How to improve early snap fits

[DBadger]

Hi, I bought some old marines a long while back and I'm in the process of converting them for use in a Black Templars army. The majority if them ate snap fit marines from the 2nd edition starter set - so incredibly dull poses - each one is absolutely identical, standing tall, looking head on and holding their bolter tight to their chest. They look awful.

 

I'm wondering if anyone gas tried converting these and had any success, or can share any tips.

 

For a start I plan to remove the snap fitted bolter if I can and replace with a latest edition bolter. If I can remove the entire shoulders I will, but they're moulded, as is the head.

 

I will be adding tabbards but that does nothing to ease the mundanity.

 

Here's an example (not my photo):

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2016/1/10/769996_sm-Oldhammer%2C%20Stark%20Crusaders.JPG

 

Also what tool would be best to hack up the moulded bits?

[SickSix]

I mean there isn't much you can do without a lot of work. But when you are building a company I don't mind a few plain bolter guys scattered around in the squads. Just don't make a whole unit of them.

[OutlawSixActual]

Honestly i would just use those guys as statues or areserve company guys guarding a gate or something. They are great as nostalgic models but the amount of effort you'll spend hacking at these guys to make them dynamic will absolutely not be worth it for the result.

[Kua]

What coldfyre said.

You can still use their bolters and backpacks for completing your other marines’ Mk-VI armour.

[Xenith]

I use them as reserve company marines. Not worth the effort to hack them up.

[DBadger]

Thanks... Hmm. At this point they probably make up half my army.

 

I'll try fitting tabbards, accessories and Maltese Cross moulded pads.

 

http://www.spellcrow.com/templars-tabards-p-473.html

 

Not sure how well they will fit, though.

 

Unfortunately the heads have negative shoulders so will not be removable, not without a lot of effort at least.

[Kua]

Why throwing good money on bad minis?

[DBadger]

Partly that I can't afford new models right now, and partly that I hate wasting things and it seems a shame not to use them. I need tabards anyway, and the crosses are in bulk so that's not that much of a cost, but buying new models would be significantly more (and I'd still need tabards for the new models).

 

We have some super fine jewellery at work going for about 50p, I might see if there are any usable bits there for chains and such.

[Kua]

If they cover enough of the model and you are some good with GS, it could work.

Otherwise you are wasting their oldschool backpacks and bolters (which cost real money on FW) on ugly base models.

The bolters only need the fingers to be cut down by 1 mm or so and the hands immediately stop looking ridiculously large.

[Doghouse]

I'm not sure what level of modeling you are add but what I would do is replace the heads with modern marine helmets.

 

Trick to this is cutting or clipping it away in layers, so slicing it horizontally working your way down. I've done this with later edtions of snap fix marines and it works well. Then a simple slight head twist can do wonders.

 

This is the thread here to give you some examples.

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/135072-mantis-warriors/

[Xenith]

Partly that I can't afford new models right now, and partly that I hate wasting things and it seems a shame not to use them. I need tabards anyway, and the crosses are in bulk so that's not that much of a cost, but buying new models would be significantly more (and I'd still need tabards for the new models).

 

We have some super fine jewellery at work going for about 50p, I might see if there are any usable bits there for chains and such.

 

Buy one set of tabards and press mould. Same for the crosses. These guys really wont look that much better after tarting up. I'd save the money and get newer models.

[Kua]

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/135072-mantis-warriors/

 

The pics there don’t show for me.

I know that photobucket doesn’t behave if one doesn’t allow it everything (because they think they are no uploading service but a social network or sth.), but here it only tries loading something and gives up after some time.