D7 Command Cruiser conversion

Here is a bit of a teaser post, a hasty conversion of a standard D7 (MicroMachines version) to a D7 Command cruiser.  The command cruiser is a cruiser squadron leader, with an extra command deck, better phasers, and a couple more of them. 

I sculpted the extra neck detailing, and the little bit on top of the hanger, but otherwise just dashed this out.  A bit of repainting later, and it was done. 

Lumpy!

Here is what my digitally sculpted version looks like.  Much sharper! 

Smooth!

Comparison to a regular D7.

Next time, will these ships survive a battlefield newly painted?

Eldar construction

 I won a couple of auctions on Ebay recently, and was able to supplement my Eldar with some additions.  The figures went for pretty cheaply because they were incomplete, but I thought I could correct the deficiencies with my bitz box and sculpting "skills". 

I have a box of metal Howling Banshees which I got from my sister as a gift long ago, and wanted to update to a full 10 figure squad, so this auction lot of four incomplete bodies was perfect. Since the metal box came with six swords, and a pair of mirror swords, I had to find new arms for only one of the regular bodies, and then figure out how to finish off the two exarch bodies. 

Here are the completed bodies, which left to right used the right hand metal mirror sword, a harlequin sword arm and sculpting (and also a bit of putty to correct the miscast end of the pistol), the exarch with a converted Dire Avenger arm and a dire avenger pistol arm, and then the final figure with a dire avenger arm and the left of the mirror swords. (and cut down and re-sculpted forehead) 

I also got a metal Autarch body, which I have been chasing on Ebay for years. This one was also incomplete, but on the plus side it was the limited edition version from the starter box. 

I finished this figure off with a fusion gun arm that I had bought for this purpose long ago, a dire avenger banner, and (not shown) a warp vane and some putty to make a backpack.  Since the current model of the Autarch has about 1/10th the weapon options of the old metal ones, I magnetized the arm socket, and gave him a fusion pistol option as well (the current option has the fusion pistol, power sword, and swooping hawk wings)

These have all already been primed, so rather than complete another project, it looks like I am sticking with Eldar for a while longer...

Rogue Trader Orks for Orktober

Rogue Trader Orks for Orktober?  Well... sort of.

Apologist at the excellent Death of a Rubricist blog has done some great work converting current model plastic Orks back to the look and feel of the old Kev Adams Orks from the early days of Rogue Trader. 

Inspired, I set to work building and sculpting a couple of orks... and then the project languished for quite some time, with the poor boys waiting on various details to be completed.  The bandy legs really were off putting, and as my kid put it the "flipper hand" that most Orks have to hold boltas with is just really terrible. I managed to get them to the point where I was willing to proceed, and then in a burst of inspiration got them painted and based.  

So in addition to sort of a generic RT Ork looks, these two are rough (very rough!) copies of particular poses from the RT ork range, as can be seen below. 

I would like to make enough of these to muster a little squad, but I am not sure I can manage the energy to make it happen.  We will see. 

Next time, back to 15mm?

Steel Legion Commissar Conversion

The Imperial Commissar has been part of the Imperial Guard since the very first days of Rogue Trader, appearing in WD109 back in 1989.  The first four models models were single piece sculpts, like all figures were at the time, and were sculpted by Mark Copplestone.  These were quickly supplemented with a further six built to take advantage of the new plastic arm sprues available for the IG.

Picture from WD114 from SOL

After the RT era ended, 2nd edition Commissars were produced, which were larger and more detailed, but returned to being all metal (although multi part).  Later, when the Steel Legion came out as part of the Armageddon campaign, Imperial Guard Commissar body #2 was modified to have a gas mask to fit in with the toxic atmosphere of Armageddon. The figure was not given any of the other Steel Legion items, like bedroll, heavy gloves, or canteen.

Picture from Collecting Citadel Miniatures

I do not have that figure, but I still want a Commissar for my Steel Legion company command. As it happens, I DO have figure 401312 from the WD114 picture above, and he is wearing a gas mask... perfect for conversion!  Compared to the much newer Steel Legion, the figure is a bit crude, and short, with some curiously large feet, so I will convert those.

The first thing I did (well, first thing after having the figure sit in a bitz box for 18 years after I bought them from some bloke on rec.game.miniatures.warhammer), was toss the figure into a container of Simple Green to get the black and red paint off. A few days of that, and the paint sloughed right off with a bit of toothbrushing. This also broke down the old super glue holding on the plastic arms, and I put them aside.

Here is the stripped figure compared to a Steel Legion grenade launcher trooper, also showing the backside of the miniature, where you can see that he has a pouch and a old style bolt pistol held to his belt by a strap. You will probably notice that he is a bit short, and his neck is a bit stumpy.  Fortunately this grenade launcher trooper is going to provide the legs, and the neck will be less of an issue from the front I think, as the gas mask will provide some cover.

With new arms and legs

Here he has gone from being a bit short, to being a bit tall, which was a result of the difficulty I had with pinning (I even used a power drill and made little headway on the white metal of the legs).  There are also new arms from a Chimera commander (with bolt pistol) and a chain sword arm from a Steel Legion sergeant (now demoted to mortar loader). I also added a Cadian bayonet to replace the old style bolt pistol that I cut off from his left hip.

And here he is all painted up, generally following the painting for my Steel Legion figures.

As always, I really enjoy this army, and after I finish up the remaining bits and pieces (heavy mortar, heavy stubber team, and sniper), I really need to consider if I want to make a second platoon to go with that planned company command...or maybe just a scout squad?

Bloodreavers - Part 2

The puzzle have been solved!  Just a quick post to show off how my various conversions paid off and allowed me to rank up my Bloodreavers in an effort to make them serve as Chaos Marauders.

Certainly these chaps look a bit Chaotic, what with the arms going every which way...

As you can see from the photo, I numbered the bases with a pen, because they really only fit the one way!  

Most of my conversions are head and left arm swaps, with a few weapon or right arm changes too.  Being plastic, the figures were relatively easy to modify, and I fortunately had a bunch of Chaos bits to draw on for the conversion. 

I will show more of these figures later, but I was just excited that I was able to get it done at all. 

Night Goblin Wolf Rider

In what is a pretty obvious direct (yet inferior) copy of Sebastian's work over at Eastern Empire, I converted this chaos hound to be slightly more wolfy and mounted a night goblin on his back.  This required cutting off the original legs at the waist, using gnobler legs on either side of the wolf, a bit of sculpting, and then result.

I have a few more of these planned, so that I can have a tiny unit for use in some eventual far future Warhammer game (or for various other skirmish/RP usage) 

Vinyl sampling - Part one

At the beginning of March 2016, Suber had a great post on his blog Old School Workshop about using Star Wars miniatures as bodies for Inquisitor 28/Rogue Trader/Necromunda conversions.  For those of you not in the know, Star Wars miniatures was a collectible miniatures game from Wizards of the Coast, which used a similar system to the Star Wars D20 system roll playing game, and allowed for quick, point based skirmished on a gridded board.  The "common" figures from the collectible packs were available cheaply on Ebay, and I ended up with a few figures.  Well, maybe more than a few...

Collection status as of ~2008

On ebay, the Star Wars figures were often sold in "x4" lots, where more than one of the common or uncommon figures were grouped together in lots, meaning that I ended up with quite a few duplicates, often far in excess of what I needed or wanted. The figures themselves are often well sculpted, if a bit thin in comparison to the rather "heroic" GW figures. After reviewing Suber's success with chopping and repainting the figures, I got out my miniatures and the bitz box, and set to work.

The first five, prior to sculpting and painting

Over the next couple days, I will be showing the results off, which I think went quite nicely.

INQ28 - Venator

Prior to the release of the Necromunda game, Games Workshop had a set of rules released through White Dwarf that trod some of the same ground, and indeed featured skirmishes between rival gangs set in the Hives of Necromunda.  However, instead of gangs based on nation sized noble houses, Confrontation had gangs based more on profession, or social status.  One of those gangs was the Venators, or professional bounty hunters, as discussed here on the Leadplague blog.

Inspired by some discussion on how to kitbash a Venator, I created the following:

I still need to sand the putty again, and these are but hasty camera phone pictures, but you get the idea.

I used empire militia legs, a Bretonnian archer torso, an old Necromunda Orlock pistol, and a space marine scroll as the "warrant". The head is made from a 6th Edition empire drummer head, and half of a Sanguineous death mask.

For Inquisitor he is equipped pretty lightly with a Stubgun and a club, but most of the time I am sure that it suffices.

Random Things

Here are some random things I came across online today, because I have still been too busy to generate my own content, although I did add some Tiger style vision slit covers to my Baneblade the other day; because, hey, anything that helps me keep it in the "modeling" phase and away from the "painting" phase is a good thing right?

Post-Harry-Potter-World for a D&D game.  Hogwarts as a mega-dungeon.  Setting everyone knows something about.  Ridiculous pseudo-Latin spell names. Harry as a more explicit messiah figure. Go!

Converting a Deimos Pattern Predator.  Ping pong ball, Predator kit, and some plastic card mix together to make a retro style tank.  Clearly the next predator I build must be retro. (not sure about having a Flamestorm cannon or the long barrel auto cannon... solved by magnets?)

Original:

From Stuff of Legends

Reproduction:

More closely matches the newer Forge World version

An Introduction to a GM Book.

Neo-Soviet Power Armor

The wife and child were out of town a few weekends ago, and I had a bit of time to myself.  It used to be that such time was converted into 99% hobby time, but alas and alack, I spent most of the time doing various chores that had accumulated.  I did have some time to try out a figure conversion that I first dreamed up a while back.

I had been looking around for power armor to accompany the lovely Copplestone Neo-Soviets (comparison picture here).  They are largish 28mm figures, and I wanted something that looked a bit like the MAK designs.

I somehow hit on the idea of kit bashing Space Marine legs and a Tau Stealth Suit torso, and over the next few months, collected the various bitz I needed. Then they sat in a box for a few years like most projects of mine.

Here is the result of a few hours of cut and paste and some Aves:

Parts from seven different GW kits.

Now I just need to crank out another four of these, and get them painted.  A 40mm base seems more suited to the size as well.  Then maybe even paint the Neo-Soviet section I started painting four or more years ago...

What do you think?  Does it work?