Codex: Aeldari is so close we can almost taste it!* Yesterday we spoke to miniatures design manager Ben Jefferson and Aeldari legend Jes Goodwin about designing the new Aeldari range.
They’re back with more keen insights into how they revamped these ancient and well-established Xenos.
Maugan Ra
Ben: This is one who you wanted to update, right Jes?
Jes: Yes. We already had a precedent because of our work on Jain Zar. We wanted the updated Maugan Ra to show that he'd been lost in the Eye of Terror for ages.** There's a lot of horrible spiky stuff in there, so he probably caught his hem on something.
Ben: He’s the same character as he was before, so the content of the miniature didn't change – we just polished it up and made it even more awesome.
Jes: Maugan Ra has always had an exoskeleton, which makes him a lot bulkier than the rest of the Aeldari. So we worked hard to make sure this new version retained an elegance while keeping that important exoskeleton. One thing I added was something cooler on the end of the Maugetar – something like the drukhari huskblade – he probably bent the original scythe or broke it, and replaced it with a more threatening blade.
Ben: And then there's his back banner. Now, Dark Reapers have the targeting array, so you took the opportunity to invest his back banner with a bit of texture that implies he has the same tech. Even though it's rendered in a more archaic and decorative way than on the Reapers.
Jes: Putting in the curve in that spine, making it feel more esoteric too – in some ways it's a bigger challenge to take a model and update it, rather than just starting from scratch. He’s also carrying a bunch of spirit stones he’s rescued on his travels.
Ben: We also updated Maugan Ra’s sense of presence. Phoenix Lords are basically demigods, and their stature has to reflect that. We want them to feel mythical, as though they're ascended versions of the Aeldari they lead.
Jes: Yeah, I think demigod is fair enough as a description. It’s like the way that we've made the primarchs larger – you want centrepiece models and the added presence that they bring is a big thing.
Dark Reapers
Ben: Which Aspect Warrior are most important to do? There's nothing to really separate them. But of the Aspects we did end up refreshing, we wanted them to complement each other a little, while still hitting different notes. Banshees were updated relatively recently, and they are close-combat specialists so it felt right to make something complimentary in heavy support, and another very different unit in Shining Spears.
Jes: You can see a modernisation and a crystalisation of the designs we’ve done before with a refined anatomy and all the exarch options.
Ben: Although we've shown how the launchers work in the past, there's a narrative element to the model that shows how that works, how they're loaded…
Jes: That was always how they were supposed to work. Over time they get designed differently, and you lose these ideas if you're not careful.
Ben: Jes had drawn designs for these things years ago so it was lovely to see them realised.
Jes: One of the exarch weapons was confirmed as the Aeldari missile launcher, which is the same as the weapons mounted to vehicles – albeit far too big to be carried around by a foot soldier.
Ben: So we made a new one that suited the aesthetic and scaling of the Reaper Launchers or the Tempest Launcher better, like a specialised Reaper version of the Aeldari Missile Launcher rather than just a straight lift of the other much more bulky design.
Ben: There's also a little decorative skull in there, a relic which has been taken from their shrine on the craftworld into battle…
Jes: With the Aspects we’ve been trying to do the Phoenix Lord at the same time. And we've been trying to include those statues as well, to represent each particular aspect of Khaine.
Jes’s Closing Thoughts
Jes: It was really good to get back to the Aeldari design space and have a play. It’s been years since we’ve touched this stuff, and it was great to do it. They’re one of our – dare I say it – iconic races, before all these johnny-come-latelies came in.*** They're one of the OGs. Some of them are from the nineties – that's last century!
Yet again, thanks for the insight into this massive undertaking. You’ll be able to pre-order your copy of Codex: Aeldari tomorrow, along with nearly all of the miniatures mentioned yesterday and today.
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* Top notes of Wraithbone with hints of Imperial tears, if you’re wondering.
** He was rescuing his home of Altansar from the Eye of Terror. Check out White Dwarf 473 for rules, background, and paint schemes for this most emo of Craftworlds.
*** We’re looking at you, T’au empire… with love though.