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A custom Emperor's Champion... advice needed!


Gerhard

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Brothers, my apologies if a similar thread has been made and a similar question asked.... I have searched the libraries of our archives but I didn't find what I was looking for. 

 

I have a request for advice. My Crusade is coming along nicely. Squads are made, Sword Brothers are being painted as we speak, but the one thing I can not put myself to is painting the Emperor's Champion. Why? .... I'll be honest. I really don't like the model.

 

As such I have started a mini-crusade of my own, to find a nice conversion for our iconic battle brother. So far I've had a few ideas but I'm looking for inspiration, so I am very curious to hear from anyone who has a custom made Emperor's Champion. How did you make it? What kits did it consist of? Show a picture!

 

So far I've had a few ideas which consists of:

 

Using a Limited Edition Dark vengeance Chaplain as a base model and converting him to the Emperor's Champion using the Black Sword from the metal kit I have. 

 

Using (perhaps this is Heresy but here goes) Sigismund from Forgeworld and converting him into the Emperor's Champion by adding a helmet from the Resin kit and/or the Black Templar upgrade kit. 

 

I look forward to seeing your input!

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A head swap and using the Black Sword on Seraphicus sounds like it would be pretty nice version. As for FW's Sigismund, I personally dislike everything about that model apart from the sword, so (with full awareness of my own bias) i'd say don't bother with that. Plus it's £45.

 

I think the Legion Champion from the Imperial Fists command set would make a good stand-in for an Emperor's Champion with a couple of new shoulder pads.

 

https://www.forgeworld.co.uk/en-US/Imperial-Fists-Legion-Command

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Surprised that you don't like the Emperor's Champion model... not a lot of people dislike that particular model, albeit it is a bit bare in terms of iconography, but it is very iconic for a Templar model...

 

There's a few that did the Gabriel Seth conversion, it took them sometime but they managed to scrape off all the Flesh Tearers iconography...

Some have used some GK bits to just make their own version...

The Chaplain isn't a bad idea, although I haven't seen many attempt it...

Some have also used the Sanguinor model, although the pose looks really weird...

 

Up to you, but a quick Google Search for EC conversions might spark up some inspirations...

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I don't like not having a metal copy of the EC.

I've made two 'custom' EC's. One is just FW's Sigismund model with his head swapped for the Legion Champion head from IF command set above.

The other is more of a conversion, but pretty simple. Asterion moloc's body, Grey Knight hands, a Fantasy Empire generals sword, A Laurel bit from the termie box. Required filing and cutting to get rid of minotaur symbols. Used some brass templar crosses to cover any ugly marks left.

gallery_65134_8775_91421.jpg

(Yes i did paint his sword black latter)

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Sigismund is a very nice but also very fragile model. So although that's certainly an option, it's not for the faint of heart. It does look awesome, though.

http://www.coolminiornot.com/pics/pics16/img5595559c20827.jpg

 

Alternatively, you might like better this other model for the Emperor's Champion (a longer serving brother will clarify when it was released) :

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yGGyWspq10Q/TjA19VCh1PI/AAAAAAAAAnc/KQO1FcZz3wQ/s1600/P1010118.JPG

 

And finally, there's always the good old conversion to change the posture :

http://reho.st/self/69e9e39c49666fa8297a35d13a0a05aef3d57445.jpg

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Alternatively, you might like better this other model for the Emperor's Champion (a longer serving brother will clarify when it was released) :

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yGGyWspq10Q/TjA19VCh1PI/AAAAAAAAAnc/KQO1FcZz3wQ/s1600/P1010118.JPG

 

This was a limited release for GWs 25th Anniversary in 2000, although they are reasonably easy to come by on eBay if you're prepared to pay ~£30 for it.

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I'd recommend an OOP Vanguard Veteran with a Relic Blade if you can get a hold of one (but my recommendation is bias, as I made a secondary EC out of that model and were quite pleased with the result).

Pics or it didn't happen ;)

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Several very good suggestions so far. Thanks a lot for the inspiration!

 

Another conversion I've been considering was using the base model of the Space Marine Commander available at the GW site, and then adding a Grey Knight / DA (provided I get rid of all the heretic heraldry) sword, and a few BT bits to replace the shoulders. 

 

@Marshal_Roujakis. I know, I don't know why... for some reason I just don't like the pose and the look. The fact that it's Resin doesn't help... the Sword constantly bends and it's horrible to paint. That's also why I'm a bit hesitant to go for Sigismund as EC as that's likely the same case. Though I did find the Forgeworld Resin to be a bit easier to paint then the GW Resin.

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As requested by Ciler (thank you for giving me the perfect excuse to stop working on a project and take a ten minutes' break!), here's my conversion.
 
http://i.imgur.com/aBuVtMN.jpg

 


http://i.imgur.com/zV8Y2sc.jpg
 
http://i.imgur.com/HA3P5WM.jpg
 
http://i.imgur.com/Gm6AnYD.jpg
 
I need to update the paint job on this model, as I'd like to use it as "Chapter Champion" or some other, minor HQ.
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@Marshal_Roujakis. I know, I don't know why... for some reason I just don't like the pose and the look. The fact that it's Resin doesn't help... the Sword constantly bends and it's horrible to paint. That's also why I'm a bit hesitant to go for Sigismund as EC as that's likely the same case. Though I did find the Forgeworld Resin to be a bit easier to paint then the GW Resin.

 

The Resin part is understandable, I've had some issues with resin, then again I had some issues w/ metal and plastic models too... :p When I bought my EC model I actually took down all the EC lined them up on the counter checking w/c one is the best cast out of all of them... then I bought that one... it was the only way to be sure... the fact that GW is now pushing towards Web-only for their finecast miniatures is what's going to stop people from buying Finecast since you can't see what you're buying until it's in your hands, and then you see the twisted resin mess that you get... Painting GW resin isn't that hard imho, just requires a little bit of cleaning like usual, but then again, you don't see the imperfections in the casting until you paint it...

 

I do like the look of the Emperor's Champion model though, although the pose isn't that good, the Armour is similar if not a direct variant of Mk III Iron Armor with additional designs of Mk. VII thrown into the mix... there are also no signs of any Aquila that can be found on the armor itself and instead has a winged jewel found on the right pauldron... I like these tiny details because it denotes that the armor is very old... 2nd Founding old to be exact, which should be the case for The Armor of Faith... the lack of Aquila could denote that the armor was forged pre-ecclesiarchy, when the Imperium believed in the Imperial Truth rather than the Imperial Creed... there are also no skulls on his armor, denoting that it might have been forged and designed when the Emperor still walked among his people, since the skull emblem was used by the Imperium after the Emperor was interred into the golden throne... there are a lot of tidbiits in the Emperor's Champion model, that if you analyze and look at, you could find details about the history of the armor and the Imperium...

 

As for samples, I sometimes use this as a stand-in for my Emperor's Champion if Balian for some reason can't join the fray...

http://i.imgur.com/quZ7Wff.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/h8L8J5f.jpg

 

He's built using an assortment of equipment, majority are of GK, but the body is from the Vanguard kit... usually though I use him as Honour Guard Champion...

 

And as a representative of the EC model, Balian wishes to appeal :p

http://i.imgur.com/hCauL94.jpg

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This is my Emperor's Champion (Priamus).

He's made with Assault legs, Company Champion head and shoulder pads, GK sword and arms (right arm was chopped up a bit), and then some GS for the tabard.

He really isn't anything special, but he's been fighting like a beast for me. I have a fondness for how plain he is.

gallery_15184_7227_107191.jpg

gallery_15184_7227_466686.jpg

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My EC was kit bashed  using what I believe to be a Sword Brother body, EC head, and the Emperor only knows where the sword arm came from!

 

Emperors Champion (2)

 

The pointing arm was used out of a modern SM tactical set, and the Bolt Pistol case from the BT upgrade kit. This is a majority metal model, and both of the shoulders are repositioned to swing his arms a bit more. I've been taking on all comers with this model since 2003, and been very happy with it. So far, it has survived 4 repaintings, 3 different poses, and went from holding the BP to the pointing finger (I thought it looked more Templary to me!).

 

*Sorry about the pic, taken with my phone.

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I made a Castellan/Marshal conversion a while ago that could stand in for the Emperor's Champion with a few small alterations. Castellan Crowe from the Grey Knights range is the base model.

 

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/kizzdougs/DSCN4246_zpsgmn4dnli.jpg

 

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/kizzdougs/DSCN4249_zpsnrjheufy.jpg

 

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/kizzdougs/DSCN4248_zpspecdjvka.jpg

 

http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l522/kizzdougs/DSCN4247_zpsxawwbzpr.jpg

 

He might be a little bit too ornate for the Emperor's Champion, but with a little bit of effort I think it could work.

 

Good luck with your Champion :tu:

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