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Post by StillANoob on Nov 6, 2017 4:09:57 GMT -5
Hey all. This shall be my conversion thread, chronicling the rise of my home brew fuedal guard, the 42nd Rodinian Freeholder Regiment. I'll be posting fluff in the appropriate thread when it has reached a readable standard. Suffice to say that their fuedal nature led them to developing mixed infantry and armoured companies, which act in a way similar to medival armies crossed with Tank riders. Foot troops hold and manoeuvre around a strong center while the cavalry (tanks) provide the flanking ability and devastating punch.
My general theme for this conversion project will obviously be "medival in space", with higher ranking and special characters having access to the more high tech equipment and the poorer foot troops being omparatively low tech and lightly equipped. Using parts from the GW range only, mostly AOS Empire and 40k Imperial Guard, will place some strain on my options. However, it is a necessity as I wish to use this force at my local GW. I hope to recieve alot of feedback, advice, shortcuts, tips, tricks, criticism and great ideas from anyone and everyone.
With a total of 5 tanks, 3 Sentinels, 2 Basalisks and 70 infantry, including Straken and Harker, there will be plenty to keep me busy. I can't promise any kind of regular posting because of the usual 'life' reasons, but I'm hoping this thread will help keep me motivated.
Today I picked up the last of the bitz I feel I need to make a start. I'm going to figure out how to post images and show you what work I've done so far, with a converted Primaris Psyker I'm fairly happy with, however that will have to wait till tomorrow as the sun set before I made it home. Blame the pub. I'll start off with a question for you all. How the hell do I make Skitarii Vanguard heads fit into bodies designed for Gaurdsmen? I've seen it done but I'm baffled as too how.
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 6, 2017 5:38:54 GMT -5
So I figured out how to post pictures (I hope this works, be quite embarrassing otherwise). I found the picture that gave me the inspiration for this conversion and want to share that as a working base. I also took some poorly nuts images of a Primaris Psyker and the first Gaurdsman. Test Model 1.0, or Aberdeen as I like to call him, is very rough. I used parts from the Empire State Troops, Handgunners, Cadian Gaurdsmen and Skitarii Vanguard. I know I need to do mold lines, filing, green stuff in the gaps and make a change or two. But I couldn't wait and want feedback on my initial thoughts and feelings. Thought 1. The swords too big. But I really want them all to have swords. Need to find smaller swords, or substitute I can use. Space marine combat blades, clipped to a point, maybe? Thought 2. Need to find chest plated torsos instead of leg/torse single peice. Clipping legs away from body is difficult. Or find body/leg single peice I like. Thought 3. Covering gap at back of torso/leg join with pouches worked well. Still needs some GS work. Test Model 1.0 Primaris Psyker 1 |
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Post by Machine Gun Kelly on Nov 6, 2017 11:05:46 GMT -5
Looking good, and I really like the guardsman. One thing I came to think of is regarding the sword. Have you thought about only using swords on Sgt? It would be a nice way to show the feudal setting of your regiment. Sgts gets swords and officers gets chainswords, Power weapons et cetera.
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Post by nutty on Nov 6, 2017 11:13:48 GMT -5
Cool concept and excellent execution so far. What are you planning colour wise? Heraldic or more of a camouflage feel?
Looking forward to seeing this army take shape.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Nov 6, 2017 11:23:18 GMT -5
Looking good. You must have a hell of a bits box to be able to bash all those kits together in any quantity, though. Some swords thoughts- - From GW, the Calth boxed set has about thirty swords, usually in scabbards, in the kit. They're space-marine sized, though, so you'd have to put them on people's backs. - Anvil Industry makes some trench fighter melee options. It's more than just swords, but they also come with hands if you want people holding them, so that's a plus. - Maxmini makes riot gear mauls and shields, both of which would probably work well. Again, not quite swords, but still medieval looking. |
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 6, 2017 14:34:19 GMT -5
@mgk Thank you for the kind words. My army list has all my Sgts issued with Powerswords. I really want everybody to have them, but I think I'll have to do it the way you suggested. nuttyThank you for saying so! I think my painting is going to be fairly straight forward. Bare steel coloured on all the armour and either a brown or tan for the cloth. @reds Thanks mate haha. I have a pretty decent collection, but I've also spent the last two months buying bits off anyone who'll sell them to me. Got about 60 Vangaurd heads, plenty of cadian bits. Only thing I lack is the breastplates. The problem with your suggestions is my local GWs policy on third party bitz. They don't really allow people to use anything instore, that you cant buy in store. Which is a real shame. I'm going to talk to the manager when i get a chance and see how much I can get away with. So I did a head swap on a sentinel pilot and stuck a shield to the rear of the cockpit, to be painted as a rank marker/heraldry item. Not sure there's enough change here, but sometimes more is less. |
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Nov 6, 2017 17:35:15 GMT -5
Looking like a clean fit on the crewman body. For swords, check out the Calth box then. Here's a picture of what they look like.  If you know anyone who's got the box, they've probably got spares, and the box itself is a good deal if you collect Marines. |
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 6, 2017 19:35:41 GMT -5
Yeah head fit on no worries. Not sure if he needs a little more bling, or something.
Those swords would work. I know a few people who might have some. Thanks for the tip!
Edit: Holy Dooley am I listening to all your advice from now on. One posted ad, two hours later and I've got access to over 100 of the bloody things hahaha.
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Post by RedsandRoyals on Nov 7, 2017 15:35:15 GMT -5
Ha! Yeah, there's 30 per box and hardly anyone uses them because they're not included in marine wargear. I might still have a dozen or more floating around if it turns out you need more.
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 7, 2017 20:13:44 GMT -5
Thanks mate but I've got more than enough to be going on with, all locally sourced. I think tonight will see me pull apart my test model, clean it up properly and re assemble with no mould lines and GS in the gaps.
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 8, 2017 6:47:22 GMT -5
Decently productive afternoon for me. I got 5 Gaurdsmen, including a Sgt finished. Thinking I'll tackle a Plasma gunner tomorrow and try to finish off the squad. Hopefully start painting over the weekend and work on modelling a tank next week. I like the new sword option suggested by RedsandRoyals the scale is more appropriate. Picked up some greatsword bodies, which are better but much more expensive. Might buy some dark elf bleakswords and give them a shot. |
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Post by nutty on Nov 8, 2017 9:52:04 GMT -5
Looking good!
Word of warning on the bleakswords: the legs and back-half of the torso are a single piece. So they might not be the ideal candidates for conversion.
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 8, 2017 14:28:19 GMT -5
Looking good! Word of warning on the bleakswords: the legs and back-half of the torso are a single piece. So they might not be the ideal candidates for conversion. Thanks mate. Ah ok. Well yep, not ideal then. |
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 9, 2017 4:13:36 GMT -5
Today I knocked out the Plasma gunner and 4 more troopers to round out the first squad. Pretty happy with the work, as I was trying to get a good result with a quick and efficient process. I used a whole State Trooper torso and legs for the plasma gunner (they come as one peice) and I'm ok with how it turned out. The hunched stance was a problem for me, but I justify it with two reasons; 1. They issue the rookie with the plasma gun, as no decently educated trooper would willingly come within arms distance of the suicide weapon. (Maybe not so much in 8th, but old habits die hard) 2. They weight of a plasma gun would not be insignificant. It's no hard stretch to imagine a rookie struggling. I think I'll try knocking up an Officer tomorrow. Someone who'd probably be a Platoon Commander, but who can double as a Company Commander if needed. I don't want to attempt a Company Commander just yet. I really want them to be centre peices of my army, so some pretty heavy conversion work will be in order. Suggest some ideas for what you think might make a good Officer conversion stand out. I have some Bretonian Knight helmets and Greatsword legs and torsos I think will be a good start. They'll be armed with Powerfists. Anyway, here are my photos of the assembled second half of Squad 1! |
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Post by nutty on Nov 9, 2017 7:18:35 GMT -5
The hunched stance doesn't look bad imho, even without the weight of the gun. He could just as easily be moving through cover or sneaking up on something with that pose.
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 9, 2017 14:33:53 GMT -5
I'm glad you think so. I prefer more dynamic posing than what that allows, throwing a few of them into the mix should be fine.
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 10, 2017 6:23:13 GMT -5
Hey all. No new progress pics tonight unfortunately. Instead I'd like to ask for some help picking a paint scheme!
I have a rough scheme in mind I think would fit the aesthetic. Steel coloured armour (breastplate, shoulder pads, boots), and sleeve cuffs (to give it a vambrace feel). Brown pants and tan tunic (the whole tunic, not just the sleeves).
Not sure what color to do the lasguns, nor what colour to do the armour details. Gold trim feels a bit fancy for the poor bloody infantry. Let me know your ideas!
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Post by nutty on Nov 10, 2017 10:24:40 GMT -5
Perhaps you could do the trim in a lighter (white/silver) metal? Or maybe hit it with a wash/glaze.
I do my golds by painting the part mithril silver before going over it with a Sepia wash for shading and a yellow wash (not sure on the name) to tint it. It gives a fairly dull/matte look that still 'registers' as gold. So that might keep the grunts from looking to blinged out.
For the lasguns: maybe a reddish brown to make it look a bit like wood?
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 10, 2017 16:43:05 GMT -5
I think I will just do a brighter silver and leave it at that. Maybe bronze coloured details for the Yeoman (Sgts), but I'm reserving gold for the officer class.
Hmmm yeah I like the wooden lasgun idea. How would you go about painting that?
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Post by nutty on Nov 10, 2017 17:41:14 GMT -5
there's this: www.coolminiornot.com/articles/1487 but doing that for the ammount of infantry you are planning will probably drive you mad. I use an 'archive marker' when I do the blacklines on my Tau infantry, so one of those might work here; paint the gun brown and draw some black lines on it with the marker. You should be able to pick one up at an office supply store or craftshop. They cost about $5 a piece, and you can get them with a very fine tip (<1mm). The markers have special kind of ink that is apperantly ideal for writing stuff on archive folders or something... whatever they are actually used for; the ink doesn't smudge after you leave it dry for an hour or so. Most pens/markers will rub off if you apply it to a painted mini, plus they are almost pure black rather than dark blue. |
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 10, 2017 21:36:07 GMT -5
Yeah I dont think that's gonna happen hahahaha. Its beyond my painting abilities for sure.
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 12, 2017 1:23:50 GMT -5
Thank the Big E for the weekend! About to settle in and make a big sunday roast and thought I'd chuck a small update before I got started. I hope you all enjoyed yours. I got to spend saturday at my local GW store, converting up my first officer model and playing a 500 point game. It was my first game of 8th edition and Im please to say that I finished it with a resounding victory! I'm defintely still rusty, so I can't wait to get out and throw some more dice as soon as possible, but had a fun tome nonetheless. So here's the officer model I knocked up. Pretty pleased with his look and how everything turned out. I also spent spme time this morning using Liquid GS to gap fill on all the models I've made so far, and plan to prime them later today. So hopefully we should see some painting progress over the next week. |
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Post by nutty on Nov 12, 2017 10:54:08 GMT -5
Nice! Those scion/empire parts work really well together
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 12, 2017 15:14:03 GMT -5
nutty Thanks mate. I'm pretty impressed with how the kits fit together. Really loving the scifi, steampunk vibe
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Post by StillANoob on Nov 13, 2017 3:20:50 GMT -5
No update today. Primed my models and they're ready for painting. The bad news? I CAN'T DECIDE ON A SCHEME. Please help me 🙃. I want the colours to stay muted. The closest I've come to an idea is brown pants, tan tunic and alot of metal. I'm also thinking of putting a dark red in there, either the tunic (with tan pants) or the pants (with a tan tunic). Going to use alot of dark metal colors on the model. Anyone with ideas?? Suggestions? Rum?
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