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hello guys first of all, i would like to say thanks for reading my thread
i'm new here.. hehehe....
i started warhammer fantasy 2 years ago and went vacum for a year... and now, a couple of my friends are "infected" by 40k Virus
at first i choosed tau to start with... and then my warhammer's "teacher" told me that the new codex of Tau Empire will be released soon.. now i'm thinking that BA or SM will be good for me since the models are cool (well although i don't like the BA muscles )
*well skip the introduction XD

well stuff that i would like to ask are...

are there any idea of "how to make Japanese themed Space Marine?" (Ninja, samurai, etc)
and are there any pics and tutorial about converting dreadnought with Gundam bits, or any model kit bits?

Thx for the answers,pics, and info , i am very gratefull to join this forum ^^

Don't have links to any tutorials, sadly, but I don't think it would be too difficult to convey the theme without having to add that much. First, look around online for 28mm samurai figures. I know there are a number of companies out there that do both fantasy and historical figures at this scale. They'd be great sources of inspiration, if not sources for conversion parts. An accessory sprue would be ideal as it would likely include those few iconic bits I would suggest adding. Things to consider:

-Swap chain/power swords for katanas, either taken from samurai figures or cut and filed out of sheet styrene/plasticard (not that tricky, honestly - just look at reference pictures to get the profile right).

-HQ units could have a signal fan, if you really want to carry the theme (besides, think how your opponent will feel when he gets cut down by a power fan ).

-Back banners, definitely. Actually, some old Ork models had vaguely Japanese style back banners, if I recall correctly, but I don't know if those were stock or conversions. Again, these could be looted from existing models, or made easily enough using wire or styrene rod/tube for the frame and sheet styrene or paper for the banner. Look online for reference pics, if you aren't familiar with the style.

-Japanese flavored iconography. If you look for back banners, chances are you'll come across some pictures with the symbols present. The thing to bear in mind is that Japanese heraldry was considerably simpler than its European counterpart (a lotus flower, three red dots arranged in a triangle, etc.), which will make your life easier. I'd avoid using characters and stick to symbols (you could easily adapt simple designs to designate squads, as well).

Here is a mockup that I did over lunch. Haven't seen any marine samurai armies, but there are a lot of eastern inspired tau armies out there that you might want to check out.



obviously the shoulder and thigh pad would be on both sides, I just wanted to leave the left side original in order to give a comparison.

I think Tylermenz hit it on the nose. Use plasticard to add on samurai-esque armor bits and make katana's, wakizashi's, Nodachi's, etc. Maybe even making yumi's that count has a heavy weapon, shooting specialized arrows (kind of out there but something different).

Also I know there used to be another mini's game called Clan War which I thought was a L5R mini's game. It think it died somewhere in the mid-late 90's but you may be able to find pieces to use or atleast ideas.

after do some surfing on the net, i found this conversion... well it's quite amazing,
i still feel anxious on how to convert the dreadnought....

The example you found is a great starting point. If you're going to use it as a basis, personally I would move the maedate (head crest) to the front of the helmet, instead of on top. You could probably bend it slightly to fit the contour of the helmet, just look up a tutorial on heating and bending plastic.

As for the dread adding a haidate (thigh guards / the skirt part) could add to the samurai armour look. Maybe use an open sarcophagus plate so you can see the marines helmet matching the rest of your army.

Or you could make the dread look like a sumo wrester.

EDIT: and you could make the marines shoes look like sandals with some minimal careful trimming.

Greetings.

I'm living in Japan at the moment and had considered this same theme. In the past month I've visited 5 castles and taken photos of their Samurai armour and family crests. I also went to a festival celebrating Ieyasu Tokugawa last weekend. That was awesome and their was plenty of 'Samurai' there.

Laziness got the best of me though and I decided against it as (although it would be an awesome army) it would be a LOT of converting, cutting of plasticard, manipulation of greenstuff, etc. I'm still toying with the idea of doing a few models though as I think it would look awesome.

This Okko game has some cool models for reference or purchase.

I believe that the Tau would be a better army to convert to a Samurai theme.

Anyway, if you want some of those photos send me a PM with your email address and I'll shoot them through to you.

Regards

woow you live in japan... that's my dream, LOL... any players in japan?? are the japanese plays warhammer too???

Does no one make 28mm samurai helmeted heads which would fit a space marine?

This is a great idea!

Something like this for the Dreadnought?

Yeah, Japan is awesome .. just not at the moment.

Perry Miniatures do quite a few Samurai models (select Age of Wars - Samurai Armies from the dropdown). Not specific pieces though it seems .. just whole Samurai models.

Rock on