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Hello all, I am obviously quite new to 40K. What all will I be needing to begin converting minis? (I got bit by the converting bug from looking at the best conversion thread) I have pretty much nothing. Just like a basic things that I'll need. Also I am building a Tau army and I have a BUTT LOAD of Battletech minis that I had given to me, could I possibly use these or am I better off to just sell them to get some 40K kits and use any of those extras for bits?

Thanks!
Ben

1. Converting is easy, usually for me its just swapping bits or changing the pose of the plastic mini, so basically a good hobby knife, plastic glue, a drill and wire for pinning.

if you wanna go a step further then you will need to work with model putty such as greenstuff, just look it up, there will be a bunch of tutorials for that.

2. You can probably use some battletech stuff to add a bit of flavour, though I would not do that as I prefer using GW kits. really depends on you, its your hobby and your model after all.

I would suggest selling the battletech minis, They will probably have more value as complete items.

Greenstuff is a staple that every converter will need at some point. Read up on some tutorials and experiment with it before using on your models.

Start surfing e-bay for good buys on tau bitz. It wont happen overnight but if you are patient and watch for good deals you can build up a "bitz box pretty quick". A good idea to pick up a storage bin with little dividers to keep it sorted. Not a bad Idea to pick up bitz from other armies too if you find a good deal.

check out this Dakka resources thread http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/260250.page

Hmmm I might keeps a few of the larger mechs as I could actually use their parts eventually. But I debated due to their size (supposed to be much larger than people so most of their limbs and weapons are not the usable size. And I saw things like razor saws or something like that so I didn't know how complicated I needed to get... By hobby knife do you mean like an Xacto knife? And by pinning you mean like drilling a hole in the arm inserting a wire and drilling a hole in the body, joint, etc. to glue it too? I've been playing FOW and Batletech on and off for years but I only ever did painting and playing.
Thanks!
Ben

The more into it you get the more tools you will end up with.

A hobby knife is basicly an xacto knife, a small pen like handle with interchangeable razor blades.


For pinning you will need a "Pin-vise" its a small hand drill with interchangeable bits and a rotating head that lets you slowly apply pressure.


with those two tools and some green stuff you will have a good start.
some clay shaping, dentist type pics are helpful when working with greenstuff.

When you get more complicated you may want to pic up a saw, I would suggest a jewelers saw, but a plain old xacto saw will work.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
And by the way yes you are right about what pinning is. It is generally only need on heavier metal models, but sometimes you may want to do it plastic.

Mmmk got the dentist picks (mom was a hygenists assistant, and dad does his own taxidermy) so I just gotta get a few other things then! Time to start accruing bits from my FOW sprues! Thanks Guys!

Another thing which is really worth investing in is a good cutting mat. Sometimes you need to apply force to trim bits off, and although it goes against logic it's all too easy to simply cut towards your thumb. Save your thumbs, and your tabletop, by getting a cutting mat.

I'd recommend a razor saw. Knives are awesome but if you've not got such a steady hand the saw can be great for getting clean straight lines at the expense of a little width.

I did without one for years but lately I'm finding it increasingly useful.

master of asgard wrote:Another thing which is really worth investing in is a good cutting mat. Sometimes you need to apply force to trim bits off, and although it goes against logic it's all too easy to simply cut towards your thumb. Save your thumbs, and your tabletop, by getting a cutting mat.

This. I used to try and be smart while cutting stuff off of sprues with my exacto knife, by making sure there was sprue between my thumb and the knife. A few weeks ago I was cutting a gargoyle body off the sprue using my normal method... put some extra umph into it because my blade is getting dull and ended up with the knife almost through the sprue and in my thumb. I decided I'd rather spend the few bucks on a cutting mat than a few hundred at the hospital if I sever a vein/tendon.

For the same reason a good poseable clamp is great to have, especially when sawing and cutting precisely

Basics... Take Pulse Rifle glue to back of Kroot.
Kroot Shaper success.

Seriously, converting tau is actually easier than you think, the only problem is getting GS perfectly flat for sculpting.

An easy conversion is reposing Battlesuit legs. You just cut the legs a bit, and glue them in the way you want.
This is for basics only, you shouldn't do this alot.

Go with milliput, its a two part epoxy putty, instead of greenstuff. It doesn't dry rubbery and smooths so easy with a little water and your finger or a sponge. It also dries hard as a rock and can be sanded. I discovered it for myself a few months ago and have not used green stuff since. Superior product for sure. Check out my pics and youll see the smoothness of my harlequin Revenant titan facemask. Woulda been a nightmare with green stuff but it took me only an hour with milliput.

For smoothing out green stuff, get down to an art shop and look for clayshapers. They look like paint brushes, but instead of bristles you have a shaped rubber tip.

For me, the basics are: an Xacto knife, a hand drill with 1mm drills, metal paperclips, superglue (and not a crappy plastic glue full of solvant that takes an eternity to dry and melts plastic). Later you can start to work with Green Stuff with a modeling tool and a colour shaper to smooth it (available in every good art supplies shops).

Imagination.


seriously thats all you need. over time you'll think of the tools you need by imagining what you want to alter/convert.
I need to cut this, i need to flatten this (file) i need to drill this etc.
over time you'll build up a mini workshop.

Melonfish wrote:Imagination.


seriously thats all you need. over time you'll think of the tools you need by imagining what you want to alter/convert.
I need to cut this, i need to flatten this (file) i need to drill this etc.
over time you'll build up a mini workshop.

Pretty much this.