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Modelling: My attempt at a properly scaled 40K Marine


Elusive71

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  • 2 years later...

Hi guys! Thanks for letting me know about the images being down. I had to change ISPs and lost all the files. So for now, I'll be using good ol' Imageshack.

 

I can't believe folks are still reading the tutorial! I'm honored.

 

I've changed a few things since I posted this (bulked up the thighs a bit for example), but until I get a chance to update, I'll just repost the old tutorial with new image links:

 

Kurgan requested that I repost my "Properly scaled 40 marines" threads here on Bolter and Chainsword for your perusal.

 

I'd like to post a step-by-step, but for now it's a bit tricky: I don't have my own camera, so I need to schedule time to use my friend's at work. Then he has to take the camera home to upload the pics and e-mail them to me... But I do plan on documenting the project further which of course will be posted for you guys to check out.

 

Thankfully I only plan on using these for small scale skirmishes, so I won't need a whole army of them. My decision is influenced not only by convenience but also by the fluff, in that I want my Marines to be used primarily as small squads of shock troops for surgical missions - probably in the service of an Inquisitor or possibly a Rogue Trader.

 

Anyway...

 

11/19/03

 

It's always bugged me that fluffwise, Space Marines are supposed to tower over the average human, but the miniatures don't reflect this. When the Brother Artemis figure was released for Inquisitor, it showed just how much bigger the Marines ought to be. In the Inquisitor rulebook, Jes Goodwin mentions that at 54mm scale, a Space Marine works out to 67mm. I roughly scaled that down for 40K and this is what I came up with:

 

Size comparison between a standard GW Space Marine, my converted Marine, and a Guardsman

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9173/dsc00265vv5.jpg

 

 

Shown at close to actual size when viewed at 1024x768 resolution

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/3760/dsc00265bsh2.jpg

 

A breakdown of the conversion:

 

* The torso is a hybrid of the MkVI "Eagle Armor" chestplate and the MkVIII "Errant Armor" abdomen with a 1mm plasticard spacer added to lengthen the entire torso.

* The tubes have been removed from the helmet and will probably be replaced with greenstuff respirator-style "canisters" ala the Kasrkin models.

* The pelvis is from an Assault Marine with the legs removed just below the hip joint.

* The legs are a Tac marine's removed just below the hip joint with plasticard spacers added to lengthen the thigh. The feet were also removed and repostioned, adding a bit more height. The grieves will be slightly lengthened and extended down over the ankle joint with greenstuff.

 

By lengthening the entire figure, it not only adds height, it sets the Marine apart from the rather stocky proportions of the typical GW human figure, giving him more 'heroic' proportions.

 

 

PART 2

 

 

Well, I modified the legs again, giving the Marine a more erect stance. In order to provide a better comparison of height, I used the legs from the new Tank Accessory sprue to piece together a fully upright Guardsman. The Marine still isn't standing as erect as the Guardman, but you get the idea.

 

Size comparison between my converted Marine and a Guardsman

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/9531/heightcompri4.jpg

 

There's still a lot of detail and clean-up work to do on these, but here's a close-up of the modified legs which give the Marine his additional height.

 

Leg detail showing placement of plastic card spacers

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/6852/legdetailgu5.jpg

 

A suggestion was made on another board that I deepen his chest as well to add bulk. I initially added a plastic card spacer between the front and back halves of the torso, but that not only deepened the chest, it also thickened the belly - not good. So I separated the chest plate from the abdomen and put the spacer just between the chest and back torso half, while the abdomen attaches directly to the back torso half. This gives him a much more beefed up profile.

 

Comparison between my converted Marine's torso and a stock GW Marine's torso

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1254/chestcompto4.jpg

 

Torso detail

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2351/torsodetailmb2.jpg

 

As you can see, I also chose to widen the belt by lowering the buckle and adding a strip of plastic card. I had realized that my original Marine looked a little too "wasp-waisted". The modified belt thickens the waist just enough.

 

So, what's next?

 

* The grieve of the right leg needs to bulked up with green stuff. It's noticably thinner than that of the left leg.

* Finish helmet modifications.

* Add segments (or links) to belt with green stuff. For those of you with the Jes Goodwin sketchbook "The Gothic and the Eldritch", take a look at the drawing of the Mk 8 Space Marine armor, to see what I'm shooting for.

* Clean up legs and add green stuff detailing at the joints.

 

Back to work.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/1254/chestcompto4.jpg

 

Marine on the right: "By the emperor's cellphone charger, he is MASSIVE. o.o;"

 

Great job on the tutorial, the one thing I don't get is why there is plasticard under the marine's foot. Did I miss something when reading? Oo;

 

 

Alpha

I would REALLY like doing a whole army of biggerized marines but what about metallic models like chaplains and such?

 

Just convert the special characters yourself out of plastic parts :)

Seriously best way you're going to model it to your own image anyway, especially if you have a DIY Chapter.

Otherwise it's always still possible to get a big saw and "recycle" the metallic parts you actually like too much to lose ;)

 

edit: good to have the images back, backing em up this time.. though I (still) use more simplistic methods to make my Marines look bigger (taller), I figure I should give some future characters a more complicated and -better looking- size ;)

Great job on the tutorial, the one thing I don't get is why there is plasticard under the marine's foot. Did I miss something when reading?

I don't think I mentioned it, but one of the soles was taller than the other - by the teeniest fraction - and I'm terribly obsessive when it comes to this stuff, so I had to shim up the shorter one. :huh:

 

Just convert the special characters yourself out of plastic parts :jaw:

Seriously best way you're going to model it to your own image anyway, especially if you have a DIY Chapter.

Agreed. Now that there are plastic captain bits, plastic medic bits, and lots of plastic gothy bits perfect for chaplains, it's very easy to make your own characters. Personally, I don't see the need to buy any metal characters nowadays, unless you really like the sculpt. Librarians might be a little trickier, but the B&C is full of excellent examples of how to build a librarian out plastic parts. I'm looking forward to the Dark Angels releases which, if the rumors pan out, will eliminate the need to buy metal devastator parts and will include lots of monkish robe-iness...

 

Thanks for the continuing interest! Once I'm settled into my new house and have found which boxes contain my tools and bits and such, I'll get cracking on my marines again. I'm planning scaled-up (and anatomically viable) Terminators and taller scouts too.

He walks among us!

 

Elusive, I know this will come off sounding a bit ridiculous, but this tutorial completely changed the way I approach my modelling, even beyond space marines. Thanks a lot for this one, and I'm eagerly awaiting the updates.

  • 3 weeks later...

This Tutorial is indeed amazing. I am going to have a lot of fun when it comes to true-scaling my metal death guard(2nd-3rd ed.). Hpowever hard it may be, I am determied to find a way, and this is helping me a great deal.

 

Kudos,

~BOF

You solved the problem of how to lengthen my DIY grandmaster's legs, I thank you sir. BTW I agree about DIY characters, to a point. Some metal models (like the new JP Chappy) are to nice not to use, and they are easily converted. But for masters, yeah, make your own plastic one.
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

Hi folks. I fixed the image links on the first page to save any confusion. Of course now there will be confusion over the posts that say "where'd the pictures go?" :)

 

Regarding the project, I bought a house about six months ago, so that has taken all of my time. Painting woodwork while I gaze longingly at the boxes marked "GW stuff"... sigh... I can share a couple refinements that I added before boxing my marines away though:

 

It might not be obvious, but once the body has been elongated, the upper arms are a little short. This is an easy fix with an adjustable hole punch which you can get at many art and craft stores. I punch out disks with roughly the diameter of the upper arm from 1mm plasticard, draw a little hash mark where the shoulder and upper arm joins (so you can line it up again and not interfere with bolter positioning). Then I cut the shoulder off, and glue the shoulder and arm back together with a spacer in between and being careful to line it up using the hash mark.

 

I also bulked up the thighs a bit, but afterwards realized that the figure has no butt! So I will be giving him some powerhouse glutes at a later date. :) Yes, I will be working on these again, once the house stuff dies down a bit.

 

Thanks for your continued interest!

  • 3 months later...

I know its been said but .... you are my new hero! Guy at my local gw (nottingham) did a lion el johnson model and just made him taller than the rest by making a greenstuff cloak to give him longer legs. he was! my hero, not any more!

Bloody hell been paintin an collectin 6 months an i wanna try this?!

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