Illic Nightspear kitbash day 4 & 5
Day 4. Fitting the right arm with the rifle proved easier than I had anticipated. the little cable from the scope actually fits perfectly with the shoulder pad. The larger pipe running to the backpack didn't really but not so much as to need repositioning. The back end of it also ends up almost entirely behind the big rifle holster that Rangers have as an optional bit. So all good.
I read the short story of Illic's narrow escape on Carnac. It was not explicitly stated but seems likely that Voidbringer contains the soul of Eldanoreth (the renowned Eldar smith) in the same way as Asurmen's sword contains the soul of his deceased brother. It 'speaks' to him occasionally. Of course this means Voidbringer needs a soulstone attached somewhere. Very fiddly work, this was.
Day 5. Much deliberation on the left arm and sword. Sourcing a new arm already holding a powersword in the pose I wanted was proving to be more trouble that it was worth and would mean I would have to sculpt the long sleeve of the Ranger cloak and glove over most of it anyway. So I decided to build it from parts I already had. The upper arm with sleeve is from the standard Ranger kit just angled more inward. The forearm and hand are actually from the same arm (shuriken pistol) but cut at the elbow and reposed. Cutting away the pistol and leaving the hand intact required some precise and patient work - more fiddly than the soulstone.
I'm not all that happy with the sword but I don't hate it either. It's just the top of the starglaive with the Autarch rune removed. I didn't want the sword to look too fancy as it's not Illic's signature weapon, so a slightly shorter blade seemed appropriate here. But it still had to be a powersword in some way. I have some harlequin blades spare but those don't have the little egg-shaped power cell ubiquitous on all Eldar power weapons.
I decided against the tactical rock that comes with the Autarch as it made him even taller than he already is and also changes the pose to something I didn't like. I tend to model all my Autarchs with a neutral, almost boring pose because in my headcanon these chaps are never really surprised by anything. Illic is not an Autarch but he's not far off imho.
The head is still loose as I will probably undercoat it in white instead of black and I still need to clean up the left elbow where the sleeve meets the glove. Also still to do is sculpt a hood behind the head like the other Rangers but otherwise he's pretty much done.