Dark Elf (WHFB 3rd Edition) - Collectors Guide

The purpose of this page is to collect images of all the extant Dark Elf figures in the history of Citadel Miniatures in rough chronological order by release date. In their earliest incarnations, Citadel Dark Elf miniatures owe a lot to traditional Dungeons & Dragons Drow- They are frequently painted with blue skin in early Citadel catalogue material and there is a higher percentage of female models in the Dark Elf line than any other, reflecting the matriarchal nature of Drow society.

Slottabased C09 Dark Elves

Citadel Dark Elf figures enter the slottabase era with the line of models sculpted by Bob Naismith for use with 3rd edition Warhammer. In accord with Citadel's general move towards creating a line of figures that you could build an army with rather than a loose conglomeration of figures largely intended for use with fantasy roleplaying games, the slottabased line of C09 Dark Elf figures is more regimented and standardized. There are Trooper models with Command options (Champion, Leader, Standard Bearer & Musician), as well as a complete line of Cavalry, Infantry, War Machines and some character models on monstrous mounts. Witch Elves become a distinct troop type in this era. The Crossbow has become the only available missile weapon. In accordance with the rules of 3rd edition Warhammer, Troops may be upgraded to Elite status, and may be given variant weapons, but there are no specialized Infantry units in the model range, apart from Witch Elves (so no Corsairs, Executioners or Black Guard). Some models in this range (notably the Sorceress "Azireth Darkforce" and the Witch Elf "Death Maiden") were sculpted with variant heads, indicating that they may have been intended for the Citadel ADD range. The figure known as "Aldethar Brain-splitter" appeared with the rest of the range in the 1988 Citadel Catalogue and in various Mail Order Flyers and White Dwarf catalogue pages, but was inexplicably dropped from the range prior to the publication of the 1991 Citadel catalogue Volume 2.

http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20206decmd.htm

http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20207darkelves.htm

http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20209darkelves.htm

http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20209darkelves.htm

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  Casualty

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  Guard Maiden

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  Captain

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  Swordsman

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  Sorcerer

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  Mace Girl

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  Sword Maid

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  Death Maiden

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  Crossbow

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  Witch Elf

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  Legion Leader

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  Guard

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  Morathar Manbane

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  Darthar Quickblade

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  Hathar Redbolt

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  Vonothar Twoblades

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  Garthar The Strong

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  Lord Anuidethar Blood-Thirster

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  Hazdriuth Farbolt

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  Aldethar Brain-splitter

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  Kernethar - Sorcerer

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  Azireth Darkforce

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  Kranthar Mancleaver

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  Caranath Bloodblade

C09 Command Models

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  Champion 1

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  Champion 2

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  Champion 3

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  Leader 1

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  Leader 2

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  Leader 3

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  Standard Bearer 1

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  Standard Bearer 2

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  Standard Bearer 3

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  Musician 1

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  Musician 2

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  Musician 3

Slottabased C21 Dark Elf Cold One Riders

This line (also sculpted by Bob Naismith) comprises 7 individually-named Cold One Riders riding slottabased 2-piece metal Cold Ones. The C13 mounted Dark Elf Hero/General figure was also later included as part of this range (without his Dragon Horse mount) as a Cold One Rider. These same Rider figures were also sold blistered with single-piece metal Elven Steeds (the same Elven Steeds that were sold with High/Wood Elves).

http://www.solegends.com/citc/c21coldones.htm

http://www.solegends.com/citcat912/c20208darkelfcav.htm

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  Dazibow

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  Koriflame

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  Addelcore (Sorcerer)

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  Skarrasha

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  Agard

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  Orribul

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  Zolzola

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  C13 General

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  Snapper

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  Snarler

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  Leaper

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  Horse Blister

Dark Elf Beastmaster & Cold One Beast Pack

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  Beastmaster

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  Pack Cold One 1

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  Pack Cold One 2

Dark Elf Bolt Thrower

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  Bolt Thrower

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  Gunner

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  Spotter

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  Loader 1

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  Loader 2

RR11 Slottabased Mengil Manhide's Manflayers

The first slottabased version of Mengil Manhide's Manflayers includes a Command group of four: Mengil, Ean Hawkbane (called Hawklord in some material) as unit Champion, and a male Standard Bearer & Musician. There are two different Trooper models, one male & one female. Originally, the slottabased Manflayers were sold in the same boxed format as the preslotta versions (with one command figure + 8 Troopers), but they were later sold as a complete unit of 12, featuring all 4 Command models and 4 each of both Troopers, packaged in a hard-shelled see-through plastic box. Command models were also sold unidentified in two-man blister packs as "Dark Elf Heroes" or "Dark Elf Command" on into the early days of 4th edition Warhammer.

http://www.solegends.com/citrr/rr04manhidesm12.htm

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  Mengil Manhide

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  Ean Hawkbane

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  Standard Bearer

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  Musician

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  Male Trooper

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  Female Trooper

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  Shield Sprue

Citadel TSR ADD68 Drow

During the mid-1980s, Citadel Miniatures briefly held the license from TSR to produce official miniatures for use with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. The Drow (ADD Dark Elf) figures for this line were sculpted by Bob Naismith and they are very similar to the line of Dark Elf figures he produced for 3rd edition Warhammer (the two ranges blend almost seamlessly). The ADD68 Drow range includes 5 different variants of 3 basic troop types: A standing male figure. a crouching male figure and a female figure. Excellent examples of this range may be found on Richard Scott's "Otherworld" website, which documents the complete Citadel ADD range:

http://www.otherworld.me.uk/add68.html

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TA5 Dark Elf War Eagle

The "Arcane Monstrosities" range includes a single Dark Elf figure mounted on a Giant War Eagle. The rider & mount were sculpted by Tony Ackland. The Dark Elf Rider figure bears little resemblance to other contemporary Dark Elf figures, and is frequently mistaken for a Wood Elf.

http://www.solegends.com/citta/ta5wareagle.htm

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C13 Dark Elf Hero On Dragon Horse

This figure was originally sold with both foot and mounted versions packaged together in a single blister pack. the foot & mounted versions were later split up and integrated into the regular Bob Naismith Dark Elf range for the Citadel 1991 Catalogue, Volume 2. The Dragon Horse mount vanished from the range and was only ever available in the original blister package.

http://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Heroic_Adventurers_-_C13

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  Dark Elf General (foot)

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  Dark Elf General (mounted)

Bob Naismith Cold One Chariot

This model was only briefly available through Citadel Mail Order and is very rare. The Mail Order Flyer through which it was sold depicts two variant crews. The second set of crew is even more rare, and may never have been actually released. At the point in time when it was released, there were no specific rules to accompany the Cold One Chariot.

http://www.solegends.com/citrare/citdechariot.htm

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  Chariot

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  Chariot crew a

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  Chariot crew b

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  Chariot Noble Crewman c

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  Chariot crew d

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  Chariot Cold One 1

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  Chariot Cold One 2

Dark Elf Temple Dog Rider

The Temple Dog was a monstrous mount available to several different armies during 3rd edition Warhammer. The Temple Dog was sold blistered with one of three variant Riders, either a Samurai, a Hobgoblin, or a Dark Elf. The Dark Elf rider was sculpted by Aly Morrison, presaging the Marauder line of Dark Elf figures. The figure requires the separate plastic right hand/lance bit that was also used for the Jes Goodwin generic Elf cavalry line (shown in the photo).

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  Dark Elf Temple Dog Rider

BC2 Monsters Evil Dark Elf Captain

The Citadel BC2 Monsters boxed set includes a single Dark Elf figure (called "Evil Dark Elf Captain"). The influence of D&D Drow can be seen again here, with a Dark Elf acting in an executive capacity over other monsters. The BC2 boxed set is a companion piece to the BC1 Adventurers boxed set. Both are intended for use with fantasy roleplaying games.

http://www.solegends.com/citboxes/bc2monsters.htm

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  Evil Dark Elf Captain

Talisman Dark Elves

The original (2nd edition) Talisman range includes a single metal Dark Elf Figure, that was originally released as part of the Talisman Dungeon expansion set and then later in blisters with other Talisman figures. The character is depicted with blue skin on the Talisman character card, again tying the concept more closely to D&D Drow.

For the third edition of Talisman, GW published updated character cards in the pages of White Dwarf magazine, including a Dark Elf taken from the Marauder MM70 Dark Elf range. The third edition Talisman expansion sets included two plastic Dark Elf figures, a Witch Elf (for the Talisman City Of Adventure expansion) and a Sorceress (for the Talisman Dragon's Tower expansion). Talisman City Of Adventure also includes a plastic Assassin model that is frequently mistaken for a Dark Elf, but this figure is intended to represent a human Assassin in the Talisman game. The plastic figures from the Talisman expansions were briefly available separate from their games as part of GW's short-lived "Toybox" line (boxed sets of plastic figures that were intended for sale in toystores and other retail channels apart from hobby stores).

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  Dark Elf

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  Witch Elf

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  (Dark Elf) Sorceress

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  Dark Elf

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  (Human) Assassin

Warhammer Fantasy Regiments Dark Elf

When Citadel began producing plastic figures, they created a multi-purpose sprue with a Dark Elf, a Wood Elf, A Dwarf, an Orc, A Goblin and a Skaven. All of these figures came with 2 variant heads and some had variant weapons as well. They were intended for use with metal Command groups to build units quickly or to bulk out existing metal units. The Dark Elf figure comes with both helmeted & bare heads, and Wood Elf Heads from the same sprue will also fit on the Dark Elf body (particularly the Wood Elf head with a topknot)

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