Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I just started into warhammer 40k about a month ago and i found the Striking Scorpions Exarch i had didn't fit with the current rules, it's at least two generations old, i think. So i decided to try to convert it into having the scorpion claw (power fist) and shrunken catapult combo.

First i ripped off the old arm that had a shrunken pistol in it.


Then i drilled out a place for its nub and beat up this terminator arm.




Glued it.




Then i added a normal guardian shrunken catapult with the grip/arm cut off. And it was done.

i have some more in mind that ill post later. Tips and feedback are much appreciated.

It looks a tad big for his physique. Maybe that's why it's strength 7!

I like that it's a little, maybe more than a little, over the top for an eldar to have a terminator arm. But from a table top perspective it gives the model more of a presence, which is nice.

Just looks wrong sorry.

Tortured-Robot wrote:Just looks wrong sorry.

Could you Elaborate on your critique?

Also i have painted some fire dragons for my army.


The Exarch


Dragons unit


Closer

Im also working on a conversion from a guardian to a Dire Avengers Exarch using some random bits, pics imminent.

the arm is simply just too "space marine" for the eldar. Seeing as it's both disproportionate to the body and unconverted from its original terminator state


Automatically Appended Next Post:
the painting is great though by the way

Ah I see. I guess it doesn't bug me because i just started and i have less of a notion of what each race should look like.

Like i said before i stared converting a guardian into a Dire Avenger Exarch. Here are some pieces ive made.


All, the heads done too, i just haven't taken a picture.


Right arm, part guardian arm part IG sward with a SM piece acting as a bigger wrist guard. To be played as either a dire sword or power weapon.


left arm, IG arm and las pistol (i think). I wanted to be able to play as either Dire sword/pistol or Power weapon Shimmer shield so i drilled two holes through the arm and then affixed a staple through the holes and glued. Then i added a magnet to the shield.


Guardian Legs and torso with what i think is a WHFB cape that i shaped a little bit so it would fit on.

Im also working on some scenic bases (currently drying). Pic forthcoming.

I think if you replaced the upper arm of the scorpion's claw with a guardian arm it would look great, essentially because your painting does a lot for it. I like the damage too. It looks very simple unpainted and very effective painted.
I'm quite interested to see how the guardian-to-exarch comes out, because I have been thinking about doing something similar but I didn't want to get into it too much and have it not work, so- yay, subscribed!
As a last note, I like the colors you picked. They go with the fluff for the units rather well.

After finishing the Scorpion i realized that it would have been better to have cut of the exarchs hand and then added just the terminator hand.

Tortured-Robot wrote:
Just looks wrong sorry.


Could you Elaborate on your critique?

Sure In simple terms the arm is just to big for the model. It totally unbalances the model, and looks out of place, it doesnt look "eldar enough" sometimes kit bashing doesnt always work.

Eldar weapons need to be graceful, Marine weapons seem quite the opposite.

Tortured-Robot wrote:

Tortured-Robot wrote:
Just looks wrong sorry.

In simple terms the arm is just to big for the model. It totally unbalances the model, and looks out of place, it doesnt look "eldar enough" sometimes kit bashing doesnt always work.

Eldar weapons need to be graceful, Marine weapons seem quite the opposite.

That first statement is amazing unhelpful, and completely useless. If the "sorry" was sincere, then it softens the comment a little, but it doesn't really come off as sincere.

Eldar weapons don't "need" to be graceful, but yes they almost always are. However, the scorpions are the least graceful of the aspects, so a brutal over-the-top weapon fits their character much better than it would look with banshees or even dragons.

Crimsonmicc -- If you ever decide to revisit this conversion and decide that the fist is too big, there are smaller scale plastic fists in the Guard range. Do I think it looks too big? No, but I like weird stuff. I will admit, it is huge, he can step on his own fingers without bending over and he could use the power fist as a spare breastplate if he needed to. . . .

But overall I think it gives an old model a lot of character. People are going to notice that guy from across the table, and he will probably always be a topic of conversation. You should make him a back banner that says: "No, I'm not compensating for anything!" I think it would also look interesting with a guardian arm instead of the terminator arm. If you keep the terminator arm, I would think of it as the whole arm being robotic/cybernetic. As it is, I don't thing the top of the shoulder pad looks finished -- it doesn't blend in with the rest of the character. I would either trim the left shoulder down a little so it matched the chest more or (maybe even better) for fun, give him an equally funkadelic right shoulder pad. The base definitely needs a space marine helmet crumpled up like a beer can.

@SpacePanzee Thanks for the feedback. Think one of the things that attracted me to 40k was that it wasn't realistic but over the top.

Here's a quick update on the exarch. Ill have better pictures once the bases are totally dry and the figure is actually glued on. The bases are made of Beadex joint compound and is for fixing holes and dents in drywall.


A silly headdress i know.


What a hero and yes there are SM bits in the base.

You seem to be a fan of Eldar with highly disproportionate arms. The new guy's sword arm looks way too long (and muscular for that matter). You might want to rethink your use of human bits with Eldar, as the proportions and physique of the two species are fairly different, and they usually come out looking rather silly.

Well your eyes deceive you because the sword arm is all guardian arm (with its hand lopped off) with a IG hand connected to a sword. It just must be the angle of the shot and the additional wrist guard. The other arm is IG though i shaved down its big muscles.

crimsonmicc wrote:Well your eyes deceive you because the sword arm is all guardian arm (with its hand lopped off) with a IG hand connected to a sword. It just must be the angle of the shot and the additional wrist guard. The other arm is IG though i shaved down its big muscles.

Yeah the angle makes it look like an IG arm. However, it still looks disproportionate to me. The hand looks bigger than his bicep.

That first statement is amazing unhelpful, and completely useless. If the "sorry" was sincere, then it softens the comment a little, but it doesn't really come off as sincere.

Eldar weapons don't "need" to be graceful, but yes they almost always are. However, the scorpions are the least graceful of the aspects, so a brutal over-the-top weapon fits their character much better than it would look with banshees or even dragons.

I still stand by my first statement, maybe it should of been "The arm just looks to big on the model". I get the feeling he looks like he has been taking advice from an ork, but however each to his own

Goodluck

Crimsonmicc,

It also doesn't help that you did nothing to make the arm look less like that of a Terminator's. Perhaps if you had made some effort to actually Eldar-ify the Terminator's arm instead of just glueing it to the Scorpion, the proportion wouldn't be as big of a deal. Right now, the conversion looks rushed and under-developed. For instance, the second one's proportions are still a bit off, however he still looks like you put some concerted effort into doing him, and for that, you have my utmost respect for trying something new and fresh. The first one, however, just looks like you popped a Terminator arm on a Scorpion and hastily glued on a Shuriken Catapault. Which is exactly what you did. Try thinning out the arm, and make it look less like a Terminator's arm. It will add alot more unity to the piece, and overall make it look much better.

Or don't, it's your model. But this is me being blunt and to the point, not trying to bring you down or flame you.

Cheers

@Darth Bob I greatly appreciate your detailed criticism.

Here's my progress on the Dire Avengers Exarch.









And my WIP Exarch that i plan to give 2 Catapults.

For My Dire avengers Exarch i decided to go with a Mayan theme. Here's my source of inspiration: http://www.famsi.org/mayawriting/codices/pdf/5_dresden_fors_schele_pp46-59.pdf. I free handed a bunch of Mayan (well some of them are a bit made up) script on him.

For the painting: I primed white, washed with a parchment color, then the cape was washed with two greens and a brown the body with yellow then mostly recovered with a off white, the sword washed with a bright green, the pistol with blue and the wrist guard with same then with brown, the head washed with red then detailed with blue and the shield with a brown wash. (I dont use GW paints, to overpriced for me, and by wash i mean quite watered down acrylic.)

For the script i just painted in black or red then lightly washed with a brown so it would blend into the piece a little better.

The shield was magnetized so it has multiple poses possible as well as just off.

Also considering the eldar rules i guess he could be a Farseer, Autarch, Warlock or Dire Avengers Exarch.






Here you can see the staple that the magnet sticks to. I think its pretty successfully hidden.














Let me know if this is too many pictures. There are more http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-32959-10394_Mayan Eldar.html. Also feedback is much appreciated, this is my first time free handing on a model so tips/pointers would be great.

I finished my other Exarch and outfitted him with two Catapults. I also i have WIP Half wolf/ half man terminator.





and the WIP Wolfin Terminator, I guess in terms of fluff the idea would be that as a mutant he would be purged from the ranks of any loyal space marine chapter (i was thinking space wolves). But the chapter was hard pressed by an invasion and thus gave the wolfin terminator a chance to die gloriously in battle to prove his loyalty to the empire of man. Having survived the brutal invasion he scavenged what he could and now is allowed, though still viewed suspiciously, into the chapter for heroically defending the chapter and imperial base. or something like that.

Mostly made just for fun, i dont actually have a SM army. I know the chest piece is not for a Terminator but i plan to bulk it up a little with other pieces.


The legs (and tail) are from an old DnD wolf ranger looking guy, as well as the left arm.



Comments and feedback greatly appreciated!

Well, I'm not sold on the exarchs. I think it's the cape, mostly. It just sits away from them too much. If you could cut it to fit sort of under their backpack thing, I think that would be an improvement. Or integrate more in some other way. It just looks tacked on as is. I do like the idea, though.

I like the small shield on the sword hand, but the large shield is too big, I think. I'd like to see the colors cleaned up a bit too. Though, I like the line work (on the big shield too!)

The were-termi looks cool and rather strange. I'm anxious to see it painted, I can't see a lot of the detail on it at the moment.

The Good Green wrote:Well, I'm not sold on the exarchs. I think it's the cape, mostly. It just sits away from them too much. If you could cut it to fit sort of under their backpack thing, I think that would be an improvement. Or integrate more in some other way. It just looks tacked on as is. I do like the idea, though.

I like the small shield on the sword hand, but the large shield is too big, I think. I'd like to see the colors cleaned up a bit too. Though, I like the line work (on the big shield too!)

The were-termi looks cool and rather strange. I'm anxious to see it painted, I can't see a lot of the detail on it at the moment.

The shield was purposely large because i want it to represent war gear (shimmer shield) thus when the Exarch is not playing with it, it is a bigger change. Also i do kind of agree on the capes, i like the first one but the second one does hang a bit oddly, im not sure how ill change it. Now, however, Im mostly trying to make the corresponding units of dire avengers (well soon to be upgraded guardians) match an exarch.

For my army ive decided that ill go with a fire theme. These are some guardians i have painted:

My first unit:

Each one is individually given unique detailing. but all off the detailing is done on the right side of the model so there is still unit cohesion.






and my other unit of guardians:




Also i made this organizer, because im too cheap to buy those foam carriers.

Ive painted both my units of guardians to a fire scheme:

I decided to designate my weapon crew with black helms.



My first unit







the other unit







Ive also got some swooping hawks, eldrad, banshees and scorpions almost ready. So they will be forthcoming.

well maybe i´m new to the whole painting thing, but what did you try to achieve with your paint style? i cant understand it. i see colors but cant seem to comprehend what you did, the all look so blotchy for me.... your freehand drawings on capes and armor are super, you got my full envy on that, but i cant understand this technique...

is it that you use other paints? maybe oilpaints?
i think that my critics are mostly based on low knowledge i think...

Viktor von Domm wrote:well maybe i´m new to the whole painting thing, but what did you try to achieve with your paint style? i cant understand it. i see colors but cant seem to comprehend what you did, the all look so blotchy for me.... your freehand drawings on capes and armor are super, you got my full envy on that, but i cant understand this technique...

is it that you use other paints? maybe oilpaints?
i think that my critics are mostly based on low knowledge i think...

I use acrylic, not the Games Workshop ones, though. Just some generic cheap ones.
What i did to get the the green and brown effect on the cape was:
1 Dipped my brush in the green acrylic
2 Dipped my brush in water, not washing off the paint just watering it down
3 then i brushed it all over the cape
4 as the watered down paint was drying, 2 maybe 3 times i re-brushed the watery paint around the cape, re brushing the paint stops it from pooling in the cracks and folds of the model.
5 once that was dry i did the same with brown.

Do you like it? i was just trying something new.

Also here is a mega update of stuff ive been working on.

Beaver wolves fox terminator:
This basically the first time i tried to dry brush



I didnt really have the right colors for a wolf so i went more fox colored



I tryed to make a wolf head but it wasnt looking right so it became a beaver. I also gave it some fins just to make him a bit more interesting in the back.

Im pretty pleased with how it turned out.


My Warp spiders, silly me didnt take any picures of their backs which are all white/off white with burn marks licking around from the front.






I also found these sweet Star wars minis, a gungan and hand maiden. Personally i think the gungan looks like Autarch material and the hand maiden like girl farseer. What do you think?


Comments?! Criticism?! Questions?!

The drawn lines are very well done , but i cant figure out how you did it .

It doesnt seem to have beginning or end brush stroke , and it seems to be solid all the way through ( no sign of drying or running out )
and despite its raised surface ( im guessing tiny bit of pooling with loaded brush ) , its relatively thin line .

How o_o?

LunaHound wrote:The drawn lines are very well done , but i cant figure out how you did it .

It doesnt seem to have beginning or end brush stroke , and it seems to be solid all the way through ( no sign of drying or running out )
and despite its raised surface ( im guessing tiny bit of pooling with loaded brush ) , its relatively thin line .

How o_o?

Here's the brush i used


On the brush there is a black spot near the tip from the tip to about the black bit i would have a tiny bubble of paint, maybe enough to paint a 4mm line. Then when is was painting i would paint about a 2-3mm line with as steady of a hand as i could muster. I also worked fast on each glyph with each only taking about 15 sec this way the paint didnt dry and the line didnt run out because i refiled the tip before it was all gone. I would also make sure to wet the brush slightly, so the paint flows more smoothly.

Other than that try not to get frustrated i find my hand is most steady and i create the best when im relaxed and not worried about messing up.

Hope this helped.

my wife likes to have these as you described "flow of colors". when she is painting (mostly pictures) then she uses this technique. since you described the proces with green and brown, i cant help but think of bread or cheese gone slightly runy^^ (an image you created in your description^^)
i hadnt thought to do so for my models. but since i am painting two seperate sm chapters, this technique woulnt work for me... but after i am not a slave to the emperor any more i plan to go into ´nids, and thias might just work for them, could give them a new touch in organic looks...

as for the freehand, it looks cool, and as i said i wish i had such a steady hand for it, mostly my sm are without symbols, cause i cant do good enough freehand and eaven with decals i am not worth a damn... but you live and learn every day^^

also i like your approch at your painting, to relax and not bother to mess up is so understandable a good way to do great work unhindered. seems my head is always cloudy^^

carry on, and please show us more

I gave the gungan autarch a some hands I wasnt sure if i should give him chainsword or a power weapon so i gave him something in between. For his other hand i found a SM or IG that had a kind of "come get some" appeal to it or maybe he just tried some soup and had licked his fingers. Either way i like it.





I also plan to give him a back pack with wings that is magnetized.

Mostly just making this for fun.

Comments?! Criticism?! Questions?!