Which models do you not want to convert?

[Brother Ezra]

Hi all,

 

Was wondering about this some time ago, and am curious for y'all's perspectives. Whilst looking at my backlog (an activity I do not recommend to anyone), I came to the realization that there's practically no kit that I've built according to the instructions. Pretty much everything I've ever bought ended up converted or kitbashed to some degree, some models never even seeing the light of day, their parts scattered far and wide across various projects.

 

I'm not sure why this keeps happening - GW's models, and by extension many other companies', are very nice, the designs are cool and work well just as they are, but some part of me can never just leave them as-is  

 

There's one exception, though. One faction that I haven't really worked on yet are the Aeldari. They've never really clicked with me the way other factions did, but I've always fancied their design. I've come to realize that I'd change pretty much nothing about them if I ever did buy some - so collecting them would probably be more cost-efficient than everything else I've been doing 

 

How about you? Are there models that you'd never convert, just because you like the design as it is? Or are some of you even that rare breed that practically never converts a model? 

 

 

[Jukkiz]

I had an idea about Primaris gabriel seth as i have og Pewter model and then went and got another one.

But proplem is that i cannot seem to get any good ideas how to go trough this route. MOdle is lovely and only thing i would change is to give him a proper chapter master styled helmet really.

[JeffJedi]

I tend to convert the more normal models like a Tac squad to give them something more fun. I usually don't need to convert characters or really powerful things.

 

Ten Rhinos? Kitbash, convert.

[Grotsmasha]

I am also a prolific converter, and I don't think I've ever assembled a squad to the instructions, even commission pieces get free...upgrades. I can't help myself, once I think it and see it, I have to make it. Sometimes it's a curse, it's why I'm neck deep into primarisized Grey Knights at the moment.

 

 

[Magos Takatus]

I do relatively few conversions these days. I stuck to converting my Orks because they are the most forgiving if something ends up looking a bit weird. I almost never convert Eldar (apart from a standard bearer I created in 2nd edition when *everyone* had to have a flag. 

 

I've seen some awesome Admech conversions lately and since I probably have all the Dominus modelss I will ever need, I could probably stand to make a few customised priests just for fun. I've not bothered with conversions lately because of restrictive wargear options and because many models seem to be perfectly serviceable for my needs. God knows how I'd try to fix that space marine squad with the missile launchers. I think I'd just avoid the unit at this point.

[LSM]

I'm mainly into my Iron Warriors and Emperor's Children these days, and like you basically everything gets at least some sort of minor personalisation. (My Death Guard - which I'm not-entirely-sure-how managed to turn itself from "just a Kill Team" into a full force - also has a lot of work done on it, removing all the growths, mouths, and tentacles.)

 

But Chaos is very forgiving; if something looks a little wonky it's mutation.

 

Eldar, like you say, I'd mostly leave alone. (Although - damnit - you just made me try to imagine what could be done, and now I'm wondering how Aspect Warriors with Harlequin heads would look.)

 

My Necron Kill Team I mostly left alone. (If you ignore turning some Warrior bodies and leftover Immortal kit bits into some Deathmarks... and I did use leftovers and greenstuff to make a cloaked and hooded many-armed Cryptek...)

 

I guess characters? Hero sculpts I tend to leave alone. (Though I did entirely re-pose the new Lucius the Eternal, and switched out his head. And gave Fabius Bile a helmet. And remove Typhus' Nurgling friend. And replace the distended stomachs on my LoV and LoC with robes/chainmail...) But... ummm... 

 

Warhammer Underworlds! I build those to instructions. (They're basically 3d jigsaw puzzles as is.)

[TheMawr]

So I convert more things than I dont as well, but in a change of tone.. ESPECIALLY eldar ( even in the metal days ) there have been 2 exceptions; old metal jain zar and Yvraine. They are to me perfect as is. ( and both responsible for drawing me in, in each respective eras ) .. I dont think I will convert the yncarne either.. but im not sure I will ever assemble it.. its a "scary" kit, im not too fond of the horned half head.. I really like the concept just not so much the execution, but I dont know what to change about it yet.

 

I also dont convert most etb kits. For the pure reason that usually when I bought them I did so because I wanted to have something quick to paint. ( and fitting that impulsively..  I have none of them finished) Its still a pity that gw dropped these 12 (? I think ) euro etb kits. It was an ideal impulse buy or lower end birthday gift thing.

 

I'm also reluctant to convert the mindstealer sphiranx, its one of my favorite kits but I want to use them for something eldar, and that won't work as is. I'm considering magnets.. I have alot, but never actually worked with magnetising before. 

 

 

[Tymell]

5 hours ago, Grotsmasha said:

even commission pieces get free...upgrades. I can't help myself, once I think it and see it, I have to make it.

 

Now there speaks an Ork Mek.

[Evil Eye]

I love converting things but there are some models I would never take a saw to as they're too beautiful to convert, mostly being older metal minis. Among them are Juan Diaz' amazing Space Marine Veterans, as they're so unbelievably perfect that I actually started a smallish force of oldscale Marines built around them. The single solitary exception to that being one I got missing his arm and backpack, so I printed him a new backpack and made him this (still WIP, needs some extra detailing) skelly-on-a-stick standard from a spare plastic arm, a Chaos Sorcerer staff arm, some sprue rod from an unrelated kit and a Warhammer Giant gibbet. And the only real conversion to the piece itself was just removing a locator tab on the shoulder joint.

That said I could be tempted to do more drastic conversions on them should I get hold of some, ahem, resin reproductions, as being non-original, cheaper and in a more conversion-friendly material it could be fun to try upscaling them.

[gideon stargreave]

Looking through my collection the only unconverted minis apart from some old lead is the limited edition space marine based on the old rogue trader model 

[Agramar_The_Luna_Wolf]

Hummm complicated to say...I love conversions.

No problem with new,plastic miniatures but with old metal ones...I mean, like old Ragnar Blackmane or any old character in metal,of any army. It's beyond me, I can't. Most of them are nearly perfect for me,even if they are easy to convert. They have a lot of personality, the new ones are cool but they are cold and they lack personality,so that's make easy to start thinking in make changes.

[Norman Paperman]

I’ve only been doing this two years, but I don’t convert anything. I like the painting; very happy to leave the sculpting to GW. I’ve had a few kitbash or conversion ideas here or there, but I also like to just chill out and enjoy scraping mold lines when I’m building my dudes. 

 

[Brother Ezra]

On 11/1/2025 at 11:40 PM, Jukkiz said:

I had an idea about Primaris gabriel seth as i have og Pewter model and then went and got another one.

But proplem is that i cannot seem to get any good ideas how to go trough this route. MOdle is lovely and only thing i would change is to give him a proper chapter master styled helmet really.

 

 

With most Primaris character conversions, I feel the challenge mostly lies in getting the details right - finding a body in the right pose is usually not that big of a problem, but 'translating' all the details from the original (like the studs and the iconography on Seth) to the Primaris model is the tricky part!

 

 

On 11/2/2025 at 10:47 AM, Grotsmasha said:

I am also a prolific converter, and I don't think I've ever assembled a squad to the instructions, even commission pieces get free...upgrades. I can't help myself, once I think it and see it, I have to make it. Sometimes it's a curse, it's why I'm neck deep into primarisized Grey Knights at the moment.

 

 

 

I love that - I wonder how many of your clients go "Wait a minute, that wasn't on there before...." 

 

On 11/2/2025 at 2:01 PM, LSM said:

[...]

 

Eldar, like you say, I'd mostly leave alone. (Although - damnit - you just made me try to imagine what could be done, and now I'm wondering how Aspect Warriors with Harlequin heads would look.)

[....]

 

You're welcome  I've been thinking a lot about how you could make some really creepy Wraithbone constructs if you spliced Wraithguards and Tyranid or Bonereapers bits together....

 

On 11/2/2025 at 2:21 PM, TheMawr said:

[...]

 

I also dont convert most etb kits. For the pure reason that usually when I bought them I did so because I wanted to have something quick to paint. ( and fitting that impulsively..  I have none of them finished) Its still a pity that gw dropped these 12 (? I think ) euro etb kits. It was an ideal impulse buy or lower end birthday gift thing.

 

I'm also reluctant to convert the mindstealer sphiranx, its one of my favorite kits but I want to use them for something eldar, and that won't work as is. I'm considering magnets.. I have alot, but never actually worked with magnetising before. 

 

 

 

Aye, those ETB kits were nice! Really miss them, hope that GW one day decides to bring them back...

 

And in my experience, there's no better time to try something new than when you're building a complicated, expensive model! I learned how to sculpt fine details and build an entire diorama base... when I was building my own, kitbashed version of Lorgar Aurelian. So there 

 

On 11/2/2025 at 6:12 PM, Evil Eye said:

I love converting things but there are some models I would never take a saw to as they're too beautiful to convert, mostly being older metal minis. Among them are Juan Diaz' amazing Space Marine Veterans, as they're so unbelievably perfect that I actually started a smallish force of oldscale Marines built around them. The single solitary exception to that being one I got missing his arm and backpack, so I printed him a new backpack and made him this (still WIP, needs some extra detailing) skelly-on-a-stick standard from a spare plastic arm, a Chaos Sorcerer staff arm, some sprue rod from an unrelated kit and a Warhammer Giant gibbet. And the only real conversion to the piece itself was just removing a locator tab on the shoulder joint.

That said I could be tempted to do more drastic conversions on them should I get hold of some, ahem, resin reproductions, as being non-original, cheaper and in a more conversion-friendly material it could be fun to try upscaling them.

 

Those Veterans are lovely indeed! They're truly a sight to behold - nice work on the banner!

 

21 hours ago, Norman Paperman said:

I’ve only been doing this two years, but I don’t convert anything. I like the painting; very happy to leave the sculpting to GW. I’ve had a few kitbash or conversion ideas here or there, but I also like to just chill out and enjoy scraping mold lines when I’m building my dudes. 

 

 

I feel like that's a nice way of going about it - just going into the building/painting zone, and not worrying about converting everything! 

Edited 23 hours ago by Brother Ezra

[Blissful Brushes]

I convert virtually everything. The downside to this is that I don’t have any completed armies. Scale was a massive issue for me with Space Marines so I went down the true scale rabbit hole and I got pretty good, then primaris came out which has saved me time on the scale front, but I still have to HH-ify the plate designs which keeps me happy. I may actually have a built army this calendar year!

 

What I have decided to do is pick up the Combat Patrol magazine series and just build and paint them, as intended. (I don’t recommend this if you live in the Cambridge area as you’ll steal my magazine from Tesco as they’re low stock, go find your own patch!). That way I should have ~ 500 points of Orks, Votann, GSC and whatever is left in the magazine run.

Edited 22 hours ago by Blissful Brushes

[sitnam]

I love kitbashing, and it's the core thing I love about my Chaos army. But when I really look at my collection, Chaos is the only thing I frequently kitbash. I have a handful of my SoB and Kroot with some hand/head swaps, and virtually none of my Necrons converted. Even my AoS armies are mostly built as is. I think part of this is because Chaos has such a wide array of styles and a huge assortment of bit sources it can derive from.