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.

hey

I'm completely new to the 40K tabletop (yet, I'm a huge fan of the DoW series and other pc installments) - I came to 40K because I recently started building/converting/painting Battletech miniatures and bought all my colors and some of the utilties at GW ... and building/converting/painting made that much fun, that I came to the conclusion that it was about time to get a bit into 40K miniatures

I'm currently in the "planning stage" for a "Diorama" of some sort...don't know if it will be "army vs. army" or some "last stand" setting
yet, I want to have my "own" SM chapter, focused around a captain/commander

on the one hand I've started reading a lot of stuff on the warhammer40k wikia page to learn more about the lore - on the other hand, I'm looking for miniatures/parts to use for my space marines, most urgent for the captain/commander
what I know is, is that my Captain definately has to have a thunder hammer and in a moment of insanity I've ordered a gamesday 08 captain to use its hammer (in my opinion it's the best looking available)

and this is where the tricky part begins
what body should or could i use for my captain?
I want him to be in a less "charging" posture than the GD08 Captain is
currently I'd prefer converting Kaldor Draigo - but is that possible for a noob like me?

I really like the GN insignias and scriptures on the armor, even the book on his hip
I'd imagine it would be quite easy to snip off the "triangles" that ought to hold the arms and attach the GD08 arms, but...

- would the "metal arms" be too heavy for a resin model?
- wouldn't the GD08 shoulders look too...clumsy? would there be a way to fit one of the shoulder pads from the GN Terminator sprues?
- do you think is it overall "a smart move" to convert Draigo?
- do "space marine" arms even "fit" a terminator armor? (don't know if there is a difference in "scale") generally i'd prefer using a terminator armor for my captain (if this would fit the rules)

it does not necessarily have to be the Draigo body...but what do you think of this idea? (I'm getting the GN terminators pack as well, for insignias and the apothecary)
do you have other ideas how i could use the GD08 arms?

I thank you very much in advance!

Well, I'm pretty experienced with 40k, and converting limited models is one of my favourite things to. I like to think that I'm pretty competent at conversions, but I found converting the '08 Captain to be very difficult. He most certainly will not work on Draigo's body unless you totally destroy the hammer.
Those arms won't work on TDA without some serious work, I'm sorry bro. Normally I'd say give it a go, but with this model being quite hard to find and your admitted inexperience, I do not recommend it.
I would suggest either a simpler conversion, perhaps just a cloak and/or jump pack? Or get another TH to use for now and save the '08 Captain until you have the practiced ability to pull off a conversion you'll not hate a few months down the line.
I feel awful saying all this, but I don't want you to hate what has potential to be great.

EDIT: Oh, and welcome to Dakka, always remember to get a second opinion before following any of our advice.

(Further edits for typos, I'm adjusting to typing with a hand injury.)

thank you very much for your evaluation

yeah, I was expecting that it might be difficult :/
but I did hope that the arms might fit...

but for a conversion of the hammer, I've thought about several options and would we very thankful for expertise, regarding the difficulty and compatibility to a terminator armor
- cutting the hammer in (aproximately) half and extend it with green stuff
- cut nothing, but extend the left arm's wrist with green stuff (to get a different angle)
- cut off the right arm wrist upwards and use the GN terminator arms for right proportions and angle (with the bonus of being able to using GN shoulder plates)

because my talent is rather limited I'm not sure if any of those three options would work
the easiest way would probably be to use the space commander plastic model with the GD08 hammer...but for a special hammer like the gd08, it would seem appropriate to me to use a fine looking body, like one of the finecast models

and one question about cutting/sawing off...what tool would you recommend?
I already have this (sorry for being an amazon link)
but i'd guess that would ruin the hammer if i tried to clip it in half, right?
so i've ordered a miniature saw (sorry for being an amazon link again)
but i don't know if this has the right quality and precision I'd need (didn't want to buy the citadel saw...i've made the experience that probably every tool is better than the citadel tools)

a thousand thanks again!
(and get well soon!)

this week i received my GD08 captain...
unfortunately, the hammer is slightly bent

the hammer head is intact, but the shaft is slightly bent on two or three locations (haven't opened the blister yet)

what would be a good way to unbent it?
i know that i can bend this type of metal with my hands, but are there any "methods" that make it easier?
like...does warm/hot water really help? or is that only a myth?
and should i use tools? or only my hands and a flat surface?

cheers!