Paulie Wallis is well known in the Warhammer 40,000 community for his love of the Drukhari. They were his very first army back when they debuted in 1998 as Dark Eldar, and he’s been a stalwart Commorrite since. He runs a podcast about them, and even took the UKTC and ITC title of Best in Faction for Drukhari in 2023. He’s a keen kitbasher and he’s now expanding his talents to other Aeldari rogues – the Corsairs, using as many of the new Aeldari kits as possible.
Paulie: I love to play as much as I love modelling, so I convert models to field in my Warhammer 40,000 army and kill teams. As soon as I saw the new Aeldari, I knew I needed them – but not for the Craftworlds. Oh no, these would be new piratical raiders and renegades of the Sky Serpents.
I love Drukhari, and my army is themed around Duke Sliscus, a named character from bygone days. The Duke is a legend among the Drukhari, and a champion to Commorrite exiles. He leads the Sky Serpents, an armada of pirates who specialise in low-orbit raids that target the rich and privileged.
I’ve always sought to make my Kabalites stand out as individuals, kitbashing various Aeldari, Aelf and Elf miniatures from across the Warhammer ranges to make a motley crew of Commorrite renegades. I’m always converting new Archons to represent Sliscus’ captains, and since the Corsair Voidscarred entered realspace a few years ago, many dandy Felarchs have joined my raiding force.
I approach kitbashing with a basic idea, either inspired by a story from the lore or a new miniature release, and then I start pondering which parts to combine. Telling a story is key – the unit’s background sparks modelling ideas. Did this Felarch buy their exotic weapon, steal it, or win it in a bet? Naming them creates an attachment, so when Prince Idradil Flickerblade deals the last wound to a Tyranid Screamer-Killer on the battlefield, it means a lot more, and adds to my army’s lore.
Balestrike Skybandits
The Balestrike Skybandits are based on the brand-new Aeldari Swooping Hawks, and I will use them as Drukhari Scourges. Rather than visit the Haemonculi for surgery, these rich and experienced Corsairs have instead invested their hard-earned loot into winged flight packs and exotic weaponry, soaring away laughing as their haywire blasters disable their opponents’ vehicles.
I cut the Swooping Hawk bodies, adding Corsair Voidscarred torso fronts and cutting their capes to fit, before covering up any joins with modelling putty. I added some Scourge haywire blasters and used heads from both kits.
Shade Runner
Shade Runners utilise a blink pack, reminiscent of the Warp Spiders’ jump generator, to body-flicker across the battlefield and ambush their foes.
This conversion idea came to me as soon as I saw the new Warp Spiders – I just had to kitbash the Exarch with the Shade Runner parts from the Corsair Voidscarred. I opted to add an extra set of power blades to her blink pack, which I think gives her an awesome silhouette.
A coterie of captains
An army is nothing without its characters and champions, and you can make yours stand out with some kitbashing. I took Asurmen, Fuegan, and an Autarch and mixed them together with various kits to create some unique Corsair Felarchs.
Lord Corillion is based on Fuegan. I love his armour details, but wanted to turn him into a duellist. I added Asurmen’s arms, swapping the Bloody Twins for neuro disruptors, and the Sword of Asur for a huskblade. Parts from the Corsair Voidscarred and various Drukhari sets complete the look.
Baron Fireflash uses Asurmen’s body, while his unique helmet was made from an Autarch and Corsair Voidscarred helmets spliced together. This creates a decadent focal point on the model and changes the pose entirely, with the head looking in a different direction. A Swooping Hawk sunpistol and Drukhari blade help create a look which is somewhere between Asuryani and Commorrite.
As varied as my kitbashing can be, I always endeavour to use every spare part, and so I used an Autarch to add a third Felarch. Captain Ciorstah appears to be more Commorrite in origin, using pieces from the Hand of the Archon kit with Asurmen’s banner, while she wields a Swooping Hawks Exarch’s hawk’s talon.
Painting
For my paint scheme I used my usual orange and black, but paired it with some pastel spot colours: Sons of Horus Green and Screamer Pink. Combined with various metals, spirit stones, gems, and other accessories the colours create a real smorgasbord of tones which evoke the Corsairs’ rich and varied experience.
To ensure this works in a harmonised way I tend to put all of the basecoats on the model first and then make changes if needed. For example, once the main armour and spot colours were down on Lord Corillion, I felt that pinky-purple neuro disruptors would work really well. I then used these to frame the model by adding some purple detailing to the banner.
I’ve got so many cool Corsair ideas which I’m looking forward to starting, as I turn my eye to the other Phoenix Lords and keep up with my 2025 Warhammer Challenge: ABC (Always Building Corsairs).
Thanks Paulie, we’ll be only the lookout for future Corsair raiding parties with a mix of delight and fear. The new Aeldari miniatures will be available to pre-order on Saturday, for use in your own armies – whether you’re going to theme them around the Asuryani, Drukhari, Ynnari, Corsairs, Harlequins or something else entirely.
