eldar phoenix lord jain zar
the storm of silence (version 1)
I never liked the original sculpt of Jain Zar - it seemed to be mostly hair, very top-heavy and not at all graceful (the face also looked like it belonged to a comedy witch). In contrast, Mark Gibbon's illustration of Jain Zar is one of my favourites, capturing all of the grace and balletic destruction that the character evokes. I therefore decided to use that image as the inspiration for my first conversion of the character, which required a lot of sculpting. Whilst I was pleased with the end result when I finished assembling this model back in 2017, I still felt that there was room for improvement. When a plastic version of Jain Zar was released in 2020, I decided to abandon this version and build a new one.date: 2008 - 2017 (abandoned)
components: 1x Jain Zar, 2x Howling Banshees, 1x Space Marine Rhino side hull, plasticard, Green Stuff, paperclips, brass rod, brass strip (1/64" x 1/16"), 40mm round base
see also:
1. This superb piece of artwork was the inspiration for this conversion.
Original illustration by Mark Gibbons, © Games Workshop.
Original illustration by Mark Gibbons, © Games Workshop.
2. The component pieces of the conversion.
The triskele was simplified, with some detail removed.
The chest from the Howling Banshee was used here.
Jain Zar's enormous hair was cut down slightly.
The original face was removed entirely.
3. An early work-in-progress shot of the sculpting.
New ears were fashioned from small pieces of plasticard.
The face was entirely re-sculpted.
The end of the pony tail was re-used, with the rest of the hair left to be re-sculpted later.
A new midriff was sculpted from scratch to provide the twisting pose.
The new tabard was sculpted from Green Stuff over a wire frame.
The elaborate boots were taken from the original Jain Zar miniature.
4. More of the sculpting is completed.
5. A close-up of the re-sculpted face. I was fairly pleased with how it turned out, although it was a bit flat - I decided ultimately not to use it.
6. Having decided against using the resculpted head, I instead chose to use a standard Banshee head and extend the hair; you can see the beginning of the sculpting needed to achieve this in this picture.
7. A work-in-progress shot of the conversion.
8. The conversion as viewed from the rear.
9. In keeping with the original artwork, I added flowing ribbons to the model. These are made from thin strips of brass, bent into shape with needle-nosed pliers and wrapped around the wrists.
10. A back view of the conversion, showing the ribbons.
11. With the exception of the tip of the hair and some minor detailing, the conversion is basically finished at this point.
12. A rear view of the conversion of Jain Zar on its scenic base, made from parts of a Rhino. The base was inspired by the original artwork, but it has been scaled down a bit and uses the modern Rhino chassis.
13. After a long hiatus, I've finally completed this conversion.
14. The Howling Banshee rune has been added to the long, flowing tabard.
15. Some sculpting was necessary to complete the hair.
16. Rear view of the completed conversion.
17. Side profile of the conversion.
18. The conversion has now been undercoated; almost 9 years after I first started building it!
19. Rear view of the undercoated model.
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