"Dark Elves Options? What's out there?" Topic

I was looking to build a few units of Dark Elves, but didn't want to go to GW. What else is out there? That can be army sized?

Xin

RAFM has some nice, old-fashioned spidery elves. I've got a small army of them, they're fun.

Mirlton has the old Grenadier Fantasy Warriors dark elves, I'm not a fan of their radically sloped faces.

I can't really think of any others beyond the usual D&D figure here and there.

For 28s far and away the best out there…

link

Just wish I wouldn't have to pay for shipping…

For 15s:
link

Madcam.

Reaper too… Under their warlord armies, these have potential:

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Perhaps use the Otherworld as leaders then the Reapers as rank and file?

Madcam.

I have a big army of these:

link

It would actually be far cheaper to use GW than Reaper for rank and file. Reaper has some great stuff, but too expensive to fill out mooks in an army.

Surprised no one has mentioned Game Zone Miniatures. They make some nice cheap rank & file dark elves. link

The old Copplestone Grenadier range are very nice and have a bit of a renaissance vibe to them

you can get them here (not sure about availability in the US though)

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For Characters the old foundry elves (also sculpted by copplestone) fit very nicely in style

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I keep hoping Caliver will resurrect the old Minifigs Tunnel Elves, but to have a look around the options in styles that may be available, have a look at the Frothers showcase: link

Also:
Avatars of War – Dread Elves
link

Mierce : link

Privater Press – possibilities include:
Beast Mistress
Blighted Nyss Shepherd
Fyanna the Lash

Raging Heroes:
Blood Vestals

But I'm not suggesting these are cheap options!

Be careful on figure heights, unless you don't care. The Otherword, for example, are 30mm, to the eyes, which means the top of their heads will be around 32mm, or more.

If you want Dark Elves which are much shorter than Humans, then your choices are more limited, unless you go for a smaller scale.

Caesar makes a set of plastic, 1/72, Elves, which come in a set of 35 figures, for around $15 USD, typically, from Taiwan ($0.43/figure, delivered!). They can be painted up as Dark Elves. I took a couple of the female robed figures, cut them off at the waist, and glued them to inexpensive spider toys, to create Driders. If interested, here is a link to a current auction, on e-Bay. Here is a link to the figures shown on a mm-scale -- scroll down the page past the Dwarves.

If their size is acceptable, they are the least expensive option for an army. I purchased four sets of their Goblins, to create a decent sized army for my 2e BattleSystem games. Cost was around $60 USD, delivered, for 144 figures: $0.42 USD/figure. If their size works, you can't beat their price! Cheers!

GW is not as expensive on a per-figure basis as many people allege—it is when you buy the specialty command figures that your wallet screams in pain. You can get the last generation GW Dark Elves off EBay for cheaper than almost any other suggestion already made.

TBF the OP never said he didn't want GW because of the cost maybe he just doesn't like the GW aesthetic

Whoops—I blew right past that when I read it. Of course, there have been appx 4 different Dark Elf lines from GW (with varying aesthetics), and most of the other ranges out there are themselves pseudo-copies of one of those GW lines, so it is extremely hard to escape GW. GF9 D&D figures, or Otherworld figures, might be your best bet given that they follow a TSR-era Drow aesthetic.

Thanks for the replies. Some good suggestions. I do like some of the GW sculpts. I like the BTD figures. I might order some as a test, especially since there is a sale going on.

Thanks

Black Tree is really good since there are sales near constantly. I have some of their axe wielding "Killers" and like them quite a bit. One word of warning: shipping can take time and things might have to be cast for some orders.

Love those caesar elves. They would make great DnD elves because of their smaller than 28mm build. (most people forget that DnD elves are shorter and slimmer than LOTR and GW elves. I mean in the fluff).

Xin,

What are you doing with said dark elves? GW style warhammer, KoW? Home brew rules? Or, RPGing?

Madcam.

Xin,
Any particular reason you don't want the GW Dark elves? I have a small pile of metal GW models that need a good home.

Madcam2us,

My initial interest was building a Frostgrave: Ghost Arch warband. And I do also play Oldhammer.

Borderguy, Whatcha got?

Xin/Jeff

Xin,
I have witches, repeater crossbows, cold one knights, dark riders, halberds, dark ark corsairs, plastic swordsmen, harpies and a cauldron of blood. Basically a small army. Got it from a friend who wanted it gone. I'm so far behind on painting that I need them gone too. Lol

Borderguy,

Email me at xinslair at outlook dot com

Xin/Jeff