Generic Aliens for Dark Heresy

I few years ago, I found these 'aliens' at Blizzard's website for $4. They are Zerglings from Star Craft. There were 9 of them in the pack as well as 9 Terran Marines. Not yet sure what I will do with the marines--But I have some ideas. The marines are quite large, about the height of a T'au Crisis Battlesuit, but bulkier.

The aliens came in three positions.

After trimming down the molded base, I glued them to oval 75x45mm MDF bases.

These were easy to paint up. After a base coat, I simply added 3 quick layers of dry-brushing.

40k Statue

Today we have a repurposing of a very old miniature--A Rogue Trader era Marneus Calgar, Ultramarine Commander.

At one point, I had attempted (and failed) to convert Calgar to an Assault Marine leader. This unfinished conversion left poor Calgar without a right leg, leaving me to convert him back to his original pose.

I have glued Marneus, his bolter rack, and his cloak/helmet stand onto a Coke bottle cap. Which was then glued to a 40mm base, and finally on a larger bottle cap. Three metal shields were affixed to the lower bottle cap at 9, 12, and 3 o'clock.

Here is a series of 360° shots. I wanted the to look like aged and petinated bronze on top of a stone pedestal. To get this effect, I used...

Statue and Bronze Elements:
Citadel Warplock Bronze
Citadel Agrax Earshshade
Valejo Brassy Brass
Citadel Agrax Earshshade
Citadel Seraphim Sepia
Citadel Nihilakh Oxide
Citadel Seraphim Sepia

Pedestal:
50/50 Citadel Adaddon Black/Citadel The Fanf
Citadel Nuln Oil
Citadel The Fang
Citadel Fenrisian Grey
Citadel Agrax Earshshade

Arbites (counts-as) Rhino Showcase

I started this project a little over 4 years ago and it is finally finished!! I am very pleased with the results!

All three vehicles are identically equipped with a hull mounted storm bolter, a pintle-mounted storm bolter, a spot light, smoke launchers, and a tow hitch.

These models are intended to be used as Rhinos in 40K, Dark Heresy, and Necromunda. But I suppose if pressed, they might make suitable Chimeras for IG Veteran squads. 

I am still uncertain about line-edge paint style. I am happy with the results, but just unsure if it is the style for this project.

Size comparison with 2 Arbites

Size comparison with a Mk1 Rhino

Size comparison with a Devilfish

I thought about trying out some weathering pigments, but could not get myself to use this project as a guinea pig on my first attempt.

Let me know what you think. To catch up on the entire project check out these posts:

Arbites (counts-as) Rhino WiP (part 2)
Arbites (counts-as) Rhino WiP
Adeptus Arbites

Mining HeroClix (part 2)

Very quick update on my HeroClix to Dark Heresy conversions.

Only one conversion for this group. I replaced Morrow's hands and bone knives with WHFB Elf hands with swords.

No conversions for this group (yet), but I swapped out Witchblade and Hydra Medic for Domino and Skullbuster.

Three head swaps from very old IG sergeant heads.

If you want to follow this project from the start, take a look at Mining HeroClix (part 1) and Clowning Around.

Mining HeroClix

In this post, I unintentionally started a larger project. I don't plan to do any heavy conversions with these--Mainly head and hand swaps.

Cabal of Sorcerers:  Psyloke, Umar, Yukio, Rasputin, Diablo. I plan to paint these in one common color a unique secondary color.

Girl Gang 1: Witchblade, Tiger Lily, Echo, Abby Chase, Hydra Medic. Gang 1 and 2 will be painted in the same colors, but I may flop the colors between the groups.

Girl Gang 2: Kabuki, Typhoid Mary, Ashleigh, Shi, Marrow.

Security Team: SHIELD Trooper, SHIELD Agent, Lobster Johnson, Bullseye, Paladin. This group will represent organized thugs, a security team, or possibly officers.

On average, these figures are about 1/5 head taller than a typical 28mm figure and a full head + compared to a 25mm figure. I am ok with that but I realize others would find the scale difference unacceptable. This is intended to be a quick project that will bulk up my modern/sci-fi figure inventory.

Clowning Around

As it seems easier for me to start projects than to finish them, I started yet another one! 

It all started a couple weeks ago, when I had my personal HeroClix collection out looking for the name of a specific figure. Deathbot wandered by to see what all the ruckus was about. He asked if he could play with them and I said yes. A little while later, I walked by and saw one of my HorrorClix bins open and noticed the "circus" folk. I thought... what about a clown themed gang! Something like a cross between a Necromunda Goliath gang and a clown from a slasher movie.

So here we have the first installment of the clown gang. These figs are all from a eBay store inventory. I chose to keep these guys armed only with melee and flame weapons. I thought it would be a nice change up to the usual fair. Also, our Dark Heresy group is headed towards an under water hive on the next mission--Firearms are banned there.

I started hacking up the the figures before I remembered to take a pic. These are all HorrorClix figures. The pair on the left are Jesters, the middle one is a Mime Monster, and the last one is a Luchador.

Here is the group shot. I really like how these are turning out and would love to make a second group of five. Unfortunately, I only have 2 more Jesters. Might have to troll eBay for the rest, or get more creative! Here is a run down the mods so far:

• Jester 1: Removed original arm and added bare left arm from a HeroClix fig.
• Luchador: Pried open his hand and gave him a Skaven flail; Added 2 Flagellant weapons on the ends of the big "stick"; Added a Night Goblin head. I am considering making the nose a clown nose.
• Jester 2: Re-positioned the right arm and head.
• Mime Monster: Removed hands, and added 2 Skaven hands with blades.
• Larken: This is a Ramshackle Games mini. I added a SM loincloth and an Orc choppa to his hilt. I may green stuff a "clown fro".

In addition to the clown gang, I also started 4 other 5-man groups. All of these groups I intend for use in Dark Heresy although I admit they will likely look more suited to a modern setting.

• Cabal: A mix of male/female sorcerer types. I plan on painting them with a common main color and accent with a unique color for each.
• Security: Dudes with guns and light armor. I want them to pull duty as PDF or private security.
• Gang 1: Chicks with guns. Some with light armor. Will be interchangeable with Gang 2.
• Gang 2: Chicks with melee. Some with light armor. Will be interchangeable with Gang 1.

I saved a handful of additional figures that could easily represent a personality, but I probably wont get to them for quite awhile.

In future posts I will detail my progress with the other groups. I have actually removed all of them from their HeroClix bases and made modifications to 3-4 of them.

Braaaaiiiins!!!

I just got myself a box of brains!!! Even better they were free! A friend of mine bought them for $2 at a garage sale and gave them to me. I haven't counted them yet, but I estimate there about 100 of 'em.

Here is a 16mm die for scale. Oh, I guess I for got to say why I am so excited to get a box of brains. Well, I play Zombie Dice by Steve Jackson Games. I started out using glass beads. That was certainly functional, but I wanted something more thematic. It quickly switched to using HorrorClix Victim Tokens (a sort of POG representing typical horror movie victims). This worked very well and fit the theme. They also fit in the Zombie Dice cup. I had quite a selection of tokens and we placed them upside-down in the middle of the table, so your victims were random.

But what I really wanted was more of these. I bought this set of pewter brain beads while I was really into Magic: The Gathering in the mid-'90s. There are only 20 brains, and usually not enough for a game of Zombie Dice with 6 players. I have been trying to find another set of these for years (even before I bought Zombie Dice). But in the last year, I have really tried to find another set of these cool "beads".

Well, now I have brains in spades!! The only down side is they wont fit in the Zombie Dice can. I think I can live with that! Now, I have to decide if I am going to paint these!!.

Arvus Lighter WIP part 3

Slowly making progress on my scratch built Arvus Lighter. Here is a pic in it's current state. I am about 3/4th done with the line highlighting. I am considering adding a wash of dark blue-grey before I attempt my first go at weathering powders.

I want to add some chipping to the paint before the weathering process by paining the chipped areas black and then dab those area with silver.

Here are the two main components of the Arvus--A Lego Technic container and A Batman Happy Meal toy. I have two more of each with the original intent to make two more Arvus Lighters. But the time and (pricey) bits used to make this one, I will probably find other uses for them.

As always questions and comments are welcome! If you want to see the previous posts about this project check out:
Arvus Lighter WIP
Arvus Lighter WIP part 2

Arvus Lighter WIP part 2

Here is an pic update on this project. Mostly adding detail and bits.

Originally, I planed on the back hatch being surface detail, but I have committed to making a magnetized door that will drop down as a ramp.

Comments appreciated!

Arvus Lighter WIP

Here is a shot of a WIP "scratch built" Arvus Lighter that has been sitting untouched on my "to do" shelf for over 2 years (the body has been in my blitz box for over 6!). Admittedly this isn't an exact match to the Forge World model. I am basing this project off Googled images and the body and cock pit used for the basis of the model.

The cockpit is a Lego Batman Happy Meal toy boat. The body is a Lego pre-Bionicle Technic robot container. The rest of the parts are miscellaneous bitz, plasticard and foamcore. I did purpose by the nacelles, landing gear (not shown), and other Valkyrie bitz for this project.

I have two more Lego boxes and Batman toys, with the intent to eventually make two more Lighters, but I will have to source more nacelles and landing gear--Assuming this project is a success!

Ideally, this vehicle will be put into immediate service of the Ordo Hereticus by our Dark Heresy acolytes. It's eventual and primary mission will be attached to my rag-tag Imperial Guard force.

If you are interested in reading more about my rag-tag IG force, check out these posts:

List Building: Imperial Guard

Troop Troupe

Dark Heresy Scout Vehicle Complete

Here is the finished scout vehicle. Check out the previous post about this project here. My 7 year old son got a hold of this just before I took the picture and dropped it-- breaking thee antenna. So I guess it's technically not finished! Actually, I am thinking about adding some weathering and road grime at some point in the near future... we'll see!

(click on image to enlarge)

About 30 minutes before our last Dark Heresy session began, I decided to quickly paint up some stowage. They are not glued on, they are just sitting on the rack.

A GW ammo crate and dual fuel tanks plus a Tamiya 1/35 scale
Military Miniatures tent.
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As a finishing touch, I stretched my free-hand skills by adding an aquilla to the spare tire cover. It's a little crude, but it gets the point across.

Dark Heresy Scout Vehicle WiP

Almost ready to paint
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This is a scout vehicle for our intrepid throne agents. Our Dark Heresy group was sent to a frontier world equipped with a means to easily get around. I expect we will have 3-4 more sessions on this world.

 It was originally going to be one of my Arbites counts-as Rhinos.
(click on image to enlarge)

This is a toy Iron Man car I found at a Dollar Tree store (the green one is a Hulk car).

I didn't like the back end, so I decided to remove it. I used a Dremel tool with a cutting disk.

Cutting off the back end.
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I Decided to remove more. The original back end had a taper that I wanted to get rid of.

Removed the taper.
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I used plasticard and spackling paste to fill in the hole I created. I didn't want a "pick-up" style bed, but more of like a "roof-rack".

Rear shot of the almost complete model.
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Arbites (counts-as) Rhino WiP (part 2)

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I got a little bit of time in on my Adeptus Arbites (counts-as) Rhinos. I added the remaining bitz to the prototype, and was able to complete the the other 2 vehicles as well. It was surprising how much time I spent planning and experimenting during this project. This isn't the first time I used poster tack to temporarily hold parts/models together, but it is to the extent used here.

I decided to trim down the smoke launcher tubes--
a little more than half
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Side-by-side comparison to a mk1 Rhino
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Hopefully I'll have all three painted up later this week.

To see the development of this project check out:
Arbites (counts-as) Rhino WiP
Adeptus Arbites

Arbites (counts-as) Rhino WiP

I mentioned the Arbites (counts-as) Rhino in my last post: Back on the Bench. But since taking the picture, I received the eBay bitz I was waiting for.

Using some Poster Putty (actually any brand tacky putty works), I added the remaining bitz. However, I'm not happy with the placement of the smoke launchers, and I'm not sure what to do.

(click to enlarge image)

(click to enlarge image)

I'm also not sure about the door handles. I may draw/paint them on instead of adding a bit (what you see in the pic is a handle from a Land Speeder Storm). If I can fit it on, I will add an Aquillia hood ornament too.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!