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Thanks to those of you who gave me suggestions for upgrading Cadian shoulder armor. I've come up with two reproducible designs based on that advice.

The first is to use Kroot shoulderpads, which I found pretty easy to turn into extensions of the Cadians' shoulderpads with some glue and a little milliput. While easy, this technique looks like it would get expensive - especially since those shoulderpads seem to be used for a lot of conversions. The resulting pads are also a little smaller than I'd prefer, although possibly of more reasonable proportions for guardsmen. The officer image below shows my first try with these (although he still needs a cape)

I did eventually come up with a good way to make a sloped half-cone shape out of thin plasticard. This isn't quite the half-egg shape I was going for - I had to cap the ends with cross-sections of round strip styrene - but I think the end result looks fairly good. These are cheap and bigger than the kroot-derived version, but time consuming to make. (The thought of producing them for an entire guard force makes me think I'll start off with the "Mechanised" doctrine in order to limit initial troop numbers.) The result can be seen on the trooper image below.

Peaked caps, bandoleers, capes, and goggles all seem fairly easy by comparison. Raised insignia seem a little too small to work with, even with the enlarged shoulderpads to place them on.

I'm currently planning to use at least the following conversions for the army in general:
- Modified shoulderpads (probably from one of the two designs described above and depicted below)
- Cloaks (hanging off the shoulderpads, as per the trooper and standard bearer below; the officer will eventually get one too)
- Peaked caps for officers (as on the officer below)
- Kepis for troopers (similar to the Mordians' hats - I haven't tried to make one yet, but I think I can use about the same technique as for the peaked caps)

I'm attaching images of my first three trial conversions. I'd appreciate any technique suggestions - particularly regarding the capes and shoulderpads - or ideas to impove their look. (I think I'm doing fairly well with the cloaks, but I'm not sure they're as thin as they should be, or if the folds are quite right.) Also, which shoulderpad design do you prefer? I'm having trouble deciding between the two.

Looks cool... this is, btw, the exact situation in which friends come in handy. You show them how to make the shoulder pads and then bribe them with liquor... You have now increased your production.

ender502

You could also use the extra carapace from the gsunts and genestealers (with a little modifacations)

i like the second shoulder pad, the cape looks good but if you want a better effects make it slightly thinner, add more waves(with a thin tipped sculting tool) and you might want to smooth it out a bit. a tattered effect might be cool too, like holes and ripped ends. what kind of material are you using it doesnt look like green stuff? good job for a first attemp keep it up, id like to see the paintjobs!

Make one shoulder pad that you like, and then green stuff cast the rest.

As for eagles, try looking here:
http://uk.games-workshop.com/imperialguard/vostroyan-regimental-assets/3/

There's a small section on putting on eagle wings.

Though, to be honest, if you're looking for quarter egg shell shoulder plates, why don't you use a cut down marine shoulder pad placed horizontally, as opposed to the normal vertical orientation?


I hope this helps.

Thanks for the suggestions.

As for the extended carapace part, I looked at it and decided it's too irregular for my purpose (I'm trying for a fairly clean look), although it is about the right shape.

i like the second shoulder pad

I'm not sure which one you mean by "second". I just realized that the order of the images is opposite of the order in which I listed them.

slightly thinner, add more waves(with a thin tipped sculting tool) and you might want to smooth it out a bit...what kind of material are you using it doesnt look like green stuff?

Agreed, I've done both with the officer's cloak (I'm now flattening it with sheets of wax paper). I'm also adding more folds, but I think I'm using a different technique. First, I'm using Milliput (standard green/gray, although I just picked up some white for details) since I haven't acquired any Green Stuff yet. My technique is as follows:

1. Create a thin, flat rectangle piece of putty taller and wider than the model (since I want the cloaks to come near down near their boots and wrap around to the front of the shoulders on both sides).
2. Press the upper edges of the putty rectangle against the shoulders and back of the model, then wrap it around to the front and press it in underneath the shoulderpads
3. Pull the bottom edge of the cloak in the direction of the imaginary "wind" influencing it
4. Push up on the bottom edge and sides of the cloak to create folds (this seems to generate one or two large folds and two to four small ones)
5. Adjust the folds with a modeling tool
6. Add an upside-down half-pyramind of putty to the back, between the shoulders to create a hood

Is there a better technique for this? I'm fairly happy with the officer's cloak (I'll post pictures when I can - I just primed that model, so it wouldn't show up well right now), but more folds would probably be better still. Also, is Green Stuff better than Milliput for any reason? I was under the impression that they're roughly equivalent.

i like greensuff alot, it has a smoother texture than what your using, its hard to tell until your done painting then it will be clear.

Here's a picture of the officer with the basic color scheme I had in mind (silver armor, grey uniform, white cloak/hat/belt, copper trim). I'm going to try using a wash on it next.

I'm afraid he turned out looking a little too much like a heavily-armed milkman of the grim, dark future. I'd appreciate suggestions for changes to the color scheme, and I'll be trying a few variations out tonight.

Here what I had in mind right now:

Cloak - Stays White
Armor - Still silver, but not so shiny (unless the wash improves my opinion of this color)
Metal Trim - Either stays copper or changes to bronze
Uniform - Khaki (as per standard Cadians - mostly because GW has a tutorial for them)
Cap - Khaki with gray bill
Belt, holster, boots - Gray

Valhallan42nd,

Thanks for the link to the article. I orignally wanted to add a unique planetary insignia to these guys, and I think the same techniques used on those eagles should work. As for the marine shoulderpads, wouldn't they be much too wide (front to back) for guardsmens' shoulders?

Im suer it will look much better once you paint it.

the cape looks much better painted but you should highlight it wish bleached bone or something to bring it out the waves. you dont want your hard work sculpting it and then just keep it a flat color, that would be a shame. the armor looks a bit gloppy but wish a wash im sure it will look better. maybe a highlight of mithril silver on the armor would help also? good job though once painted show some piks!

Thanks for the tip about the cloak - it made me rethink the color scheme switch, and I now think it may be ok once shaded properly.

I managed to dig up a GW tutorial on white cloaks. I started by repainting this one in Space Wolf Gray, then gradually adding white to the mix as I moved from the valleys to the peaks of the folds. I finished by painting the main surfaces in plain white (given that I originally basecoated in Space Wolf Gray before the flat white coat, this cape now has a LOT of paint layers on it). I also did this to the underside of his cap.

After fixing the the cape, I added a Badab Black wash the armor, then drybrushed over the wash with a bright silver (equivalent to Mithril Silver, I think, but from another paint line). This unfortunately brought out all the mistakes I made with the putty when converting his armor, giving it the appearance of having deflected quite a lot of attacks. I repreated this on the large copper surfaces, like the sword handle, to better effect. I also went over the Codex Gray parts of his unform with this wash, but I think the effect may be a little to subtle to notice. I left his sword blade alone in order to make it stand out from the armor it's touching.

I subsequently used an Ogryn Flesh wash on his face, then drybrushed over this with Elf Flesh (and adjusted his natural eye to look less like it's popping out of his head). I was really pleased with the skin result.

I've also figured out how to build a pretty effective homemade macrophotography setup using a non-macro camera, a three-ring binder, a hardback novel, an addressbook, a vise, a magnifying glass, a floorlamp turned on its side, a flashlight, and a coatrack. As a result, I can provide some better pictures. Any additional tips for improving the paint job would be appreciated.

nice, the model looks a lot better. i especialy like the face, good job on that. the cape looks alot more real too. wene you get a squad done post some piks!