Experimenting With Plastics

[The Mad Hermit]

Hello, brothers!

 

Fear not, I haven't given up on my "Minutemen-style" Guardsmen but I was distracted for a bit by having to get an army together for a tournament (for another game system) and we're still dealing with renovations.

 

I'm about to have my kitchen opened up to the open air while they install a pair of skylights.

 

Not looking forward to that, to be honest.

 

Anyway, the other game system is, of course, Warlord Games' Bolt Action.

 

28mm World War 2 Historical gaming? What's not to love?

 

Anyway... I have a ton of the plastic sprues laying about and I had an idea for an experiment so I took some of the beret-clad heads available on the British Paratrooper plastics and stick them on Astra Militarum bodies.

 

Here are the results of today's playing around:

 

http://i68.tinypic.com/30idj6v.jpg

 

http://i65.tinypic.com/9tingl.jpg

 

http://i67.tinypic.com/rlgcpt.jpg

 

So what I've decided so far is that the heads are maybe a little too small... which is funny because a lot of B.A. players compain that the plastics are 'too close to GW's 28mm Heroic Scale' for whatever reason.

 

Anyway, I have an entire starter army box on the way and I should have it early next week and I definitely want to experiment with those plastics.

 

It's for Warlord's British 8th Army and each sprue of plastics has four different types of headgear and enough of them that I'll have a ridiculous amount of leftover plastic heads. The thing about this 8th Army plastic sprue is the types of heads on it: there's six wearing the Brody-style helmets, there's six wearing 'highlander caps', six with turbans and beards (to represent Sikhs) and six with crazy traditional Indian headgear.

 

I'm curious to see what the 'Cadian' plastics will look like with turbans and beards.

 

They also released a Commonwealth set which is basically the same sprue except for it's got four entirely different heads on it... including some slouch hats, some sun helmets/pith helmets (I don't know the official word for them), some in berets, and some in some kind of knit cap.

 

If maybe these experiments of mine work out this could open up a huge new resource for kit-bashing with the plastics.

[War Angel]

First model looks great. I think I see what you mean about the head, but it’s kind of hard to tell.

[The Mad Hermit]

It doesn't look that bad of a size difference in person, I think.

 

I'm going to continue to experiment once my new stuff arrives next week.

[The Mad Hermit]

Tomorrow I'll unpack my plastic guardsmen and take a side-by-side comparison shot to get a better idea of the size differences.

 

Should have thought of it sooner.

[The Mad Hermit]

Okay, brothers.

 

I unpacked a few of my plastic 'Cadian' Guardsmen to take some side-by-side photos with the two guys I put together with the heads from Warlord/Bolt Action.

 

I also threw one of my US Marines next to them for a better idea of scale and I have to say... next to each other, the size difference when on the Guard body doesn't at all seem significant.

 

I took this pic with my phone, as it actually has a far superior camera than the one I usually take pictures with... which is an actual digital camera.

 

It is old, though.

 

Anyway... the pic is blurry as Hell but I think it is good enough to get the idea.

 

http://i66.tinypic.com/4goosp.jpg

 

Please let me know what you all think as I think that I may have just opened up a whole new option for customization on the GW plastics.

 

For myself, if nothing else.

 

(Edit) I think I got it a little more figured out, so I'll post the pics that I just took...

 

http://i67.tinypic.com/1pccyd.jpg

 

http://i68.tinypic.com/27yo7bn.jpg

 

So there you have it, brothers.

 

Please let me know your thoughts on this subject.

 

Thank you, as always.

[WarriorFish]

They're cool heads, but they do look a bit on the small side here :confused:

[The Mad Hermit]

Yes they do look a little small.

 

They do look a lot better in person, though.

 

I'm still on the fence.

[dice4thedicegod]

I

[duz_]

Dice those look great! You need to start chronicling more so we can watch the progress.

 

Hermit I wasnt sure with the first pics but at a distance they're probably passable although I'm not sure I'd mix and match heads in the same squad.

[The Mad Hermit]

That's a fair point, duz_ , and I probably won't.

 

When my new Bolt Action stuff comes in (should be early in the week) I'll throw a guy together and paint him up for fun and see what it looks like painted.

 

Thanks for weighing in.