The Harlequin Skyweavers Zoom Onto The Battlefield Of Warhammer 40k
February 6, 2015 by brennon
The new pre-orders have gone up from Games Workshop for Warhammer 40,000 and this time they are focused on the Harlequins once more with their Skyweaver Jetbikes. We've had a fair few interesting comments about these so it will be interesting to see what you think of them now we have some better images...
They are quite cool Jetbikes although like many of you I would have preferred to see them keep the full face mask on the canopy at the front. The weapon underneath is still very cool and I like the driver. The rather weird rider however looks unnatural on the back.
I also don't like the smaller mask at the top of the canopy but it's interesting to see where people might go with these. With a good paint job I reckon that these will work out quite nicely with the new plastic range.
What do you think?
Medicore models from company that claims to put out premium miniatures.
Perfectly fine models but very poor for the Harlequins.
If they were regular Eldar it would be easier to stomach. But the Harlequins have a special place in GW history: a chance for sculptors and painters to be put to the test: a chance for GW to show their true premier models.
All I see are bland models with no detail whatsoever (apart from a grenade belt and a sash). No love was put into these models. Even the weapons have no imagination to them.
These are very poor. The bikes are fine, but no more than fine. The riders look awkward. This is often the case with multipose miniatures. It will take somebody with real skill to make these look good.
That is absolutely NOT the case with multipose models. Absolutely not. Nor are the poses on these models above awkward unless you are referring to how the rear warrior is maintaining his balance (magnets on boots maybe..)
GW have produced endless multipose models which look perfect at numerous angles – as do many other model companies with multipose (freedom) models.
With all multipose miniatures, it actually takes a degree of skill and an eye for composition to make them look their best. I’ve seen far too many badly slapped together miniatures in my time to believe that multipose miniatures look perfect from every angle.
These riders look less than convincing to me. They certainly lack the style and finesse of the Dark Eldar range. Overall I’d say they are better than the Eldar but not as good as the Dark Eldar and just generally disappointing.
That’s the fault of the poor skills of the modeler (*if* even true, which I don’t think it is). GW are not to blame for the stupidity of a customer when they provide perfectly excellent products. That’s like blaming multipose models or GW for an idiot who pours glue all over their model.
Not necessarily @poosh.
There are limitations of multipose figures that a good modeller may be able to overcome, but not everyone is going to take the time to perform the necessary surgery.
The shortcomings are not the fault of any particular manufacturer, but simply the nature of the beast
The poses of the pillion riders are fine I guess
As long as the jet bike is in hover mode.
These aren’t bad models. They are well sculpted, nicely painted figures, they just have lost their original soul. Harlequins used to be vibrant individual persona with a unique style. The latest offering from GW have focused on a sinister and specific homogeneous style. This is still an interesting theme but has stepped away from everything I originally loved about Harlequins. There will be many who enjoy this new incarnation but I feel the flavour is not for me. 🙂
Not for me, just missing the love and the wow factor to my eyes. I agree with @poosh this is a range where you want to blow the doors off and not worry about being too safe
http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20141117015722/warhammer40k/images/b/bf/Eldar_-_3rd_Edition.jpg LIKE I’M ON DRUGS.
Oh well. At least we have a new £17.50 plastic Death Jester to look forward to….
I think my metal one will do – unless he is doing a power metal slide firing the gun from behind his head 😛 Love the old art and what I am aiming for when I paint my metal – sadly not the originals
Is it just me, I get the feeling GW is some what embarrassed about its past image. That crazy 80’s rock punk, costumed freak theme that underlined many of the images and models is never going to come back.
Could have been a crowning glory of GW’s mini ranges, ended up being tosh sadly.
Huh, a lot of hate directed at the new harlequin models at the moment! I don’t really get it. I think all the models so far have been great. They suffer a bit in terms of ‘soul’ and dynamism only because of the slightly sterile, if very tidy, paint jobs that are GW’s current remit. The job of the GW painting studio seems ever to have been to draw attention to the level of detail of the model rather than to create any specific kind of artistic effect or statement. Which is fine as it allows them to show off… Read more »
Hate is a very strong word @slpen I think what you’re seeing isn’t hate, more a feeling of disappointment.
Yeah that’s fair, hate was a bit strong!
That’s weird that you say that. Because these models have almost no detail to show off.
These models are, if anything, designed so that you can place transfers and paint graphics onto the “hull” directly.
Or freehand designs 🙂
I for one am looking forward to the first recreation in paint of the old metal grinning face design.
That mask …
Why?
At least with the model being plastic it will not be too difficult to remove, fill in and smooth over before priming.
It looks like a gap underneath for a windshield. That mask probably can be placed anywhere as its separate.
Imagine these by Corvus Belli .. yum!
boobies
Wonder if theyd go so far as do man boobs on the males?
To be honest I don’t think CB could do what I am looking for, not technically but in terms of zany and wild. CB do excellent infinity/mangsa-esque models – harlequins where a product of the zany blend of the GW studio of the time it’s a different scale. Now Angel painting a retro styled Harlequin would be something else would love to see that.
The paint jobs on them are to uniformal for harlequins these are supposed to be performs in lots of colours and all the bikes are painted the same?? also looking at the rules they have no cc weapon unless you pay 10pt per model to exchange it for a 1 shot blast?? they should have had both or something on the lines of the old web of skulls that could be used as both but not in the same turn maybe
Not bad at all, but not all they could have been as models either. I still prefer the polearm to the bolas, though the option of a bolas that doesn’t employ that really not very convincing spinning effect is good to see. The paint scheme is definitely a factor here – Harlequins have always invited extreme approaches to painting, and it will be interesting to see what talented painters who aren’t beholden to any established studio style make of these models. The mask on the jetbike hiding the targeting array is probably the weakest aspect of the design, but I… Read more »
That should be strength 5, Ap 2 in my last post. Skyweavers are not Strength 4, afterall.
As stated earlier, cool flying thingies, bad CG figures.
New images have dropped for the next set of Harlequin releases. It seems that the Starweaver will be a dedicated transport option for Harlequin Troupes that is broadly similar to a dark Eldar Venom, and we will also be seeing new renditions of the Death Jester and Shadow Seer to go with the Solitaire. There are even rumours that the Starweaver may be a dual kit that can also make some kind of heavy weapons platform version called a Voidweaver.
http://imgur.com/a/l5ASr