. For example, the Port Carmine Plunderers were inspired by a Razorwing and Clawed Fiend, while the feathers of the Darkstar Pinions match the down of a Faolchú. I took inspiration from Rogue Trader era Eldar Pirates for the hair of the Darkstar Pinions and painted retro patterns such as tiger stripes to reaffirm the piratical theme.
Batch painting is often an integral but laborious part of army painting. I find pausing between stages to work on the reptilian scales of a Corsair’s booty, or the decapitated head of the enemy, works well as a reward to keep my concentration strong.
While Drukhari already have access to a sumptuous amount of cheap skirmishing units, the Skyreavers add extra pace with their Scout move and variety of weaponry, making them useful for navigating ruins when a Reaver or Hellion would be slowed down by the terrain.
Starfang
The venerable Vyper enjoys a fantastic glow-up in a new, sleek skimmer – the Starfang! This fast, agile skimmer complements Drukhari forces well, its Hallucinogen Grenades offering a small shield of protection to infantry.
To make the craft look like it is a regular visitor to the dark docks of Commorragh, I added spikes from the Raider kit as well as hanging heads to help convey a sense of speed. I envision that the gunner is a veteran of the void who takes pleasure in seeking trophies, so I created a triptych of skulls using the Battlefield Trophies and Venom sets.
I painted this with a variety of loud, brash patterns and can imagine the cacophony of screeching engines and colours as this Starfang descends from the skies in a daring low orbit raid.
Yrlla, Void Dreamer
Kharseth is my favourite model from the Eldritch Raiders Battleforce – I love how their helm is a clever nod back to the first Farseer released in the Rogue Trader era, while their pose is spectacular.
I wanted to make Kharseth into my own Void Dreamer, thus I made a few subtle additions with a severed hand from the Hellions kit and a back vane from Infinity’s Lament. I also added a Gyrinx from the Necromunda Underhive Traders set for some eldritch feline company.
This was such an exciting model to work on! I painted some of the robes and tassels as flayed skin, which denoted this character as one of a more Commorrite standing, while I added some opulence with a marble-effect staff and a starfield on the inside of the cape. Changing a few colours and parts of the model has helped to create my own Void Dreamer who is tolerated as the helmsperson of the Incessant Agony.
While psykers may be banned in Commorragh, there is much less risk of a disjunction while reaving the void and realspace, and Kharseth offers a unique opportunity for Drukhari players to layer rules that they do not normally have access to, with their Aethersense and Fury of the Void abilities.
The Serpent
Duke Sliscus was once described by Lady Malys as ‘amoral, despicable and impeccably dressed into the bargain’, a sentence that informed my brief for this ambitious kitbash project.
This was to be the fifth time that I had approached crafting a Duke. I knew the new Prince Yriel model would be the perfect starting point, while the Archon kit would lend several parts including the swords, chest, barbed hooks, and trophy rack.
I began by carving the chest to place in a new Drukhari piece, test fitting this against the cape to ensure it was going to be a flush fit. Next came perhaps the most esoteric piece, a ruffled collar from the Coven Throne set that helped to evoke the Duke’s fashion sense, while I combined a head from the Guardians kit with a hair piece from the Corsair Voidscarred to make a unique appearance for Sliscus.
The opulent fur came from the Visarch (there is no wastage in my oubliette, the rest of this model has found homes throughout my army) and I chose to use one of Yriel’s banners, topped with a head from the Wracks kit; I like to think this is the Duke’s latest victim, hoisted high for all to see and possibly kept alive by the talents of the Haemonculi…
A few other parts completed the model – a stimm injector from the Talos kit and a part of Drazhar’s base – then I was soon ready to begin my final painting project.
I opted for opulence at every step on this miniature, trying to push myself and attempt new ideas, such as a patchwork snakeskin-pattern flayed skin cloak and swords dripping with venom!
I’m really looking forward to fielding these new Corsairs alongside my Drukhari, while I have grand visions to build a full Corsair Coterie force! My next plans are to add some Outcasts to my force, to take advantage of the synergy that they have with the Anhrathe themed Detachments, and I am looking to add a new unit of Corsair Voidreavers to my raiding party, themed around the various xenos races that can be found in Sec Maegra in Commorragh. Kitbashes ahoy!
Thanks, Paulie! We’ll enjoy watching your Corsairs set out on their raids – from a significant distance away. The individual releases of these immaculate kits and a new Corsairs-themed Combat Patrol will be coming very shortly, so check back in with Warhammer Community every Sunday to see what’s coming up that week!
* There’s no doubting his qualifications – Paulie was the top-ranked Drukhari player for the 2025 UK tournament circuit.
