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Hey guys!

So, the topic is converting Infinity miniatures. The majority of the 'official' Infinity community appears, from what i have seen, to be anti-conversions. I personally have only seen one conversion which was a simple head swap. I'm not including arm swaps in this which are pretty common because of the limited models available to represent the units you can have.

If you have seen any conversion then please post them here as i'd really like to see some! Also, what do you think about converting the miniatures? Yay or nae?

A few of you may be aware of my need to convert my miniatures, Infinity was no exception! Here is a snippet of my Necromunda Gang: La'Rua 005 and a link to my blog which has more detail.

Very nice =)
I guess people do not convert because the models are already mind blowing
But it's always nice to add a little touch to a model

Yeh i think that has a lot to do with it, a kind of, 'if it ain't broke...' mentality.

It doesn't compute with me, i'm not happy really happy unless i'm de- then re-constructing.

Von Skyfury wrote:Very nice =)
I guess people do not convert because the models are already mind blowing
But it's always nice to add a little touch to a model

This.

But there may be cases it's worth it. So far though I haven't felt I could add anything to enhance the miniatures

And I guess it's also harder to convert metal models
For example :
GW has a huge selection of bits that can used for conversions.
Infinity has to pick from an other metal mini from it's much more limited choice.
(Did that make sense ? =P )

I guess green stuff is the way to go.
If you are good with it.
You are good with it by the way =P
I wouldn't dare yet to try and convert things. I can't achieve with green stuff the same amount of details the mini already has.

You guys are right about the reasons people don't do it for sure. Yeh you really need to delve into sculpting, it's not as hard as it looks if you have the right tools. I'm not great but i'm sure at some point Arakasi will show us how it's really done!

If you want to get good at sculpting green stuff the first lesson is to buy colour shapers, they make the job way easier.

Despite all of the reasons i'm still amazed at the lack of conversions. With 40k it's almost standard, i'd imagine more people would transfer there skills.

Hmm. I'm not really part of the "official" community, but is this more a case that it's not they don't convert, it's that they won't convert? I've seen "won't" (or heard tales of it) with quite a few non-GW games, in some cases to the extent that they're actively hostile to people who do convert.

But it's funny this should come up, as I was thinking about this... well, practically the exact same time Casey's Law must have been writing his first post.

In any case, you can bet your backside I'll be converting. Here, have some reasons:
1) I like my models to be unique. (In fact, I usually feel that if I haven't converted a model, I'm doing it wrong.)
2) Sometimes a model is great, except for one or two things I'm not completely sold on.
3) I may not like the official model(s) for a unit type, so I'll convert a model I like more as appropriate (which also often gives me an excuse to use models I like from other factions).
4) They might not have released the model yet, and damned if I'm waiting.

I'm having to wait to work on my Haqqislam (I've banned myself from working on them until at least some more of my Warhound Titan scratchbuild is done), but that doesn't mean I haven't got a whole load of stuff planned.
- A number of breast reductions. I like female miniatures... but just not quite as buxom as some of the Infinity sculptors do.
- Girlifying an Asawira. I saw a thumbnail image rather wrong once and now I want the model I thought I saw.
- A conversion of the 7th Foxtrot Ranger Sniper to be a Najjarun Engineer model (the model for which I don't really like). But I want an engineer, like the Ranger and don't collect Ariadna, so conversion ahoy.
- A scratchbuild of the female Hunzakut from the Haqqislam starter box art.
I've just realised all of those relate to women. Damn, I'm a total perv.

Now, I can understand that some people might be intimidated by trying to work on Infinity models, but I'm reasonably confident and competent as modeller (I think, anyway), so I'm not likely to get shy about such things. Nor am I likely to be overbrimming with tolerance for anyone who's going to be snooty about me trying.

EDIT: Fixed the link

I definitely got that hostile vibe whenever i talked about conversions, Marco. It's very odd, cult like behavior. Funnily enough the people i end up talking to more extensively always seem to be fine with conversions although they tend not to be interested themselves.

I'm glad you'll be converting too! I won't be so lonely over here.
1) I completely agree, at the very least i need to make some alterations to make it a one of a kind.
2) Thats one of the driving factors i think. There is always a little tweak you want to make to a model to get it the way you like it.
3) With Infinity it's surprisingly easy to swap models between factions. Once you paint the uniform colours on they all blend together pretty well.
4) I don't like proxying either, doesn't feel right to me. It's just not in the spirit of telling a story, and that's why i play the games.

Can't wait to see your Haqqislam, they sounds fun!
- Yeh Infinity minis tend to go quite over the top in some cases where females are concerned. The way i try and see it is that in the era they live in they can have any body they want for a price. If she wants huge cans she can have them so she probably will.
- Dude, you are definitely a kindred spirit. I'm always seeing things as something awesome and then getting a better look and realising it's completely lame in comparison to what i imagined i saw. It gives birth to some great models though.
- ... Your right all the things you mentioned were related to women. Haha, i get where you were coming form.

Dude, your GS work is immense, i hope i can sculpt like that one day. That's really syked me up for doing my rogue trader model! If anyone decides to give hassle over conversions i won't be able to bite my tongue either, there will be none of that nonsense on Dakka though.

Heh, I reckon that when it comes to females, Infinity could very well be damned if they do; damned if they don't

In certain circles, GW often comes under fire for its lack of female models (and Sororitas don't count by the way - they demand female guardsmen and Marines!)

There was a discussion about female representation in the models on the official forums a while back and we dug up plenty of pics which show that when in combat gear, it can be really hard to tell men and women apart!
So i'm thinking that if they did protray them more realistically, they would get shouted at for not having female soldiers.

Haha, yeh there seems to be a split in the hobby community over that. I'd like to say it comes down to artistic license or realism but a lot of the creepies just want to drool over little plastic/metal women.

I'm planning on converting several models which are currently represented by furries (the bad kind that are not big wolves ). Only have one in my current force, but will be adding a helmet to fit him in with the rest of the force and will be turning his tail into a technological version

Casey's Law wrote:I definitely got that hostile vibe whenever I talked about conversions, Marco.

I thought it might be. I really can't get my head around why this attitude exists with some games. I come at this from a background of Inquisitor, where not converting and being unoriginal is what's frowned upon, so it's total whiplash whenever I see people who take affront to someone deciding that they want to individualise their collection.

Modelling is a part of the hobby I very much enjoy, and I can't see any good reason why I shouldn't be allowed to indulge in it.

Can't wait to see your Haqqislam, they sound fun!

Well, I might decide to misbehave for the upcoming Painting competition and work on one of my Haqqislam (instead of one of the Yu Jing I've got around), but it is going to be a little while before I can get into the full swing of them. (No doubt bringing with it complaints about another Haqqislam plog.)

What you might find is that, being a roleplayer, I'll decide to give all of them names and at least some background - IMHO, if you want that proper "action movie special forces squad" feel, you can't be playing with nameless nobodies. Of course, expect a lot of "he got better" for those of them without cubes.

The way I try and see it is that in the era they live in they can have any body they want for a price. If she wants huge cans she can have them so she probably will.

They could, but after having heard more than one stage technician complain about their mortally proportioned mammaries getting in the way, cosmetic "enhancement" doesn't strike me as the most likely goal of a soldier. Mind you, I know there are women in physically intensive jobs like the military or law enforcement who do decide to.

But regardless of the likelihood, huge breasts just don't appeal to me, so I'll be making some of the more buxom girls less top heavy.

You're right, all the things you mentioned were related to women.

I think my female Inquisitor characters outnumber the males about two to one. And there's similar ratios amongst the Infinity miniatures I've got. I'm very much a man for the lady miniatures.

I hope I can sculpt like that one day.

It's cliché to say, but it's down to practice, patience, persistence and a sense of proportion. The last part is very important - take the time to learn proportion, and actually check/correct it as you work! A model that's anatomically incorrect can't be rescued by any quality of detail work, and many of the people I've seen quit sculpting were offput by their models that just wouldn't look right. To an experienced eye, the problem was the proportions, but to an inexperienced eye, it was just "wrong".

That's really syked me up for doing my rogue trader model!

It's something of a psyche-up for me too, as I was privileged to get positive feedback on her from John Blanche himself.

Shae-Konnit wrote:
There was a discussion about female representation in the models on the official forums a while back and we dug up plenty of pics which show that when in combat gear, it can be really hard to tell men and women apart!
So i'm thinking that if they did protray them more realistically, they would get shouted at for not having female soldiers.

The problem is, thats all some of us want. The game is static, its not a case of women moving under fire on patrol being hard to tell the difference from a glance, I can by the way. However, in the game every model is frozen in time, so you should be able to tell a difference. I don't buy the 'you couldn't tell' arguement because the current models have obviously male faces. I'm not after boob tubes and bikini lines, I've noted this many times before, as have others. Some of us just want a slight revision to the figs. A single sprue with four Guardsmen, two Karskrin types, several feminine heads, maybe a fun fig like a Pilot or tank commander would do it. I want mixed units dang it.

Casey's Law wrote:Haha, yeh there seems to be a split in the hobby community over that. I'd like to say it comes down to artistic license or realism but a lot of the creepies just want to drool over little plastic/metal women.

The reason for many of us, is actually liking the idea of mixed units in a universe where years of fluff have suggested this to be the case, where awesome novels such as Gaunts Ghosts have championed the idea of strong female characters standing alongside their male brethen.
Or Characters like Vasquez in Aliens, or more recently Elena Santos in Battle L.A. If I wanted to drool over little plastic/metal women, my infinity forces do that way better than anything 40K players could ever dream.

I'm doing some very minor conversions to my Aleph, like arm swaps,with plans for more detailed ones when I start expanding out into the bots... Mainly because I don't really like the metal models all that much. It will certainly be interesting to see how things go as the Infinity metal seems to be a lot stronger, trickier to cut than the GW stuff

Aye on topic, I have no need at the moment. If at a later date I wanted to upscale certains forces and choice was limited, then I'd look at it. Or if Infinity eventually does the leap in scale most Wargames go through then I would as well, as I'm driven to distraction by exact doubles.

However I am finding it refreshing to have sculpts for the rank of file so good, I don't feel the need to personalise them other than the paint job.

MarcoSkoll wrote:What you might find is that, being a roleplayer, I'll decide to give all of them names and at least some background

Yeh i plan on fluffing up my force too. Should be fun, trying to get a grip of naming conventions and stuff. I'm really enjoying doing the Necromunda squad, i've been getting deep into Tau and Necromunda details to try and get the vibe.

They could, but after having heard more than one stage technician complain about their mortally proportioned mammaries getting in the way, cosmetic "enhancement" doesn't strike me as the most likely goal of a soldier. Mind you, I know there are women in physically intensive jobs like the military or law enforcement who do decide to.

I agree, every single female model shouldn't be over proportioned they should have limited it to just a few.

It's cliché to say, but it's down to practice, patience, persistence and a sense of proportion.

The four p's. I'm working at it and i think i'll get there eventually. I try and do the proportion work by eye right now but when i move on to proper sculpts then i'll get the proper tools.

It's something of a psyche-up for me too, as I was privileged to get positive feedback on her from John Blanche himself.

Man that was a ridiculous spelling fail from me! Awesome, that is praise indeed from Blanche, how did it come about?

Morathi's Darkest Sin wrote:The reason for many of us, is actually liking the idea of mixed units in a universe where years of fluff have suggested this to be the case

Don't get me wrong, i agree about having more females and i'm not saying everyone just wants to look at pretty toy ladies but there is a small amount of those strange people that ruin the whole thing.


It's good to see the different views on the subject. Has anyone found any converted Infinity apart from mine? I've had no luck.

Yeah I totally get that, a good example is that recent Bane Legions figure from maelstrom. So way over the top, I'd think more than twice before putting it in a Slaanesh army.

Variety is a key factor for me though.

Casey's Law wrote:Yeh i plan on fluffing up my force too. Should be fun, trying to get a grip of naming conventions and stuff.

I think I'm going to need a refresher course on Islamic tenets and tradition, as the last time I was in an RE lesson was eight and a half years ago and most of the information has leaked out.

Awesome, that is praise indeed from Blanche, how did it come about?

It was all at WHW. He turned up to speak with a guy I know at an Ammobunker event early in March, at which point I took the liberty of showing him her as of yet incomplete model (Said guy also urged me to show John my version of Karl Kopinski's Battle Sister art). He mentioned a cosplay of the same artwork, and I think I half mentioned I was working on her for an Inquisitor event at the end of March. Three weeks later, he turned up during that event (bringing along a copy of the cosplay picture), by which point she was done and on the table for a game, so I got a chance to show her finished model off too.

It resulted in some disruption to the event though, as it was populated by gaming veterans who all knew exactly what "John Blanche" meant. Even if some of them didn't immediately recognise him - it was quite fun to see the realisation of who it was who'd shown up at the table slowly dawning on some of the people there.

But anyway, I'll stop derailing the topic with my anecdotes.

Good anecdote though!

I got my Ariadna starter pack today - yay! The Chasseur doesn't appear to have the light flamethrower he is equipped with on him - maybe I'll rectify that as my first foray into converting Infinity

Aha! I knew you wouldn't be able to wait.

For me it comes down to money. I can't afford to buy a guy just for bits.I'm out of 40k mainly because of money. I won't say Infinity figs don't intimidate me as well. I don't understand the hostility of converting though. I've been on the main forum for years and have never seen anything like that. I have no problems with proxies however and using just totally different figs. I'm not even going to use an Infinity fig for my Hungeries because I don't care for them and I want to use these old Vor figs I have. I am thinking now however of using parts for a Shasvastii Cadmus for Shrouded though.

Okay, so looking at adding light flamethrowers to the Veteran Kazak and the Chasseur in the Ariadna Starter Pack - I think this has almost got me stumped!

I initially figured I have two choices - the addition of a separate light flamethrower on the miniature, or an underslung attachment.

Issues:
1) Not sure where I could put a full second weapon that would look right... hence leaning towards underslung...
2) Both rifles have a forward front grip in use where the underslung attachment would go...
3) Size! The rifles are so tiny, I don't know if I can manipulate plasticard that small!

On the up side, the Veteran Kazak appears to have a light? already attached under there? Maybe I could make it more flamethrower looking...

Have also considered moving it to a more side slung position - but that doesn't help with 3 above...

Looking at Casey's Law work - maybe GS instead of plasticard might be a better starting point, or some combination of the two...

This just isn't as easy as converting Orks! (Where bigger is both better and easier and inaccuracies are just Ork enthusiasm/rush jobs...)

Just as well we're going on a GS course in June isn't it

But - I'm trying to add flamers, not zombies! Three attempts tonight - just the barrel/flame attachment. I think the third one is almost there... maybe I can do this after all...

Pics (and a P&M blog) would help, but as I hope to enter the painting comp, and I'm working on all of these at once, I don't think I'll be able to risk it until after the comp... You'll just all have to wait until then (especially if I do happen to nail it - the flamethrower attachment that is...)

I did convert a spare ORC trooper (Multirifle) to an "Aquila guard" with the addition of a greenstuffed coat and spare sword, though (gives me three different AG models).

Nice one, did you settle for plasticard or green stuff?

Sorry i've kinda been slacking on pms and organising stuff but i'm been a bit off colour the last few days. Feeling better and i've made a list of things for the morning.

One thing that might be a reason as to why people are not as into conversions is that Infinity is not that hard about WYSIWYG. There's many times you will use things you can't see on the fig. Like hackers, underslung guns, medics. Almost all Haqqislam have Rifle+light Shotgun. You don't see the shot gun because it's an integral part of the gun. The same shot comes out of the same barrel. It's just a flick of switch!

Plasticard so far. Does my light flamethrower come out of the same barrel?

CDK wrote:For me it comes down to money. I can't afford to buy a guy just for bits.I'm out of 40k mainly because of money. I won't say Infinity figs don't intimidate me as well. I don't understand the hostility of converting though. I've been on the main forum for years and have never seen anything like that. I have no problems with proxies however and using just totally different figs. I'm not even going to use an Infinity fig for my Hungeries because I don't care for them and I want to use these old Vor figs I have. I am thinking now however of using parts for a Shasvastii Cadmus for Shrouded though.

I definitely don't want the Infinity community to get as hard-line about WYSIWYG as the 40k community. If there's hostility towards conversions, I assume it's because people are afraid of that happening.