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I can't believe it took me til now to stumble across this project - your work is friggin beautiful man. You inject so much character into every model with their poses and conversions, and the paint work is excellent too.

Brother SRM, thank you! It's a pleasure to have you aboard, my friend, and what better a time to discover it, being the post that gets the blog to page 50!
Thank you very much for your words - I hope to give everybody some more lovely miniatures as soon as, just waiting on a couple orders

I don't know if i've posted before, but dang! All these conversions are truly art, and make me quite jealous. I'm a long ways from where you are now.

New modelling is looking good as usual LDP. Thanks for sharing the ANZAC diorama as well, it looks awesome and I'm planning a trip to Wellington in the not to distant future and that is certainly on the list.

Did you contribute to the painting of the minis for it?

@mad nah I wish - I didn't know about it until it was too late :(

So, as always, until I get all of my arrivals, nothing is assembled or ready to go, but i've been having a lot of fun messing around and dry fitting like crazy. I assembled this today, and would love to know what you guys think, I went to a risky extreme and did some GLUING - glued his leather tabard on from the ultramarine deathwatch miniature, and cut the head from one of the SM finecast veterans and stuck the mkII standard bearer plume on it.

Hopefully it's obvious that he's a chapter champion, with his sword and ccw loadout. Want to know what you guys reckon. I'm also wanting to do a company champion so that you can compare between the two, and though i dont have all the parts here for it yet - you can get a sense of the gist of the pose that I want for it.

Reeeeally eager to start updating properly soon!

LDP

Thanks LDP, after checking your list you seem to be doing the same thing as I am with the same models lol! except i'm going Imperial Fists :-) can't wait to see what you do as always!

Very nice pair of champions.

From a wargear POV, the company champion should have a combat shield, not a full-on storm shield. Minor difference, but the WYSWYG pedantic in me wanted to point that out. Also, from a game play POV there is almost no reason to swap out the chapter champs boltgun for a CCW. From a modeling perspective, I think we can all agree you are taking good advantage of the option.

For the company champ, I think his head might be better lowered in prayer, or lifted to the heavens, seeking terra and the holy Emperor.

Seeing the two guys together, I’m getting flashbacks to some old D&D mini packs that Ral Partha used to make. You got three minis, all the same guy at different stages of their career. The one I owned was for a cleric. First was a robe wearing acolyte with a staff. Middle was chainmail and a morning star, Last was full plate and a heavy mace. Seeing the two champions here, I wonder if they are the same guy, at different parts of his journey. I’d like to see him as a young assault marine, with a knife and chainsword. I was going to say captain/CM, but if you are in the champion’s role, you are not really on the leadership path. You just blend things.

Taken me a little while to catch up with your work buddy, but everything's looking awesome.

@Nerd Ho man! Really!? Great stuff, can't wait to see what you produce with the fists - I didn't know that was the approach you were taking, but i'm very much looking forward to comparing how we both go with our projects

@Neve Could you show me some photos of these D&D miniatures? As soon as I read your comment I showed my friend who I play D&D with and we both got really inspired they sound awesome! I agree with your comments on the company champion helmet - I will try to angle it down, because that'd be my favoured pose, but with many helmets its too difficult to make it noticeable :( - and as far as the storm shield is concerned - put your WYSIWYG concerns to rest, my friend I feel the same sympathies towards it as you - and the SS was a stand in. I have since found a combat shield from my assault marine sprue, and will sub that in instead. Also I think its obvious at this point, but i've never seen a hyper competitive player, and love fluff and cool minis over useful stats, and you are right in thinking that i'm taking good advantage of the weapon option

@Biohazard Good to hear from you as always! Thanks for checking in, and thanks your comments

Those conversions are looking amazing... Keep it up. I love your work

Nice Champs. I love the kneeling dude, very cool.

EDC

Cheers LDP I'm just as excited to see what you do! :-) my guys will be a command squad for use with the Lysander & Kantor I painted, so I want them to be different and as ornate as the Ultra's usually are.

LDP-
Here is a link to a collecting page about the 3-stage characters. Old minis are old, obviously. It’s the concept I like more then the minis, most have not aged well.

I’ll see about getting a pic of mine, not that they are anything to write home about.

Hello! So most of my orders have arrived, and i've assembled some characters - very excited to start painting, the first of whom to be painted being Mr. Fist and Sword for NF's competition.

-I ended up switching helms for the chapter champion to one of the ultramarine Suzerian helms, and threw a plume onto that I cut off a helmet from the ultramarine upgrade sprue. I think it looks better.
-I assembled a company champion also, and changed the pose in the end. Modelling with metal bits is such a pain, and I am glad that i've chopped the emperor's champion to pieces now and have no more metal models. His parts were all put to good use <3.
-"Mr. Fist and Sword" as I named him earlier was a fun build, and can stand in for anything really. I made him to be a captain, but that's pretty much what I make every miniature to be - so he can stand in as a veteran or whatever with ease. I spilt a smidge of superglue on his head which is why he looks a little funny at the moment.
-I built an apothecary as well - and opted not to use the very static command squad narthecium, choosing instead to throw together a different arm that I think is very fitting, and will hopefully fit the aesthetic nicely when I paint up a medical display on his wrist screen - Also glued a wee angel baby onto him because it looks cool and felt natural to his aesthetic, as well as a servo skull that I like to imagine follows him around and judges case by case which casualties are worth working on.
-I built a captain out of the sigismund miniature as a base, and could only really do a head and backpack swap. I put the mk IV plumed helm on because it fits his pose so well to me, and have shaved off the fist on his shoulder, in anticipation to replace it with an etched brass ultramarine symbol which I should be receiving tomorrow I hope

I'll hopefully develop some fluff and background for these guys as I work on them.

ANYWAY, here are some photos - i'm so eager to get painting again! Next update should have lots of blue

LDP

Dammmnnn... Amazing collection of guys there.

My first thought on seeing that outstretched hand on the apothecary was “Come with me if you want to live”

Love all of them. Now get painting!

Love the Company Champions pose, well done LDP! I agree the apothecary definitely has the come with me if you want to live pose.

Cracking stuff! Can't really pick a favourite, but the Apothecary definitely feels like the most natural and innovative conversion. Got to love a medic with a power fist...

Looking great! can't wait to see some blue on these suckers!

eyyy, ldp! poses look rad bro

you.. you just killed sigismund and IF's champion. But I will allow, for your conversions are awesome.

Hey hey! Finished this veteran to see where my abilities stand. Feeling good to go into the next miniature, who I actually assembled today - pleased with the build. Undertook some risky conversions but glad in the end because I think they've paid off.

Looks good! Though if I were to make one small criticism, he is very blue when viewed front-on; some freehand scrollwork/symbols on the knee pads or the back of the fist might liven him up a bit.

He is stupid cool, nice work as always LDP. He is beautiful and almost elegant. I hate criticizing your work especially but his should pad the white is extremely boring, there is no depth to it at all.

I am excited to see the thammer and SS guy painted. You did a seriously awesome job of converting him

Looking good man, my only criticism is there is a bit to much blue on your painted man, I thought your power weapons had green blades on them?

Lovin' the champion! The blue power sword is well done, but I feel a different spot color could have been better for it. Really like the look of the TH and SS guy, what head did you use for the champion though?

Thanks for your feedback everyone.

@Para I felt somewhat similar, but the base model has lots of ornate markings on the armour in places where I wanted to put squiggles.

@Spacewolverine Yeah I agree, but those strip sorts of things have always been a big problem for me - never quite sure how to tackle them

@Knightley - It normally is green, but I felt that blue power weapons look so much nicer :( Will probably switch back to normal green however because it does blur the composition into one quite a bit

@Justaerin the helmet was actually the helmet that the base miniature that I used is holding in his power fist, had to caaarefully cut the fist away to get it :(

Even a thin black null oil line between the rise and the pad would break it up, not too much just enough for separation between the mold raise. Then again I paint my white a little cartoony.

Your veteran looks great, but I have to say the apothecary is what I am waiting for. The case in his left hand is a clever idea.

LDP - why do you build so many captains / veterans? I've been curious since I saw your post for the first time :O

I love that veteran, the lightning on his sword is a great touch. I like the build on that TH/SS veteran even more - can't wait to see him painted!