Dark Elf (WHFB 6th 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.

Night Elf Patrol

The history of Citadel Dark Elf figures begins with the Night Elf Patrol- "Evil Elves Of The Underworld". They were originally released in a boxed set of 10 individually-named figures, with an additional (nameless) Night Elf Lord figure released singly as part of the Fantasy Tribes line. Concept art for the Night Elf Patrol features prominently in early Warhammer material, including the First edition Warhammer books and the Forces Of Fantasy supplement. Kraal Hearteater (the father of Mengil Manhide) is a member of the Night Elf Patrol. This line is closely related to the Dark Elves of Norse Mythology- they are rather wizened and very small in stature. The line is attributed to Michael & Alan Perry (some of their ealiest work for Citadel Miniatures).

http://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Speciality_Set_-_Night_Elf_Patrol_%28SS3%29

Preslotta C09 Dark Elves

The next expression of Dark Elf figures in the Citadel range is the preslotta C09 line of figures. This line includes figures called "Witch King" and "Witch Queen", but the figures predate the creation of the Malekith & Morathi background material by a decade. The armor & weapons of the C09 preslotta Dark Elves are similar to those of the Night Elf Patrol, but the C09 Dark Elves are taller & more elegant in stature, closer to their High Elf cousins. the terms "Dark Elf" and "Night Elf" are used interchangeably at this point and some C09 Dark Elf blisters are labelled "Night Elf". The C09 code designation was also used for a separate line of generic (non-Dark Elf specific) preslotta Elf figures. The C09 line of Dark Elves includes 19 figures as coded by RAFM miniatures, leading some to suspect that there is a lost 20th figure in the range. This line includes proto-Witch Elves (called "Berserkers" or "Female Fanatics" at this point) as well as character figures and regular male & female Troopers. Missile troops are armed with a mixture of bows and crossbows (the Repeater Crossbow has yet to become the Dark Elf signature weapon).

http://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Dark_Elves_-_C09_%28solid_base%29

Preslotta C21 Dark Elf Cold One Riders

The C21 line of Dark Elf Cold One Riders provides the cavalry element for the preslotta Dark Elf range (there are no horse-mounted Dark Elves of any kind at this point). In it's earliest conception, the Cold One is supposed to be a huge, terrifying multi-wound model analagous to a modern-day Carnasaur (although the figures themselves are quite small). The line includes a Cold One-mounted Dark Elf Hero, Sorcerer, and four different Troopers (including a Musician). The same Cold One figures were also used as mounts for preslotta Slann & Lizardman figures (a tradition that continued until very recently, with the creation of a Lizardman-specific plastic Cold One for late 6th edition Warhammer).

http://www.collecting-citadel-miniatures.com/wiki/index.php/Dark_Elf_Cold_Ones_%26_Riders_-_C21_%28solid_base%29

RR4 Preslotta Mengil Manhide's Manflayers

The preslotta era of Citadel Dark Elves concludes with the earliest version of Mengil Manhide's Manflayers, a Dark Elf Regiment of Renown (Mercenary Company). the original preslotta line includes Mengil himself and a (nameless) male Musician and female Standard Bearer, plus one type of Trooper. These were sold in boxed sets of nine figures, with one random Command figure and 8 identical Troopers. Theoretically, one had to purchase 3 separate boxed sets (comprising 27 models) to assemble a unit with a complete 3-person Command group. Despite the presence of the Dark Elf Champion Ean Hawkbane amongst the preslotta RR4 figures shown on SOL (Stuff Of Legends), there is no preslotta version of Ean Hawkbane and the slottabased version was not sold with preslotta figures. The background material on Mengil Manhide remains essentially the same from the preslotta era to the present.

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

Slottabased C09 Dark Elves

Citadel Dark Elf figures enter their next phase 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 Soceress "Azireth Darkforce") were sculpted with variant heads, indicating that they may have been intended for the Citadel ADD range.

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

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

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

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

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

C13 Dark Elf Hero On Dragon Horse

This figure was originally sold with both foot and mounted versions packaged together in a single blister pacakge. 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

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 rules to accompany the Cold One Chariot.

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

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.

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

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).

Marauder MM-series Dark Elves

In the late 1980s/early 1990s, Marauder Miniatures existed as a distinct entity with its own lines of figures (Although they were always owned and distributed by GW). A complete independant line of Dark Elf figures was available from Marauder, intended for use with 3rd edition Warhammer (essentially replacing the earlier Bob Naismith line of Dark Elf miniatures, although elements of both lines were briefly available on into 4th edition Warhammer, sometimes even blistered together). The Marauder line includes a Hydra, but the Hydra model was not then specific to the Dark Elf army.

http://www.solegends.com/marauder/mm70de.htm

http://www.solegends.com/marauder/mm72darkelfcoldones.htm

http://www.solegends.com/marauder/mm71darkelfcavalry.htm

http://www.solegends.com/marauder/mm73deassassins.htm

http://www.solegends.com/marauder/mm73dewitches.htm

http://www.solegends.com/marauder/mm73dehounds.htm

http://www.solegends.com/marauder/mm73descouts.htm