Horus Heresy Tutorials: Thousand Sons Magistus Amon 16/02/17

[Natanael]

Thank you. *saving in bookmarks* =)

 

- Nat

[Skoby]

This is exactly what I was looking for about a week ago great tutorial even I could follow and saves me forge world prices.

[chaplainmikey]

Hi,

Could I ask how long on average it takes you to fully finish one of these conversions? Do you do it in multiple sittings or can you manage the full marine in one go?

 

I ask because today I gave it a shot myself. I've finished the chest and the kneepads but by the time i'd done them the rest of my GS had cured too much to be workable.

This is most likely due to my inexperience using GS but I thought it would be interesting to hear the timescale in which you work.

 

Again, thanks for the brilliant turotial, can't wait for the next part. :lol:

 

Mike.

[Gawain Veteris]

Comments Post: Thanks again guys for the interest. Expect a MKIII tutorial by the 16th at the latest :)

 

Chaplainmikey: The time each one takes does vary but it is more time consuming and you waste more green stuff if you do them individually. This tutorial in particular works well when done in fives (more or less like you were batch painting). I completely this one in one sitting though. To increase working time you could add a tad more yellow to your mix and make sure to lubricate it with water or vaseline (whichever you prefer) regularly. Hope that answers your question :)

 

Tennisball: That is a good way to do it. I worry that the filing and cutting is an all or nothing approach though. It would be all too easy to overdo it and cut away a bit you'd have to green-stuff over anyway. As I say though I like the idea and I'll be sure to try it out on my next batch :) Thanks

 

Blindhamster: I confess I misunderstood you initially :P I thought you were suggesting the 'cut a line under the knee part of the MKVI shin guard approach' for all your MKIV. My apologies you are ofcourse absolutely right it's just as easy to use MKVI legs with this tutorial :)

 

MKIII by the 16th of October guys :) keep an eye out if you're interested!

 

Thanks, GV

[AGPO]

Well there's less than an hour of the 16th left so I for one am getting excited! :)

 

Seriously though mate outstanding tutorial I'm really impressed and will be giving it a go.

[Gawain Veteris]

Hey Brothers!

 

Sorry it's like, right down to the wire of my self-set deadline. I've had some real life stuff I've been busy with so I actually finished the tutorial just today. Here he is...

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/076-1.jpg

 

I should say that during this time my friend who I discuss this project with recommended I do MKII before MKIII simply because so many principles used in this tutorial are just added on to for MKIII. This and the fact that MKII is my new favourite :o SO today will be my MKII tutorial.(and MKIV backback too)

 

Apologies for the shoddy photography :S I didnt' realise while taking them that the light was so bad :S

 

Without further ado, the tutorial!

 

MKII Crusade Pattern

 

Preparation

 

Legs and head

 

The only parts which differ from the MKIV preparation stage are the legs and head. The arms and torso are prepared in the same way by removing the excess armour plates and 'bracelet' plates. As usual this starts out with just standard SM plastic bits.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/006-1.jpg

The legs however need to be prepared differently. Instead of removing the knee pad you should shave away the top layers of both the shin and thigh guards so that they are at the same level as the soft armour at the hips and the knees. On MKVII legs the knee pads have a slight point at the top, so you will need to curve that in order to make the knee pads perfect(ish) circles.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/021-2.jpg

The head preparation is similar to MKIV but not the same. Firstly you should remove the face grill entirely as well as the 'crest' at the top and the ridge at the back making sure to leave the 'ears' intact. This should leave you with something like this.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/014-1.jpg

As you can see the torso is prepared in the same way as MKIV (try to select one which has a small protrusion from the right or left hand side. In tactical squads this is the one with a skull decoration on it but no wings. There is also a mechanicum one in most tank accessory kits). Glue the model together to this point to avoid thumbing away un-set greenstuff.

 

Main tutorial

 

Legs

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/024-1.jpg

Starting with the legs, reconstruct the thigh with green stuff by spreading it smooth where you cut away the surface layer.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/026-2.jpg

Score lines around the thigh plate. One should start from the front at the bottom of the cod piece, the other should be just above the knee. When you have done this flatten the part of the plate which is just above each line with the side of your tool. This should create ridges something along these lines.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/027.jpg

Repeat this process on the rest of the plates you removed earlier. (make sure when sculpting the shin guards that you flatten just below each line rather than just above it). This is because they are oriented the opposite direction.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/032.jpg

After adding any further details you want like extra vents (which are made simply by repeating the above ridge process on a smaller scale) or rivets, add an appropriately sized blob to the cod piece.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/033.jpg

Repeat the ridge process mentioned above and add any additional desired details.

 

Torso

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/035.jpg

Create a small sausage about the size of the straight edge running across the plate during the preparation stage and place it on the mini.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/036.jpg

Flatten this sausage to either side making sure to keep the straight edge below and to corner each end. This is to make the plate protrude slightly like the FW model.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/039.jpg

You should get something like this. Like above, add details where desired (eg neck plate and rivets.)

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/040.jpg

For the Marine's flanks place a blob in the gap between the straight edge of the chest plate and the belt.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/041.jpg

Smooth this blob into shape and flatten it into the space so that it is slightly slanted, creating a torso shape.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/042.jpg

From there just use the afore mentioned ridge method to form the two plates and repeat for the other side. (you could always use the hose instructions from MKIV to add a bit of diversity)

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/043.jpg

For the belt buckle simply place a blob of Gstuff on the line between the torso and the cod piece and flatten into a circle.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/044.jpg

CIRCLE!... Sorry it's late.

 

Head

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/046.jpg

For the head place a blob where the face grill used to be and shape it roughly into that of a MKII 'triangle'. (its a good idea to look at a MKII helmet while doing this)

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/047.jpg

Add the visor by pushing the gstuff into the face place with your sculpting too. This serves a dual purpose as you can drag the excess down across the face place to make it slightly concave. Again add details where desired (usually slits or holes)

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/048.jpg

This is what we're aiming for.

 

Shoulder pads.

 

For the MKIV there was no mention of Shoulder pads as I felt that the VII and IV plates are so similar there is no real need for it. With MKII you have a good opportunity for both having cool shoulder pads and picking up a simple but effective sculpting trick.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/052.jpg

Roll a little green-stuff into a very thin sausage, about the thickness of the shoulder pad rim (MKVII).

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/053.jpg

Run the sausage along the rim like so, in order that it goes all the way round one curve or another (only do one at a time).

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/054.jpg

To create the curve flatten the inner half of the sausage against the shoulder plate and then nudge the ridge which is created the opposite way. This should naturally cause a protrusion while fixing the flattened bit to the shoulder pad rim. It is possible at this point to add rivets but I'm not going to do that in this tutorial. To complete the shoulder pad repeat as necessary.

 

(this trick works on all armour plates. Want a cool HQ model? stick a thin sausage to the extremes of his thigh plates or shin guards and repeat the process above to curve the edges :P )

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/076-1.jpg

This is where you should be up to (minus the backpack ofcourse (which will follow in the post afterwards with the MKIV).

 

MKII is now my favourite armour type having read Betrayal (which I would recommend to anyone!). This next post will contain both MKIV and MKII backpacks.

[Gawain Veteris]

Heresy Mark Backpacks

 

MKII and MKIII use the same backpack, and MKIV-VI (allegedly) use the same pack aswell. So this theoretically should be fairly comprehensive. I just want to point out that if there's one thing I've noticed in my research for these tutorials is that backpacks really really really don't matter much haha :P Such little thought is given to them and they are rarely drawn the same twice in any two places. Just look at MKVII. You get two or three variants of the same one (which isnt just heraldry and decals) in one pack! My recommendation is to not worry so much about the back pack.

 

In an ideal world when making MKII and MKIII packs from bits, use chaos marine ones . First of all this is because there is a precedent for using them un-altered pre-heresy as the extended pipes was apparently something to do with stabilizing for void combat, and secondly, because the pipes are already on there(for the purposes of this tutorial I've used tactical marines). You will notice the shoddy job I've done (and I'm not proud of) of the pipes on the MKII pack using the edges of paper clips... The basic points you need to get across are that the pack is thinner and boxier. All you really need to do is to remove the vents (taking care to keep them intact for adding back on later), square off the sides and indeed, re add the vents! Simple as, but for those who want real authenticity (or close enough), then read on :P

 

IMO backpacks aren't paid that much attention to. The aim of this tutorial thread is maximum impact for minimum cost so it's the key bits you'll see, like exposed piping. I'm rambling though...

 

Here's the backpacks.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/062.jpg

Start off with (that's right you guessed it) backpacks... Try and be selective of the bits you use as usual. MKII and III you should use ones with as many vents and pipes as possible as they're less refined and smooth as the MKIV.

 

MKIV-VI

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/063.jpg

Prepare the MKIV by clearing off the top plate of the backpack making it one smooth curve all the way over. Also, clear out the mechanical detail which is sometimes but not always in a small alcove at the front face of the pack.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/065-1.jpg

Run a Gstuff sausage from the alcove over the curve and onto the square plate at the back, and then flatten with the side of your tool. Like...

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/067.jpg

So...

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/068.jpg

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/069-1.jpg

After this score three lines all along the length of the flat sausage making four pipes. (for best results score the lines early in the gstuff setting period and smooth them around half an hour later when they've firmed up a bit)

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/070.jpg

At this point my advice is to do whatever you want :P House the ends of the pipes in something but as for what that is, it could be a skull, a clever plasma thing, a triangle or just a box. The world is your... backpack? There's so many different kinds I think you can get away with anything :P

 

MKII and MKIII

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/071.jpg

As mentioned above, clip the vents off and square off the edge of the main armour plate so you just have the main box and the bottom vents.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/072-1.jpg

Smooth over a blob of Gstuff to cover the whole plate and to clean up any mess made with the clipping (I know I did...)

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/073.jpg

For this next part you will need the curved part of the average paper clip. Good thing about paper clips is that there's loads of them! and they have a number of changeable curves on them. Chances are you'll get a good size if you give this a go.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/074.jpg

After re-attaching the vents, and while the gstuff is still setting. place these curves over the backpack allowing them to poke into the setting top plate. After that shape some tube casings for where they meet the top plate and you're done.

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/076-1.jpg

Should look something along these lines :lol:

 

http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h451/Zaevin/078-1.jpg

And here he is with his MKIV buddy :P

 

Well there you have MKII.

 

I mentioned before that MKIII is very similar so don't wait too long for the actual tutorial on that set. However I do have somewhat of a dilemma which I hope you lot can help me with. what pattern should I do next?

 

After MKIII my plan was to do MKV but I had an idea which sort of makes me want to do another mark. One which may be more popular, or indeed useful to you guys...

Would you prefer me to show MKV (after MKIII) or Cataphractii terminator armour from a standard Chaos Terminator? Let me know in a comment below which you would like to see next.

 

I hope you have found this useful :)

 

GV

[Olis]

That's impressive - both cutting the deadline fine and the greenstuffing. Great work. :lol:

[reckoning]

Awesome stuff. Really love the rim technique. As far as which mk to do next my vote is on mk5 PA armor. I would love to see your take on TDA, but also want to see how you handle all the PA mks first. Either way, Ill be happy.

[Adeptus-Alaska]

this thread is FANTASTIC! keep it up. more please.

[death given form]

I'll vote for Cataphractii after you do Mk.III, which is the one I'm really looking forward to seeing. Thanks for these, they're awesome, and I hope to be able to replicate your amazing results. Whatever you do next, I'll sure it'll make me jealous. ;)

[Redwunzgofasta]

This thread is awesome!

 

Great clear tutorials. Please never take the photos down from wherever they're stored, I'm sure people will be using this thread for years to come.

 

Looking forward to seeing more!

[Dosjetka]

I second the vote for MkV armour! :) This is an excellent tutorial and I'll most definitely be using it, especially since I love MkII legs and shoulder pads but not the rest. Thanks a million GV, you really are a little star!

 

Ludovic

Edited October 17, 2012 by Battle-Brother Ludovic

[MagicMan]

Thanks a bunch dude, this is an amazing tutorial! This needs to be archived because its one of the best greenstuff tutorials ive ever seen.

 

 

And as to the question, i'd prefer to see MK V, but i'd love to see Cataphractii too, hah.

Edited October 17, 2012 by MagicMan

[jeremy1391]

wow I love those MKII's! Better than FW I think.

[Jolemai]

Are you planning on doing a MKI tutorial? Or is Thunderer Armour taking it a bit too far?

[Gawain Veteris]

Hello Brothers

 

It's always brilliant when you've been up late scrambling stuff together for a deadline to wake up and find numerous positive responses. I am really taken aback by the enthusiasm. Thanks guys ;) To those poor souls who waited up late to see MKII (thankyou!) I'm sorry that it was only up 10 minutes before the end of my deadline. Talk about cutting it fine... At the moment the opinion seems to be edging towards MKV over Cataphractii which could be the best thing, to get all the PA out of the way first.

 

I am also aware that there have been numerous questions as to what I'll be doing down the line. I decided to answer these questions by providing a rough guide as to the order of works. These are just the main tiers of armour. You should also expect tutorials on preheresy weaponry and some legion specific bits for those who heresy marks of armour just isn't enough! So here it is (roughly)

 

MKIII Iron Armour- A little bird told me that some of my conversions for Iron pattern and Maximus pattern armour may or may not be featuring in all their yellow glory in a rather popular monthly publication very soon... But if you can't wait til then the Armour specifically designed for siege warfare will be next on the list.

 

MKV Heresy Armour- This armour is by definition undefinable within a strict set design. This is because it is basically improvised armour made from all sorts of tank bits, older marks, studs and experimental new plate. For this reason I'm gonna go generally for the FW design, just for maximum impact.

 

MKI Thunder Armour- In answer to a few of your questions, YES, I intend to do a MKI armour tutorial using only space marine bits with the exception of the plume which you can get from more or less everywhere (Orks, Eldar, Chaos, Space Wolves, ORKS!) Jolemai It's never too far for Space Marines o.O

 

Cataphractii Terminator Armour- Initially my intention was to do the PA marks only but you guys have shown that there is a lot of interest in this kind of project so I thought I'd increase the scope. I spent hours at the drawing board but I came up with a method for transforming Chaos terminator kits (currently at £28 GW) into Cataphractii terminators (currently unarmed and unequipped at £33 FW)

 

Justaerin Terminators- Ok... I should clarify here that the images I've seen for Justaerin Terminators by FW on the web are... stunning. However! I am a student and for me it's either food and green-stuff or Forgeworld and poverty (in that order). So to resolve this I also came up with a Justaerin Terminator tutorial add-on for the Cataphractii plate.

 

Artificer armour in the 31st Millenium- This will take the form of a show case of my soon to be Emperor's Children Centurion where I go through the ways in which I changed the older armour marks into 'Artificer' plate.

 

 

Though they're not on this table because they're a bit small I'm going be doing all the following demi-projects at some point along the line but not necessarily in this order. Not just these either. I may get an idea I throw into the mix. I'm open to suggestions and requests ;)

Heresy Era Weaponry

Legion Officer's Crests (transverse and inverse)

Ultramarines Macragge Variant Helmets

Emperor's Children 'Phoenix' Helmets

Dark Angel cloaks (in the 31st Millenium)

Thousand Sons Occult Helmets

Night Lords Bat Wing Helmets

Adeptus Custodes Helmets

World Eater 'Sarum' and Gladiatorial Helmets

 

Thanks again for the amazing response, hope this post clears some things up, and I hope you've found this useful and that you're looking forward to MKIII Iron Armour (Which will be finished before 27th October).

 

GV

Edited October 17, 2012 by Gawain Veteris

[Olis]

However! I am a student and for me it's either food and green-stuff or Forgeworld and poverty (in that order).

 

I don't know about you but I love FW products and I could stand to lose a pound or two. :)

 

Though they're not on this table because they're a bit small I'm going be doing all the following demi-projects at some point along the line but not necessarily in this order. Not just these either. I may get an idea I throw into the mix. I'm open to suggestions and requests :D

Heresy Era Weaponry

Ultramarines Macragge Variant Helmets

Emperor's Children 'Phoenix' Helmets

Dark Angel cloaks (in the 31st Millenium)

Thousand Sons Occult Helmets

Legion Officer's Crests

Night Lords Bat Wing Helmets

Adeptus Custodes Helmets

 

World Eater 'Sarum' helmets? (They look almost identical to MkVII helms, so that'd be an easy one.)

[Chapter Master Onyxius]

I can't wait to see the Cataphractii terminator conversions, always could lose a pound or two like Olisredan said, might help with the budget cut these days :D.

It seems like our world is currently in the throws of heresy, where Horus and the primarchs (basically diplomats and politicians) are leading the rebellion it is up to us to make mini's to preserve our sanity!

[Gawain Veteris]

Olisredan: Sarum pattern World Eater Helmets are the gladiator style ones right? If so, good call and I'll add it to the list :)

[AGPO]

Personally I'd love to see the crests (transverse and inverse) moved up the list, as this is something I've always wanted on my Imperial Fists officers and sergeants.

[Olis]

Olisredan: Sarum pattern World Eater Helmets are the gladiator style ones right? If so, good call and I'll add it to the list :lol:

Actually, they look like this chaps:

But, uh, I'll take the gladiator style ones instead! (Like the solitary example in Betrayal.)

[Gawain Veteris]

Olisredan: Jaw drops! I love that helmet! I know what you mean now, I just didn't know it was called Sarum! I'll do both and call them World Eater Heads :P

 

AGPO: Worry not AGPO :lol: The order of the miscellaneous legion bits above was just the order in which I remembered them. You can rest assured you'll be seeing some crests up very soon. You'll understand why when you see the tutorial for them but GET YOUR JUMP PACKS READY! :P

 

GV

[Bigger-than-Jesus]

Nice tutorials, if I had the spare parts, I'd give it a go myself

[Olis]

Olisredan: Jaw drops! I love that helmet! I know what you mean now, I just didn't know it was called Sarum! I'll do both and call them World Eater Heads :P

 

Weeell... technically it's a helmet with a 'Sarum' pattern respirator (noted as being a component in MKV suits). In lieu of a proper name, I called it a 'Sarum' pattern helmet. :lol: