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Post by Aeon on Jan 28, 2015 17:05:35 GMT -5
So as you all probably know, Kasrkins are no longer a buyable option from Games Workshop, and since Kasrkins and Storm Troopers (now called "Scions") are described as being similarly trained, but completely different units (1 being from the Schoala Proegenium and attached to different units and Inquisitors, the other being Cadian born and attached exclusively to Cadian units), I decided that I wanted some Kasrkins in my growing Cadian army.
I plan on running full platoon, so an officer and proabably 4 squads of 5. They'll deep strike in on sentinels with Auger Arrays.
I want them to look as "storm troopery" as possible. They need to visibly have Carapace armor, and their weapons need to look like hellguns (or hotshot lasguns)
I also want them to be obviously Cadian, not standard Progenium forces
I had one idea. I would buy Scion squads, and then get the Forgeworld Cadian veteran with respirators upgrade, to get those Kasrkin style helmets on the Scion type bodies
was also thinking of using Scout legs, Cadian torsos, Respirator heads, and Scion arms to achieve a more Cadian look, because the old metal Kasrkin models wore the same chest plate as the shock troopers
Does anyone else have any ideas I haven't thought of? My ideas are incredibly expensive, and would take me awhile to finish even a single squad
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Post by emptyhat on Jan 28, 2015 23:48:50 GMT -5
Almost as expensive but I bet a Scion/fantasy kit mash up would look pretty spiffy.
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Post by hendrik on Jan 29, 2015 3:17:29 GMT -5
how about green stuffing standard cadians?here are some of mine   now obviously, FW respirator heads will always look better but the rest of their armour is actually pretty easy to sculpt yourself in greenstuff using only minimal tools (these were made using a cutter as my main sculpting tool) |
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Post by Aeon on Feb 1, 2015 17:55:59 GMT -5
Oh boy, my sculpting skills are terrible, but I might try that for the gloves or something. they look good, my friend, well done
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Post by hendrik on Feb 3, 2015 6:17:06 GMT -5
mine are terrible as well, don't worry! On the bolter and chainsword somebody suggested shaving down the arms thtat would get armour before sculting. I still have to try this although i can see it making the sculpting of the vambrace easier. You can always try it out on single bits first (we all have plenty of lasgunarms left over). I'm looking forward to your results! to make the armoured glove you can also use small pieces of plasticard,superglued into place. I did that on these models:  |
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Post by tomnorman on Feb 3, 2015 11:38:51 GMT -5
Depending on how like-for-like you want them, there are several options available to you. With the advent of 3D printing, the third-party market has really bloomed. You don't necessarily have to confine yourself to citadel miniatures anymore. Assuming you absolutely don't want to mess with green stuff, consider the following options:
Head - Trooper First and foremost, the head should absolutely be a Cadian respirator head. I know that goes against what I just said about third-party products but that classic Kasrkin look just isn't available anywhere else. Do consider Forge World's Cadian hostile environment troops conversion set though. Firstly, you get a full ten helmeted heads for slightly cheaper (rather than the nine contained within the respirator upgrade pack), although you do need to cut them off the torsos. And secondly, they come with their own technical-looking backpacks that can be used to represent the hellgun charge packs used by the Kasrkin (in which case you won't need to cut them off the torsos).
Head - Sergeant
There are dozens of head options out there to give the sergeant a different look if you so wish. Here's a handful:
Torso Depending on whether or not you use backpacks on your models, and depending on how large their hellguns/hot-shot lasguns are, it might be that less of the torso is ultimately visible than you'd expect. That being so, Cadian torsos are not necessarily essential.
Legs There are several leg options out there but few decidedly consistent with the Kasrkin look. Hopefully, with a lick of paint and a prominent upper half, few people will really notice. I personally favour Anvil industries' Republic Grenadier legs but it's subjective and they're your models so here are some options:
Arms
These are tricky. I know of only one vaguely appropriate set of arms and even then the shoulder pads don't match the Cadian pattern (which I think is almost as important as the heads in terms of uniformity).
Hellguns/Hot-shot lasguns There are many representative options out there but I reckon your best bet would be some kind of bastardisation of the lasgun. You could add a scope/rangefinder and power feed cabling to a backpack to distinguish them from regular lasguns.
Complete miniatures The following are complete miniatures wearing armour that could be interpreted as carapace armour. The scale is just about right, or so close you can't really tell the difference:
And I guess that's all I've got for you. I too feel the pain of GW's bewildering decision to withdraw Kasrkin from their product range, yet I still cling to the (perhaps misguided) hope that they will one day re-launch them as a plastic kit. Hope your Kasrkin turn out the way you'd hoped.
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Post by tomnorman on Feb 3, 2015 12:00:46 GMT -5
For what it's worth, here's how a couple conversions of my own came out.
On the left is one of my storm troopers. I wanted them to fit in with my Elysian army so they're composed of various Elysian bits on a CSO peacekeeper body.
On the right is another experimental project. He's primarily based on an Eisenkern Stromtrooper body with a weapon from Anvil industries and a Cadian respirator head.
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Post by cheminhaler on Feb 3, 2015 15:27:50 GMT -5
Why not just give the stormies regular Cadian heads? You must have tons leftover..
Failing that just try to get metal Kasrkin on eBay; there must be tons of it floating around now that the plastic kits have hit the market. Do you remember the older metal ones before the Kasrkin kit? If you can find them, they'll fit in nicely too.
Like Tomnorman says the Eisenkern don't look bad (nice models by the way). I saw a box in an independent retailer a couple of weeks ago but think they were more expensive than Cadians.
Hendrik's kneepad/ elbow pad conversions look great as well; that'll be a good cheaper option than finding the Kasrkin.
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Post by Aeon on Feb 3, 2015 16:33:15 GMT -5
Cheminhaler: No those old metal ones wouldn't fit a Cadian theme at all. Cadians don't get storm troopers attached to them, they train their own. Kasrkins and Scions/Stormtroopers are two separate units. I will possibly search for metal ones
Damn, Tom, you are extremely helpful. You've earned a commendation from me, good job, Guardsman! haha
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Post by Trooper One-Nine-Seven-Four on Feb 3, 2015 17:55:46 GMT -5
Yeah, I'll chime in and say that the Cadian lascannon team and some of the Cadian tank crew helmeted heads (the ones with goggles) with the plastic Cadian respirator bit stuck in place can make a passable imitation of the FW Cadian respirator heads (you will need to add strips of thin plastic, or GS, to represent the strapping system). Regular Cadian helmeted heads can also be used, if you want some variety/represent some troopers that aren't wearing their goggles (for whatever reason). Click to enlarge: Attachment DeletedThis is one of my prototype WIP updates to my 'Chan Stormies, using the above method for heads; Cadian torsos, 'Chan arms mated to the lower arms from the Scions with Cadian shoulder pads; and bits from the Scion hotshot gun (the barrel and barrel shroud), plastic sniper rifle (from the command squad and makes the receiver and the scope), and regular lasgun (for the butt stock) to make Hellguns. If you're feeling adventurous, you could try making a couple examples of "master arm" sets out of bits, using regular Cadian arms with the Scion lower arms (their vambraces with the monitoring pad are pretty ace), and then cast them up in resin. Getting all the arm bits to mate together properly can be fiddly, when incorporating 'Chan "BEEFCAKE!" arms, so I think once I get some good arm combos together for my guys I will be casting them for my own personal use. Edit: On the backs of these guys I'm using the Scion hotshot backpacks, but with the power cable cut away and a carefully trimmed lasgun power pack stuck into the area where the cable would be (to represent a re-useable power pack that gets quick-charged from the backpack when it's not plugged into the Hellgun). Click to enlarge: Attachment DeletedFor the legs, since you're going for a Cadian look, I'd say use stock Cadian legs, and then GS some thigh plates and knee pads/plates onto them. I recall that Rolling Thunder has done this in the past, and can offer tips on how to pull it off. Might be another case of making some "master legs" from each leg pose, and then resin casting them up in bulk. I got my resin casting kit from a company called Alumilite, which other members have recommended in the past as being a good company. I haven't tried casting any bits yet, mainly because I just not have had time (got it two, or more, years ago to make custom parts for my dirty, dirty Tau). |
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Post by RedCuffs on Feb 4, 2015 16:36:29 GMT -5
I must say "Trooper's" kasrkins look a damn sight better than anything i've ever thrown together but they do seem labour intensive. Don't know if you've seen my SM Scout conversions (I feel they're the only decent thing I've ever done) but they're quick and fit your desired theme. You want carapace armour, that's what SM Scouts have. I filed off the Aquila on the front to lose the SM Scout look. And the pornographic cod pieces too. Plastic so easy to work with re conversions. I love the pig iron heads. But that's a personal thing. Here are most of the pics commissar.proboards.com/thread/13592/drop-squadron?page=1&scrollTo=284895For those of you who've seen them before ... I'm sorry. I know I'm always throwing pics of these guys up ... please excuse me. They are, I feel, the best IG thing I've ever made. Please pardon my pride. |
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Post by Trooper One-Nine-Seven-Four on Feb 4, 2015 17:54:38 GMT -5
Thanks, Redcuffs! My 'Chan Stormies are labor intensive, at least in the arm department, due to having to mate parts from three different kits together to make the arm itself. But, since Aeon wants Cadian-looking troopers, I think he can save a great deal of time by using stock Cadian trooper arms, and mating the Scion vambraces to them, since he won't be having to file out the shoulder armor pads to fit them onto 'Chan "BEEFCAKE!" arms. Same goes for attaching Cadian torsos to 'Chan legs as opposed to Cadian legs.  The respirator heads are actually pretty easy to bang out, assuming one has access to the proper bits, with the hardest part being making the straps for the respirator. However, even that wasn't too bad, just make sure to have a bottle of Plastruct's Bondene on hand, as it makes working thin plastic strip down quite easy. Bondene is a thin liquid that works on polystyrene and ABS, and is applied with a brush, and it evaporates very quickly. It's also good for melting down seams and getting rid of slight mold lines. Putting together the Hellguns can be a bit fiddly, but as long as one has the appropriate bits it's not too bad, so long as you use the lasgun powerpack method and don't want cabling going to the Scion generator pack. |
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Post by edcando on Feb 12, 2015 16:29:52 GMT -5
I converted some Cadians to Stormtroopers by making bulkier shoulderpads from plasticard, adding green stuff knee pads and using ninja heads from Pig Iron. The lasgun has the ammo clip cut half off and the barrel removed and I use a dagger handle as a new barrel, aiming for more of an SMG look:  I paint them with purple armour rather than the light blue the rest of the army has, they have their own purple Chimera too...  As it happens, the heads I use for my normal guardsmen (Again from Pig Iron) probably look more Kaskrinny. |
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Post by tomnorman on Feb 13, 2015 7:58:46 GMT -5
I do like that weapon. Perhaps not well-suited to represent the more powerful hot-shot lasgun but definitely a cool conversion for a drop troop regiment on a budget. Cheap, simple and very effective. I never would have thought of using the grip from a knife like that.
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