pingo Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I've not posted any WIP stuff before, so here goes. Basically, I decided to try and convert the Black Reach marines since, as great an example of mass production casting and easy to assemble design as they are, I find them a little, well, dull. I cheated somewhat in that I made extensive use of my bitzbox and bitz stores as I can't sculpt for toffee :rolleyes: I began with the Dreadnought. I decided to go for a twin-linked heavy flamer dread, with another heavy flamer on the power fist arm. I'm not sure I've seen this combo before (perhaps that means it's useless!), but I liked the idea of serious 'fire'-power and that it might be useful against horde armies like Orks. I figured the left over flamestorm cannons from my LRC would be a good base for the twin-linked heavy flamer, finding a way to stick it in place of the multi-melta barrels. The fuel tank from the cannons went on his back. I wanted to reposition the legs somehow as I love dynamic dreads. After considering repositioning the knee joint, I decided it would be too hard, and probably not what I wanted. I decided to simply remove the legs from the 'body' (a challenge in itself, involving buying the bit that connects the legs to the torso from the dread kit) and twist the legs. I cut the left foot off and turned it 180 degrees to give it the angle of stance I wanted (since the goal was to make him smashing through a wall). I wasn't happy with the basic power fist so I bought the Ironclad one, cut the business end off and stuck the new fist on the model. I was then able to strategically cut and position the 'claws' around a section of wall. When I first saw the eagle exhaust vents from the Empire Steamtank kit, I knew I wanted them on the exhausts of the dread (since the black reach dread's vents are too low for my liking). The last thing was the banner. I took the Ironclad one as a basis, cut it down, drilled holes in it, and 'sculpted' raggedy tears on it as an attempt at battle damage. Oh yes, and there's various icons and purity seals, naturally. Anyway, enough talk, I'd better show some (lame-quality) photos: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frostbit3 Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 The eagle head vents are a great idea, and look amazing from the front and sides. From the back, I'm slightly put off by the wide to thin to wide of the tubing. I'm just being picky because it is such a great model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 My next project was the Terminators. I wanted them armed as they came, with the addition of a cyclone missile launcher (because I love it) and a chainfist (just in case). The Sergent's legs and torso went unchanged. However, I didn't like the stock sword: I felt it was a little short, and I wanted him pointing it at the enemy. I had a big Dark Angel sword I randomly purchased one day, and replaced the standard sword with it (the angle of the wrist was just right too). I gave him a nice banner and opened out his storm bolter arm a bit: my one criticism of all the black reach terminators is that their stance is very narrow and closed. It's hardly a fair criticism given the nature of the set but I changed this on pretty much all the terminator arms. The cyclone guy was an easy conversion: all I had to do was use the parts from the standard kit as they fit right on with no effort. This gave me a change to change the standard head. I love unhelmeted marines scattered liberally throughout my army, as I find them more characterful and fun to paint, if a little illogical (especially since I have no idea how he'll be targeting his missiles, but then I chastised myself for thinking too hard!). I created two more Terminators by sawing the torso off the legs and twisting it slightly. This gives a surprising amount of dynamism for such a small thing. The first here has chainfist, the second I carefully sawed and cut the helmet off to replace it with... another helmet, only this time, very slightly twisted... :S Finally, I worked on re-posing the legs of one of the Terminators. I cut at the hips and cut the feet off, re-posed to what looked right (I made sure he had a different leading leg to the Sergeant as I am that anal about all the models being different...), and filled in the mess with green stuff. Anyway: that's it for now. I'm wondering what to do with the basic tactical marines as they seem pretty tough to convert. The Sergeant should be ok, but the rest are quite unhelpfully moulded. Not sure what to do with the captain either, especially as I don't need another captain. I will think on, and take any suggestions on board. The eagle head vents are a great idea, and look amazing from the front and sides. From the back, I'm slightly put off by the wide to thin to wide of the tubing. I'm just being picky because it is such a great model. Thanks :D Yeah: I wasn't sure whether to fill in the whole gap or not, and I must admit I took the lazy option. I may change this before I paint, actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commander alexander Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I love seeing people make the most from AoBR models, as its a cheap and effective way to fill out your army, especially if you have a friend who plays orks. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathar the great Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Nothing wrong with being a little anal when it comes to posing Terminators. I like your dread conversion and the Termies a lot. Although actually (look who's anal now) they are not AoBR conversions as you are using parts from different sets :D As for the captain, you could convert him into a Chaplain or Librarian without too much effort. His armor is very ornate already, he has this nice high collar and all that. You just need to change his weapons, which shouldn't be too big a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Although actually (look who's anal now) they are not AoBR conversions as you are using parts from different sets :P Lol :P You're one tough critic! :D What can I say, I just can't help mixing kits ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Tancred Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 This is a great idea, easy but looks so much better and it doesn't cost an army and a leg. I love the running terminator, it looks way better. Shame your painting them as Smerfs :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Shame your painting them as Smerfs :P How dare you?! They're not Smerfs. They're Smurfs :P Hehe :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Tancred Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 See how bad it is, I can't even spell it correctly from shock :P lol just joking mate, look forward to see what you do with the rest of the set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 I have a few ideas for the Sergeant, but those bolter marines are still confounding me as they're essentially one bit lump of plastic with few possibilities. But I hate to just make them as-is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freakiq Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I love that dreadnought. ^_^ As for the tac marines, It's quite easy to remove the heads with a clipper and some knifework and replace them with spare marine heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathar the great Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 From what I have seen of them (don't own any myself), some simple weapon and arm swaps shouldn't be too hard. If you remove the head and add another one facing along the barrel of the gun, you already do wonders to the minis dynamic. You could also replace the ammo clips of the bolters with round ammo barrels or something like that. It shouldn't be too hard to exchange the shoulder pads either. Have a look at Khrangars "Emperors Word" thread in the WiP area, he has a short tutorial on replacing shoulderpads somewhere in there. Just some ideas off the top of my head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Thanks for the ideas guys ^_^ Some of the AoBR heads are cool so I might leave some on. I'll have another look at beheading some of them later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Loring Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 I'm just about to convert an AoBR dreadnought and looking for some ideas on how to separate the legs from the torso. I'm thinking of more of a walking pose, but I'd be interested in how you separated yours!? Thanks! Nice work by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 I'm just about to convert an AoBR dreadnought and looking for some ideas on how to separate the legs from the torso. I'm thinking of more of a walking pose, but I'd be interested in how you separated yours!? Thanks! Nice work by the way! Thanks mate :huh: It basically involved to careful sawing and it really helps if you obtain this bit from somewhere: http://www.bitsandkits.co.uk/shop/article_...26aid%3DDR07%26 I've roughly marked the direction of the cutting: sawing parallel to the bottom of the sarcophagus, then diagonally along the line of the front plate. This diagonal cut matches the angle of the front of the pelvis bit. I sawed and carefully cut the edges of the pelvis bit off so it fitted into place, and that was all there was to it. So long as you sit down with the model and study it carefully before you cut anything, you won't make a mistake. I spent more time sitting thinking about this model than actually building it. You'll need to trim up the legs a bit if I recall and use green stuff to complete the very top where it connects to the body. I then used green stuff to connect the two parts. I expect you could green stuff a round hemisphere on top of the legs so you can fit it into the socket of pelvis at any angle. I was originally going to do a walking dread but that would involve a lot of cutting on the legs themselves, which I decided against. One reason was that I figured I would wreck the cabling and I have no guitar wire or the like to replace it. Walking could certainly be done though if you cut the legs from the hips and again at the knees. The feet may be tricky as they aren't as easy to angle as on a normal dread. However, I'm sure you would be able to cut them off and play around with pinning and green stuff until you get the desired angles. Good luck: post the results as I'd like to see it :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Well, not a bad evening's work. The Tactical Sergeant is done. I decided to leave his head as it is as I like it, and gave him a combi-flamer and power fist. Slightly Kantor-esque pose I feel :wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurglespuss Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 That tac squad sarg is my fave, thats a really dynamic pose, from a less than dynamic model, well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgtNACHO Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I think the Power fist should be facing the other way, like palm facing backwards. It would look more natural a firing position. What he is doing now looks like he is about to blast someone if they don't give him a big bear hug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurglespuss Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I disagree, I think it looks like he's just swung around to fire his weapon at a new target, and so his power fist arm is trailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 I disagree, I think it looks like he's just swung around to fire his weapon at a new target, and so his power fist arm is trailing. Yeah: this was kind of the look I was going for. A bear hug is an interesting interpretation. 'C'mon, give Serge some sugar...' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted December 6, 2009 Author Share Posted December 6, 2009 Well, I've now got all the tactical marines done. I was initially apprehensive about these guys, but I found that their legs can be relatively easily reposed and their left arm can be cut off. This allowed me to create some different leg poses and arm positions (using regular tactical marine left arms). It is also quite possible to cut the torso off and twist it: indeed I did this a couple of times. The heads can also come off quite easily. The only part of the models that make conversions very tricky are the right arms. These are moulded to the body along the whole length and cannot be removed without re-sculpting or very patient cutting. I always left the right arms alone. I'll start with some basic bolter marines: The following guy is a bit of a cheat. I love the unusual kneepads and thought they look like those on Mark IV power armour, so I broke out some of my precious Mark IV bits and gave him a gunslinger pose: I'd like all my tactical squads to have a comms specialist, and so with the addition of a bit from the bastion (or somewhere, I forget) I did just that. It was very frustrating trying to get him to put his finger to his ear, and I;m not sure it quite works. It looks like he's saying 'oi: you're mental!': I recycled the sergeant's pointing hand on this guy, filed the chest smooth and added some brass bits: If you're repositioning legs, you are legally required to make one have their foot resting on something: After I made the flamer guy, GW put the LotD models up for pre-order and I realised I'd inadvertently made a very very similar model to the LotD flamer guy: Finally, the missile launcher guy. This is probably the least convertable model of the bunch. There is almost nothing you can do with the left arm as it is moulded to the chest. You could probably reposition the legs, but I figured he was better in a stationary pose and didn't want to rest mess up the blade scabbard. You could probably change the head, but it's an unusual helm so I wanted to keep it. So I just chopped up the backpack servo arm and modelled it to hold a missile. So, let me know what you think! I think I'm going to use the captain for bits rather than build him. I have enough captains already, and I see the model too often. As nice as it is, I think I'll leave him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathwing70 Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 If you're repositioning legs, you are legally required to make one have their foot resting on something: so true! :) they look amazing, I really like the guy with the radio on his back... though you would assume each marine has a high tech radio in his helmet... On the other hand, I'm told bolters use case-less rounds aswell so... if it looks good, go for it! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingo Posted December 6, 2009 Author Share Posted December 6, 2009 they look amazing, I really like the guy with the radio on his back... though you would assume each marine has a high tech radio in his helmet... On the other hand, I'm told bolters use case-less rounds aswell so... if it looks good, go for it! :) Thanks mate :) Yeah, the radio equipment is just artistic license, I have no fluff basis for it. I saw someone do it once and thought it looked cool. Like you say, rule of cool trumps logic ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Well there is sort of a fluffy reason for it... the standard raido equipment the marines have is only short to medium range, and thing longer they relay through vehicles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EPK Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Well there is sort of a fluffy reason for it... the standard raido equipment the marines have is only short to medium range, and thing longer they relay through vehicles... Thats a good point. Another thing that struck to make a "comm specialist" more unique is that perhaps he could actually tap into enemy comms and jam if needed (at least at short range of a nearby enemy squad). That would be a good enough reason for him to have extra special looking communication gear out side of whatever comes stock on power armor helm. By the way, loving the conversions so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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