Eldar Avatar of Khaine

When I returned to the hobby after a ~7 year hiatus, I decided to try and convert the Eldar Avatar. I wasn't happy with the standard miniature's pose and I'd not really seen any ambitious conversions of it (beyond repositioning of the arms) as the original pose makes it difficult to achieve much without resorting to re-sculpting. Ideally I wanted to try and re-create the fantastic illustration of the Avatar by artist Mark Gibbons, which I've liked ever since I saw it in the 2nd edition Eldar Codex back when I first collected. To this end I purchased two Avatars to cut into multiple pieces and preserve as much detail as possible. This was also my first real foray into the world of sculpting with Green Stuff.

Date: 2007 - present (work-in-progress)
Components: 2x Eldar Avatar, paperclips, copper wire, cocktail sticks, Green Stuff, 60mm round base

1. Without a doubt, this is my favourite piece of Eldar artwork and it was the inspiration for this conversion.
Original illustration by Mark Gibbons, © Games Workshop.

The head was detached from the body so that it could be repositioned.

The sword-arm was cut into several pieces in order to achieve the desired pose.

The original miniature's torso was twisted, so this was removed, to be re-sculpted later.

I bent this leg slightly in order to make the Avatar appear to be standing more upright.

The source illustration has the Avatar's tabard billowing outwards, so I removed the original and inserted pinning material to build upon later.

2. The start of the conversion.

I started building up the torso using Green Stuff (Kneadatite) modelling putty.

The various pieces of the arms were held in place using paperclips as armatures.

3. The body begins to take shape.

The replacement torso now has the Avatar standing straight; unlike the original where the body was twisted around.

The source illustration includes thin straps connected to the breastplate, with a rune hanging from one strap.

The arms were bulked out slightly, with more detail to follow.

4. Sculpting on the torso.

The blades on the original miniature's wrists were too short, so I extended them with card and Green Stuff.

Having removed the original tabard some minor repair work was needed where it joined up with the ankle.

5. The body, from another angle.

The detail on the back of the torso was my own design as the Avatar's back cannot be seen in the source illustration.

The repositioning of the leg required me to make a cut behind the knee, so this had to be repaired.

6. Detailing on the back of the Avatar.

The extended forearm blades, looking much more formidable.

The original miniature featured a thick collar that obscured much of the Avatar's face, which was removed.

Two gems were added to this strap based on the source illustration.

The decorations on the Avatar's antlers were carefully cut free from the original collar to preserve the details.

7. With the body completed, the head is added.

I decided to replace the original mane of hair with my own sculpt; here you can see the pins.

The collar was bulked out using Green Stuff.

The spiked knuckles were elongated using the end of cocktail sticks and some Green Stuff.

8. Re-sculpting of the Avatar's mane begins.

The nearly-completed replacement mane, sculpted from Green Stuff.

The fingers on the Avatar's "Bloody Hand of Khaine" were carefully bent to better match the pose in the illustration.

The replacement loincloth, billowing outwards as in the source illustration.

9. The new loincloth and mane are completed.

The mane was rotated to match the direction that the loincloth was blowing in.

Drips of blood were modelled using thin copper wire coated in several layers of PVA glue.

10. Further details are added.

11. The completed Avatar, ready for painting.

12. A close-up of the Avatar.

13. The scenic base was modelled using Green Stuff, to represent the earth cracking beneath the Avatar's feet.

14. The Eldar Avatar on its scenic base.

15. I started painting the Avatar in 2025; over 18 years since I first assembled the model. I had waited until I felt that my painting skills were sufficient to be (relatively) confident attempting the molten metal and glowing lava effects that I wanted to include.

16. My first attempt at the lava effects on the base. I was reasonably pleased with this, but it didn't look quite right. After researching various images of real-life lava flows, I realised that the solidified lava should be a cooler colour.

17. By using cool greys for the rock, the base now looks much better.

18. Alternate view of the painted base. I used fluorescent yellow, orange and red paints (mixed with Citadel colours) to achieve the glow of molten lava.

19. Another view of the base.

20. Work-in-progress shot of the Avatar.

21. Rear view of the Avatar. I used white ink in a few places to make the lava brighter - this would later be painted over again in yellow and orange hues, as stark white actually makes the lava look cooler and less realistic.

22. The body is nearly finished at this point. I was particularly relieved when the face was finished as I was concerned that the focal point of the model wouldn't turn out how I'd hoped.

23. Rear view of the model; the glowing effect is really coming together at this point.

24. The sword was worked on next.

25. Updated rear view of the model.

26. Close-up of the face and sword blade. Similar to the technique that I used for the lava, I used a cool metallic silver on the colder parts of the Avatar's iron body (especially obvious on the nose, cheeks and thighs), which I think really helps to sell the idea that this is superheated metal.