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Ever considered increasing the size of the soles of the boots or does it look to awkward 0.5-0.2 mm?

I dunno. I guess I could add .5mm to the soles. I actually have a bunch of .5mm card from when I first started the project. But I don't know how much value that would be. I don't want their shoes to look like platforms, and I'd have to do extra work for the legs that weren't firmly planted (thus showing tread), cutting the soles off and putting the card underneath them.

I get height out of the models just by straightening the legs and cutting off the feet. The models, once they are standing a bit straighter, really start to get some of the height back that the "squatting" pose t

Damn, those guys are looking awesome! Do you have any tips on getting the feet free?

Cut slowly and carefully. Use a narrow-tipped blade to dig in under the front and back. Basically work until you can pull the foot free. You're going to have to clean it up and gap fill with green stuff/liquid green stuff anyway. At least, that was possible with the older plastic. I've heard the newer stuff is much harder.


Just in case anyone was worried I'd given up on the Waaaagh, nope. It's about 80% done.



It's standing at 28 Orks and 3 Killa Kans for fire support right now. Needs another 5 or 6 orks to finish the main body of the platoon, and then another 5-6 in support. Needs at least one more PanzOrkfaust for sure. I have a grot Kannon I haven't assembled yet (it's metal and I don't have superglue). I'm pretty sure I have all the models I need to complete this at this point, they're just not assembled yet. I didn't want to get carried away putting Orks together, and then need more because I made too many with Shootas or something. I should make a spreadsheet, lol.

Then I have a damaged Leman Russ that is a prime candidate for conversion to an Ork Loota Vehicle. That ought to be a fieldable force for a small game.

Those orks are looking very good and the one with the eavy shoota and the bionic on his helmet reminds me of the ork from the Dawn of War intro, very cool indeed. I like that you have a few running orks as well, they are frequently described as charging forwards and yet the models are always very static

The running orks are mostly converted/modified from Stormboyz bodies. The Stickbomma in the front row just kinda ended up like that, and I kinda liked it instead of moving his legs back to a more standing position. It's not perfect, but I liked how it looked kinda like he was stepping into the throw.

I need to work up an ammo box for the big shoota boy you're referring too, but once he has a rock/rubble under his feet he'll definitely look good. I like that the older Boyz kit had arms that weren't attached to the weapons already. And I didn't want all of my Big Shootas to look the same, so I've been cutting them free of the arms they are attached to on the sprue. Figured a lefty would make him stick out a bit.

I was disappointed with the guns fixed to the arms myself although, I suppose you get more on the sprue now so it's swings and roundabouts. I just like seeing ork models really, I don't know why exactly but there is something about orks that just cheers me up. You seem to have added some animation to yours that is often lacking, they look like they are actually doing something other than standing around gurning.

Oh, hello! Very sneaky, sarge, slipping that update in.

I'd originally meant to do more with it, was a teaser for some Chaos Marines, but I've been in the process of moving, one of my work's peak seasons, and then I was traveling. So I'd only just started on some of them, and quite a few are unfinished aside from that one model.

I'll get back to it in the next couple weeks I'm sure.

Oh my...

Ooh!

Needs more rats.

 Kepora wrote:
Needs more rats.

My buddy already has a fully painted Skaven warband. Sadly my old Marienburgers disappeared somewhere and I haven't been able to find them yet. I'll rebuild them. After all, the town will need some exterminators.

 Kepora wrote:
Needs more rats.

How about a big one?


Started whipping up human mercenaries by kit-bashing the Mercenaries bits with Empire State Troops bodies and some other parts, and then repositioning the hands and weapons. I've got more pictures, but I've been too busy to put it all into a coherent post.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:


On other topics, I've not been terribly excited about the Tau thus far. Aside from the aesthetic improvement of the shorter rifle, I haven't really felt like I've been able to do much with the Fire Warriors, and didn't have any Tau models I really liked yet.

Well that's changed. Introducing my Pathfinder rail rifle sniper team:



Unfortunately the optic got roughed up a little, so it needs to be fixed back down. Seems It was made from the little gubbin on the front of an extra Ion Rifle I had.

The left arm on the shooter is from the Hammerhead crewmember (I think. That's what I pried it off of, lol), with the hand clipped off and rotated downward so he's got it balanced on the crook of his arm against his knee.

The spotter's left hand was cut and rotated too so he could hold the carbine balanced on his leg. I also filed the waist on the legs at a flatter angle so he'd sit more upright



These guys came out fairly close to how I'd envisioned them. Once again the left arms of the Tau have proved a liability, but the adjustment I made to the Rail Rifle model is satisfactory. But I wanted to have a shooter and spotter team that would look good matched as a pair. They just need a little bit of cleanup now.

I stumbled upon your blog just now. I must say I'm impressed by the amount of dedication and precise work you have put in your miniatures.

Being a Tau player, I do appreciate what you have done here. Keep converting!

I'm glad you've enjoyed it. I haven't been working on models for a few months since I moved. Mostly because it was summer and I live half a block from the beach. It is hard to stay focused on indoor hobbies with vacation rentals full of Zonies and warmer water. The other problem is that as far as tabletop games go, we've only been playing X-Wing, and there's nothing to convert, really.

I'm thinking about picking up the new Horus Heresy game though, and I have some Early Imperial Romans and Celts to play with, not that either of those things are Tau-related. But, if either of those things interest you, stay tuned. Hopefully the colder weather and it getting darker earlier will get me back in a coverting mood.

Hey whatever tickles your fancy. Personally i'd be chuffed to see anything coming out from you, sure you could throw a nifty zest onto it.

Well, I prepaid for Betrayal at Calth at the FLGS today. So I'm going to have to do something with it.

Funny thing is, I don't even like Mk IV or the Heresy that much, but I figured I'd regret it if I passed up snagging that many models for a comparatively reasonable price.

Of course, for perspective, the 45 or so Ancients I bought cost me just under $50, while the 40ish GW figures were almost three times that, haha.

I realize I kinda left this blog hanging. Problem was, I moved to a great new place right by the beach, right before summer. After that, it was all surfing and Zonies and I got distracted.

Our Mordheim campaign was short-lived, so I never really did much work with it either. Still haven't even touched Betrayal at Calth (what a waste of money that's looking like, lol). Didn't like the Warlord miniatures Romans much. The scale was off on them too much. Heck, the auxiliaries and legionnaires don't even match eachother.

Then we started playing a lot of X-Wing on tabletop days, which has very little relevance to this project log since I don't have a magnet small enough to do the B-Wing's rotational cockpit and buying just one or two of them seems cost inefficient, lol..

But, I figure I'll deliver the Chaos Marine, at least. He's been Tall-scaled (but not cleaned and finished) using Raptor legs and parts from the old Chaos Marine kit (which I hate).

I trimmed the "stalks" on the Chaos Backpack. Never liked that design. Gave him some severed shrunken heads that I think came from a Lizardmen kit, but I'm not 100% sure. Would be fun to continue making Chaos Marines, but who knows if it will happen.




The only thing I've really done with X-Wing is to magnetize them, which makes them more zoomie looking. Really easy, and fairly cheap modification too, and it makes such a striking difference on the table.



We'll see if I can get motivated to get any more 40K work done in the near future. I just got a bunch of supplies when I did the X-Wing ships, so we'll see if the bug bites again.

Nice Chaos Marine. How come you didn't drill the magnets into the X Wing ships? Nice idea though, very zoom-y.

EDC

Love seeing your work! Great job on the CSM. I hate their back packs too

That idea for the Xwing models is simple but so darn effective ! I may even consider this for my Battlestar models

Awesome work.

 evildrcheese wrote:
Nice Chaos Marine. How come you didn't drill the magnets into the X Wing ships? Nice idea though, very zoom-y.

EDC

I tested it with smaller magnets that could be drilled into the ships, but they don't get enough surface area on the ball, so the grip is significantly weaker. Makes the ships have a tendency to flop and slide. Plus, with a lot of ships, it requires really careful balancing where you're going to drill, otherwise one end becomes heavier than the other and encourages sliding. The ring magnets are polarized to the inside of the ring, so once they are contoured to the ball, their grip is solid enough that you can hold on the ship, and shake it, and the base will twirl around, but it won't come off. Means no matter the shape or weight of the ship, it can be mounted where the post was, and still grip enough to stay where you put it.

One thing I've done when using ball bearings is place a bit of putty on the magnet, then let the ball bearing press it's shape into the putty (use a bit of water or something to stop it from sticking). When it's all done, the greater contact surface area creates a lot more friction, helping to keep everything stable.

It's really just important to "rough up" the ball so it isn't so slick and near-perfectly round. It will increase friction, and the grip of the magnet will do the rest of the work.

Looks pretty good. Wish I did this to my guys before I started.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:

 evildrcheese wrote:
Nice Chaos Marine. How come you didn't drill the magnets into the X Wing ships? Nice idea though, very zoom-y.

EDC

I tested it with smaller magnets that could be drilled into the ships, but they don't get enough surface area on the ball, so the grip is significantly weaker. Makes the ships have a tendency to flop and slide. Plus, with a lot of ships, it requires really careful balancing where you're going to drill, otherwise one end becomes heavier than the other and encourages sliding. The ring magnets are polarized to the inside of the ring, so once they are contoured to the ball, their grip is solid enough that you can hold on the ship, and shake it, and the base will twirl around, but it won't come off. Means no matter the shape or weight of the ship, it can be mounted where the post was, and still grip enough to stay where you put it.

That makes alot of sense.

EDC

Something lurks in the shadows...








Genestealer Cultists sneaking back into the fluff and the model range makes me sooooo happy. These models are very good looking, but not friendly to conversion as their poses are locked. I have, however, begun to bend them to my will. These are early mockups for you guys since I'm impatient.

Such cool.models. Looking forward to seeing what you do with them.

EDC