Conversion advice wanted please.

[Obeliske]

A little background first if you'll bare with me (if not jump to the next paragraph ). I've been playing Warhammer for about 15 years. Originally I wanted to play 40k but my parents bought me Fantasy. My first box was Lizardmen vs. Bretonia and I collected Lizardmen for a good 10 years after that. When I met my wife she wanted to collect Lizardmen but settled for Chaos as I wasn't giving up Lizardmen. We collected for a year or two (but never actually played) and I suggested we switch to 40K as she wasn't really happy with Chaos and I wasn't happy withholding Lizardmen. She picked up Tyranids and I picked up Astra Militarum and both of us have been pretty happy with our choices. I used to buy the White Dwarf magazine each month as I loved to read about the conversions (not something easily done with Lizardmen) and was looking forwards to doing some with my new army, however I couldn't really find anything I liked and after a month or so of looking just started putting my army together to get something to field. Recently however I've decided I no longer care about getting it fielded. I've always enjoyed making terrain and thinking up conversions as much if not more then the rest of the hobby and so I've decided to plan out my army in advance sell off my current Astra Militarum stuff (and a few DE things I've purchased and converted. I really gotta get a Kajiji post up) and start again. Still with Astra Militarum. The following is a list of planned conversions and a few spots I'd love some pointers with.

 

Starting with HQ

Most HQ figures I want to leave alone I really like them as is, however I plan on getting a few different models for commisars (I especially like the female ones I've seen) and priests will have some minor conversions done (weaponry).

 

Infantry

I plan on switching out heads with some Maxmini I really like the head models they do a lot more. Specifically their gas masked heads with helmets though I worry this may be out of place as I will be leaving the torso and legs alone (I like them sue me ).http://maxmini.eu/conversion-bits/head-swaps/neoreich-heads-bits  

I'm also looking at Pig Iron heads http://www.pig-iron-productions.com/hd11-kolony-militia-winter-head-sprues-p-18.html as I feel like they will suit my army a lot more they are just less interesting IMO. Their lasgun weapons I'd really like to change out as I don't like their models but I'm having a lot of trouble finding a suitable replacement that still screams laser gun.

 

Heavy Infantry

I've seen lots of 2 man missile and lasgun and autogun teams and will probably be switching them out (though replacing whatever infantry come with said model with GW ones) as I dislike the GW ones.

 

Sentinels

I've seen a few conversions I might work into mine all over the place but nothing that I'd standardize I really like these models on their own.

 

Tanks

I like the tanks (all of them) as is except the flame tanks. I've seen a few pics of older models with the single fuel drum in the back I'm wondering if there's somewhere I can get a conversion for this I really like the older one much better.

 

Flyers

Big conversions here. Firstly I want to replace the wings with ducted fan wings http://puppetswar.eu/product.php?id_product=187, I've already been in touch with Puppetswar.eu and they said they will sell me the wings separate from the rest of the model for conversion purposes provided I give them all the parts numbers (once I found out I let them know and they got back to me it will be roughly 11$ per set). I want to replace the Valkyries side guns with rounded miniguns.

 

All autoguns in the army I want to replace with miniguns (with front shield as per the autoguns/lasguns etc).

 

I'm going with a snow theme using light grey's, light blue's, and whites. I've picked up some of the GW snow effect stuff and while I'm not upset with it I'm not happy with it either pre-painting I find it to be the same consistency and color as cement morter (a little tip for you guys doing cityscape ruins out there). I found the baking soda, Elmer's and white paint to be a much better effect (big fresh snow with no water) though if you don't put in enough white paint and seal it properly and 100% it does yellow. I've also found it to be very brittle once set (unfortunately the hard way and now have to redo a few of my infantry), So if your using this method make sure you pin! The third option and one I havn't tried yet is the secret weapon's real snow effect's. While I like the effect looking at pictures it doesn't really seem to give the effect I'm after so while I will try it I have no hope for it in this application. As somebody who lives farther to the north on those blistering cold days (-40) when the winds blowing nothing turns to liquid and the snow has the consistency of sand which is the effect I'm after. If anybody has any other ideas to try I'd love to hear them as I'm not really in love with the baking soda method.

 

I plan on attempting to do digital camo on my infantry this time around (I've picked up a very nice Harder and Steenbeck that should be capable of the job if my hands don't shake to bad) and across my tanks. If I'm unable to do it across both I havn't decided it I will go with regular camo or if I will just paint them all generically and then weather them heavily.

 

 

Now for the advice part! Reading through this (congrats on making it to the end) you can see the general plans I have and want to do. Anywhere you can see room for improvement or for that matter any cool spots you see something missing please give me a link and your thoughts! I'd love to see and hear your ideas. That being said the big conversion I want and have no idea about is the infantry's lasguns. I really don't like them and want to put in something a little more interesting.

 

Thanks in advance guys and gals!

Obeliske

 

Edited: for links

[Father Mehman]

Welcome to the Imperial Guard, trooper! Go see the medics if you think you've got the "Astra Militarum". I hear it can get pretty nasty from the boys that catch it .

 

I think we could help you out more if this topic were to be moved by one of our illustrious Moderators to the Imperial Guard sub-forum (pretty please?). A lot of the guys and girls won't see it here.

 

EDIT- As per you asking for advice: I have no idea but I know people that could help you out.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Mehman

[Grotsmasha]

The only thing I can suggest for alternate lasguns are Anvil Industries Ion Rifles.

http://www.anvilindustry.co.uk/The-Armoury/Specialist-and-Energy-Weapons/Ion-Rifle

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Peredyne]

Alternate lasguns are available from Victoria Minatures http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/ and Mad Robot Miniatures http://www.madrobotminiatures.com/zencart/. You should also check out both sites for alternate heads, torsos, arms and legs.

[Obeliske]

Welcome to the Imperial Guard, trooper! Go see the medics if you think you've got the "Astra Militarum". I hear it can get pretty nasty from the boys that catch it .

 

I think we could help you out more if this topic were to be moved by one of our illustrious Moderators to the Imperial Guard sub-forum (pretty please?). A lot of the guys and girls won't see it here.

 

EDIT- As per you asking for advice: I have no idea but I know people that could help you out.

I'm not sure if it should be moved it's a general question and many people who aren't strictly AM/IG would be able to chime in here. Though the people who specialize in it would obviously be a better choice :P

 

Thanks for all the input so far guys! I had seen all these sites already :) I don't like the victoria ones as they suffer from the same issue I think GW's have in that they look fragile and I don't like that. I like the Anvil Ion Rifle with Tactical Scope and PEQ Laser though for the number I need that comes with a 400$ pricetag. The mad robot Pulse rifles are a good choice for price point though and very similar in what I'm looking for but only come to 160$ for the number I need.

[Obeliske]

Just an update. I got an e-mail back from Anvil they suggested I go with Mad Robot Miniatures Pulse Rifle's as they are more the size of lasguns while the Ion Rifle is more the size  of a plasma gun. Can anybody confirm this and/or have pics? I want something a little heavier then the GW lasgun but if it is more the size of a plasma gun then I'm not sure it's right after all as I don't want plasma guns to look small by comparison.

[Peredyne]

The Anvil Industries weapons are scaled for Space Marines, not Astra Militarum and as such, are noticeably larger than the AM lasguns. The Ion Rifle is the Anvil Industries equivalent of the Plasma Gun. I would go with the Mad Robot's Pulse Rifle or Plasma Rifle.

[Obeliske]

The Anvil Industries weapons are scaled for Space Marines, not Astra Militarum and as such, are noticeably larger than the AM lasguns. The Ion Rifle is the Anvil Industries equivalent of the Plasma Gun. I would go with the Mad Robot's Pulse Rifle or Plasma Rifle.

Crud I was afraid somebody would say this. I'm just not quite sold on the MR's Pulse Rifle. It's kind of plain looking though it does look quite a bit more solid then the default lasgun. I wonder if I could find some of the AMs iconography small enough to put on the guns to flesh them out a little.

[Peredyne]

In that case, you might also want to check Anvil Industries' "Regiments" line of weapons:

 

http://www.anvilindustry.co.uk/Regiments/Weapons

 

These are scaled for the AM/IG models. Assault Rifles, Combat Shotguns, Firestorm Carbines, Las Rifles and Sniper Rifles.These look far more substantial than the MR stuff.

[Obeliske]

In that case, you might also want to check Anvil Industries' "Regiments" line of weapons:

 

http://www.anvilindustry.co.uk/Regiments/Weapons

 

These are scaled for the AM/IG models. Assault Rifles, Combat Shotguns, Firestorm Carbines, Las Rifles and Sniper Rifles.These look far more substantial than the MR stuff.

Yeah I've been looking at those the last few weeks. I don't overly mind their laser rifles but they look like they are missing something you know? I wonder if I could get some of the addons from other guns like scopes put onto the order. That shouldn't be to hard. I've ordered from Anvil for a couple other small things I know they have a good product but I thought I might get other opinions. If you still think this post should be moved maybe I should see about getting it moved. There doesn't seem to be a lot of people chiming in for ideas.

[Durus]

Check out the Hasslefree Miniatures page. In the 'Sci-Fi-' and 'Modern armoury' section there are various different 28mm guns and a Minigun. You can also get a Minigun from Maxmini.

If you want a slightly different uniform you could buy the bodies (that come with lasrifles) from Meridian Miniatures Steam and Aether line. They also sell a wide selection of 28mm heads, so if you are looking for alternate heads having a look in there is definitely worth your time as well.

From what it looks like you are looking for something vaguely Stahlhelm like with gasmasks though, I can from the top of my head think of two other companies that sell 28mm heads that could work: Warlord Games and West Wind Productions. Pretty sure there are others, if you are looking into historical minis you got to watch out for the scale a bit though as the tend to fluctuate between true scale and heroic and 25 to 28mm. I've seen the WWP ones on Cadian bodies and they look alright, seem a little smaller than GW ones. The Pig Iron ones are spot on in terms of scale.

 

I bought from Victoria before and can throughly recommend her stuff, great quality, great castings and a very friendly contact. Added bonus to using some of her rifle arms would be that you could modify the uniform of your troopers with her rifle arm sets as well, as they come with either bare arms, rolled up sleeves or fully sleeved arms, but without the huge pauldrons you get on the GW models (and more realistically sized muscles on the bare arms).

 

And as for Lizardmen and 40k for the wife, I think you can proxy converted Lizardmen as Kroot allies or other auxiliaries for a Tau army without problems. I've actually seen several pretty awesome conversions of these on dakkadakka.

 

Final thought on the snow: From what I've read baking soda is a bit of a risk in terms of modeling. It seems that certain additives in regular baking soda tend to yellow it over time. Some people say you can avoid that by varnishing the whole thing, some say you are better off getting 'pure' bicarboate of soda. Truth be told I have no idea what is and what isn't true, since I never used it.

I use model train scenery products instead. May be a little more expensive than baking soda but sure to stay white and a single bag of the stuff is more than enough to do two armies with. I used a product called Heki Schneeglitzer (snowglitter), which I'm pretty sure is the same as the much praised crushed glass from Secret Weapon Miniatures.

 

Here's a picture. As you can tell by the picture it is glittery and sparkles if you move it under light.

http://i.imgur.com/PGJMzAu.jpg?1

 

The patch on the card is just white glue and the snow product, which makes it look a little molten and the stuff on the base has a drop of white paint in the glue and looks exactly like those huge crispy snowflakes in the dry snow of colder climates.

[Obeliske]

Thanks Durus! I really like the Hasslefree weapons and will probably go with them for my infantry (currently torn between 3 of them). How is the bond with superglue between plastic and metal though? I checked out the rest of those companies (some I'd seen before but at least one I hadn't) but didn't really see anything that interested me. Believe it or not I'm a big fan of the larger Cadian pauldrons and very much dislike the unsleeved stuff. Part of that is preference part of that is the cold winter theme

 

Your right about the helmet! I didn't know it had a name (Stahlhelm) so that should aid me greatly in my looking thanks for that.

 

As for the snow, it's great to hear that I can get it somewhere cheaper then Secret Weapon Miniatures (It took almost 2 months to get to me in Canada and cost an arm and a leg) however from what I've seen it still looks far to wet. I havn't had a chance yet to test it myself as I'm still collecting everything else I need I'm trying to find some pictures of exactly what I'm looking for and will edit this post if/when I find em. I'm looking for something that really emulates the snow where I am where in winter it's so cold it hurts to breath because ice crystals are forming in your lungs, where it's so cold your skin drys out because moisture is being pulled out of it into the air for lack of moisture. Where it's so cold your skin turns white after a few seconds outside and and your frostbit like that. Snow in these conditions doesn't have any water its just like sand, you can't do anything with it at all. It doesn't shine so much as have it's own glow. Almost like this http://media.nbcphiladelphia.com/images/1200*675/snow-generic-writing.jpg (though this is still a little to wet LOL)

Edited June 18, 2015 by Obeliske

[Durus]

Gluing plastic to metal with superglue is not a problem. A lot of the old GW kits were hybrid kits as well. Just make sure you clean all the parts before you glue them together, if there is some mold release residue or something like that on the parts it might weaken then bond. I used to score some lines into larger areas that looked suspiciously flat before gluing them, but the guns are relatively small and therefore light parts. I don't think you'll run into any problems with them.

 

As for the snow, I don't know exactly how you plan to base your models, but the example given is snow applied over a black/grey base. As I said the left patch is just the product, the patch on the base has a bit of white paint under it to make the snow look thicker. If you just paint the base white I'll look different and if put some putty or spackle on the bases to give them some volume and then apply the snow you'll have thick sparkling snowbanks. Might be worth to do a little experimenting on some spare bases, if you already have the product. The blueish blob on the bottom of the picture I posted is sand mixed with wood glue. So you can even use that to build up the volume of the snow.

If you use putty though you could even make footprints and the like on your bases for the models.