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During the last DakkaDakka Challenge, I presented two entries on how to make cheap elite Necron units out of plastic warriors. One of the tutorials - I believe it's the one for Immortals - has a discussion on making Wraiths the same way. I'm not very keen on Wraiths in game, but the models are very creepy-cool and my son loves them. Wraith torsos are about the same size as a warrior's, but Destroyers are a closer match. One of the thread participants recommended trying to make Wraiths out of the Destroyer body and Tomb Spyders out of the skimmer. After I did some quick math regarding $ per model and cost of supplies I thought, "Two models for the price of one? Can't beat that!"

I had recently obtained a heavily damaged destroyer in a trade and thought that it would be cheaper than buying a new model. It would require more work since it was missing half of it's left arm and was glued with a rather heavy hand. The spine had been glued to the torso backwards and had broken away from the skimmer at some point. The head was probably the worst - the glue had completely melted the lower jaw to the torso and made the whole clavicle/neck area a glob of plastic. This was where things went wrong.

I tried to gently pry the head off the shoulders, hoping it would provide a seam that I could cut around, but it was not to be. The head came right off, leaving the bottom jaw attached to the shoulders. I was not deterred and cleaned up the neck with my hobby knife. I figured that there might be a spare warrior head around that I could use instead, but got an idea while looking at the torn up destroyer head. I could leave it as is, attach some wires coming out of the jaw area and make it look like his jaw was torn away. Arranged properly, the wires could look like a beard...

One thing lead to another and I decided that rather than make this conversion a regular Wraith, I would make him a Wraith Lord, counting him as a Destroyer body Lord. I used warrior arms, a bit of craft wire to extend the forearms (like a Wraith's), and a slice of sprue along with card for the hands and fingers. The warscythe is made from the gun the arms were holding and a huge paperclip that I cut to length. The Wraith tail is a bass guitar E-string (I'll list the gauge when I write a tutorial), cut just where the wire tapers to enter the machinehead on the headstock.

After getting all the peices together, I found that just like GW's Wraith models, he was a tad top heavy and would be difficult to base without constantly falling over... unless firmly attached to some base terrain. This was an opportunity to try show off the phasing ability of wraiths. Even if Necron Lords don't have the ability phase like Wraiths, it's artistic expression. I carved up a bit of extruded foam and managed to get the model embedded in it without losing view of too much of the body. I think it would have been cooler if I got one of the arms "phased" through the pillar, but it was a lot of work doing just what I did! I spackled the whole thing, then sanded it down, and used a craftknife to carve the necron heiroglyph. I'm thinking about making it embossed instead of engraved, however.

I plan to add a half-destroyed warrior returning to life in front of the pillar and maybe a scarab or two on the pillar itself. Without further ado:









Questions and comments appreciated!

WOW! That really does give the impression that it just phased through the pillar!

Really great conversion here Gavin!

Cheers,

Jack.

*chant*Paint! Paint! Paint!

@Blightdron: I appreciate the comments, thank you!

@deffskullz: I'm going to finish the basing before priming and painting, but as soon as I get done I'll repost the painted pics!

I really like what you have done here. Keep me posted on any new conversions!

Here's the finished model, complete with decorative base. This will be my son's "Bronze" Lord, counting as a Destroyer Lord with Warscythe, Rez Orb, Veil of Darkness, and/or Nightmare Shroud.











The scheme for the metal went something like Tin Bitz, Burnished Gold, Reaper Old Bronze on dark gray primer. The patina was 2 parts Hawk Turquoise, 1 part Scaly Green, 1 part Reaper Old Bronze, then watered down to skim milk consistency. I thought about doing some salt weathering too, but maybe next time.

overall, a rather cool concept and some nice work
i think the red orb might be a touch more interesting if it had a bit of a shine to it

Thank you! The model hasn't gotten it's matte poly coat yet, but after it does, I'll get some 'Ardcoat on the rez orb just for you Lynn.

Excellent model. My only comment would be about the orb turned downwards like he is dribbling a basket ball. I would turn it up.

I appreciate the feedback and I can see the basketball reference. I didn't want to do the upturned orb in hand that's done so often and wanted the orb to look as though it was hovering under the hand, it's energies directed to the fallen warrior beneath it. I think some OSL effects would have accentuated that, but I haven't tried OSL just yet and didn't want to start on an HQ model that'll be the cornerstone of my son's army. Maybe next time...

The model looks great. I would say try to make the green markings on the monolith\tomb glow if you can. It would be a small enhancement that would make a huge difference.

Is he gonna slam dunk that?(lol) thats awesome