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Hi,
To be brutally honest, I need help. There I said it.
Basically I want to make a Vostroyan army but cant afford the metal models. I can however afford greenstuff (and lots of it off ebay).
I also have quite a lot of Cadians. So I was wondering, is it possible to convert Cadians to Vostroyans and if so, how hard would it be?


Put in a reference that i will be working from. Found the image online and then used fireworks to edit it (badly):

First sculpt



Kinda hard to get good quality up close. C&C appreciated

Cheers in advance,
the_mini_painter

On difficulty, we are probably talking move-the-world-with-push-ups here. Honestly, I think it would be cheaper to just buy the Vostroyans.

This is relevant to my interests.

Perhaps start by using these heads:

http://www.pig-iron-productions.com/hd11-kolony-militia-winter-head-sprues-p-18.html

I wish I could offer more help. Good luck!

I was talking to some staff in my FLGS and they said that if i was to sculpt over cadians I would be well within my rights to cast them in resin. I'm not sure if this would overall be cost effective or not though.
the_mini_painter

CrabSlap wrote:This is relevant to my interests.

Perhaps start by using these heads:

http://www.pig-iron-productions.com/hd11-kolony-militia-winter-head-sprues-p-18.html

I wish I could offer more help. Good luck!

Instead of smothering cadians in greenstuff I'd get those pig iron heads and put them on wargames factory greatcoat bodies. Much more affordable and you'd only need to greenstuff in the embellishments.

If you're really desperate you could try to find someone selling Victrix French Guard heads (or perhaps a few of the heads from Perry's Hussars)

Tad smaller than heroic scale but it could do the thing, might need to find some extra gasmasks though!

Here are some of those heads on wgf greatcoats which are the same size as cadian bodies

.

vizier wrote:Converting the cadians well probably isn't worth the trouble compared to selling/trading.

Yeah, I'm not going to say it's impossible, but there is virtually nothing in common between cadian and vostroyan models apart from the scale and their faces. You'd be better off scratchbuilding them than converting them in this case. If course, you're likely to shoot yourself before you finish the requisite number of guardsmen.

I'd either find some way to trade for vostryoan models, take a second job to be able to buy them, or set your sights on a different target.

Bumped for help.

No need to bump this. Just because you weren't given an easy answer doesn't mean there is one. I think you got a lot of solid ideas here.

The reason to bump this was to find out if my idea of just using milliput to sculpt would be a good one. That is why the guide is in the first post. Also, the solid ideas in this thread aren't good enough for me as I do not have the money to be buying new things.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
First Vostroyan is almost done with test sculpting. Will post pics later today once he is dried and painted. Then I will start an army blog.

the_mini_painter

Hey man. I'm very intrigued by this idea and want to take it up as a challenge to make a decent looking conversion using green stuff. I honestly think e biggest problem is the heads which Won't be easy without major work. I did find these puppets war heads which look perfect if your willing to buy them. The rest can be as simple as sme greenstuff fur and long coats and maybe some armor plating. I'll work on it tonight and get you an update. I've got some masked pig iron heads that might work for a test.

http://puppetswar.eu/product.php?id_product=57.

Hi heavybolter,
I have just finished the sculpting (rough) of my first vostroyan. I have sculpted a long coat and the chest armour. The head was pretty easy, in the pictures of vostroyans it just looks like the fur covers their helmets so I did just that. I will post pictures soon of him pre and post painting.
Thanks for the interest and link,
the_mini_painter

Yup , saw your update and looking forward to the pics.

doesnt look too hard TBH, all you need to do is make fluffy cuffs and hats along with a coat for your guard and your done. if you have the skill and dont buy GW GS then it's pretty easy

The_mini_painter wrote:The reason to bump this was to find out if my idea of just using milliput to sculpt would be a good one. That is why the guide is in the first post. Also, the solid ideas in this thread aren't good enough for me as I do not have the money to be buying new things.

Is it a good idea? No, I don't think so. Why?

Even if you were a professional sculptor or damn good hobbyist, what you are attempting to do is a massive undertaking(perhaps even Sisyphean?), and would likely take you years and not look nearly as good as either the Vostroyans or the original Cadians. A guard army in the 1500-1850 point range can easily pass 100 figures, with your average guardsman weighing in at a measly 5 points.

Your idea of resin casting is also not a good one because it will be expensive if you pay a pro to mold your figures and cast them, and if you try to do it yourself, you're likely to spend a lot of money with trial and error may only end up with mediocre results at best. I have some experience in that area because my brother has made several scratchbuilt parts for large scale car models and sold them to an aftermarket resin website to produce - after he found out how much they were going to charge him to just make a few copies of them for himself. It was much more cost effective to sell them the part and get a small stash of casts and some money in return.

I can't help but reiterate what other posters have said, and see if you can sell or trade your Cadians for some First Born. Time is money, after all, and you might be better served just trying to save up some money here and there and get your some Vostroyans at a later point. Keep an eye out for good deals on the trade sites like Bartertown, and for decently priced auctions on eBay.

However, I don't believe what you are seeking is suggestions like that, and want some words of encouragement. Fellow hobbyist and 40k player, I cannot, in good conscience, wish you well on this endeavor. Though a complete stranger, I still care more for your sanity than that.

Also, hoping not to sound too harsh here, but this is an expensive hobby, especially for the horde armies like guard, orks, and tyranids. If you can't afford to be buying new things, perhaps you should shelve the idea for the time being.

Hi brother chaplain kage,
I am not currently going to buy any more cadians. I have around 30 of them which is enough to be getting on with. I am trying to make them individual so they can be cast and the whole army will look different.
I don't mind the fact that the resin will cost for trial and error because I have seen many video tutorials and read how-to guides on it so I am confident that they will be fine.
Thanks,
the_mini_painter


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Updated with first sculpt

So I gave this a shot and here's what i came up with. Using the Pig iron head as a start off point was a good start. I started with the hat and worked my way down, using a ball stylus for the fur effect. Going off your original drawing I left the Cadian chest as is but added some details to the shoulder pad then fur lined the wrist cuffs. I think you can also do a simple wrist gauntlet for that too which would be a flat piece of green stuff that would extend over the wrist a bit. The Longcoat was pretty easy, just added the fur detail to the original coat flaps then added the long coat under it, leaving the split open and pressing in a few button holes. This is as basic as I could make it. Over all it took about 20 minutes. With practice I could probably pump out 20 of these or more in one day to this standard, and maybe add some extra details after the base GS mods have set to customize each one. I think he could use some belt pouches and gear. I honestly don't think its as daunting a task as some people are making it out to be. Hell if you have the time and energy, go for it.

I can try another one using an original cadian head but i really think head swaps are the way to go with this idea. I bet those puppetswar heads would go a long way.

Cheers and I hope this helps in some way.

That looks quite nice but it isn't as close to vostroyans as i want to get. I have posted pictures already and that is how I am wanting them to look.

Now there is a blog for this project!

Go to:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/444940.page

Cheers,
the_mini_painter

I hope you're looking for honest criticism, because I have to warn you that your first attempt doesn't look very good. The top half of the jacket is overly flat and out of proportion. The lower half of the jacket doesn't drape properly and it looks like one side has been hemmed higher then the other. It doesn't look like you can decide whether you want a braided or smooth cord between. Most importantly you're trying to emulate crisp, mechanical lines on the mask. They don't look crisp, symmetrical or machined.
Molding and casting substandard models sounds like a costly, time/labor intensive mess that you'll come to regret.

The bright side?

A. Sculpting is hard. I couldn't do any better, but I'd recommend working on smaller/simpler conversions as you keep building your skills.
B. I think those WGF/PERRY conversions look great. You could always work them up with some green stuff or milliput. One the price positive side you can build them for roughly a dollar a model.
C. We've all had grand conversion ideas that we realized were a bit unfeasible. Don't get discouraged and just figure out how to scale it back to a more manageable level.

I actually like your Pig Iron/ Greenstuff Conversion. Looks great. I was simply going to suggest you check out "Puppetswar.eu". They have some interesting heads there I believe.

I think heavybolter did a great job. Maybe skip the fur skirt so it looks like he threw the flak jacket on right on top of the coat. That doesn't really make sense as the coat is supposed to be thick but that's the drawing.

Not feeling the fur bracers either. Maybe move it and try for a fur collar.

Seems like a lot of work to me. Id just buy the proper models bit by bit as i could afford them.