eldar void stalker battleship

The Void Stalker is a substantial, weighty kit. Most of the time that I spent working on it was used to remove mould lines and ensure that the components fit together properly.

date: 2019 - present (work-in-progress)
components: 1x Battlefleet Gothic Void Stalker Battleship, brass rod, Green Stuff, White Milliput, neodymium magnets, transparent flying base (60mm diameter), paperclip, styrene rod, 1x Harlequin Voidweaver Prismatic Cannon, 1x Dire Avenger Exarch Power Glaive

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Eldar Battlefleet Gothic Void Stalker Battleship

1. The component pieces of the model. These have had the paint stripped off them, as the model was an eBay purchase and had been previously assembled and painted.

The original forward guns were clipped away from the hull and the gun housings were drilled out.

2. A close-up of the work on the main gun batteries on the upper hull. The design of these guns looks particularly dated now and not in keeping with the modern Eldar aesthetic.

Eldar Battlefleet Gothic Void Stalker replacement gun

3. I created this tiny gun barrel as a mock-up replacement for the Void Stalker's main batteries and several other BFG ships. It was created using styrene rod, part of a Harlequin Voidweaver Prismatic Cannon and a Dire Avenger Exarch Power Glaive; the pieces were carefully drilled out and threaded onto a length of thick paperclip. The styrene was carefully shaped using a needle file and the plastic components were blended together using Green Stuff.

4. Here's how the Void Stalker looks with the replacement gun in position in one of the two forward batteries. The smaller guns on the underside have also been replaced with short lengths of brass rod so that they no longer lie flat against the hull.

5. A work-in-progress shot of the Void Stalker. Only two of the four solar sails have been glued in place at this stage; this will make painting the detailed model easier. Similarly, only the top half of the forward hull is glued. The model has been extensively pinned (in fourteen places in total) and significant work was needed to make the pieces fit together correctly, especially the upper and lower halves of the clamshell forward hull.

6. A close-up of the underside of the clamshell forward hull. I carefully removed the metal gun barrels and replaced them with brass rod to provide some elevation.

7. Brass rod pins, White Milliput and lots of filing were required to make the clamshell sections align properly.

8. A starboard view of the front half of the Void Stalker. The hard work paid off, as the upper and lower halves sit nicely with a consistent gap between them.

9. Underside view of the partially-assembled Void Stalker. The other components will be painted separately before being glued in place, to facilitate easier painting between the solar sails and other hard to reach sections.

10. A mock-up of the assembled Void Stalker - the four forward gun batteries have not yet been completed but will be added later.

11. The Void Stalker is now undercoated. This model took a lot of work but I'm pleased with the results.