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Ok, so sorting through some old boxes of misc. junk in the basement last night I discovered a few Genesteals that I have had since 1995 or so...60 of them to be exact! But I have no desire to build a Tyranid/Genestealer army in addition to the CSM and Ork armies I'm currently woring on. So, I am thinking of turing the bugs into lesser Khorne daemons. Here is a picture of one of the little guys, any ideas Dakka? I could use your help. Also, remember I have 60 of the little buggers, so nothing TOO complicated!
The whole mess...

Just one for details...

If I can't figure out how to convert them, I'll try selling them on eBay, and just buy some Bloodletters...

Anyways, thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Yeah, well, OBVIOUSLY, right? What I am leaning towoards, is to try to get the bug to stand a bit more upright, (does anyone know if dipping a plastic figure in boiling water will make them bendy enough to change thier pose?) then taking off the claw arms, and moving the hand arms up, shaving down the bulbous head a bit, and greenstuffing a longer head, some horns, some muscles on the arms and legs, and cutting out a sword from styrene. I figure maybe about 3 to 4 hours per model. I might have a 10 strong squad in like 3 months!

Fifty wrote:The old plastic 'stealers are hard plastic, so I'd be very surprised if you got good results from boiling water.

Thanks, it's not mandatory anyway, I think they'll look fine hunched over. I'll try to get started on one tonight, and maybe post progress tomorrow!

Ok, so after 3 hours of work last night, I have some progress to show!

First, I took one of the 'Stealers that only had a base coat. Funny thing, 10 years ago when I first got these guys, I didn't trim the mould lines, so that was the first order of business...


Then I removed the front arms, and moved the hand arms forward, cut off the fingers so I could make one hand hold a sword, re-possition that hand so the sword pointed up, and trimmed down the back some so it wasn't so hunch-backed.


Then I carved out a sword from styrene. (this probably took the longest.)


Then added some GS to enongate the head a bit, and make the hand look better, and added a tounge. Also added a spinal column, it's sticking up a bit, but once I put some meat on him, it should look fine.


Hopefully tonight I can start adding more GS for the muscles on the back, arms and legs. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for the comments!
@UselesswizarD: I'd love to see some pics of your Gaunt conversions!

So, I didn't have a whole lot of time last night, and what I got done was a bit hurried, so not my best work,
but I don't have sculpting tools yet either, just have toothpicks and an old exacto knife I've been working with.
Looking into getting some tools soon, but untill then, this is what I have done, and I hope my next 59 of these
buggers look better and better. So without further talk, I have for you, the right hand side of my first Bloodletter just about done:

I'm not sure if he looks too muscular or not...


And here is a good shot of what it started out as, and what it looks like now. (and it wouldn't be complete without a gratuitous butt shot anyway!

Let me know what you think, and whenter or not it needs horns, or is ok as-is. (I'm leaning towards horns, but I kind of think they look more evil without them.)

Not much to add today, didn't have much time last night, but I did do a little sanding of the previous day's Green Stuff to smooth out the skin a bit.

Also I didn't like how the left arm was possitioned, so I moved it a bit.


Probably won't have any more posts until Monday. Have a good weekend all!

I finally got some time to work on this guy again. I think I'm done green stuffing for now. Just have to sand a few bits down. I noticed some fingerprints after I was done, so those need to go.
I was going to go without horns, and it looked pretty good, but I really like the horns, so I think they'll stay.

I also really like the way the muscles turned out, but it took forever! I don't think I'll be bulking up the rest of them as much...I'll just say this guy is the MAIN Lesser Daemon.



So, what do you all think? Anything I could change to make it better? I'll see about getting it painted soon, and see how that works.
And just 59 more Genestealers to convert! Wish me luck!

Thanks for the comments!
@ blambi: Yeah I think the muscles are a bit big, going for thinner ones for the rest of the horde.

@ghosty: I actually got the GS really cheap on ebay, so it's not too bad, and it really didn't take a whole lot of GS, just alot of time! Besides, I won't be using as much on the rest. And really, I would rather pay more for an original model than the same old thing that everyone has. (just not a WHOLE lot more! )

@Papaskittels: Thanks! I only just got GS a few weeks ago, before that I was modeling with Paperclips, toothpicks and toilet paper soaked in Elmers Glue...GS is alot easier! And the tube thing on his back is thin wire (not sure what guage) wraped around a paperclip. It ends up being just a tad bigger than the hoses on Space Marine Armour and helmets. (which is what I originally used it for.) As for the tounge, I wanted it to look evil, and it got a bit out of hand, I'll probably try to go for shorter ones on the rest.

Thanks again for your comments and suggestions, I hope the rest come out ok.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Icelord wrote:Ok i am very impressed but you stated earlier that you wanted to do a "simple" conversion and that amount of green stuff is a pain. I would say do like ten or 20 of them for a nice side project (for you army of csm) then sell the other 40k and but something else. Looks great but a lot of work!

LOL, yeah it turned out to not be very simple, but I like the outcome. And it was a good first draft. The rest will be simple-er, and lest time-comsuming (I hope). And yeah, for a CSM army, I probably won't need all of them, so I might try to sell a bunch off. Unless I want to start a Chaos Daemon Army, who knows! Anyway, thanks!

Finally! I got some time this last weekend to work on my second Bloodletter! I still haven't gotten around to painting the first one, so it still looks the same. I went for a more radical pose on this one, so I cut it apart at several of the joints, and the waist, so I could get him more upright, and position his arms how I wanted them. I switched him to a lefty, and I am still toying with the idea of making him my Icon Bearer (so I will have to reposition his right hand to hold the Icon), just in case I want to start a Chaos Daemons army, which I am really starting to like the idea of! And if I do that, my "bulky" first draft Bloodletter will be the one with Fury! So, anyway, here are some pics of #2 after I trimmed off all of the "Nid" looking parts, and pinned his arms and head in the pose I wanted.




and a pic next to #1 for comparisson...

So, C&C welcome as always. I will post pics soon of him with some GreenStuff work done on him. I know I had said I was going to make his tounge shorter, but I kind of like the big slobbery Daemon look. And if it looks a bit Nurgly...you should see what I have planned for the Plaguebearers I want to make! (Still not sure what I want to make them out of though as I am not a fan of the models available, and I don't think Genesteelers would make a good base for them. Now I think the 'Steelers would work very well for Pink Horrors though...)

Here are some pics of #2 with some muscles (not too much I hope). Let me know what you think. I did get around to re-positioning his right hand to hold a banner pole last night, but I didn't take any pics yet, I'll do that tonight.




And here he is again with #1 for comparison.

I'm on the fence about making his hooves bigger like I did with #1, and thoughts?
C&C welcome!

Thanks!

Thanks for the comments! Yes, I see now that it would be easier to just buy some "off the sprue" Bloodletters. And I think about doing just that while I am working on these little buggers! But if I do that, the terrorists win! J/K. But seriously, I really like how they are coming along, and I know for a fact no-one else will have the same models on the table!

I will work on making the tounges a bit thinner...in RL, they look ok, but in the pics you can really see how large they are!

I don't think I'll be doing 60 of these either, I am also thinking of making some Pink Horrors!

I don't even know if I will have enough left to do 60 in any case! My 2 year old daughter has recently found the Genestealers, and loves to play with them! She calls them her "buggies"! They are all accounted for at the moment, but I'm sure she will lose some at some point. No big loss, I have enough to spare.

I really appreciate all of your comments! I know this started out as a way to not shell out the initial $$$ for the Boxed set(s), but it has turned into a challenge, and I want to see it throught to the end. On a side note, I plan on taking a few of these guys, and putting them on the backs of some scratch-made Juggernaughts to make Bloodcrushers!

Oh, and Ram horns are a cool idea! I'll see if I can pull that off! I might use that as a way of marking different squads!

@ MajorTom11: Thank you for the kind words! I thought they might end up just being a stealer with a sword at first too! I was really nervous about jumping into Greenstuffing with both feet, but posting this blog has also kept me interested, and motivated.

New Pics! I have added the sword, and the Icon. I need some help though! Is the chain too long? Should I just remove the chain and attach the Icon directly to the pole? I need some advice. Thanks!


I haven't had a chance to work on the tounge yet, and the horns are shaped and cured, I just need to attach them.
Thanks again in adance for your input.

Cheers!

Well, if I keep the chain I'll just run a line of super glue along it and it will firm up quite well. Plus, as soon as the skulls I ordered get here, I'll be adding several skulls on chains and super gluing them too, so it should be fairly solid...and heavy, I'll have to add some wieght to the base.

OR! I could glue the Icon to the pole in a way to make it look like the Icon is just swaying towards the pole, and give the chain some slack to give the illusion of movement.

Ok, I didn't have much time to work last night, but I did make some progress. I shortened the chain, mostly to make some room for the hanging skulls when they get here (according to the shipping information, they are coming from China, so about 2 more weeks! ). I super glued the chain and supported the Icon at an angle as it dried, so it somewhat looks like it is swinging, added horns to the head, and Green Stuff to the sword to (hopefully) look like fire, I guess we'll see for sure when I paint it. I also trimmed up the tounge a bit to slim it down, but the very tip broke off, and now shows the paperclip underneath, so I'll have to work on the tip of the tounge at some point.



So, what do you think? Anything I should change? Any improvements I should make?
I am planning on doing 6 more of these guys for a squad of 8 before I paint them, which might take a while. So, C&C is welcome, and suggestions do usually help me plan my next model(s).
My next model will be one holding or maybe even blowing on a Horn. I already have the Horn, it's from the WHFB Chaos Warriors box. The horn looks like the picture at the bottom of this post.

So, any suggestions for that build?

Thanks.

Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:I love the idea but I have to say that I'm cringing at the thought of classic Genestealers (specifically the ones you have already painted) getting chopped up. I have a soft spot for the Genestealer Cult and haven't seen a classic paintjob on 'Stealers in quite a while.

Well, I haven't cut up any of the painted ones...yet. However if you would like to "save" some of them, I could probably be convinced to part with some of them!

Peatreed wrote:Nice, that reminds me, back in an old 80's white dwarf there was a conversion of a genestealer-bloodletter hybrid!

I haven't gotten a White Dwarf issue in YEARS! That would be something to see though!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I'll need it! I have a lot of work left to do!
My to do list for the Genestealers is:

Make 4 squads of 8 Bloodletters.
2 squads of 8 Bloodcrushers (my 'Letters will be riding scratch-built Juggernaughts...hopefully)
1 Skulltaker - Herald of Khorne
1 Standard Herald of Khorne
1 squad of 8 Horrors (for these I plan on modelling them to have Khorne markings and pretty much look like Bloodletters but with large gaping mouths for shooting flame and call them "Blood Horrors")
1 squad of 8 Flamers (similar concept as the Horrors, looking like 'Letters but with large "shooty" looking arms, and call them Flamers of Khorne. I'll have to write up some fluff to make it work, so we'll see.)

I know this equalls more than the 60 Genestealers that I have, and I know it's a big project (understatement), but that is my plan of the day, I might change my mind by tomorrow!

Well, I finally got around to putting some paint on my first Bloodletter! It's still a WIP, but let me know what you think, any tips, tricks or comments? Keep in mind this is my first start-to-finish paint job in like 10 years or more! It's definately easier to see areas I need to pay more attention to when I'm sculpting...hopefully the next ones will be better.

ToxicsLayer wrote:I don't know if it is me or what, but the red seems to be a tad flat. It might could use some highlighting. Just a thought.

Highlighting! I knew I was forgetting something! Thanks, it's been a while.

Thanks for the comments all, if anything else looks a bit off, let me know. I need the help!

Perkustin wrote:Looks alot better painted but if i'm honest he still looks a little steroidal. I think wiry musculature would look alot better. It's pretty easy to sculpt, and judging from your displayed skills i think that should be easily doable for you.

Yeah, that has been said a few times, and I do agree, and I am going to thin down my future sculpts, but the Big guy will be my model of the 'Letter with Fury in my Daemons army. So I think that will work out, I don't know if I'll go quite that muscular for future models with Fury, but we'll see. It's difficult to give them defined muscles withour making them big, but I'll keep practicing, Even my second one with the Icon is a bit bulky, but I think I'm getting there! And thank you very much for your honesty! It helps alot! If no one had said anything, my second and future 'Letters would probably be just as big, and I would be going through the Green Stuff pretty fast!

WaaaaghLord wrote:... I've been trying to convert the other way, Bloodletters to Genestealer Hybrids...

I'd like to see that! Got any pics?

djdutton wrote: You could try and model the horn-blower to hold the trumpet with his tongue? Just an idea.

I don't know if I could pull that off, but I bet my wife would finally take an interest in my hobby!

Wow, it's been a while since I updated this thread! Sorry about that, but other projects and life have kept me busy.
I got some basing done, just need to finish that, and I put some highlights on the raised areas of the Bloodletter, but for some reason, the camera seemed to have washed them out so you can hardly see where the highlights are. (I blame the camera, cause it can't be me right?!?)




So, brutal honesty! Let me have it! How does it look?

Thanks for looking,

Jake

Thanks! When I finish the base, I'll post some more pics!

By the way Blambi, I looked at your conversions! They look great! Lots of imagination!

Well, thanks for the comments all, it was a pretty ambitious project, and I really doubt that I will be able to convert all 60 of these little buggers, so maybe CT GAMER has a good idea there, and I might try to sell all but 8 (I need at least one full squad so it doesn't look wierd!) I'll put them up on ebay, and if they don't sell, then it's a sign! And then I will cut up the remaining ones! Muahahahahahahahaha! ... Ahem! Sorry about that!

At any rate, can I post a link here to ebay auctions? Or is that a no-no?

Thanks again all! by the way! I have already started on the Horn Bearer! I'll get some WIP pics up of him soon!

bunnygurl wrote:I really like what you've done. I can't give any advice as I've never done anything like this but I think it looks great, especially with some paint. My fav part is oddly enough the feet on your first one.

Thanks! I like the feet on that one best too! I think I am going to give my newer ones bigger claws too.

Monkeh wrote:Nice work I like the big beefy one as an almost ork-like boss letter'!

You could always talk to Waaghlord.. you guys could just swap or something. Or put a chuck of them up in the swap shop forum. Failing that yeah, ebay would be the go. Lot's of people have a hankering for older models.

Go more wiry on the remaining 6, don't go so big on the bi's and shoulders and it keep the rest like your second one. They should look mint! Oh also.. I think the standard bearer looks better with the original long chain and the icon hanging.. it added something really fresh to the standard bearer design. Also where are them darn skulls you promised us at?

Hmmmm, I wonder.....a Daemon Possessed Ork Army? How awesome would that be?!?!?!?!

Thanks! I'm going to go for a combination of eBay and swap shop! And yes, I'm going to go thinner on the remaining 'Letters, and as for the standard bearer, I have the skulls! I just need to attach them! I liked the longer chains on the icon too, but just that much more wieght, and it kept falling over, I even have lead in the base! I think I have the banner pole at too much of an angle, but too late to change it. I will add the skulls soon though! Keep checking back!

crimsonmicc wrote:Excellent work so far. The reason your pictures look too yellowish, is because your white balance is off. This means that the camera is seeing the yellow light coming off your bulb as yellow instead of seeing that yellow light as white.

On your camera there is probably a white balance setting. You will want to either set it to whatever you light is (from the looks of it incandescent). Or there might be an "evaluative" where it will ask you to select something white in the frame then it will make that white and adjust your other colors.

Hope this helps!

This is probably the best advise anyone has given me for pictures! Thank you! I will look into the settings on the camera tonight! Thanks again!

Lord Scythican wrote:This seems like way too much work. If you are bored and want to practice your skills then this a good thing. But surely selling these on ebay and not buying greenstuff would be more cost efficient. The money saved and gained could be put towards real bloodletters.

Personally if you are going to do this, I think you should make the conversions more simple. Most people can't stick with conversions like this for 60 minis.

You entirely correct. This was my very first forray into sculpting with Green Stuff, and it was VERY good to build up my confidence. Before that, I just thought about doing anything more than seam filling, and it would fill me with dread! but now, I may not be great at it, but I am no longer scared to get in there are work on it. And not a whole lot of Green Stuff was actually used, the bulk of the model is the original Genestealer.

I am currently selling most of the Genestealers in the Swap Shop http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/341036.page , and on eBay. And if I get enough for them, I will get some "standard" Blood Letters, but I think these will always be my favorite!

Wow!! I just looked at your Cerebore! That is amazing! I don't think I'm quite at that level, but confident at least!

blambi wrote:

Thanks for the kind words, sometimes I wonder if is is just imagination or a coming insanity shining trough

There's a difference?

If you have work in progress pictures, make a whole thread about it! People want to know! Seriously!

@ Reanimator: Thanks! Hahaha! "HULK SMASH!" I love it!

@ Lord Scythican: Looking forward to it!