With the release of the Maelstrom supplement, Games Workshop have also released a host of new kits, giving us some all new kits for the Aeldari Vyper and Corsairs. If you've wanted more models representing this third path for the Eldar, now's your time, as these kits flesh out the line and give us an updated Prince Yriel. In this article we'll review the new kits and talk about what it's like to assemble and paint them.

Thank you to Games Workshop for providing us with a review copy of these models.

Prince Yriel

Sky Serpent: The High Admiral of Iyanden has left his Craftworld to reave the void once more as the leader of the Eldritch Raiders!

This new kit sees Yriel adapt a more dynamic pose with a lot of intrinsic detail and oozes much more of the Corsair aesthetic of which the original 2004 model had started.

It’s worth noting the the miniature moves up to a 40mm base in line with the Phoenix Lords but does lose the Hive Fleet Kraken element of the base.

Swiftblade: I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for the Pirate Prince of space elves. Tyranids were my first 40k army back in 5th edition, and I reread the lore of that codex many, many times. Yriel’s timely intervention to save the doomed Iyanden from Kraken was one of the highlights, damning his own soul in the process. It’s pretty cool. I was happy to finally assemble and paint the model after admiring him from afar for such a long time.

The model itself comes together pretty easily, though like most Aeldari kits there are plenty of fiddly little bits you do need to be careful about. Those worried about the banners can at least breathe a sigh of relief- while one banner does need to be attached to the backpack, the other is already modeled on it, making it far more stable. The cape is where most of my fussing with assembly came in, as it does come in several parts and can leave a pretty decent gap if you aren't careful. It also obscures the little holster thing Yriel has, and getting that in just the right place took a touch of patience. Overall though, it’s a good build with a fun, dynamic pose.

Since Yriel first struck my imagination thanks to his defense of Iyanden, I decided to pay homage by painting him up with a yellow cape to highlight his corsair blues. Painting yellow isn’t something I do often for good reason- it’s famously frustrating and requires many layers to look smooth. I love painting capes though, and once the initial base coat was down painting the highlights up really wasn’t too painful. Plus, it looks great when the job is done!

The real challenge with painting Yriel is all the filigree. Like the rest of the corsair range, his armor has plenty of very thin filigree decorations, giving his Aeldari plate an even more ornate look. While that's super cool in theory, the actual details themselves are very small, and threw off my plan for highlighting the armor initially. The key here is patience, and using a small brush to carefully trace along the filigree. Don’t be afraid to touch up mistakes, and tracing back over with a thin shade helps make the filigree stand out from the armor itself.

Credit: Dan "Swiftblade" Richardson

The new Yriel model is a fantastic update, keeping so much of the character of the original sculpt while modernizing it to stand alongside the other stunning models of the Aeldari character range. Painting mine was a treat, and my Yriel was even featured on Warcom, a first for me and a tremendous honor.

Kharseth

Sky Serpent: Kharseth the Aethyrmancer sees the Void Dreamer realised in miniature form for the first time and this is my favourite model from the new Anhrathe releases. The model is posed spectacularly with the helm a particular standout piece - this is a call back to the very first Farseer from the Rogue Trader era, released back in 1990.

This was a relatively quick build and like most modern character kits it’s really clever how the model goes together.

I usually like to kitbash my models and it’s a testament to the design of this that I barely added anything to it.

MasterSlowPoke: I've found that over the last few years, building models takes up a longer portion of time than I think it should. I'm used to knocking out a ten strong Tactical Squad in an hour, and 5 Terminators now takes my whole hobby night. Kharseth bucked the trend, I think I had them assembled in about 20 minutes. I'm not certain about what was different, exactly, but they were a breeze. I normally am a sub-assembly sicko, but I opted to leave Kharseth in one piece, aside from glueing their feet to the base. I did have a little trouble painting around his staff and under the little tassle things on his back, but it wasn't anything to worry about.

I've not painted an Eldar since mid 5th edition, so this was a fun diversion from my normal power armoured bodies. I love the callback to the bug-eye Farseer, and hoped to have mine painted in the same scheme for comparison, but ran out of time. I looked around for old Corsair schemes from before my time, and settled on painting Kharseth in the scheme of the Alai Mercenary Corps. There seems to only be one color plate of them ever made, like 30 years ago, and it's a striking pink and green (or blue, the scan is inconclusive), but not in a way that will make them look like da Joker, baby.

Kharseth the Void Dreamer by Craig "MasterSlowPoke" Sniffen

I've had some very slight vision problems lately, and this is the first time I've ever painted while wearing glasses. These are some colors that I don't normally paint and I honestly had a blast painting him, at least once I got used to having something on my face. I painted the pink/coral parts using TheChirurgeon's scheme for his Emperor's Children, and tried out The Army Painter's Fanatic range for the desaturated greens for the green/blue/teal, whatever that color's name is.

Kharseth the Void Dreamer by Craig "MasterSlowPoke" Sniffen

The detail on the little filigree bits along his helmet, armor, and cape are a little shallow and were probably the toughest parts to paint, though that might be because I painted over a few different schemes while settling on this one. I've got a box of the Corsair kill team sitting around somewhere, and I might just expand the Mercenary Corps.

Corsair Skyreavers

Credit: Skyserpent

Sky Serpent: Skyreavers, not to be confused with Skyweavers or Reavers, bring the Corsairs back to the skies with a stunning new kit.

Like the Corsair Voidscarred set, it encompasses a host of dandy options with various piratical heads and weapons to make your Corsairs stand out with nuanced parts which hint at their past lives.

These were relatively easy to build, the only bit I found a little tricky was combining their legs and torso together to ensure a flush fit, make sure you test it first.

For those Felarchs looking to get the most out of this set, there is a spare jump pack and torso which you could combine with the spare legs from a Swooping Hawk to make a bonus Skyreaver!

Credit: Blake Law

Blake Law: This kit is so good. It assembles like a dream, and has multiple parts that can change pose and style. Anytime I see a box like this, I immediately start planning conversion projects because of the versatility.

Speaking of which, I thought of Exodites when I opened this box. The heads look like they could fit that aesthetic perfectly. So I set forth to paint and base them as such. Shout out here to AK interactive moss effect, which turns any base into a jungle.

I painted these guys using Monument dark green to monument green to monument bright yellow green. The finisher is AP fanatic afterglow. Then I did a light wash of Monument green over all of it. I added in some ruddy browns to give it kind of a forest/jungle vibe to match my Exodite theme. I used the ruddy brown progression from Army painter fanatic for that effect.

Vyper/Starfang

Credit: Colin Ward

Sky Serpent: The Vyper just misses out on its 30th birthday but this venerable vehicle returns with its glow up introducing an additional heavy weapon plus a Corsair variant - the Starfang!

This is such a sleek, incredible kit which builds upon its original 1993 version with modern designs taking inspiration from the Windriders and flyers.

The gun platform can be rotated backwards and forwards which adds a nice touch to what is already a dynamic kit while there are several Anhrathe flourishes which turn the skimmer into a Starfang; I’d recommend taking your time and use some clamps when gluing the hull together to ensure it has a tight fit.

MasterSlowPoke: I was really gunning for the Vyper to just never be updated and still be on sale for 100 years, long after I am dead. I am happy at least the new model is dope as hell.

Credit: Blake Law

Blake Law: This is a large quality to life upgrade. Having recently assembled 3 of the old Vypers, I can say with absolute certainty that these are insanely better.

The kit can be assembled into 2 different models. Within that assembly tree, there is a second assembly tree. You can take the back turret and either face it forwards or backwards. Here is what is even cooler- you don't have to glue it, and it semi locks in place and spins. A very cool design. I glued mine because I don't like moving parts, but for those that do, quite nifty.

This model is substantially larger than the old one. I love this because it lends itself toward a lot of freehand. The old Vyper was a no go for this because of the narrow front hood. My plan for future Vyper in this scheme is to do trees with roots hanging down toward the bottom. GW, release an Exodite army!

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