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Yep, you read that right. Might've potentially figured out a budget way to make Valhallans. Basically, I've seen a few people theorize that this combination was possible, but never saw anyone try it. So when I realized I had all the bits I needed to try it, I decided why not.

What you will need

*Warlord Games Winter Soviets (you can buy the infantry sprue on its own from their website for a discount, and occasionally they do 50% off sales. I would go this route if you seriously want to try this) all the kit you see on the models are from the box as well.
*Victoria Lamb: my unhealthy love for Vic continues. All lasguns you see are Vic. I would recommend going all out and getting all weapons from Vic. You will see why when I show the GW bits on some models. Luckily Vic makes everything you need now from chainsword to special weapons and properly modular arms
*GW: needed for the meltas and chainsword/laspistol. Personally I feel they look kind of ridiculous, but some people like them, so I guess it's up to personal taste.

Alright, now for a couple shots showing the squad


As you can see, the Vic lasguns are the old metal original kind. They look good proportions-wise, but sometimes need to be bent or shaved slightly to get a perfect fit. One mini, the guy with the sidecap and scarf front right, is using his original plastic arms with a Vic rifle that i had with no arms attached. This requires mahbe 2-3 mm to be shaved off the stock, but looks the best out of all the options, especially since the warlord arms are really nice and some have mittens on or evem hamging from their sleeves.

GW weapons like the melta and Pistol/ccw took more work, usually using weapons that had no hands on them or cutting off the arm at the wrist to attach them to the greatcoat arms the kit comes with. They are also huge. The meltas are almost as tall and wide as the men carrying them, and the Sarge's chainsword is taller than he is. Apparently some like this look, but I plan on changing it later. Here's a close-up to show what I mean



Now, onto the one annoying bit about trying this. Warlord, for some insane reason, decided that making a full sprue of greatcoats was madness, and so included 3 quilted uniform troopers in the sprue, and a 1/3rd of the arms are for them (they will not look right on greatcoats) so essentially you can only use 2/3rds of the sprue. If you get them on sale, no big deal, and if you were going to make a proper IG army out of these guys, you could easily make a bolt action army with the spare bodies and a few Soviet weapon sprues.

The other thing, is one of the 5 greatcoat bodies is prone. Most people won't care, but I know this is a dealbreaker for some. I personally would just use them as heavy weapon teams, but I know some would rather another standing soldier.

Hopefully people found this useful and maybe just maybe it'll inspire Vic to finish her Valhallans . Fun fact though, if you're smart with buying, you can make these guys cheaper than you could regular GW cadians, provided you ordered all your weapons and bits in one order and got all the infantry in one order as well. Not much cheaper, but I feel the painted results would make it worth it


EDIT===================================================================================

Just thought I'd edit in the pictures I took showing how much nicer the Vic chainsword and meltas look

Nice work. The Mk1 victoria lasguns (in metal or resin) really are the best option for making virtually any historical miniature into a guardsman. They've got a nice slim profile and historical'ish look that works great with true-scale 28mm. Though bigger than historical weapons, they're roughly the same amount-too-big for historicals than actual GW weapons are compared to GW figures.

They're also the ideal replacement for missing RT-era plastic lasguns. I've given them to a few plastic squats and they're perfect.

Those meltas are unfortunately pretty ridiculous. Have you considered using the Blood Angel Melta pistols for meltaguns? I've got a batch of them waiting for my squats. I've not glued any in yet, but they certainly look good side-by-side. The Victoria "Fusion guns" are probably the best bet and at 5 for $4, possibly the cheapest option.

As for chainswords, it's not hard to shorten them, but Victoria also makes a more reasonably sized option as well.

Damn. I think I've found a replacement for my plastic Cadians. A couple of winter soviet boxes will make a nice Guard list.

Where can I get the Mk1 victoria lasguns.
Also, I wish I knew about the BEFORE I started my IG. :( makes me sad. Ciaphas Cain books made me love valhallans

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Where can I get the Mk1 victoria lasguns.

Victoria Miniatures.
Both are on this page. http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/products/weapons-and-gear?pagesize=60
4 in metal for $2
5 in resin for $3.50

 Eilif wrote:
Nice work. The Mk1 victoria lasguns (in metal or resin) really are the best option for making virtually any historical miniature into a guardsman. They've got a nice slim profile and historical'ish look that works great with true-scale 28mm. Though bigger than historical weapons, they're roughly the same amount-too-big for historicals than actual GW weapons are compared to GW figures.

They're also the ideal replacement for missing RT-era plastic lasguns. I've given them to a few plastic squats and they're perfect.

Those meltas are unfortunately pretty ridiculous. Have you considered using the Blood Angel Melta pistols for meltaguns? I've got a batch of them waiting for my squats. I've not glued any in yet, but they certainly look good side-by-side. The Victoria "Fusion guns" are probably the best bet and at 5 for $4, possibly the cheapest option.

As for chainswords, it's not hard to shorten them, but Victoria also makes a more reasonably sized option as well.

Yeah I personally would recommend just going Vic for all weapons. They're better scaled and will work with the warlord plastic arms you get, which have a good amount of variety with mittens and whatnot. They also fit in the warlord hands as is, which helps them look better.

Her chainsword s and special weapons in particular will look much better with them.

I would love to try the newer lasgun designs she debuted alongside the Arcadians, but I didn't have any around and haven't had a chance to buy from her in a long while. I feel more modern looking lasguns would help make them fit in a bit better, but the MK1's are classic and still look great.

I'm not going to bother with melta pistols because I have a few and they look really odd with them (believe me, I thought of that too) it's still odd and fat, but looks way too wimpy to be one sitting land raiders.

@TheCustomlime

Remember, not all bodies in the box are greatcoats. A box comes with 40 infantry, 25 of which will be greatcoats. The other 15 will have quilted uniforms.

If the 25 greatcoats, 5 will be prone (work great for heavy weapons but not great for much else.) If you'd like to try this, go to warlord's main site and direct order the infantry sprues for a discount, although some stores sell the regular box at roughly the price you could just buy the sprues from Warlord, just be smart and research your options.

@Hotsauceman1

It's never too late! You can always have like 3 different projects like I do

Just say they're a composite regiment (aka a regiment built from the remains of 2 or more regiments, who can be very different) it gives you an excuse to make a platoon of each type and go nuts. Just give them a complimentary color scheme and a matching emblem on all the models and you're set!

Very nice stuff.

I wonder if you could forgo the lasguns though. I have some WWII Soviets who come with a nifty little SMG with an ammo drum. It's not too common a weapon and could easily pass for some sort of sci-fi laser.

It wouldn't be standard Imperial Guard but I think it passes muster.

I would add that the parka wearing troops should probably be seen as an asset rather than a drawback. It's a good look for winter troops. Just make a separate squad or platoon and then you don't have to paint so many of the exact same trooper. Believe me, when painting a guard army, that's a big relief.

It looks like 2 boxes of Soviet winter troops gives you 50 greatcoats and 30 parkas. That's a good sized force right there.

I just had a look at the prices that melta pistols are going for online. I still think they look great with squats (and maybe with Soviets after a bit of lengthening) but the Vic weapons are cheaper and better proportioned.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Very nice stuff.

I wonder if you could forgo the lasguns though. I have some WWII Soviets who come with a nifty little SMG with an ammo drum. It's not too common a weapon and could easily pass for some sort of sci-fi laser.

It wouldn't be standard Imperial Guard but I think it passes muster.

The winter Soviets do come with those weapons.

You get one arm holding it in a sling on all 5 sprues for bodies, then you get 3 weapon sprues with 4 apiece, enough to outfit almost half the box.

The main reasons I didn't do it is I already have a Bolt Action Soviet force (that's what I bought these for after all) and needed those weapons for them.

Off to a great start. These look excellent!

So any painted pics yet?

I'd like to see them painted up - agree with the others that the meltaguns don't scale very well. Short of that it's a great idea and something I've seen a lot of people do (not this particular kit, but WW2 minis in general). Excellent idea/work.

So yeah just so I don't get edited and baned, here are the (mostly) painted Valhallans

Don't say I never did anything for you guys.

Someday I'll get around to updating my P&M blog, I've been painting a lot but have had a hard time getting good pictures, so this'll have to do for now. The picture blows up much better by clicking on it and viewing it in the gallery.

These have the touch of gritty realism that makes the best imperial guard armies stand out, but without sacrificing quality or the overall 40K feel. Very good job sir!

Yeah that picture is tough to see. Still love the conversions.